valley Frontiersman
VOL. II.
PALMER, ALASKA AUGUST 25, 1949
No. 38
Mental Needs Investigated Medics
Radio Cab Co.
Will Operate
In The Valley
A new cab company, the Radio
Cab of Palmer, began operation
here early this week. Owned by
Edward Thwaits of Anchorage,
and an affiliate of Hy’s Cab
there, the cabs operate from
headquarters at the Shamrock
Lounge.
Although preparations are not
entirely complete, the cabs have
been on the stand there since
Monday. It is planned, according
to Mr. Thwaits. to install a dozen
or 15 call boxes at strategic
points throughout Palmer, from
which patrons may put through
a direct call for a cab. These
call boxes are expected to be
ready for use by Sept. 1.
Lady cab drivers will operate
the vehicles of Rabio Cab. ‘'We
emphasize quick, courteous serv
ice in our business,” Mr. Thwaits
asserted. "We plan to give Pal
mer and the Valley a really good
cab service.”
Later it is planned to operate
a light delivery and transfer
service in connection with the
cabs. Both businesses will be op
erated on a 24-hour basis.
Assessor Finally Named
For Third Division
George Taylor, a former An
chorage resident, has been
named tax assessor for the Third
Judicial Division of Alaska, it
was learned here recently. Mr.
Taylor’s somewhat belated ap
pointment has delayed the tax
assessing work in the Division,
but the job is now getting under
way.
M. P. Mullaney, territorial tax
commissioner, is expected to be
in Anchorage this week, to assist
Mr. Taylor in getting the work in
gear. Tax forms, by means of
which Alaska residents are ex
pected to assess their own prop
erty. will be mailed to all prop
erty holders.
These forms, now in the mails,
are expected to begin arriving
in the Valley in the very near
future.
IS FARM HEAD
Lucius Ross has been named
to the position of superintendent
of the Matanuska Experiment
farm, it was learned this week.
His appointment fills the vacan
cy created by the leave of ab
sence granted to Stanley Bal
loun.
Another Doctor
Is Named To
Clinic Staff
Another physician. Dr. George
Hale of Anchorage, has been
added to the staff of Doctors’
Clinic here, it was announced
this week. Dr. Hale, an ortho
pedic and surgery specialist, will
be on duty here each Wednesday.
Dr. Hale is a graduate of Har
vard Medical School, class of
1941. He served a tour of duty
in Alaska with the armed forces
during the war. The doctor has
had two years of orthopedic
work at Albany, New York, and
a two-year surgery residence at
Garfield Memorial Hospital in
Washington, D. C.
Since Dr. Hale will be on duty
here in Palmer each Wednesday,
the Clinic’s evening office hours
will be shifted to 7 to 9 p. m.
each Thursday. The Clinic office
is also open until 5 p. m. each
Saturday.
A. W. Pierson Gets
First Caribou
First hunter of the 1949 sea
son to bring in concrete proof of
his marksmanship was A. W.
Pierson. Mr. Pierson bagged a
somewhat skinny specimen of
caribou early this week. His kill
weighed in at just 110 pounds on
the scales of Palmer Cold Stor
age.
rum caiiuuu carcasses entered
the freezing compartments of
Harry Ryan’s Cold Storage on
Monday of this week. The suc
cessful hunters included, in ad
dition to Mr. Pierson, the Ray
Grasser party, which shot two,
and • Buddy” Liebing.
The best of the early kills fell
to the Grasser party, which
brought in one 275-pound ani
mal.
Mr. Ryan reported, that judg
ing from Monday’s results, the
caribou are in average condition
this season—’ The small ones are
poor and the big ones are fat,”
he stated.
The outlook for the majority
of Valley hunters is not too good.
Many hunters find their animal
•so far from access roads that
they refuse to shoot. One local
farmer reported that he saw
several fine animals, but all so
far back that he returned home
without firing a shot.
Back From Duluth
Miss Harriet Mealy, Palmer
grade school teacher, has recent
ly returned from her summer’s
vacation at Duluth, Minn.
Lake George,
On The Wane,
Sets No Records
It’s all over for another year.
Lake George had disgorged its
waters, and the level of Knik
River was slowly receding at
press-time. High-water mark
this year was a measured 16
feet, three inches from the
guard-rail of Knik Bridge, as
compared to a 30 foot, eight inch
level before the waters began to
swell. This measurement is a
good nine inches from a record
high, according to Clyde King,
Sr.
Prosaic is the word which best
describes this year’s event. The
waters took a day longer than
usual to rise, and they brought
nothing unusual in the way of
jams or drifts at the bridges
across the river. “This is the
first year, since I’ve been here,
that we haven’t had to dynamite
drift trees,” Mr. King reported.
However, uneventful though
the phenomenon might have
been, there were almost 1,000
motorists a day who thought the
spectacle was worth a drive
across the Knik Bridge. Mr. King
stated that there were just
three cars a day short of the
1,000 mark, during the seven-day
spill period.
He conceded that hunting sea
son, good weather and general
construction traffic might have
had something to do with that
total, too. And it’s not so high
anyway, he added. A similar
count taken on the Spenard-An
chorage highway in late August,
when there was no special event
to swell traffic, clocked 8,000
cars a day travelling that road.
Airship Pines
For Home Field
The new four-place Bellanca
plane of Gil Anthony last week
end displayed an unexpected
streak of homing pigeon in its
makeup. Landed on the runway
at Anchorage’s Merrill Field to
pick up a passenger, the ship felt
the tugging breezes of its Valley
home flowing across its red
wings, and promptly answered
that tug — without the guiding
hand of Mr. Anthony at the con
trols. However, a combination of
a flying tackle and several wres
tling holds held the ship to the
runway, until Mr. Anthony was
settled in his seat behind the
throttle again. Mr. Anthony now
tosses out an anchor whenever
he parks the Bellanca, in the
hope of discouraging the homing
pigeon strain.
GROUP VISITS
PALMER ON TOUR
OF TERRITORY
A team of doctors, including
Dr. Winfred Overholser, Dr. Dale
C. Cameron, Dr. James Googe
and Dr. C. Earl Albrecht, accom
panied by M. W. Goding of the
Alaska branch of the Depart
ment of the Interior, visited Pal
mer last Sunday. The medical
men and Mr. Goding are touring
Alaska to study the mental
health needs of the territory.
Dr. Albrecht explained that
their tour had a three-fold pur
pose: <1> to investigate the es
tablishment of an educational
program for the prevention of
mental illness, possibly through
the establishment of three men
tal health clinics; <2> to deter
mine if there is need for the es
tablishment of diagnostic and
treatment centers; (3) to investi
gate present mental hospital
care, including methods of com
mitment.
It was explained that the group
also is investigating the need for
and feasibility of construction of
a mental hospital in Alaska. Dr.
Albrecht said that 98 per cent
of the patients at Morningside
Hospital in Oregon are Alaskans.
Alaskans now are committed
there through a contract nego
tiated by the Department of the
Interior, which expires in 1953.
Dr. Albrecht emphasized that
the medical team could do no
more than investigate mental
needs of the territory, and later
make recommendations concern
ing construction of a mental in
stitution in Alaska and concern
ing better methods for commit
ment.
The group met at luncheon
with members of the Chamber
of Commerce, who were invited
to express their opinions. A num
ber of local men spoke of the
need for a mental institution in
Alaska, and the Valley was ad
vanced as the most practical site
for such an institution, in view
of its central location in the
territory, and its accessibility.
Dr. Albrecht pointed out that
it was still too early to discuss
possible sites for an institution,
which Congress has not yet de
cided to build. A bill has been
introduced by Delegate E. L.
Bartlett, calling for the con
struction of a mental hospital in
Alaska, but it has not yet re
ceived committee action.
Asked what Valley residents
'Continued on Page 8)