Vol. 1, No. 10
Palmer, Alaska, October 18, 1947
Ten Cents
FIRE ASSOCIATION REVIVED BY BOARD
Incorporation
Needed Soon,
C Of C Hears
The urgent need for an inves
tigation of types of incorpora
tion, possible to Palmer and the
Valley was the principal topic
of discussion at Wednesday’s
meeting of the Valley Chamber
of Commerce. Although discus
sed in some detail at a former
meeting, the matter was revived
on Wednesday, when Harry
Wimmer, representing North
Palmer water users, reported
that residents of the area were
planning to organize.
Mr; Wimmer said if it was
planned to organize all of Palm
er in some type of incorpgtion
in the near future, North Palm
er residents would go no farther
wfth a separate plan.
Chamber members discussed
the lack of planning in construc
tion of city waterlines, sewers,
streets and lights. Some type of
incorporation could best make
for an orderly growth in the
city, it was felt.
Central Plan Needed
Jack Maze reported new plans
of the'Matanuska Valley Volun
teer Fire Association in respect
to obtaining fire hall and needed
equipment. However, he told
Chamber members, the proper
fire equipment in Palmer can
make no substantial saving in in
surance rates, unless fire hy
drants are installed. He pointed
out that this could be done only
by central planning.
W. C. Mau, president of the
Chamber, had earlier an
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I
I
Busman’s Holiday
(Jives Farmer
18-Ton Yield
A farmer for 13 summers in
the Valley, Clarence Quarn
strom this season decided in fa
vor of a rest, so he leased his
farm to tenants. But the habit of
13 years is hard to break, so
Mr. Quarnstrom reserved a small
corner of ground for himself, so
that lie could engage in his fa
vorite outdoor sport of pushing
potatoes into good Valley dirt.
Since he had just an acre and
a half of ground for recreation,
Mr. Quarnstrom bought only 700
pounds of seed potatoes last
spring. Last week he finished off
his season’s fun with a potato
harvest.
Arid when Mr. Quarnstrom
took to counting his return from
the summer, he found that he’d
unearthed 51 new potatoes for
every seed spud that went into
the ground last spring. The 700
pounds purchased this spring
yielded a total crop of 18 tons
this fall.
“The farmer says the crop was
not much better than average,
as far as grade and size go,
though. He weighed a few of the
larger ones, but none of them
scaled more than two and a quar
ter pounds.
With his cellarful of “fun”
stqwed away to await the best
in market prices, Mr. Quarn
strom is now considering going
in for potato raising in a serious
way next spring.
Wasilla Students Visit the ‘Big City’
Eighteen Wasilla students spent about six hours Tuesday in Anchorage studying the way the
city government in the "big" city functions. Here they are ai the fire station, armed with note
books and pencils, to hear Anchorage Fire C hief George Neal.' The chief was considerate to
the polite youngsters but sorry that be couldn't run the big engine to a fire—just to show the
boys and girls how it was done.
In the picture are from left to right. Acting City Manager Z. H. Tessendorf, Charlie Tryck.
head of the city engineering department (formerly Charlie was a Wasilla resident and his fath
er still lives there); Ernest Line. Wasilla teacher who escorted the students; and Chief Neal
on the fire truck running board. There are 18 students present, if you look sharply. Missed
one. did you? Well, he's right behind the first girl and you can just see his hat. (Photo by Robin
son Studios. Anchorage).
YOUTH ACCIDENTALLY
SHOOTS, KILLS SELF
WASILLA—Bobby Ford, a 19
year-old high school boy and a
homesteader, was found dead
along the road about eight miles
from here Thursday morning,
the victim of an accidentally
discharged .22 revolver.
The youth, a student here and
a former serviceman, had evi
dently discharged the gun, which
he often carried in a shoulder
holster, while chopping wood.
A coroner’s jury which met
here yesterday before United
States Commissioner Thomas
Carter, returned a verdict of
death by accidental shooting.
Bobby, well known and liked
by the entire community, had
gone to his homestead about 6:30
p.m. Wednesday. As reconstruct
ed by Marshal Bill Bouwens, the
youth had apparently gone out
side about 8 p.m. to chop wood.
The revolver was a faulty one,
but the boy carried two shells in
the gun, one under the hammer.
The gun apparently fell from the
holster, dropped to the ground
and was accidentally discharged.
The bullet struck the boy in the
region of the heart.
Incredibly, it did not kill him
instantly, and according to
Marshal Bouwens, the boy was
able to get 75 feet from the road
before he collapsed.
When the school bus driven by
Harold Dinkel came by yester
day, he spotted the boy.
A search of the area revealed
that the spent shell was lying
under a block on which the ax
was lying.
The boy is survived by his
mother in Oakland, Calif.
Bobby enlisted in the army
when he was 14 years old, his
discharge papers showed. He
served about a year.
Death Takes
Joe Brassel
Funeral services for Joe
Brassel will be held at 3 p.m.
today (Friday) at the Phillips
Mapleton funeral home in
Anchorage.
WASILLA—Joseph C. Brassel,
for more than 30 yefars a resi
dent of the Wasilla area, suc
cumbed to a heart ailment last
Friday. He was 74 years of age
^at the time of his death.
Mr. Brassel was alone in his
Wasilla cabin when he died. He
was last seen by a neighbor early
Friday evening, wearing hat and
coat, and splitting wood in his
dooryard.
About 10 o'clock Saturday
morning, Sharon Flackenstein,
a friend, called at the cabin
and found Mr. Brassel stretch
ed on the floor. He still wore
his hat and coat, and seeming
ly had become ill upon enter
ing the cabin. He reached a
chair near the door and then
collapsed.
Dr. R. E. Garret of Palmer
was called early Saturday morn
ing, and his examination placed
the time of death the evening
before.
Mr. Brassel came to the ter
ritory with his brother Fred at
about the time of the first World
War. He had spent most of his
30 years here as a prospector,
and at the time of his death own
ed mining property in the Wil
(Continued on Page 8)
Booths Go Up
For County Fair
At Gymnasium
Carpenters move into the
Palmer gymnasium at 1 o'clock
Saturday afternoon, equipped
with hammer and saw. Their
project is to transform the audi
torium into booths for the one
night stand of the county fair
and bazaar planned by St.
Michael’s church.
The hall will be decorated in
keeping with the country fair
theme.
A final census of wares and
concessions to occupy space at
the fair next Saturday evening
was announced by Father James
Snead today. Fair booths will in
clude:
A linen counter, a costume
jewelry counter, food booth, des
sert booth, a toy stand, a cos
metics counter and a notion
booth. Concessions at the fair
are to include a Bingo game, a
fish pond and a fortune-telling
booth.
ci wctduuig lllct
chine, quilt, afghan and radio,
will be given away during the
evening. Tickets on these prizes
have been sold in Palmer and in
Anchorage for the past two
weeks, but a few will be sold at
the door, if there are those who
wish to buy. Doors open at 7:30.
Women of the Altar Society
and girls of the Sodality of St.
Michael’s church will be in
charge of bazaar counters and
booths.
The Crimont club of Fort Rich
ardson already has indicated that
its membership is planning to at
tend Saturday. They will come,
either by bus or by special train,
they report.
Call 8 to get meeting notices
printed in the Frontiersman.
Purchase Of
Fire Station
Is First Step
BULLETIN
Col. John P. Johnson gen
eral manager of The Alaska
Railroad, today promised
Palmer a $9,000 fire truck and
fire house in which to put it.
In return, the town must offer
a full-time worker to maintain
the building and an effective
volunteer fire department to
use the equipment. The colonel
told Jan Koslosky and Jack
Maze that the railroad intends
to build an addition to the
freight depot in the spring and
the building would be turned
over after completion, provid
ed Palmer fills its share of the
bargain.
The Matanuska Valley Volun
teer Fire Association has begun
to rouse from its long sleep of
the past 18 months. "Artificial
respiration” planned at the Tues
day board of director’s meeting
is expected to have the associa
tion up on its feet again soon.
Directors at the Tuesday meet
ing diagnosing the ills of the or
ganization, decided that the lack
of a building to house equip
ment and materials was its great
est fault. Members were told that
at least 81,000 worth of equip
ment, including hoses and ex
pensive fog-nozzles, now are
scattered throughout Palmer.
Since a fire station appears
absolutely essential, the direc
tors voted to take steps immed
iately to secure such a building.
How to Buy
A1 Hagen, who spent Tuesday
in Anchorage, attempting to dis
cover how available buildings
along the Alaska Highway might
be purchased, outlined the plan
of procedure, as explained to him
by Lowell Puckett, regional di
rector of the Bureau of Land
Management.
Non-profit organizations are
included in the list of priority
bidders, Mr.' Puckett said. The
Valley fire association must file
a letter with the land office, no
tifying the agency of its wish
to purchase a selected unit of
buildings along the highway.
(Bids must be on units and not
on individual buildings).
Once the Anchorage office re
ceives that letter the Valley fire
association will be quoted a price
on the selected buildings. This
price cannot be revealed until
the notice of intent to buy has
been filed.
v-znuu uit: piift* i£> nidut: Miuwii|
the board of directors will have
10 days to accept the offer and to
make payment on the buildings.
Final approval from Washington
must then be made before build
ings can be removed.
A non-p r o f i t organization
which submits a bid and makes
purchase in this manner is im
mediately free to re-sell unwant
ed buildings.
16 Buildings
Mr. Hagen spoke of a unit of
16 buildings now located at Ca
thedral Bluffs, which appears to
meet the purpose of the fire as
sociation. The lot includes five
barracks, 20x50, a messhall,
20x100, several warehouses, a
fire station, 32x52, and other
miscellaneous structures.
(Continued on page 8)