Daniels-In The Lion’s Den
There is nothing in life that stands still. Any living thing
must advance. When that advancement slows and halts, then re
gression begins, and the object slips downhill to decay and death.
That fact is as true in civic life as it is in the physical world.
When Palmer and the Matanuska Valley cease to advance and
progress, then they must necessarily slip backward into a coming
obzlivion. There can be no standing still.
The city of Palmer, as well as the entire Valley, is rapidly
approaching a point where decisions must be made that will lead
to new progress. If we fail to make wise and intelligent choices,
then Palmer and the Valley soon must face the loss of the progress
it has attained.
Soon Palmer will be asked to consider some method of
incorporation. That method is still undetermined. Chamber of
Commerce appointees are studying advantages and disadvantages
of union as a municipality, as a public utility district, as a school
district and as a hospital district.
They are expected to bring their findings and recommenda
tions before residents of the Valley sometime this winter. There
will be disadvantages to all plans offered. There is no perfect
path to Utopia; indeed, there is no Utopia. Whatever the final de
cision is, there are certain to be disadvantages for some of us.
However, the time has come when Palmer can no longer
exist without assuming civic responsibility. This sprawling clutter |
of buildings that has reached the proportions of a town must soon '
begin to think and act and govern itself as a town.
*■ Problems are legion. Palmer’s school is bursting at the seams.
There is no civic water system, sewer system, fire department nor
police system. Hospital facilities are inadequate and space is
limited.
There is need for civic planning for future growth. Streets
and alleys wander aimlessly and are sized in assorted widths.
Chamber of Commerce heads hope for new businesses, new terri
torial and Federal enterprise here and for new home builders.
There are now no available homes, nor any office nor business
location in which to lodge new enterprises.
Water and sewer lines are laid without regard to future dev
elopment. The immediate need of private users governs both. Areas
of home owners, almost small towns in themselves, are without
adequate light, water and sewer facilities, and there is no central
plan which offers them hope of any solution to their problems.
Bars and amusement centers are unregulated by municipal
ordinances of any sort. Police protection is limited to the help a
Federal deputy is allowed to give. That help is even more limited
in Palmer than in other spots, because there is no jail here.
* These problems, which are only a few of the many which face
us, cannot be solved overnight. But we must take some steps which
will lead to their solution. That fact was borne home to us at last
week’s special Chamber of Commerce meeting. The need for com
munity planning was emphasized.
There can be no inducement for new enterprise in Palmer,
nor for expansion of present businesses, until we begin systemati
cally to plan for our future. Railroad officials said planned con
struction of enlarged facilities here cannot move forward, until an
orderly community begins to emerge from our present sprawling
growth. Until some indication is given of where a street, a sewer
line, a water line will be, Railroad construction is handcuffed.
* Palmer needs to begin those plans at once. The Chamber of
Commerce cannot act alone. It must have the whole-hearted sup
port of the entire community. When incorporation studies are
completed and findings to be reported, it must have an intelligent,
alert and interested audience with which to discuss those recom
mendations.
We who live in Palmer must make ourselves aware of the
opportunities before us. That awareness must reach much farther
than the immediate circle of personal interest. When the time
comes to voice our decision, our test question must be, “Is this
best for Palmer?’’ rather than “What will this mean to me?”
Valley FRONTIERSMAN
Published each Wednesday and Saturday
Palmer, Alaska
Viola Daniels .Editor
Marilyn Rhodes.advertising manager Anchorage area.
No printed material in the Valley Frontiersman may be re
produced except by permission of the editor.
Subscription rates .75c month
Delivered by carrier in Palmer. Mailed to all points in
Alaska and the United States.
Printed in Anchorage plant of Anchorage Daily Times
Under New Management
Valley Theatre Recreation Center
Lunch Counter, Pool and Billiards
Bowling Alley
Open 3 p. m. to 3 a. m.
First Cuts Made
In.Girls’ Squad
Girls of Palmer high school,
who have been turning out for
basketball practice for several
weeks now, are scheduled to
make their first appearance on
the local iloor very soon. There
is a tentative game scheduled
tor next Saturday evening be
tween hign school girls and the
Weal 3Wright-sponsored town
team.
Coach Mary Marsh has cut her
list of first team eligibles to 12,
in preparation for the event.
However, she has not yet select
ed a starting six. She listed as
the 12 eligibles:
Sophie Vanderpool, Vivien
Meier, Georgia Small, Helen
Stenvall, Nancy Smith, Mary
Ann Micnalek, Norma Jean Loy
er, Leeann Wade, Gayle Eck
ert, Marie Mullan, Roberta Hem
mer and Joanne Frank.
Palmer girls expect to sched
ule a number of games for win
ter competition, but have not
completed definite arrangements
for future games yet.
Valley
Visitors ...
At the Lodge:
James R. Leekley, Petersburg;
Mr. and Mrs. John Bigelow An
chorage; G. H. Wilcox, College;
Earl Nunn, Anchorage; John
Kjeldson, Glenn Johnson, An
chorage; Mr. and Mrs. Harry
Heintz, Glen Allen; Alfred
Schnosbeger, Federico Garcia
Joel Marsh, Edward Kelly, Jo^
seph Cuellar, all of Fort Richard
son;
Fred Neeley, Chestochina; E.
L. Barr, Anchorage; William
Rogers Morris Walker, Fort
Richardson.
Add the dressing to a salad
just before serving so that it does
not soak into the vegetable
greens and make them soigy
r
I
Grade Students
Are Brainy, Too
Grade school students also
were named to an honor roll for
the first six weeks of work. Stu
dents listed in grades four
through eight were:
Jerene Stephan, Janet Ross,
Toni Hilderman, Dennis Ha
mann, Carl Berry, James Bal
loun, fourth grade (Mrs. Harder);
Jennetta Lindsey, Ruth Savchen
ko, fourth grade (Miss Marsh);
Thomas Boardman, Barbara
Kindgren, David McKenzie, Billy
Nelson, Douglas Bixby, Leona
Lucas, fifth grade (Mrs. Smart);
Margie Huntley, Dorothy Hoff
man, sixth grade (Mrs. Pine);
Ralph Kircher, Alma Roark, Ne
ola Sandvik, sixth grade (Miss
Black); Robert Hartman, Geral
dine Kindgren, seventh grade;
Joanna Rich, Betty Harris, Doyle
Ross, Violet Werner, Delores
Lentz, eighth grade.
Illlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllillllll
Win School Honors
Basketball does take brains.
Boys of the senior class proved
that last week, when four squad
members, two of them on the
first team, were named on the
honor roll. There were 15 Palmer
high school students who won
recognition for grades at the com
pletion of the first six weeks of
work.
Two high school girls, Evelyn
Foster, a senior, and Sarah
Smith, a freshman, had a straight
A record for the period.
Students who had no grade
lower than a B minus for the
grade period included:
Robert Graham, Donald Irwin,
Herbert Ising, Ray Puhl, seniors;
Marianne Bryant, Gayle Eckert,
Esther Kertula, juniors; Marilyn
Harris, Roberta Hemmer, J. O.
Holland, Hilda Stenvall, sopho
mores; Nancy Frank, Jean Smith,
freshmen.
Illlllllllllllllllllllllliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiu
...
Hopkins Popcorn &
Nut Shop
CARAMEL CORN, POPCORN
BALLS, ROASTED NUTS
ALL NUTS ROASTED IN OUR OWN SHOP
Located Next Door to Charlie*s Place
'i
SPECIAL OFFERING
ALO-070L-80
FIXED PRICE
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At
ANCHORAGE. ALASKA
See This Property at the Fort Richardson Surplus Property Yard
" As Is ————-Where Is_
UNIT COOLERS
TOILETRIES
TRAILERS
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BUSES
Miscellaneous Equipment
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(Located at Valdez)
GENERATOR SETS
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to 4:30 p. m. November 12th through November 18th, except Saturday and Sun
day. Complete your sale transaction at the War Assets Administration office dur
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