Vol. 1, No. 68
Palmer, Alaska, May 25, 1948
Ten Cents
Federal Aid May Help Develop Palmer
-;-• _
C of C Census
Reveals S71
Live In City
According to the most au
thoritative figures possible to get,
there are now 571 people living
within the municipal boundaries
of Palmer, it was announced this
week by Jack Maze, president
-*of the Valley Chamber of Com
merce. Mr. Maze estimates that
this figure represents a popula
tion increase of 411 per cent
since 1939.
The census was undertaken to
supply needed information to
several government agencies
which recently have queried the
Valley Chamber of Commerce
concerning the number of resi
dents here. The latest questions
came from the Alaska Housing
Authority, which also requested
estimates as to increased home
construction since 1939.
Using the only figures obtain
able, Mr. Maze estimated that
family dwelling units in this
same area of Palmer have in
creased 310 per cent since 1939.
Quill and Scroll
Chapter Is
Initiated In PHS
Eight students of Palmer high
school were admitted to member
ship in Quill and Scroll, nation
al journalism society, at last
week’s award assembly. This is
the first year that a Quill and
Scroll chapter has been estab
lished in the local high school.
Purpose of the organization is
to raise journalism standards and
to interest high school students
in this field of work.
Qualifications for membership
require that candidates must
have served on the staff of a
school newspaper, yearbook,
magazine or handbook, they
must have attained upper class
or post-graduate standing, they
must stand in the upper third of
their class scholastically, they
must have performed superior
work in editing, writing or busi
ness management, they must
bear the recommendation of the
school’s principal or publication
advisor and they must be ap
proved by the executive secre
? tary of the society.
The eight Palmer seniors who
were admitted to charter mem
bership in Quill and Scroll were:
Don Irwin, Bob Graham,
Duane Huntley, Evelyn Foster.
Noel Woods, Evon DeLand, Mar
ianne Bryant and Don Hutchin
son.
MONTANA MEN VISIT
Several of the Great Falls,
Mont., members of the Chamber
of Commerce tour which visited
in Anchorage last week motored
to the Valley on Saturday morn
» ing. They were accompanied by
a United Press photographer and
St were escorted on a tour of Valley
points of interest by M. D. Snod
r grass. All of them expressed
^ great interest in the Valley and
"were unanimous in their state
ffl ment that they intended to re
U tujrn sometime.
Soil Men Analyze Alaska’s Woes
Frank Linn, Lyndon Funk and
Max Sherrod, three members of
the Alaska Soil Conservation
Board, last week released for
publication the district program
of the Soil Conservation Service
for Alaska. The three board
members, in company with ad
visory committee members C.
W. Peters, Frank Heintzleman,
I. M. C. Anderson, Don Irwin.
Loren T. Oldroyd and G. W.
Gasser, have been working on
the Alaskan program for the
last several months.
The published report, pro
duced in mimeographed form, j
outlines in brief the purpose of
the Soil Conservation District,
the problems to be faced within
the Alaskan agricultural area,
existing agricultural conditions
alredy prevailing within Alas-!
ka, and planned steps through
which the solution of Alaska’s
farm problems will be attempt
ed.
The Alaska Soil Conservation
Board includes the whole of the
territory within its boundaries.
However the individual prob
lems of the various agricultural
areas will be attacked through
local organization of Soil Con
servation Sub-Districts. Steps to
bring about the formation of
such a district in the Matanuska
Kitchen Fire
Does No Damage
Fire broke out in the Ron-Da
Voo restaurant late last Thurs
day evening as a result of de
fective wiring in the kitchen.
Fortunately the flames were dis
covered soon enough that prompt
action on the part of volunteer
firemen confined the fire to the
restaurant kitchen.
A number of buildings in that
block are of frame construction,
and it was the consensus of fire
men who worked on the blaze
that another five minutes might
t have doomed most of the struc
tures in that block.
The flames were first discov
ered by Mrs. Steve Ward, who
called the fire department im
mediately. Final damage was
negligible, and owner Pete Lu
cey was back in his kitchen and
ready to serve his customers on
the next day.
Don Rates 6 Students
Tops as Teachers
Students most likely to suc
ceed as teachers in the coming
years, according to the profes
sional rating scores released by
“superintendent” Don Irwin at
the conclusion of a recent student
instruction day in Palmer’s class
rooms, are Duane Huntley,
Georgia Small, Evelyn Foster,
Peggy Yohn, Evon DeLand and
Noel Woods.
Don rated those six 95 per cent
higher on his teacher efficiency
scale. Nancy Smith was close be
hind with a rating of 90 per cent,
while Earl Onkka at 88 per cent
and Sophie Vanderpool and Alice
Ray at 85 per cent were still good
teaching prospects in Don’s book
Valley are outlined in the report
as follows:
Provision for orderly develop
ment of lands, guidance for set
tlement, conservation of soil and
water resources and prevention
of erosion, conducting of capa
bility surveys, development and
dissemination of information on
conservation, broadening the
range of adapted crops, increas
ing the quality and quantity of
adapted crops, promotion of the
conservation of national forests,
promotion of a fire prevention
program, encouragement of the
development of lands of known
agricultural value and the en
couragement and development of
other industries and resources
which will provide a greater
market for the agricultural prod
ucts of the district.
The report points out that
most of Alaska’s land is very
new, with shallow top soil reach
ing to not more than a depth
of six to 10 inches. Because of
the newness of the land, con
stant renewal of the soil is nec
essary through the use of fer
tilizers and crop rotation. The
average acreage in cultivation
in Alaska varies between 15 to
30 acres, with row crops the pri
mary commodity produced for
market, and little crop rotation
Future Artists
Asked To Enroll
Valley-ites interested in en
rolling in the outdoor sketch
classes planned by Miss Meitzi
Bleck are asked to register for
these classes at the Palmer Pho
tographic Center before June 1.
Classes will begin early in June,
if sufficient students enroll be
fore that time.
Miss Bleck said it would be
necessary to have at least six
pupils in order to organize a
class. As many classes will be
practiced.
The condition is brought about,
both by the high cost of clear
ing land and the high prices for
this type of crops. One objective
of the district program is to
bring abont a more complete
production of adapted crops. The
list of crops known to be adapt
ed to gi'owth within the various
areas of Alaska include:
Berries, grain, dairying, live
stock, poultry, potatoes, carrots,
turnips, celery, cabbage, cauli
flower, lettuce and onions.
It is the recommendation of
the report that clearing costs
and methods be studied, in order
that the cost of bringing new
land into production may be
lowered. A credit policy for land
clearing, both public and private,
is advocated in the published
report.
Present problems in the agri
cultural development of Alaska,
which will be studied by Alas
ka’s Soil Conservation Service,
include:
Lack of information on the
soils and the capability of the
land, wind erosion, water eros
ion, loss of the organic content
of soil already under cultivation,
loss of organic content of the
soil in the process of land clear
“ (Continued on back page)
planned as are needed to take
care of those who enroll.
The classes will last for five
weeks and will meet one after
noon each week. Each class will
last about two hours.
The course charge for the
sketch class will be $10 for the
full five-weeks session. This
charge does not include the cost
of supplies. Needed supplies as
sketchbook, pencils and erasers,
may be purchased at the Palmer
Photographic Center.
Students who enroll for the
class will be notified by Miss
Bleck as to the date and meeting
time of their group.
Which Way?
City Must
Incorporate
To Qualify
Palmer stands in line to be re
cipient of a possible $3,000,000
worth of civic improvements un
der the public works program for
Alaska, if the city can meet its
responsibilities toward that pro
gram. That was the information
disclosed this week by Don L. Ir
win and Jack Maze of the Val
ley Chamber of Commerce, who
have been working on requested
information for the project for
the past several weeks.
The project, first planning for
which began in January, 1946,
is based upon proposed legisla
tion for a public works act initi
ated as a part of the development
program for Alaska. This legis
lation was submitted to the Bu
reau of the Budget on March 8
of this year, and soon is to go to
Congress for approval.
An April 6 of this year, Earl
D. McGinty, district engineer in
charge of the Alaska Public
Works program, wrote to the
Matanuska Valley Farmers' Co
operating Association to ask the
type of municipal improvements
needed in Palmer and how the
city was prepared to assume its
percentage of the cost of those
improvements. That letter was
unanswered by the MVFCA. The
letter was given to Chamber of
Commerce representatives late
this month.
In response to a follow-up wire
from Mr. McGinty on April 19,
Mr. Maze and Mr. Irwin together
drew up a list of projects which
it was felt are most urgently
needed by Palmer. This list in
cluded:
A Federal building to cost an
estimated $1,400,000; grading
and gravelling of Palmer’s streets
and alleys to cost an estimated
(Continued on Back Page)
22 PHS Students
Make Honor Roll
At Year’s End
Several new names were add
ed to the final honor roll of
Palmer high school, as released
by Principal James Gray, Jr.,
this week. Students who will be
guests of the Valley Theatre for
the last time this term are:
Freshmen — Nancy Frank,
David Vigdahl, Jean Smith,
Sarah Smith, Gloria CaTroll,
Harvey Hiber.
Sophomores—Roberta Hem
mer, J. C. Holland, Hilda Sten
vall, Edward Cope.
Juniors — Norma Loyer,
Marianne Bryant, Gayle Eck
ert.
Seniors — Evelyn Foster,
Don Irwin, Robert Graham,
Duane Huntley, Clyde Billot,
Don Church, Stanley Hoffman,
Peggy Yohn, Nancy Smith.
Honor students who achieved
top scholastic rating with a
straight A record for the final
period of work for the current
term were:
Freshmen, David Vigdahl and
Sarah Smith; seniors, Evelyn
Foster.