Vol. 1, No. 70
Palmer, Alaska, June 7, 1948
Ten Cents
The front of the Neal Wright Building and the adjoining Palmer Cocktail Bar crumple to
the sidewalk in Monday's blaze, as firemen battle vainly to protect the building. Two mem
bers of the Valley Volunteer Fire Association may be seen in the lower right hand corner of the
photo, where they are playing streams of water on the roof of the Ron-Da-Voo Cafe. Flames
can be glimpsed flickering over the top of the brick firewall which protected other buildings
in the block from fire damage. The rear and side walls of the Neal Wright Building also re
mained erect, when the fire finally subsided. Windows in the Valley Theater, faintly visible
at the far left, were cracked and shattered by the intense heat. (Alaska Airlines Photo by
R. E. Renkerl)
Firemen Plan
Benefit Dance
JT r
For Saturday
To fatten a fire-thinned bank
roll. the Valley Volunteer Fire
Association is sponsoring a mem
bership and benefit dance to be
held in Palmer's gymnasium to
morrow evening, it was an
nounced today by A1 Hagen, As
sociation chairman.
lvir. tiagen reports tnat de
partment expenses on the Val
ley’s most recent and disastrous
fire in the Neal Wright Building
totalled $150. That sum repre
sented almost the entire balance
of the volunteers.
Last Monday’s expenses in
cluded gasoline for the Asso
ciation trucks, food for Fort
Richardson firemen who shared
in firefighting duties, wages for
nightwatchmen who stayed on
duty all night, and replacements
to damaged equipment. Axes
were broken or lost, hose fit
tings disappeared, and one length
of hose was ruined when it was
run over by a car.
O. R. Mitchell, fire chief and
board member, said conditions
I are critical for the Volunteer
fire department. At present,
there is not even enough money
in the treasury to purchase gaso
line for the Association’s two
■ trucks.
Saturday’s dance is expected
to build a substantial balance
for the department, for a booth
will be set up at the dance for
the sale of Association member
ships. A flat fee of $10 will be
I charged for all homes, lodges,
farms and churches. Business
houses will be asked to pay from
$25 to $75, depending upon the
type and size of business.
Hereafter, whenever trucks of
hje Valley Volunteer Fire As
sociation make a run to assist
anyone outside the membership
of the Association, a fee of $75
will be charged. Mr. Hagen said.
Dance tickets and Association
(Continued on back page)
GI’s Are Fined
For Sheep Killing
Tried and convicted of shoot
ing sheep out of season, two Fort
Richardson soldiers received
heavy fines in commissioner’s
court last week. The men, Cpl.
Franklin Kruse and Sgt. George
Strickland, were fined $150 each
for the offense.
The game law violation oc
curred at Mile 97 of the Glen
Highway on May 15. The pair
was apprehended by the Fort
Richardson game warden, who
brought charges against them.
The men said they saw the
sheep within easy range, so they
fired at the animals. Neither
made any attempt to reach the
sheep after bringing them down.
Both men professed ignorance
of Alaska’s game laws, although
both had been in the territory
for at least a year.
Valley Mother Given
Gold Star Button
Mrs. Carl Rasmussen, a mem
ber of the American Legion Aux
iliary of Palmer, was honored
at Memorial Day services at the
Fort Richardson cemetery last
Monday. Mrs. Rasmussen was
one of four Alaskan mothers to
receive Gold Star buttons at this
service.
Buttons were presented by
Maj. Gen. Stanley Scott to Mrs.
Rasmussen and to Mrs. Goldie
R. Brady of Fort Richardson,
Mrs. Aimer J. Peterson of An
chorage and Mrs. John F. Man
ders of Anchorage.
Mine Roads Open
Roads to the mines above Pal
mer at last have been opened to
automobile traffic again, it was
announced this week. The Snow
bird, Fern and Gold Creek mines
all may be reached by car.
COLONY DAY PROGRAM
IS HUGE SUCCESS
The Valley’s thirteenth an
nual Colony Day is only history
now, but it will be memorable
history for some time to come,
for members of the planning
committee consider it an unquali
fied success.
An estimated 2,000 visitors
poured into Palmer by road and
rail for the two-day weekend. A
scheduled excursion train of The
Alaska Railroad was jammed to
capacity early Sunday morning,
and a second section with three
additional cars had to be added
an hour later
Both barbecued beef and
beans disappeared with alarm
ing rapidity. L. C. Stock, in
charge of that part of the day,
estimates that between 1,200
and 1.500 hungry visitors filed
through the barbecue line in
45 minutes.
The two-day holiday was
launched with a highly success
ful dance, held Saturday night
in the Palmer gymnasium. Bill
Roark of the Moose Lodge was
in charge.
The sports events, which also
began on Saturday, continued
throughout the day on Sunday.
The opening encounter in the
four-team softball tournament
saw the Shamrocks downing the
Jonesville Miners in an easy
17-2 effort.
The Butte squad took the
measure of The Alaska Rail
road team in Sunday's first
game, by a close 7-4 count.
Trailing by one run which the
Railroaders pushed across in
the fifth inning, the Butte
nine sewed up the game in
the last half of the seventh,
when Sherman homered with
two men on.
The Miners downed the Rail
roaders for their second defeat
of the day late Sunday after
noon, when they chalked up a
7-5 victory, for the day’s closest
score. The Shamrocks treated
their Butte cousins roughly in
the championship game, when
(Continued on Page 5)
Monday Fire Razes
Neal Wright Building
Fire completely destroyed one of Palmer’s most modern build
ings this week, when the just-finished Neal Wright Building was
burned to the ground Monday evening. The structure had taken
almost two years to build and cost an estimated $145,000.
Board Seeks
Office Space
For Doctor
The ever-puzzling problem of
how to build a hospital without
a chunky building bankroll was
temporarily pushed aside by the
board of directors of the Valley
Hospital Association last Tues
day evening, while they dealt
with the more immediate situa
tion of what to do with a doctor
without the tools of his trade and
^a place in which to wield them.
Dr. R. E. Garrett, whose office
and all its equipment and sup
plies was destroyed in last Mon
day’s fire, was present at the
meeting to ask for help in the
establishment of a new office.
He asked that the board help
him secure office quarters and
that he be granted permission
to use hospital instruments until
such time as he could replace
his own.
It was decided that the board
would purchase a Quonset hut,
which has been listed for sale
by the Seventh Day Adventist
Mission for $750. The hut is to
be moved to the site of the pres
ent hospital, where Dr. Garrett
will set up his office in a portion
of it. Another portion of the
building will be used for hos
pital offices and for hospital
storage space.
Moving of the Quonset was
begun yesterday by Chek Sand
vik. Dr. Garrett expects to be
established in his new quarters
and ready to receive patients
there within the next day or
two.
lvieanwrme, ine nospitai ooara
continues to weigh the matter
of the construction of a new
hospital this year against the al
ternative of rehabilitating and
enlarging the present temporary
quarters for another year.
Both Dr. Garrett and Miss
Ethel Dale, present hospital man
ager, stated flatly that “some
thing will have to be done be
fore winter. We can’t spend an
other winter in that building as
it is now.” Both said they felt
they would be forced to leave
the Valley, if some steps were
not taken to remedy the exist
ing situation. Dr. Garrett asked
the board if they were prepared
to declare, under bond, that the
new structure would be ready
by freeze-up. The question was
unanswered.
Miss Dale said the most press- ■
ing problem was no longer bed ‘
space, but was a visitor traffic j
problem and storage space. When •
assured that a Quonset hut •
would be moved to the hospital
area to provide offices for Dr.
Garrett, she said removing hos- (
pital offices to that building
would take care of some of the j
more pressing problems. The ;
present office space would be i
• (Continued on Page 5) ]
’ Ul concrete on three sides, the
new building was erected in a
hollow rectangle about the origi
nal frame structure which faced
Palmer’s main street. It was in
the walls of this original build
ing, at a spot above the floor
level and about eight or 10 feet
back from the front of the store,
that flames broke out at 8:20
last Monday evening.
The fire was first noticed by
Dave Rush, cab driver, who
screamed a warning. Delbert An
derson and Chuck Watkinson,
store employes, rushed to the
basement carrying a hose, in an
attempt to quench the fire there.
They said the fire could be heard
fiercely crackling between the
walls at an above-the-floor level.
Just as they reached the base
ment floor, light globes began to
click off as fire burned out the
basement wiring.
In a matter of seconds the
basement was in complete dark
ness and was filled with a heavy
penetrating smoke. Only by
crawling on their hands and
knees along the length of the
hose they had dragged to the
basement, were Anderson and
Watkinson able to regain the
safety of the upper floor.
Dr. R. E. Garrett, speaking of
the situation later, said that in
another two minutes neither man
would have escaped. Watkinson
was slightly cut about the head
in struggling through the dark
ened basement, and Anderson
suffered a broken finger and fac
ial bruises.
Employes left the building in
such haste that contents of cash
drawers could not be salvaged.
At least $10,000 is believed to
have been stored in the office
safe; this figure represents re
ceipts taken in during the Colony
Day celebration by the drug store
and adjoining Palmer Cocktail
Bar.
At press-time the safe still had
not been opened. However it is
believed the safe is fireproof and
that its contents can be salvaged.
Its opening awaits the arrival of
(Continued on back page)
Rasmussens Lose
Brooder House
In Morning Fire
Mr. and Mrs. Carl Rasmussen
this week expressed their grati
tude to neighbors and to mem
bers of the Valley Volunteer Fire
Association for their prompt re
sponse to last week’s alarm,
when a brooderhouse on the Ras
mussen farm burned.
The alarm was turned in by
Chuck Watkinson, and fire equip
ment reported for duty at the
Rasmussen farm in a very few
minutes. The brooderhouse was
destroyed, but no other farm
property was damaged. Mr. Ras
mussen estimated his loss at
about $100.
Baby chickens, which were de
livered to the Rasmussens on the
day of the fire, were sold to R.
E. Brock. Mr. Rasmussen, with
an eye on the Valley’s potential
future in the egg market, plans
to build a new brooderhouse in
his barn.