The Frontiersman
PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
THY A FRONTIERSMAN
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VOLUME 7, NUMBER 29
PALMER, ALASKA, THURSDAY, MAY 13. 1954
PRICE TEN CENTS
Palmer Breaks Five
Records; Takes Meet
Palmer trackmen not only far
out-shown their opponents, but
broke numerous records during
the annual Western Alaska High
School track and field meet held
in Palmer last Saturday.
The local team piled up a total
of 86 5/6 points, more than their
•opponent teams from Anchorage
and Fairbanks earned together.
Fairbanks took second place
•with a total of 38% points, while
Anchorage took the low end of
the totem pole with 28 2/3 points.
Of the seven new Territorial
records set in Saturday’s meet,
Palmer men took honors in five,
with Riley (Bongo) Curtis heav
ing the discus 120 feet, 8% in
ches—32 inches over Bob Lock
er’s previous record of 118 feet.
Jerry Hemmer topped last year’s
record of 14.5 seconds in the 110
yard hurdles by .2 seconds. Pal
mer’s track team, of which both
Curtis and Hemmer were mem
bers, broke their own previous
ly set record time of L40 with a
new time of 1:34.3.
Other Palmer record-breakers'
were Fred Wilkes, and Don In
galls, the latter pushing the pole
•vault record of 9 feet, two inches
up another half inch. Wilkes ex
celled in the high hurdles. Ben
Ross, Bob Barry, and Bob Smith
added many points to /heir team’s
final total.
Ideal weather brought out a
sizable crowd that stayed with
Strandberg Feels
Airport Access
Road is Assured
-I feel confident that we are
going to be able to- get the access
road built into the airport park
ing area as requested by the City
of Palmer and various other
members of the community”,
Harold Strandberg, third division
member, Territorial Board of
Hoad Commissioners wrote this
week to Alfred V. Hagen, secre
tary of the Matanuska Valley Re
publican Club.
His letter was in reply to the
many petitions which he receiv
ed from the Valley, covering the
road problems of the Palmer
Wasilla area. “It would be al
most impossible fef ms an*
swer all these petitions individu
ally,” he said. “Please express my
.gratitude to the people of the
Valley for sending them in.
Strandberg said he has dis
cussed the matter with Gene
'White of the Alaska Road Com
mission: and that he intends to
go into the matter in more detail
at a later meeting, and added
ithat he feels sure the people of
-j;he valley will be given every
possible consideration.
NEW EQUIPMENT
BEING INSTALLED
IN CO-OP UNITS
A pew cooler unit being in
stalled in the Co-Op produce de
partment root cellar will pro
vide storage room for several ad
ditional tons of potatoes, Free
Zieke, Co-Op general manage]
announced this week.
Another new feature at tht
Co-Op is a new model Pure-Pal
machine being installed thi:
week in the Palmer processing
■plant. The old machine will b<
over-hauled and moved to th<
•Co-Op’s new plant in Fairbanks
the events throughout the day,
offering encouragement to their
favorites. Three buses from An
chorage brought team members
and the Pep club to Palmer.
Fairbanks team members, num
bering 20, arrived in Palmer the
day before the track meet.
I___—,
OPERETTA SET FOR
TOMORROW NIGHT
Tickets for “The Count and
the Co-ed’’, operetta in two
parts to be presented tomor
row night by members of the
Palmer High School chorus,
are selling well, students re
ported this week.
The operetta will be pre
sented at a matinee this after
noon for students. Tomorrow
night the program will begin
at 8:00 p.m. in the Palmer
School gymnasium. The public
is invited to attend.
Two Palmer Youths
Chosen to Attend
National Assembly
Jeanetta Lindsey and Blake
McKinley, both of Palmer, have
been chosen" tb represent fne'
Youth of the Yukon Presbytery
at the National Assembly of
Westminister Fellowship to be
held at the University of Illinois
June 30 to July 6 this year.
Miss Lindsey was chosen for
the honor by a board of judges
appointed by the Westminister
Fellowship of the Yukon Pres
bytery last December. Candida
tes were judged on their leader
ship in youth activities, their
personality traits, and their
Christian service. Each High
Westminister Fellowship group in
the Yukon Presbytery elected a
delegate to be considered by the
judges. Two candidates were
chosen from the high school age
groups, Miss Lindsey and Rita
Thomas of Fairbanks.
Blake McKinley was elected as
one of two college age delegates
to attend the National Assembly
from the University of Alaska.
McKinley is a member of the
United Protestant Church of Pal
ti'iSr and is active in the West
minister Fellowship on the Uni
versity campus,
The delegates will travel by air
to the assembly. The expenses
are being shared by the United
Protestant Church, the National
Mission Board of the Presbyteri
an Church, and by the delegates
themselves. Both young people
plan to visit family and friends
(Continued on page 8)
Kiwanians Give $100
To Recreation Council
At a meeting of the board of
directors of the Palmer Kiwanis
Club on May 10, directors an
nounced that the club has turn
ed the sum of $900 over to the
Youth Services Committee of the
organization. The $900 represents
net proceeds of the 1954 Kiwanis
minstrel show and will be usee
in the various youth activitie;
of the committee.
At a special meeting of th<
Youth Services committee, i
was announced that $100 woul<
immediately be turned over tc
* the Palmer Area * Recreatiol
j Council for use in youth activ
| ities.
Radio Equipment
Expected for Area
Civil Defense
Approximately $2,800 worth of
radio equipment, including mo
bile units, is expected in the local
area by the Greater Palmer Civil
Defense organization, Edward
Imme, greater Palmer area driec
tor announced at the May 6 meet
ing. The shipment is expected to
arrive sometimes in July, he ad
ded, and will be used throughout
the area to coordinate Civil De
fense activities. At the present
time CD officials are attempting
to get a CD frequency to permit
wider use of the equipment.
Thirty-two stretchers and other
medical supplies are' also expect
ed to be shipped to the Palmer
area.
On June 14 and 15 there will
be a nation-wide practice alert,
Director Imme announced. This
will probably be only a paper ex
ercise as far as the local group
is concerned, although this will
be decided later by area direc
tors.
Director Imme announced area
directors as follows: Palmer Area
No. 1 (city and out-lying area):
Ralph Moore. Palmer Area No. 2
(Wasilla): Pat Carter. Palmer
Area No. 3 (Matanuska and Ex
periment Farm): Floyd Perkins.
Palmer Area No. 4 (Butte) Bill
Eldridge, and Palmer Area No.
5 (Sutton and Eska): Phil O’Neill.
Each area director will conduct
an enlistment program, keep his
own records, keep a file of iden
tification cards, and call his own
area meetings. Coordination of
the area organizations will be
conducted under the supervision
of the Greater Palmer Area di
rector and his staff. An attempt
will be made to obtain the ser
vices of a first aid instructor for
thos requiring or desiring first
aid class work, Director Imme
said.
Billboards Subject
Of Injunctions
Irving Reed, territorial high
way engineer, last week took
active steps to enforce the out
door advertising act by removing
two signs in the Spenard area.
Owners of the signs have started
injunction proceedings, and fur
ther action will depend in part
on the outcome of this case, he
stat&d in a letter to the Riverben
Homemakers’ club of Palmer
However, he feels that "It will
not be SO hard to get illegal ad
vertisements and billboards re
moved, since the Territorial Po
lice have promised their cooper
ation, as it will be in finding out
about such advertising and who
the owners are.
“I should really be in a posi
tion to hire a man to do this work
on a full time job for several
months so as to cover all of Al
aska, but I just can't do it under
the preesnt set-up (financial).
This summer I intend to go all
over the roads myself as part
of my duty as territorial highway
engineer, and in doing this I will
get a record of all signs that are
up illegally.”
Meanwhile, Mr. Reed has had
designed by his office, a very at
tractive and comparatively in
; expensive sign in the AlaskE
motif, based on the signs usee
> by the Forest Service, with pro
; visions of the Outdoor Advertis
l ing Act. All known advertiser!
have been mailed letters advis
i ing them of the laws pertaininf
- to outdoor advertising signs an<
(Continued on page 8)
FIRE FIGHTERS
TO MEET MONDAY;
S£CRE MEN NEEDED
There will be a training meet
ing for all City volunteer fire
fighters on Monday night, May
17 at the City Clerk’s office in
the Wright building at 7:30 p.m.
All members are urged to attend,
Fire Chief Joseph Gallant said
in making the announcement.
In addition to regular mem
bers, all men" interested in join
ing are invited to attend. There
is a need for additional men, he
pointed out.
All business firms in the City
are urged to appoint a member
of their staff as a fire fighter.
Those firms who employ a regu
lar member of the fire depart
ment may have this man wet
down that section of street near
their place of business by using
the City fire hydrant and hose.
However, unless the employee is
a regular member of the fire
department this arrangement can
not be utilized.
Volunteer fire fighters should
be at least 21 years of age; of
sound physical condition; attend
training meetings; have a work
ing knowledge of trucks and
equipment, and whenever pos
sible, attend all fires and return
to fire house to take care of
equipment, following a fire.
Spring Fires
Keep Local
Fire Fighters Busy
The City of Palmer volunteer
fire fighters and the local Fire
Guard Station have been kept
busy this past week taking care
of fires that have gotten out of
control of property owners.
The City Department was call
ed out on May 6 to the rear of
the Kosloskv building where ap
proximately $50 damage was
caused, apparently from rubbish
burning. The same night fire
fighters from both the City de
partment and the Fire Guard
Station- were called on a large
grass and brush fire on Bailey
Hill. On May 10 the city truck
went to the Oliver Smith farm
where fire burning in a neigh
bor’s fence row got out of con
trol and caused a grass fire. An
other city run of short duration
was on May 11 near the Losslng
property in town when rubbish
being burned set the grass on
fir&.
Fife control aids of the Bureau
of Land Management fire guard
station have been kept busy no1
only in this area, but throughoul
the territory. A fire, caused frorr
brush-burning, destroyed approx
imately four acres on the nort?
shore * at Big Lake early thi:
week. An unattended campfin
at the Finger Lake camp ground:
caused a small fire, and yester
day a fire of undetermined orig
in six miles north of Willow wa:
reported. Other fires burning ii
the territory at present is a 640
acre fire at McGrath and five fir
es in the Fairbanks region, thre<
of which are burning out of con
trol. At the present time ther
are no fires in the Anchorage
area, it was reported.
Fire Control Aid Jerry Flande
of the local station, and Cit;
Fire Cheif Joseph Gallant urg
picnickers, campers, and home
i owners to emphasize careful us
■ of campfires and their complet
; extinguishment before leavin
1 the area in which they are burn
ing.
Airline Considering
Reaular Palmer Stop
During the Airmen’s Party,
held in honor of the women pi
lot’s association: of 99’s, guest
speaker Fred Zieke of the local
Co-Op and A1 Dickow of the
Airmen’s Association announced
that negotiations are under way
with Alaska Airlines to make
Palmer a regular stop of the air
I ANCHORAGE CHORUS
TO SING HERE JUNE 8
The Anchorage Community ;
Chorus, under the direction of
Mrs. Mary Hale, will present
a program in the Palmer |>
School auditorium Tuesday, ||
June 8 at 8:30 p m. Forty per
formers, who comprise the
traveling chorus, will partici- I;
pate. <;
The program, which is being !;
sponsored by the Northland j;
Pioneer Grange, should prove j;
to be a real treat to music
lovers of the valley. Further j;
details will appear in next ;[
week’s issue of The Frontiers- \
man. ;i
PIGGLY-WIGGLY
OPENS MEAT DEPT.
The meat department of the
Piggly Wiggly Store, now own
ers of the Palmer Cold Storage,
is now open, Kenneth Lynn,
store manager announced this
week. The new Palmer business
will not be completed for about
three months, Lynn said. Exten
sive alterations and re-building
are planned fo make the present
site a modern, up-to-date Piggly
Wiggly Store, comparable to
those operated by the company in
the Anchorage area.
At the present time only the#
meat and locker departments will
be operated. In> the meat depart
ment air-fresh meats will be of
fere for sale at Anchorage prices,
Lynn announced. In addition,
dairy and bakery products, cold
meats and locker beef may also
be obtained.
When completed the mew store
will have extensive self-service
display counters and will feature
fresh produce as well as other
food staples.
Lynn, his wife and five-yeai1
old daughter have moved to Pal
mer and plan to make their home
in the Valley.
line. Zieke told those present
that between 800 and 1,000
pounds of freight a day could be
assured the airline. Results of
future negotiations will be an
nounced as soon as they are firm
ed up, Zieke said.
"The field of aviation is by no
means confined to men”, A1
Hughland, CAA asisstant region
al administrator, and principal
speaker at the party. ‘‘Many
‘First’ and records have been es
tablished by the women pilots,”
he added in paying tribute to the
“petticoat” flyers. Hughland
spoke briefly on the functions of
the CAA in its position of “speed
cops of the air”.
Members of the 99’s present at
the party were Helen Stoddard,
chairman of the Anchorage chapi
ter, and Dorothy Burns, Decema
Andresen, Helen Snyder, Flor
ence Finhop, Lois Wise, Margar
et Cook, Dale Ulrich, and Rene
Neilsen, the latter who is the
only local member of the chap
ter.
Following the planned pro
gram, dancing was enjoyed by
the large attendance of Anchor
age and Palmer people.
P. A. R. C. Plans
Summer Playground
During the first board meeting
of the recently organized Pal
mer Area Recreation Council,
committees were named by Nor
man Rousey, president; tentative
plans for a supervised summer
playground were made, and a
special committee named to work
with the school board on acquir
ing land for a recreation area.
Charles Wilson, Leo Lucas, and
Emil Ganschow were named to
the special committee and will
work with the school board on
acquiring the land located be
yond Central School. If the area
is available, it will be leveled off
and seeded this summer, it was
planned.
A letter to the Matanuska Val
ley Fair Association was drafted,
requesting the use of the fair
grounds and one building for a
six-week period this summer,
during which supervised recrea
tion would be conducted. *
Committee members named
were: Finance: Ed Smith, H. J.
Hodgson, Ben Cabo, and Dr. C.
C. Bailey. Membership: Emile
(Continued on page 8)
BALTHROP
KENNETH
Evangelist
Dallas
Texas
Dedication Revival
Meeting
First Baptist Church
PALMER, ALASKA
NEW AUDITORIUM
7:45 Each Evening
MAY 16 — MAY 23
SPECIAL MUSIC
BOOSTER BAND
GOSPEL PREACHING
Religious films: 7:45 each
Sunday night — May 16 and
May 23
EVERYONE INVITED