Vol. 1, No. 63
Palmer, Alaska, May 8, 1948
Ten Cents
Seniors Try
Swapping Jobs
With Teachers
It was “turn-about” at Palmer
high school last Wednesday. For
eight hours that day instruc
tors played truant, while senior
students found out what it was
like to hand out the assignments
rather than hand them in. And
they did just that with profes
sional manner and dignity, as
for one school day the coming
graduates got a prevue of what
someday may be a reality for
some of them.
It was dead serious business
for the seniors. For Wednesday
was student control day, and
their goal w’as the achievement
of a school day as routine as any
other Wednesday of this school
year of 1948. Their instructors
feel they achieved it, and that
with little help from them, for
cooks, administrators and teach
ers walked out the door at 8:30
Wednesday morning to leave the
problems of their job to their
student substitutes.
Discipline was “better than
usual” if punishment slips issued
by the student council are any
indication. There were fewer
than the normal number of slips
at the end of the school day.
Infractions which did occur were
> “ (Continued on back page)
Chamber Speaker
Fails To Arrive
An unusually small attend
ance and a wandering guest
speaker combined to make Wed
nesday's Chamber of Commerce
meeting one of little real accom
plishment. L. A. Moore,- public
relations official of The Alaska
Railroad, wired his regrets late
Tuesday afternoon, saying he
was unavoidably detained in Ju
neau.
Little business was conducted
at the meeting. President Jack
Maze reviewed the proceedings
at Monday’s board of directors’
meeting, when the Palmer Air
port Association met in joint
session with the Chamber.
The need for funds for the
airport was explained, and the
preliminary plans for Colony
’■ Day, from which the airport is
to receive all proceeds above
costs, were outlined. M. D. Snod
grass explained the history of
the Palmer airport. He said that
although the field in effect now
belongs to its stockholders, the
eventual plan for the port is to
turn it over to the city of Pal
mer, should incorporation come,
or to the territory of Alaska in
the event that there is no in
corporation here.
A letter was read from Lorin
T. Oldroyd, director of Exten
sion Service, in which it was
explained that there are no Ex
tension funds available for the
employment of a full-time 4-H
club and Homemaker’s repre
sentative in the Valley. The
Chamber earlier had requested
that a full-time worker be sta
♦ tioned in the Valley.
Charles Nobler, a CAA em
ploye and formerly a flight en
gineer with Trans-World Air
lines, was a guest at the lunch
*-e©».
"Superintendent" Don Irwin discusses the phrasing of a letter with secretary Hilda Stenvall
at last Wednesday's student rule day in the Palmer school. "Principal" Bob Graham is giving a
teacher-rating scale a final check to find more 'o's and don't' to add to his list for discussion at
an afternoon teachers' meeting. Students ran all departments of the high school on Wednesday,
including the cooking and serving of a noon lunch. (Photo by Palmer Photographic Center)
Clubs Plan Dinner
To Benefit Hospital
Members of the Eastern Star
and Masonic clubs are sponsor
ing a Mother’s Day dinner, to be
held in the school dining room
Sunday afternoon, it was an
nounced by the hospital bond
committee this week. All pro
ceeds received from the dinner
will be applied toward the pur
chase of a bond.
Dinner will be served from
12:15 to 4 p.m. All Valley resi
dents are invited to attend.
Is New Superintendent
WASILLA — Harold French,
now teaching at Unga, has been
appointed to the position of
superintendent of schools at
Wasilla, it was announced this
week. Mr. French replaces James
Pendleton who plans to go Out
side for further study. Mr. Pen
dleton has been Wasilla’s super
intendent for six years.
Wasilla Seeks
Cemetery Name
WASILLA—The local ceme
tery will be dedicated on Me
morial Day, it was decided at
last week’s meeting of the Wa
silla Cemetery Association.
Ground for the cemetery was set
aside during the past year, and
plans are now being formulated
for beautification of the plot.
It is hoped to have a suitable
name for the cemetery before
the dedicatory service. To se
lect that name, the Association
is sponsoring a contest, in which
pupils of Wasilla school have
been invited to participate. A
prize will be awarded the stu
dent submitting the most suit
able name.
Further plans for the Memor
ial Day dedication will be an
nounced later, a committee
spokesman said.
SPORTSMEN TO SPONSOR
COLONY DAY EVENTS
Plans for the club’s part in the
coming Colony Day celebration
on May 29 and 30 occupied most
of the time of the membership
of the Matanuska Valley Sports
men last Wednesday evening.
The club has been asked to take
charge of events for a field day
on Sunday afternoon, and to
sponsor a competitive trapshoot
and flycasting contest. One mem
ber suggested that field trials
also be held for retrievers.
Committeemen on the shoot
ing committee, the range com
mittee and a fisherman’s commit
tee made up of Dick Carlson, Bob
Walker and Chek Sandvik, all
were asked to meet with the
Sportsmen’s board of directors
next Monday to further plan for
Colony Day. That meeting will
be held at 7:30 in the Palmer
Fountain.
In regular order of club busi
ness, it was decided to close the
charter on May 15, in order that
arrangements may be completed
for affiliation with the National
Rifle Association. Local member
ships will continue to be accept
ed, but no one will be considered
a charter member who enters
the club alter May 15.
To further comply with NRA
regulations, by-laws were
changed to require citizenship or
declared intention of citizenship
of all club members; two addi
tional officers, a range officer
and an instructor, were elected.
Claude Carroll and Dan Fleming
were named to those positions.
Ralph Goodrich reported that
the committee which was asked 1
to investigate sites for a rifle1
range had looked at the site of-1
fered by I. M. Sandvik. “It was
so good, and it looked so exactly,
suited to our purpose that we!
didn’t look any farther,” Mr. I
(Continued on Page 3)
Juniors Plan Prom,
Senior Banquet
For Saturday
The junior prom, social high
light of the high school year,
is to be held in the Palmer gym
nasium on Saturday, May 8, it
was announced this week by a
spokesman for the junior class.
The prom is to begin at 9 o’clock.
Juniors and seniors, all alumni,
and parents of junior and senior
class members are invited to at
tend.
In addition, members of the
two classes are mailing invita
tions to friends who will be
their prom guests. However
everyone receiving an invitation
must present it at the door to
gain entrance to the gym on Sat
urday.
Juniors, whose planning ar
rangements are in the hands of
Wayne Bouwens, Joanne Frank
and Marg Mielke, are reluctant
to outline details for the eve
ning. which is being planned as
a surprise for the departing sen
iors. They did reveal that the
evening’s theme is “Southern
Mansions.’’ The Carlson orches
tra will play for dancing.
The prom will be preceded by
a banquet to be held in the
school lunchroom at 7 o’clock.
Mrs. Jack Cope, Mrs. George
Geiwitz and Mrs. Dick Carlson,
mothers of junior students, will
cook the dinner.
Early in the evening, a king
and queen will be elected from
the senior class to reign over
the prom.
Other junior committees work
ing on prom arrangements in
clude:
Entertainment, Vivian Meiers
and Mary Ann Michalek; ban
quet. Gayle Eckert, Norma Loy
er, Marianne Bryant and Esther
Kerttula; menu, Leann Wade
and Lewis Geiwitz.
John Witt Returns
John Witt of the Valley Clean
ers, who spent the winter Out
side, returned to Palmer early
this week. He made the trip
north by boat, but Mrs. Witt is
returning over the Alaska High
way. She is expected to arrive
within the next few days.
Colony Day
To Be Revived
On May 29,30
A month-end celebration on
May 29 and 30 this year, being
planned by a group of townspeo
ple, will revive Colony Day in
the Valley. Originally planned
to memorialize the arrival of the
Valley’s first farmers settled
here by the government, Colony
Day, 1948, is dedicated to the
future—Palmer’s future on the
air maps of Alaska.
All proceeds from the numer
ous events now being scheduled
as a part of the two-day program
will be turned over to the Palmer
Airport Association. The money
will be used to complete pay
ments due on airport land.
Among activities scheduled
for the holiday weekend are a
dance and Bingo party, a free
barbecue, rides by air and bus
over and through the Valley,
a field day sponsored by the
Matanuska Valley Sportsmen,
softball games, a Irapshoot and
flycasting contest sponsored by
the Matanuska Valley Sports
men, the giving away of an
aluminum boat and outboard
motor and a refrigerator, and
a babv contest.
Still other events may be add
ed within the next day or two, if
time permits their preparation
by May 29.
All fraternal and civic organi
zations in the Valley are asked
to assist with some portion of
the program. Definite tasks were
assigned to a number of groups
at the business men’s meeting
last Monday. Still other assign
ments will be made at the meet
ing to be held next Monday.
It was pointed out by Rol
and Snodgrass, who reviewed
airport accomplishments be
fore a joint meeting of the
Chamber of Commerce board
of directors and the airport as
sociation's board of directors
last Monday, that the need for
immediate funds is urgent.
A total of $3,000 is still owed
on airport land. The money all
will be past due on June 1, and
the notes bear interest.
At Tuesday’s meeting Mr.
Snodgrass repeated his summary
of airport progress before the
larger group of businessmen
there. Jack Maze, who had been
acting as temporary chairman,
then called for the election of a
permanent head before settling
to business on Colony Day plans.
Seven men refused the chairman
ship, and Mr. Maze at last re
luctantly agreed to continue in
that position.
Plans for both days of the
Colony Day period then were
outlined. Fred Wallace was
asked to meet with members of
the Elks lodge in Anchorage,
to invite them to return to
Palmer for a second dance. In
that event they would bring
their own music, and would
probably arrive in the Valley
by special train.
Dr. F. R. Sims and Bob Johns
of the American Legion were
given the responsibility of mak
ing all arrangements for this
dance.
Ladies of the Grange were
named as the committee in
charge of the Bingo game.
Whether that game would be
held just preceding the dance,
which it is hoped can be held in
the Palmer gym, or would be de
(Continued on Back Page)