I
PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
THY A FRONTIERSMAN
CLASSIFIED AD for that
item you may have for sale,
rent or lease.
VOLUME 7, NUMBER 52
PALMER. ALASKA. THURSDAY. OCTOBER 21. 1954
PRICE TEN CENT*
Many Hear P-TA
Teen-Age Discussion
A large attendance of Palmer
P-TA members heard a panel dis
cussion on the needs and prob
lems of the teenagers in Palmer
at the organizations regular meet
ing on October 18.
Mrs. Ralph Blum was modera
tor of the well-rounded discus
sion. Those participating were
Jean Burke, high school student,
Girls’ Athletic Society president,
and student council treasurer;
Robert Barry, high school stu
dent and vice-president of stu
dent council; Mrs. Phil McRae,
Tecent high school graduate;
Norman Rousey, teacher and ath
letic coach; Mrs. Allan Mick,
parent and member of the city
council; and Rev. Edward Imme,
pastor of St. John’s Lutheran
Church.
Following the panel discus
sion, when social activities, recre
ation. studies, and church atten- ;
dance were discussed by panel
members, a general discussion
period was entered by those in ;
attendance. Several valuable '
points were brought out, especial
ly by the younger members of the
panel, chief among which was!
the importance of the teenagers
home life. It also was pointed out
that the adults of today have
created two “worlds”—one for
juveniles, and or.e for adults. “The
necessity of having a curfew is
indictive of the kind of society
which we have created”, Rev.
Imme stated.
Other speakers at the meeting
included Mrs. Lew Hanks and
Jim Wilson who explained the
purposes and functions of the re
cently organized Band Boosters
club. An invitation was extended
to all adults interested in the '
program to attend the club’s next j
meeting to be held Monday night, •
October 25. Robert Diltz remind- '
ed parents that the week of No
First veterans Day
To Be Observed Nov. II
On Thursday, November 11, the
nation’s first Veterans Day will
'be celebrated throughout the
land. It will honor America’s vet
erans of all wars. The American
Legion asks that all citizens of
Palmer fly the flag on Veterans
Day and take part in public cere
monies.
For 36 years Americans have
observed the 11th of November
as Armistice Day, but to many it
has lost its significance. President
Eisenhower on June 1, 1954,
signed into law an American Le
gion-sponsored bill, changing an
nual Armistice Day on Novem
ber 11 to Veterans Day, the first
to be observed on November 11.
More than 50,000 new Americans
will be naturalized on that date
as part of the nationwide cele- <
bration of the first Veterans Day.
ST. MICHAEL'S
TO HAVE 9 A.M. MASS
Beginning this Sunday, Oc
tober 24, the 8 a.m. and 10
a.m. masses at St. Michael’s
Catholic Church will be dis
continued, according to an an
nouncement made this week
by Rev. James P. Snead. In
stead, there will be one mass
at 9 a-m.
PALMER ACT
Presents British Film starring
Alec Guinness
KIND HEARTS AND
CORONETS
Saturday, October 23 — 8 p.m.
U. P. Church Social Hall
CORSAGES
Telegraph Delivery Service
MATANUSKA VALLEY
GARDENS
Phone 32J11 Palmer
A/V/WWWN<^WVS<VSA^N/«^/NA/V>/
vember 7 to 13 is National Edu
cation Week and that all teachers
will welcome room visitations es
pecially through that week. Mem
bers of the teaching staff of the
Palmer school system will be in
charge of the program at the No
vember P-TA meeting and they
announced the program will be a
surprise.
Local Hospital
Featured in Magazine
The Valley Presbyterian
Hospital was this month nam
ed the Modern Hospital of the
Month by the magazine “The
Modern Hospital”. The local
hospital was selected as the
winner by a committee of edi
tors. Award certificates have
been presented to the hospital
and the architects. The three
page article features the maxi
mum efficiency with the mini
mum nursing staff obtained
from the nurses’ station being
the heart of the plan. Archi
tect on the modern 24-bed hos
pital was Edwin B. Crittenden
of Anchorage. Several pictures
of the exterior and interior,
taken by Ward Wells, also of
Anchorage, illustrate the ac
companying article.
ELKS PARADE
TO FEATURE FLOATS
All valley organizations were
this week invited to participate
in the mammoth parade planned
by the B.P.O. Elks on Saturday,
November 6 in Palmer, which
will climax the Territorial Elks
convention to be held in this
city November 4, 5, and 6.
All organizations are invited to
enter decorated floats in the par
ade with cash prizes planned for
the winners, the first to be $50;
second $30; and third, $20. This
will be the largest parade ever
staged in the city, committee
members stated. Bands, Elks lod
ges, and vehicles will make up
the parade that is expected to
draw several thousand spectators.
•Jim Hurley and A1 Hagen are in
charge of the parade program
Anyone desiring further informa
tion about the parade is asked to
contact the committee.
The general committee for the
convention is Clair Stock, Matt
Or.kka, John Reed, and Leonard
Kygar. These men are also in j
charge of publicity.
Other committee chairmen are:
Russel Felzien, housing; Emil
Ganschow, registration; Lloyd
Short, entertainment; Harvey Hi
ber, house; Ted Buzby transporta
tion; Heinie Snider and Leonard
Kygar, welcoming; A1 Metz, hall
arrangements; Bill McAllister,
| decorations; Leonard Kygar, me
j morial services; Mrs. John Reed,
: ladies entertainment, and chair
; men of the day for food are
Harvey Hiber, Thursday; Jack
I Flint, Friday; and Harold Ste
phan, Saturday.
Clair Stock said this week that
the 12 territorial lodges have been
invited to participate in the three
j day convention plans. This in
! eludes six area lodges.
_ _
NEW HIGHWAY SIGNS
IN CAMPAIGN TO
"KEEP ALASKA CLEAN"
Motorists were recently warn
ed that the new white and black
highway signs “Keep Alaska
Clean”, are in line with a stepped
up campaign to keep the terri
tory’s highways clean. Violators
will be prosecuted for improper
garbage disposal. The law pro
hibits disposing of garbage, dead
animals, or other refuse within
200 feet of any highway. Viola
tion 'of the law can result in a
fine of up to $50 and up to 25
days in jail.
GAME DINNER PLANS
ARE FINALIZED;
PROGRAM PLANNED
This Saturday evening mem
bers and guests of hte Matanuska
Valley Sportsmen will enjoy the
organization’s annual game din
bers and guests of the Matanuska
of the year in the valley. The
dinner and dance which will fol
low, will be held at the Elks hall.
Serving, buffet style, is set to be
gin at 6 p.m.
A1 Dickow, dinner chairman,
| requests all dishes be delivered
at the hall by 5 p.m. Saturday
evening. Those bringing tossed
| salads are asked to take them
to the hall without adding dress
ing. Dressings will be added prior
to serving time. Anyone who has
not obtained tickets before Sat
urday morning may get them at
the hall after 12 noon on Satur
day. Before that time they may
be obtained from Maud Hosier,
ticket chairman, at her flower
shop in the Co-Op shopping area.
Each year members of the Fish
and Wildlife Service are invited
guests, along with members of
the press. This year’s guest list
includes the following; Clarence
Rhodes, Forbes Baker, Harry:
Brown, Earl Ohmar, Andy Sim- j
ons, and Holgar Larsen, all of the
Fish and Wildlife, and Cliff Cer
nick, Bernie Kuzinsky, A1 DeJulio
and Virginia Gallant, members of
the press. Invited guests will be j
accompanied by their wives or ■
other guests.
In addition to the very unus- !
ual dinner, there will be one and
one half-hours of entertainment
which will be followed by danc- i
ing until 2 a.m. Ben Hudgins, J
president of the local club, will !
introduce other officers during
the evening.
Mrs. Sandvik Winner
In Territorial Contest
For several months there has
been a contest, open to any per
son in Alaska, to write an Alas
kan Homemakers’ Creed During
the Homemakers’ Short Course,
held at the University of Alaska
last week, the contest was closed
and Mrs. Chester Sandvik of Pal
mer named the winner. In ad
dition to the honor, Mrs. Sandvik
received an oil painting, work of
Rusty Dow, as a prize.
The new creed, which was
chosen from 17 entries, will be
initiated at the Homemakers’
Achievement Day program which
will be held next Tuesday, Octo
ber 26 in the basement of the
United Protestant Church.
The day’s program will begin
at 10:30 a.m. with a candle-light
ing service for new council and
club officers; followed by each
club’s yearly report. The after
noon program will include various
type entertainment by the 13
homemaker clubs of the valley,
centered around the theme “Fam
ily Life”. Everyone is welcome
to attend the day-long program,
whether members of a home
makers club or not. Pot-luck
lunch will be served at noon.
Achievement Day is one of the
highlights of a club’s year, and
the public is invited to attend,
meet their friends, renew acquain
tances and be part of the home
makers’ program.
-——
ECHO LAKE
RAINBOW PLANTS
NOW 17-INCH SIZE
Rainbow trout, the size to thrill
the most avid fisherman, were
displayed this week by Alex Mc
Rae of the Department of Fisher
ies. The trout were samples tak
er from Echo Lake which the
department had planted about 17
months ago. The largest was 1714
inches long, with the balance run
ning around 15 inches. “This is
the best sampling we’ve had from
ar.y of our plants”, McRae stat
ed. The lake will be open for
fishing next spring, he said.
Other sampling from Rocky
Lake, in the Pittman area, were
just as gratifying, he said. Altho
ugh smaller in length, the fish
are younger than those in Echo
lake and are expected to run
about as large as the Echo lake
fish.
Some of the money for this
planting program is obtained
from the sports, fishing license
stamp which is required to be
purchased by all who buy a fish
ing license.
Advance Seen in
KTA Telephone Rales
Lew Hanks, chairman of the
Matanuska Telephone Association,
told Chamber of Commerce mem
bers at the October 20 meeting
that memberships and equity
stock sales in the association are
comirg along steadily.
In answer to a query concern
ing proposed telephone rates in
the new system Hanks stated
that REA had assisted in the area
coverage survey and that rates
were tentatively set for a pro
posed system of 800 subscribers.
If this number of subscribers
can be obtained in the wide area
the new system will cover, the
rates will be about the same as
now, Hanks said.
“We’ve been assured of the
loan—now it’s up to us to get up
our ‘earnest’ money so we may
get the construction program
starter,” he pointed out.
Those who have not yet pur
chased their equity stock may do
by dropping in at the Extension
Service office. The entire amount
of $50 need not be paid at once,
but arrangements for complete
payment should be made at the
time of the first payment, Hanks
said.
Former ARC Employes
Get Over-Time Checks
Several Palmer area residents
received checks varying in size I
from the over hundreds to the
thousands as overtime pay earn
ed, but not paid back in the 1940’s
when the check recipients were
employed by the Alaska Road
Commission. A list of names pub
lished last week erroneously re
ported the checks as being paid
by the Alaska Railroad. They are
payment to the ARC workers,
climaxing a legal battle of several
years.
According to word received
this week the Matanuska Valley
Fair is to be featured on a na
tional hook-up television show on
Octobef 22 and 29 Pictures and
stories of the 1954 Fair are to be
featured.
River Causes
Extensive Damage
An article this week in the An
chorage Times reporting the dam- ;
age being done in the Butte area
by the Matanuska River was cor
roborated yesterday by Mrs. Lila
Newville, who for many years
lived at the Butte with her family.
“When we moved on the farm
back in 1933 we were planting
grain on 21 acres of land that ran
between the loop road and the
river,” she said. “Today, we have
less than four acres of that land
left and each year when the river
rises the earth sluffs off more
and more.”
According to the Anchorage
Times, Dr. Lee McKinley and Ed
Wineck, both property owners at i
the Butte, conferred this week
with Delegate Bartlett and others
in an attempt tq obtain some kind !
of flood control protection.
Industrial Survey
Started in Valley
Keith Stanton, who is making
a survey of industrial potentials
in the Matanuska Valley present
ed a brief outline of facts needed
to present the virtues of the val
ley, its resources, and other as
sets at the October 20 meeting of
the Matanuska Valley Chamber
of Commerce.
Information necessary for a cor
rect picture of what we have to
Injured U. S. Marshal
Reported Improving
Nelson McCrary, U. S. dep
uty marshal of Copper Center,
is reported improvi ig, at Val
ley Presbyterian Hospital
where he has been hospitalized
since last week when, Andrew
Ewan, Native of Copper Center
beat and kicked him, causing
severe injuries. Mrs. McCrary,
who is staying in Palmer, said
this week her husband is slow
ly improving
Credit Union Official
Makes Annual Visit
Carl Marshall, examiner from
from the Los Angeles district of
.he Federal Credit Unions visit- ;
ed here last Tuesday and Wed
nesday. Marshall was in Palmer
'or the annual examination of the
Mataruska Valley Federal Credit
Union.
Meeting with the board of the
local Credit Union on Wednes- j
lay, Marshal complimented the
group on its rate of growth the
past year as evidenced by in
creases in savings, loans and
members.
There are now 25 Credit Un
ions in the territory, with ap
proximately $2 million in savings.
Marshall recommended the group
sponsor a publicity program to '
explain the MVFCU services to
vallev residents.
Today, October 21, has been
officially designated as Interna
tional Credit Union Day- There
are now over 19,000 credit unions
with nine million members thro
oughout the world. Canada and
the United States have over three
quarters of the membership.
One of the principal features
of the credit union savings, H. P.
Gazaway, publicity chairman
pointed out, is the free life in
surance coverage given each
member in the amount of his sav
ings, up to SI,000. Another
major benefit for members is the
convenience of obtaining a loan
at any time, he pointed out. The
interest rate paid by members
on loans is one percent per month
on the unpaid balance.
Monday night of this week
board members announced a pro
gram for extending benefits of
membership to all interested peo
ple in the Valley. It has been gen
erally believed, Gazaway said,
that membership was limited, pri
marily, to employees and mem
bers of the Matanuska Valley
Farmers Co-Operating Associa
tion. A program to explain credit
union operations and benefits
was announced by Gazaway. A
special attempt will be made to
discuss the credit union with in
terested groups including the per
sonnel of local firms, Jonesville
mine, Palmer School system hos
(Continued on page 4)
offer to industry will take much
research and classification, Stan
ton, pointed out. His outline would
include information and statis
tics on markets (present and po
tential); natural resources, their
accessibility and quality; labor
potential, (this would be of prime
importance to builders, he point
ed out); city plans; community
facilities available for people
moving in; climatic characteris
tics: local financial situation;
family income; availability of
warehouses and storage space
and- many other pertinent facts
necessary to formulate a well
rounded information brochure.
Stanton’s work on this project is
being sponsored by the local
Chamber and when completed
will be printed for general dis
tribution in an effort to encour
age industry to locate in the Msf*
tanuska Valley area.
Guests at the meeting included
John Roswall, and Hollis Hen
ricks. both of Cordova who were
in Palmer on an official visit to
the local Elks lodge. Clair Stock,
their host at the luncheon, re
minded Chamber members of the
coming Elks convention Novem
ber 4, 5 and 6. “We are not ap
proaching the merchants for any
money. We are carrying the en
tire cost of the convention our
selves, but we do need some help
on housing”, Stock said. We have
quite a few listings of persons
who are willing to rent a room
in their home, but we need more,
he added. “The visitors will be
people just like you and I and we
can feel free to take them into
our homes”, he said. “We an
ticipate the parade we plan for
November 6 will bring in at least
1500 people. Merchants and or
ganizations are invited to enter
floats in the parade, for which
the club has arranged prizes of
S50, S30. and $20 for the winners
Perrin Given
18-Month Sentence
Joseph Perrin, long time resi
dent of Alaska, was sentenced to
,18 months in jail last week, fol
lowing his plea of guilty to the
charges of kidnapping Mrs. Thel
ma Ross, Koslosky Department
store office employee and of rob
bing her of $11,224.34, on Sep
tember 10. Perrin appeared before
U. S. District Court Judge J. L.
McCarrey who set the sentence.
A concrete block building is
being constructed just off the
west wing of the Valley Presby
terian Hospital to house the 30
KW International diesel genera
tor which will be used during a
power failure. The plant can sup
ply enough electricity for the en
tire hospital. Heat for the 14- by
16-foot flat roof building will be
supplied from the hospital heat
ing plant.
LOCAL 17-YEAR-OLD
19TH POLIO VICTIM
Ore new polio case was re
ported this past week in the
Palmer area. The Palmer vic
tim of Polio is a 17-year-old
boy and is hospitalized at Pro
vidence Hospital in Anchorage.
This brings the Palmer total to
19 cases.
i
4% ON SAVINGS !!
This was paid by the Matanuska Valley Federal
Credit Union on savings last year.
Open to Public - Join Now
SAVINGS — LOANS
SERVING PEOPLE VALLEY WIDE
Inq. Dexter Bacon, Mgr.-Treas.
>■>»>>> >>-»-»■>-»>->
All Elks' Ladies -- Meeting at Lodge ™ Zl™ L,