The Frontiersman
PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
PUBLIC MEETING ON
DEPUTY MARSHAL OFFICE
REOPENING, JANUARY 15
MOOSE HALL, 8 P. M.
VOLUME 7, NUMBER 16
PALMER, ALASKA,
Thursday, January 7, 1954
PRICE TEN CENTS
Freight Increase
Prompts Action From
Chamber of CoiSKiieree
Following an announcement
that freight rates will be in
creased 10 per cent “across the
board”, members of the Matan
uska Valley Chamber of Com
merce at the January 6 meeting
voted to send letters of protest
to Governor B. Frank Heintzle
man, Delegate Bob Bartlett, the
Alaska Steamship Co., Coastwise,
and the Maritime Commission in
Seattle.
Although no apparent public
announcement had been made of
the proposed increase, Chamber
President Fred Zieke told mem
bers that offciials of both steam
ship lines had assured him that
the increase is coming up and
that the effective date would be
February 10, 1954. No public
hearing is planned in advance of
the increase, officials told Zieke.
Chamber members pointed out
that it is imperative to the de
velopment of the Valley and Ter
ritory that freight rates be kept
down as m'uch as possible. Heavy
shipment of feeds, seeds and fer
tilizer have already been ordered
by many local farmers. An in
crease in freight rates at this time
vvould mean that these shipments
will go up in price, disrupting
planned expansions. Grocery
items by necessity would probab
ly increase approximately two
percent, it was stated.
Members of the Fairbanks and
Anchorage Chamber of Commer
ce have also been notified of the
proposed increase and similar ac
. ion is expected from those
groups.
Incom Tax Bates
Drop; S. S. Goes Up
Individual income tax rates
dropped about 10 per cent for all
except the highest brackets. Ex
• cess profits tax on corporations
expired.
Along with the decrease comes
an increase in the social security
payroll tax levied on both em
ployes and employers. From IV2
percent, the tax will go up to 2
percent and will be collected on
the first $3,600 paid annually to
a worker.
PALMER CD WORKER
SEEN IN TV SHOW
Richard Demming, chief en
gineer with Palmer Civil De
fense organization and Vernon
Haik, CD director at Chugiak ap
peared in the second of a series
of three TV films on Civil De
fense being shown over Station
KTVA in Anchorage. The 10 min
ute film was entitled “Disaster
on Main Street” and the two men
spoke briefly during the show.
Others were from the Anchorage
area and were; Bill Bordwell,
Jack Gilliland, Mrs. Lars Nelson,
and William Stookey.
NOW POPULAR SUBJECT
The first magazine article for
the public on cancer was publish
ed in 1913, shortly after the Am
erican Cancer Society was found
ed. Now, the ACS says, scores of
articles are published annually
about the disease that killed more
than 220,00C-Americans last year.
HIGH WINDS DO
M5NOR DAMAGE
Residents in the valley ex
perienced the first hard wind
blow on January 2 but very
little material damage v/as re
ported.
Winds that were estimated
to have reached 60 miles an
hour velocity knocked down a
few television antennas, bent
others and flipped an airplane
owned by the Flying Club,
over. The plane was not dam
aged extensively. With very
little snow on the ground, no
roads were blocked by drifts.
OVER sea PERSONS
i REGISTER AREA USD
Over 500 individuals registered
I their land holdings in this pre
[ einct before the dead line Decem
! ber 31, according to U. S. Com
missioner Dorothy Saxton. Of
these persons, many registered
several tracts of land, so that the
total pieces registered will go far
above the 500 figure when final
computation is made.
Alaska’s attorney general, J.
Gerald Williams declai’ed he
would enforce the controversial
statute, and said his warning was
given to clarify contradictory
statements on the law, one which
was created during the past 'egis
j lature.
The law requires that the right
ful owner file adequate descrip
. tion of the property owned by
December 31 and that the land
i commissioner, W. A. Chipperfield,
file a list of delinquents by July
1, 1954. Any who file between
those two dates will be classified
as delinquents and are subject to
! a $5.00 penalty. According to
word from J. Gerald Wiliams, at
torney general of the Territory,
the collection of the penalty is
the responsibility of the Territory
and need not be paid at the Com
missioner’s office when filing
r late.
According to the law, any lands
declared delinquent may be sold
after the July 1 date.
FUNERAL SERVICES HELD
FCR EDWIN L. LACHER
Funeral services for Edwin L.
Lacher, 45, of Palmer were held
this afternoon from the Church
: of God, w'ith members of the Ma
; tanuska Lodge No. 293, F.
and A. M. conducting the services.
Abraham Bailey, Jr., master of
the Anchorage Masonic Lodge of
j ficiated, assisted by officers of
the local lodge.
Mr. Lacher died early on the
morning of January 2 of a gun
shot wound believed to have been
self-inflicted. Mrs. Lacher told in
vestigating officials that her hus
band had been despondent for
quite some time and had stated
he didn’t feel the world was
worth living in any longer.
In addition to his widow, Mary
Lacher, he is survived by three
sons, Keith, of Anchorage and
Louis and Wayne of Palmer. Al
so his father and step-mother,
Mr. and Mrs. L. R. Lacher of
Montrose County, Colorado, and
four sisters, Mrs. Ethel Peterson
of Spokane, Washington; Mrs.
Nellie Foster and Mrs. Nettie
Smith of Grand Junction, Colo.,
and Mrs. Billie Ray of Salt Lake
City, Utah.
Lacher was born February 18,
1908 in Nucla, Montrose County,
Colorado and with his family
came to the Valley in 1941 from
Idaho. He was a heavy equipment
operator and had worked the past
few summers in Valdez area and
at various times in the Palmer
Cold Storage. At the time of his
death he was not employed. In
addition to being a member of the
Palmer Masonic lodge he was
also a member of the local
B.P.O. Elks lodge.
Interment took place in the
Palmer Cemetery where Masonic
officials conducted graveside ser
vices. Bearers were Harry Ryan,
Emil Larsh, Bill Curtis, Arthur
Madison, Dale Roetman, Lloyd
Severn, and Oliver Onkka.
SKIING REPORTED GOOD
AT LITTLE SUSITNA
Skiing at Little Susitna was
reported good this past week-end
by members of the local Ski Club.
Work on the new tow has pro
gressed to the point where the
club expects to have it in opera
tion by next week-end. The road
to the ski area is open to the
parking area located just beyond
the Road Commission camp.
Skiers are invited to "try the
slopes.”
i
\
Join i 1
the Wfm
of Dime**
T!i£ KATHML FOUHCAIiCH
roa iNfANTtu* mum
00UHG1L NOTES
Payment of current dues by the
City of Palmer in the League of
Alaskan Cities was authorized by
members of the city council. In
the absence of an accurate popu
tation census, members used the
I figure of 1,000 city residents in
figuring the amount of the dues,
| which are based on a 10-cent per
capita basis.
* * *
A letter received by the Coun
cil from the Territorial Legisla
ture Council informed members
that they were preparing for pre
sentation. a bill that would pro
vide for the exemption of munic
ipalities in licensing city-owned
vehicles and that provisions
would also be written in to re
bate monies already paid for li
censes by the cities.
* * *
Because of a disturbance in the
telephone office one evening this
week, it was decided that a per
manent-type counter and lattice
wall will be erected in the tele
phone office, separating the op
erators from the general public.
The person causing the disturb
ance was later arrested on a
drunk and disorderly conduct
charge, it was brought out, and
will appear in City Court later
this week to answer the charge.
* * *
Insurance on the City of Pal
mer volunteer firemen was re
newed by unanimous vote.
* * *
A request was approved by
council members for the trans
fer of the T. & T. Sourdough Bar
liquor license from Terri and Ar
thur Thompson to Robert and
Ruth Peterson.
* * *
The chairman of the health and
welfare committee read a copy of
a letter sent to the Depart
ment of Health recently. In the
letter a cooperative agreement
was proposed that would be for
mulated between the City of
Palmer, the school board and the
Alaska Department of Health al
ong proposed general lines. The
letter was addressed to Dr. C.
Earl Albrecht, commissioner of
health and drawn up by members
of the Matanuska Valley Health
Council. The matter was tabled
for future discussion.
* * *
A new ordinance, regarding the
City of Palmer water policy was
read and passed as an emergency
measure. Among policies estab
lished by the ordinance is one
(Continued on page 8)
I LOG SHIPMENTS
TO JAPAN TO BE
DISCUSSED JAN. 15
All sawmill owners and any
one else interested in selling
cottonwood logs to Japan are
invited to attend a meeting
Friday afternoon, January 15
in the Co-Op club room at
3:00 p.m.
George Hutton of the Coast
wise steamship line will be
present and William C. Bitt
ner, manager of Alasia Com
Ipanv of Anchorage is also ex
pected to be present.
The meeting is being called
by the Matanuska Valley
Chamber of Commerce in con
tinuance of their work in se
curing cottonwood log ship
ments to Japan and is being
held to give loggers and other
persons interested in logging
an opportunity to work out de
tails on requirements and
availability.
|j Mr. Bittner is planning a
; trip to Japan in the very near
; future and announced he
!; would like to have commit
; ments firmed up before he
; leaves so that he can make a
; definite proposal to the Jap
; anese companies when he ar
■ rives in that country. Discus
\ sions have centered around 12
million board feet a year which
; would greatly increase the log
; ging industry in this region.
All persons interested are
; urged to attend the meeting.
FIREMEN ANSWER
TWO CALLS; NO
DAMAGE ON EITHER
Members of the City volunteer
fire department were called out
twice in one day on January 6
with neither call a “wet” one.
The first alarm was sounded
shortly after 5:30 a.m. when a
cloth tied around a light bulb
caught fire in a house trailer lo
cated behind the Steve Ward
building. No damage was report
ed. The second call was in the
afternoon but proved to be a
false alarm when two trucks ar
rived at the Co-On Dorm where
a fire had been reported. It was
believed that steam escaping near
the Dorm had prompted someone
into believing there was a fire.
Members of the telephone main
tenance crew have installed a
telephone with a direct line in
the fire house to enable firemen
answering an alarm to quickly
ascertain the whereabouts of a
fire.
DF DIMES
DANCE
Local activities for the annual
j March of Dimes will include the
popular March of Dimes dance,
j it was announced this week.
Members of the Theta Chapter
Beta Sigma Phi have offered their
assistance in the campaign and
have announced they will spon
sor the dance to be held in the
Palmer School gymnasium Sat
urday evening, January 30.
To date no chairman has been
named for the local campaign.
After five years of the worst
polio outbreaks in history, more
polio patients are receiving
March of Dimes aid than ever be
fore. The total cost of patient
care has broken all records. By
the end of 1953, March of Dimes
funds totalling $174,000,000 had
been spent on patient care alone,
! according to figures released by
J the National Foundation.
Since 1943 over 8.000 nurses,
| 750 physical therapists, 5.000 iron
| lungs, 450 rocking beds and 2,
[ 000 hot pack machines for em
ergency service to stricken areas
have been provided by the March
of Dimes. Communities in Alas
ka are assured immediate help
when needed.
Alaska has been described as a
target area for polio. The past
four years have been the worst
j years in the Territory’s history,
j In Ketchikan, Fairbanks and An
| chorage there have been numer
i jus cases. Palmer has been more
I fortunate, with fewer cases than
I the larger cities, Alaska was once
1 almost polio free, officials point
out. »> ecert years, seven iron
iungs and nine hot pack machin
es have been sent to Alaska hos
j pitals, and 31 nurses have been
I recruited for emergency service.
Children of Alaska profited
from March of Dimes research
when 2,147 youngsters were in
oculated with gamma globulin
during the severe outbieaks in
Juneau and Douglas this past
July.
Because of the generous re
sponse by Alaskans during past
campaigns, the March of Dimes
in cooperation with the Terri
torial Department of Health, has
assisted in financing follow-up
and diagnostic clinics and physi
cal therapy services for polio pa
tients.
Research has proven the value
of gamma globulin as a tempor
(Continued on page 8)
KIWANIANS PLAN
DINNER; OFFICERS
INSTALLATION JAN. 9
Members and guests of the
Palmer Kiwanis Club will attend
installation of officers to be held
at a Ladies night banquet in the
High School cafeteria Saturday
evening, January 9 at 7:15. Din
ner will be served cafeteria^style.
Present to participate in instal
lation ceremonies will be James
Gentleman, Lieutenant-Governor
of Alaska-Yukon Division of Ki
wanis International. Mr. Gentle
man is from the Kiwanis Club of
Whitehorse, Y. T. and is expected
to address the group during the
evening.
An attendance of approximate
ly 70 people is expected and will
be composed of Kiwanians and
their guests, representatives of
several other local clubs, and
members of the Anchorage Ki
wanis club and their wives.
New officers to be installed
are: Emil Ganschow, president;
George Crowther, vice-president;
Marvin S aughter (who was re
elected), and Robert Pippel, trea
surer. New members to be initiat
ed that evening are A1 J. DeJulio
and John Shaw, both of Palmer.
Perfect attendance pins will be
awarded to several members.
Outgoing officers are H. J. Hod
gson, president; Emil Ganschow,
vice-president; and Richard Jones,
treasurer. They, with Marvin
Slaughter are members of the
banquet committee.
Marsha! Plains City
Visit on Rs-Opasiit:®;
OS Marshal’s Office
U. S. Marshal Fred Williamson
of Anchorage will be in Palmer
next Thursday evening, January
14 to meet with organizations
and individuals interested in re
establishing a deputy marshal of
fice in the Valley. The meeting is
scheduled to begin at 8:00 p.m. in
the Moose Hall.
All persons interested in law
enforcement in this region and in
the re-establishment of a deputy
marshal office in Palmer are in
vited to attend. Members of the
Matanuska Valley Republican
Club will serve a buffet lunch
during the evening.
Several requests that the office
be reopened in this area were
sent to Marshal Williamson by lo
cal organizations. Among reasons
pointed out at that time were
| that the Valley has little police
| protection with but one Terri
| torial Police officer on duty, cov
ering an extended area of 150
i miles. Also that the City of Pal
mer has but one full time police
officer working on a “round-the
| clock" basis and limited to work
i within city limits.
Representatives of all organiza
i tions and others interested, are
| invited to attend the meeting and
I present their request for the
! re-establishment.
EXPERIMENT STATION
TO BEGIN FARM
MANAGEMENT STUDY
'
On January 11 the Agricultural
| Economies department of the Ex
i pcriment Station will begin inter
j viewing farmers for farm man
agement study, it was announced
this week. Dick Andrews and
Prent Gazaway of the Station are
to conduct the interviews. This
is the fifth year for current study.
The purpose of the interviews
is to obtain information on farm
operation during 1953. This will
| include total production. Crop
! land and livestock information on
all farms will be used for deter
j mining the total agricultural prc*
j ducts in Alaska.
j The study is being made to get
I an accurate total agricultural
production for Alaska and is be
| ing done jointly with the Terri
torial Department of Agriculture.
ALIENS REMINDED
TO REPORT ADDRESS
Every alien must report his ad
dress during January, 1954.
Federal law requires that
every alien who is within the
United States on the first day of
January of each year shall with
in 30 days following such date,
report his address to the Com
missioner. Immigration and Na
turalization Service and shall
furnish such address information
as may be required by regula
tions. Any alien who is tempor
arily absent from the United
States during the report period
should report his address within
10 days after his return to the
U. S.
Deportation is the penalty for
failure to report. Any alien who
willfully or inexcusably fails to
report as required is liable to be
taken into custody and deported.
In addition, imprisonment or fin
es may be levied before deporta
tion.
DEMOCRATS TO MEET
TOMORROW NIGHT
There will be a special meet
ing for all Valley Democrats
at the Co-Op club room on
Friday evening, January 8 at
8:00 p.m. All interested per
sons are invited to attend.