Vol. 1, No. 74
Palmer Alaska, June 18, 1948
Ten Cents
Mine Layoff
Will Begin
Tomorrow
The Jonesville mine will close
Saturday evening for a vacation
period that is expected to ex
tend over three or four weeks,
it was announced today by mine
manager Harry Hill. Mr. Hill
said he thought that Jonesville
'» would not resume full-scale op
erations before July 15.
The reason for this vacation,
the first at Jonesville for five
years, is that all Army contracts
have been filled, and a coal
stockpile has been built for use
of The Alaska Railroad.
“It's the first tin e we’ve had
it happen,” Mr. Hill commented.
“Heretofore we’ve had to scratch
to fill our contracts, but this
year we had more men than
we’ve had before and a little less
coal to get out.”
It was estimated that about
140 employes of the mine will
be laid off. Many of them al
ready have left Jonesville, some
to take advantage of the salmon
fishing season. Married employes
will not be required to leave
their quarters at E s k a, and
planned maintenance and reno
vation work within the mine
will be carried out by those men
who remain in residence there.
Vacation work plans at the
mine include the re-laying of
ties in the Jonesville yards, work
within the mine which can be
completed only while the mine
is down, and some work at the
washery.
Mr. Hill said the lay-off had
nothing to do with lack of coal
reserves at Jonesville, for there
is still many years of coal min
ing work at the present site.
Drillers are expected to begin
investigation of the western side
of the Jonesville holdings some
time this summer. It is possible
that a new mine may be opened
closer to transportation lines.
Woman, Baby
• Burned By Oil
A Palmer woman and her 22
months old baby, Mrs. Jack Lowe
and daughter Louise, were se
verely burned in an accident at
a mining camp at Folger this
week. Mrs. Lowe recently had
flown to the Strandberg camp
there, where she expected to
spend the summer.
'An oil stove exploded, spray
ing mother and baby with burn
ing oil.
Although Folger is many miles
from hospital facilities of any
sort, the pair were admitted to
Providence Hospital in Anchor
age within four hours of the ac
cident. A plane, on its way from
McGrath to Anchorage, received
a radioed message for help im
mediately after the accident, and
turned back to pick up Mrs. Lowe
and her baby.
Fauries Have Boy
Another son, second for the
couple, was born to Mr. and Mrs.
Leon Faurie last week. The baby
was born at Providence Hospital
... T.... , ■ - - - --!■
Bryan Leaves To
Discuss Power At
REA Conference
H. G. Bryan, representative
of the Rural Electrification Ad
ministration for Alaska, will
leave for Butte, Mont., on June
17, he announced this week. Mrt
Bryan goes to Butte to attend
a regional conference of three
western areas of REA, which in
cludes most of the states west
of the Mississippi River.
Claude Wickard, REA admin
istrator, will open the confer
ence, which is to be attended by
all REA field personnel in the
conference area.
Mr. Bryan said he would con
fer with Mr. Wickard, while at
the conference, concerning the
furthering of Alaska’s REA pro
gram. It is also his intention to
discuss with the REA chief an
application of the Matanuska
Electric Association for addi
tional loan funds in order to con
struct a building. Mr. Bryan
pointed out that MEA’s need for
this building has greatly in
creased since the co-operative's
former offices were destroyed in
the Wright Building fire.
The two REA officials also
will discuss the possible con
struction of an auxiliary steam
plapt near the Matanuska coal
fields. This plant, to be consid
ered a supplementary power
source to Eklutna, would fill in
terim power needs until con
struction at Eklutna could be
completed. Valley users would
draw on the steam plant power
through high - power transmis
sion lines.
The REA agent sails on the
Aleutian on June 17, and will
return to the Valley early in
July. During his absence, D. T.
Lowery will be in charge of the
local office.
Valley To Have
Picture Displays
At Railroad Fair
Displays from the Matanuska
Valley will appear at a railroad
world fair to be held in Chicago
on July 15, it was announced
this week by Jack Maze, presi
dent of the Valley Chamber of
Commerce.
A railroad car is to go on ex
hibition at the Chicago fair fea
turing displays from Alaska’s
four Railbelt cities—Seward, An
chorage, Palmer and Fairbanks.
Material to be exhibited includes
all types of literature, pamphlets
and pictorial layouts.
The Matanuska Valley is to be
represented by a pictorial review
of the Valley now being pre
pared by the Palmer Photo
graphic Center. Typical Valley
scenes and photos of Palmer
businesses are to be included.
The pictorial exhibit is to be
accompanied by copies of the
Chamber of Commerce pamphlet,
information on agricultural op
portunities in the Valley pre
pared by the Alaska Rural Re
habilitation Corporation and a
revised mimeographed leaflet to
be prepared by the Chamber.
At least two million visitors
are expected to attend this rail
i 1 .1 1 ~ »'«•■' '■ ii -'-f
(Photo by Palmer Photographic Center)
Moose Brings Palmer
To Miner’s Doorstep
Plane Still Flies
On Valdez Run
Although the plane of the Val
dez Air Service met disaster be
fore last week’s account of their
charter freight and passenger
service between Valdez and Pal
mer reached print, that will be
continued, according to A1 King
of Palmer.
Mr. King said yesterday that it
is now planned to originate the
flights at Palmer rather than at
Valdez. Pilot Bob Totten of Pal
mer Air Service already has
made two trips to Valdez.
i The ship will make at least one
! trip each week, in order to assure
Valdez of its fresh milk supply.
Other charter trips will be made,
whenever passenger and freight
hauls are necessary.
Mr. King will make charter
arrangements to Valdez for Mr.
Totten.
Baseball Game
Planned Sunday
The first baseball game to be
played in the Valley this season
is scheduled to take place on the!
Palmer diamond at 1:30 Sunday
afternoon. The Butte’s nine will
meet a city team from Anchor
age. A 50-cent admission charge
Blessed with a face that only
a mother (moose) could love,
sprawling spindly legs that even
a rickets cure couldn’t help, and
a very un-roselike fragrance, this
two-weeks old moose baby has
been drawing bigger audiences
at Premier Mine than any Lana
Turner premiere.
He’s the property of Bert Mei
ers at the mine, and he’s been
the object of more watchful care
than many a human baby gets.
All alone and very hungry, he
was herded into Buffalo Mine
by a dog about a week ago.
H i s finders requisitioned a
baby bottle and nipple and at
tempted to round out some of
the hollows where his skeleton
nearly poked through the hide.
But hungry though he was, the
baby moose would have none of
the bottle. Finally someone
thought to cut the end from a
finger stall as substitute for a
nipple, and with the free lunch
coming quick and easy, the baby
took a new lease on life.
Now he’s well on the way to
recovery Mr. Meiers thinks, al
though his audiences say he is
still by far the skinniest, runt
iest baby moose ever discovered.
He still takes milk from the
fingerstall, but he’s growing up
enough to nibble at grasses and
young shrubs growing in the
Meiers dooryard.
Occasionally, in a merrier
mood the young moose consid
I
East-West
Port Runway
To Be Shifted
Palmer's airport has received
the green light from the office
of the Territorial Highway En
gineer. The Airport Association
will proceed immediately with
new construction plans which
will fit the east-west airstrip for
the accommodation of planes up
to DC-4s in size.
Principal change in existing
construction at the port is the re
location of the east-west runway.
The entire runway has been
pivoted, so that the lower end
leads toward Knik Glacier, al
lowing an 18-mile approach from
that direction. There is also un
limited approach from the upper
end of the strip.
Members of the Airport As
sociation's board of directors
received word from Victor Riv
ers of Anchorage, project en
gineer, that they were author
ized to proceed with the work
at once. The program has been
divided into three steps, with
the first job undertaken to be
that of disposition of debris
along the north-south runway
and grading, compacting, fill
ing and seeding of this runway.
Not more than $3,500 is to be
spent on this portion of the work.
While the north-south runway is
under construction, a temporary
strip, 2,500 feet in length, is to be
laid out on the east-west runway
for the use of small planes.
The remainder of money al
lotted to the Palmer port, total
ling $30,000 in all, is to be spent
in work on the east-west Strip.
The pivoting of the present land
makes it necessary to purchase
an additional 12 acres of ground
from A. W. Egtvet, 20 acres from
the Snodgrass-McCartney hold
ings and one-half acre at the
junction of the two runways from
narcua inuma.
Associalion members met in
special session Thursday morn
ing to determine how to efieci
land purchases on the limited
budget of the group. Mr. Egt
vet, in attendance at the meet
ing, agreed to a trade with the
Airport Association. For land
bordering on the old runway
area, which will be desirable
for use as hangar sites and
other construction at the port,
he agreed to trade his holdings
at the upper end of the new
strip. Several hundred feet of
land at this upper end still
must be purchased from Sue
Hill and Charles Elton, before
the planned runway is com
plete.
It was agreed to attempt to
purchase Mr. Thuma’s holding
outright, and Roland Snodgrass
offered the property held by his
family for a price of $1,435, al
lowing the Association as much
time as it needed for payment.
The Association’s secretary,
Mr. Snodgrass, was directed to
write to the Matanuska Electric
Association, Inc., requesting the
installation of underground elec
tric lines immediately. At the
same time the Valley Telephone
Exchange will be asked to run its
lines to the airport.
As soon as land purchases
are completed, and the ap
proval of Mr. Rivers is re
ceived. work can proceed on
the east-west strip. Meanwhile
Dave Bryant is to w.;- »«i.