Vernal Equinox
(SPRING)
arrives in the valley
FRIDAY. MARCH 20
12:01 p.m.
TRY A FRONTIERSMAN
CLASSIFIED AD for that
item you may have for id*,
rent or lease.
VOLUME 6, NUMBER 26
PALMER, ALASKA, THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 1953
PRICE TEN CENTS
in
PALMER MAY GET
RED ALERT LATTER
PART OF MARCH
Civil Defense exercises ar<
slated for the Palmer area ii
the near future, Edward Imme
local CD director announced thi:
week.
Some of these exercises wil
come at an unannounced time ii
order to test the alertness anc
efficiency of the Civil Defense
organization, he said.
People of the area are urgec
to remain calm and asked to co
operate with all Civil Defense
authorities during any Red aler
or Civil Defense exercise.
There MAY be a practice Ret
alert at some unannounced time
during the latter part of March
Imme announced.
There WILL be a practice Rec
alert and extensive tests of CE
services on Sunday, April 12, be
tween the hours of 1 and 3 p.m
An important meeting of the
Palmer Civil Defense organiza
tion is scheduled for Friday eve
ning, March 20 at 7:30 p.m. ir
Carpenters’ Hall. All committet
members are urged to attend.
Registration cards are now
printed and anyone interested ir
signing up for CD work is in
structed by Director Imme to dc
so at the REA office, through
Miss Edna Wehking. CD secre
tary.
CREAMERY GETS
NEW 10-TON TRUCK
Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Cruthers
returned to Palmer this week fol
lowing a trip to the States.
Cruthers drove a new 10-ton
refrigerator truck for the M.V.F.
C.A. Creamery over the highway
from Seattle. The truck is equip
ped with dual axels, sanders and
is to be used for wholesale de
liveries. Cruthers reported the
highway in good condition most
of the way. The trip from Seattle
took 12 days.
Shipment Due
Farmers are asked to check
with Virgil Eckert on fertilizer
shipments due the latter part of
this week. The first 100 tons of
ammonium nitrate are expected
aboard the S. S. Nadina, along
with other fertilizers. According
to Co-Op General Manager Fred
Zieke, a total of nine carloads is
expected this spring. They will
arrive aboard four ships, approxi
mately one week apart,
their efforts.
GO CLAMMING
Several Palmerites flew or
drove to the Seldovia area this
week for clams. Among them
were Tommy Thompson, Harold
Dunn, Ben and Fritz Herman,
Vic Continni, Ray McCartney,
Frank Brown, Lee Hendershot,
Aaron Browder and Lowell Simp
son. All reported good returns for
CITY TO SELL
USED GRADER
Notice is being published
this week in the Frontiersman
and Anchorage papers that the
city of Palmer is offering for
sale one used Model 10 Cater
pillar diesel road grader. Ap
proval of the sale by bid was
given by the City Council at
a recent meeting. Any reason
able offer in excess of $3,000
will be considered, it was an
nounced. Bids will be opened
at the office of the City Clerk
April 23 at 2 p.m.
NEW RESIDENT?
! A large mammal of the deer
\ family (Arces americana), bet
;! ter known as a moose, was
; a visitor in town Sunday.
, Attracting a crowd of children
’ !; and many adults, Sir Moose
; wandered blandly around, fin
! ally ending up in the fenced
!; yard at the Bud Meier’s home,
L !; where he seemed perfectly
L content to remain. Several
[ ■ camera enthusiasts took the
, ; opportunity for close-up shots
’ j of the moose before he was
[ ; finally persuaded to retire to
; the woods under the guidance
, : of the Alaska Highway Patrol
! and local residents.
1 LEONARD KYGAR NEW
, EXALTED RULER OF
L PALMER ELKS LODGE
1 i Members of Palmer B. P. 0
Elks Lodge No. 1842 elected Leon
ard Kyger as exalted ruler at ;
’ meeting held Wednesday night
’ i March 18.
i Other officers include: Esteem
ed Leading Knight, John Reed
’ Esteemed Loyal Knight, Russel
: Felzien: Esteemed Lecturin;
, Knight, Lloyd Short; Secretary
1 L. C. Stock, Treasurer, Thoma:
: Lepak and Tiler, Cinton DeWitt
Elected to the board of trustee:
for a five year term was Mat
Onkka, past Exalted Ruler.
Appointed officers will be fillet
by the following: Esquire, Leroj
Johnson; Assistant Esquire, Har
old Dunn; Chaplain, Oliver On
kka and Inner Guard, Ralph
Goodrich.
Installation of officers will be
held April 8 by District Deputj
Grand Exalted Ruler Hal Gil
fillen of Seward along with
Grand Lodge officers from An
chorage Lodge 1351.
COUNCIL COMMITTEE
TO STUDY LICENSES
Betty Mears, Don Moore and
Joseph Gallant were appointed
by Mayor A1 Hagen as a com
mittee to study the city business
license ordinance following a
special meeting March 17 be
tween several local business rep
resentatives and council mem
bers.
Councilwoman Mears pointed
out that license rates must be set
high enough to cover enforce
ment. These include fire and
health inspections and police en
forcement violations.
Business' representatives felt
the licensing within the city
should be made on a more equal
basis. Anchorage recently revised
part of their license ordinance
to eliminate excessive taxing.
A suggestion made by the busi
nessmen that the city revise their
standards from graduated license
fees to a standard business regis
tration fee of $25 per year for all
businesses required to carry a
Territorial business license, will
be studied by the appointed com
mittee. Mrs. Mears is chairman
of this committee.
ONLY 55 CITY
DOGS ARE LICENSED
According to figures from the
dogs have been licensed in the
City of Palmer for 1953.
According to these figures, only
55 of Palmer’s canine populace
are legally roaming the streets
According to the city ordinance
Continued on page 8
CHAMBER HEARS
T. J. MALONEY,
STEAMSHIP OFFICIAL
Guest speaker at the Chamber
of Commerce meeting held
March 18 was Thomas J. Ma
loney, agent in the Anchorage
office of the Alaska Steamship
Company.
Maloney prefaced his talk with
the statement that during the
recent ship strike in Seattle,
Chamber President, Fred Zieke
was very instrumental in help
ing with the problem. Zieke had
conferred with union officials on
behalf of the local Pitchfork
■ Committee.
While addressing the group,
Maloney pointed out that it is
almost essential that the steam
ship company obtain Liberty
ships from the government. “We
lost the first round, last Fall,” he
said. It is a deep problem effect
ing all of the United States and
’ Alaska. “It is necessary for us
to break out ships at very short
. notice, he said. This is especially
[ so from southbound areas. Salmon
, i from Bristol Bay and Prince
!; William Sound must be moved
. j immediately for they have no
storage facilities at the canneries,
j i Maloney pointed out that it
. i would cost the company 50 thou
'! sand dollars a year to hire a ship.
i i “We can’t hire a ship for a year
. | and use it only three months. It
would cost ten thousand dollars
to equip a ship that might only
be needed for one trip” If we are
unable to get these Liberty ships,
in order to increase our opera
tions, we will have to increase the
freight rates. “That is the last
thing we want to do,” he empha
sized We are proud when we are
able to lower our rates, he said
“It’s good for Alaska and the Al
aska Steamship Company.”
A new contaiher program has
been instituted by ASC, Maloney
announced. These are economical
to, build, he said, averaging
around $11 apiece. The new con
tainers have a 65 cubic foot capa
city with open tops and are col
lapsible, he said. They prevent
pilferage and have dropped
breakage to practically nothing.
Approximately 300-400 of these
containers are being used in the
Southeast area.
Half a million dollars has gone
into the new program, Maloney
said, with a new program, includ
ing steel and plywood types, be
ing planned.
“We must do all in our power
to increase the tourists trade,”
Maloney said. In 1951 there were
20 thousand persons who came to
Alaska over the highway. In 1953 |
there may be 100 thousand . . .
there may come a day when we
have half a million tourists com
ing here. “Workers take up to
90% of their earnings back to the!
states, tourists leave their money
here,” he pointed out. “They will
be the savior of Alaska,” Maloney
prophesied. About 30% of our
trade make the Interior during
their Alaska vacations, Maloney
said. They leave between three
and four thousand dollars apiece
during this time.
Because of limited time, tourists
who are not staying over are un
able to come to Palmer but he
said nearly all of them express
the wish that they could visit the
Matanuska Valley. Possibly some
day, Maloney said, a tour can be
arranged that will include the
I valley. .
i NEW HOSPITAL
CONTRACT TO BE
SIGNED TODAY
, Members of the Valley Hospital
Association board of directors re
ceived a wire this morning from
public health officials in San
Francisco, notifying the board
they have approved the signing
of the contract for the new Val
ley Presbyterian Hospital.
Approval of the C. R. Foss,
Inc. bid had already been given
by the Territorial Public Health
department as well as the Board
of National Missions of the Pres
byterian Church.
To Sign Contract
Ed Smith, president of the hos
pital association and Rev. Brian
Cleworth, secretary, are in An
chorage this afternoon where the
construction contract with suc
cessful bidders C. R. Foss, Inc.
will be signed.
Foss has repeatedly stated that
work will start immediately fol
lowing the contract signing. Rich
j ard Demming has completed all
survey work and the land is now
ready for clearing. Work is ex
pected to start some time next
! week.
Washington Trip
Subject of
Kiwanis Talk
Members of Palmer Kiwanis
club enjoyed an interesting talk i
at their March 16 luncheon meet- j
ing.
Dr. Allan Mick of the Alaska !
Agricultural Experiment Station
briefly reviewed his recent trip
to Washington where he repre
sented Don Irwin local ARA di
rector, in explaining Alaska’s ag
ricultural research program to
the House subcommittee on agri
culture. He reported a very sym
pathetic reception and explained
the Experiment Station antici
pates receiving the same Federal
support during 1954, as received
in 1953. This federal research
money will again be supplement-;
ed by Territorial funds* he said.
Special attention will be focus
ed during the coming year on
strengthening the agricultural ex
tension program in the Territory
and in offering technical course
work for undergraduates at the
University of Alaska, Mick an
nounced. The Experiment Station
expects to make full use of the
Palmer greenhouse facilities this
year.
Conferred with RTA
While in Washington Mick
talked with RTA officials who
are aware of Palmer’s great need
for telephone service, he said. If
and when loan funds become
available next year, RTA is will
ing to consider an application for
assignee, if the Matanuska Val
ley people can get their plans
submited in time. It was stressed
that initiative for the planning
phase must be seized by the Ma
tanuska Valley residents. RTA
may be able to assist in the later
engineering phases of the work,
Mick was told.
Plan "Ladies Night"
Kiwanis members plan a “Lad
ies Night” for Monday evening,
March 23 at 7 p.m. The dinner
and program will be held in the
Co-Op club room.
HAS ANYONE GOT A
: MOTORCYCLE?
;j The cast of the Senior class
!; play, “Brother Goose” are
!; looking high and low for a
!; motorcycle. Big, small or me
!; dium . . . size means nothing
; and ... it does NOT have to
i be in running condition. Any
; one who has such a vehicle
they would be willing to loan
is asked to contact the school
1 office.
WELL-KNOWN VALLEY
WOMAN ENTERED IN
MOTHER CONTEST
Mrs. M. D. Snodgrass, long-time
Valley resident has been entered
in the contest to find the Alaskan
Mother of 1953. Her name was
entered by the Valley Homemak
ers’ Council. The winning mother
has been named, Mrs. Paul V.
Clumpner, Alaskan chairman of
the American Mothers’ committee
said this week, but will not be
revealed until a later date.
Mrs. Snodgrass has made her
home in Alaska the past 47 years,
coming to the Territory as a
bride in 1907. Her husband is now
serving his second term as repre
sentative in the Aaskan legisla
ture and was with the U. S. De
partment of Agriculture for 30
years.
Mrs. Snodgrass was educated in
the public schools of Kansas and
worked her way through Kansas
State College as librarian, obtain
ing a Masters degree and a teach
ing certificate in 1901..
She has been active in civic and
community affairs. She is a lec
turer, chaplain and secretary for
Northland Pioneer Grange No. 1;
director of Theta chapter, Beta
Sigma Phi; served as worthy ma
tron of the Order of Eastern Star
this past year; is a member of
the Womens’ Republican club in
the Valley: Ladies’ Society of the
Protestant church, and the Sour
dough Homemakers’ club.
The Snodgrass’ have two sons
and three daughters- Their sons
are J. Ronald Snodgrass, a dairy
farmer and business man in Pal
mer and Lt. Col. W. B. Snodgrass
who is in the veterinary and pub
lic health branch of the Air For
ce.
All three daughters, Agnes L.
Reed, Margaret E. McCartney and
Mary M. Hale are business wo
men as well as housewives, in
Palmer.
ROOT MAGGOTS IN ALASKA
The Alaska Agricultural Ex
periment Station has recently re
leased a circular which will be of
interest to truck gardeners and
home gardeners throughout the
Terri tony.
This circular briefly discusses
the root maggots which occur in
the Territory and gives control
recommendations which should
materially lessen damage from
root maggots.
The circular is available on re
quest at the Extension Service
office or at the Agricultural Ex
periment Station. The recom
mended control materials can be
obtained from seed companies,
drug stores, feed stores and other
suppliers of agricultural chemi
cals.
PART OF LOOT
DISCOVERED TODAY
NEAR HIGHWAY
City police, the Highway Patrol
and the Marshal’s office have
combined efforts to solve a minor
crime wave that hit Palmer early
this week and continued through
this morning.
Sometime in the early hours of
Sunday morning the Palmer Drug
store was entered and $100 in
in cash was stolen from the foun
tain register; two Bulova watches,
a wallet and cigarettes. Investi
gations Sunday indicated forced
entrance was made through the
basement door, located at the rear
of the store. A torch made from
a package of cotton was extin
guished when a candle was found
by the robbers. Candle drippings
indicated they had traveled over
most of the store, including the
office where the safe was locat
ed and through Adams Photo
Shop, located in the basement of
the store.
Upon opening for business
Tuesday morning, Irvin Plitt dis
covered he had again had “com
pany” during the evening and
that two more watches were miss
ing; two Ronson lighters; a Rem
ington electric shaver; $10 in
coins from the register and more
Lucky Strike cigarettes. They had
apparently taken their loot to the
basement where tags from the
watches an$ the razor case was
found in the photo shop. Prints
Ray Adams had ready for de
livery had been removed from
their envelope and thrown into
the bath-water. Entrance was
made through the same rear door.
Pli-tt had ordered parts for re
pairs but the carpenter had been
A/'^VWWWWWWWWWS^N^WWN^N.
Several cigarette lighters,
many pieces of costume jewel
ry and a binocular case was
found by Roland Snodgrass
this noon along his private
road. Tags afixed to the articles
indicate they are part of that
stolen throughout the week
from the Palmer Drug store.
Snodgrass reported his findings
and turned them over to U. S.
Commissioner Dorothy B. Sax
ton.
unable to complete the work that
day.
Early this morning entrance
was made at the North Palmer
store where as far as can be de
termined, only one or two car
tons of Lucky Strike cigarettes
were stolen. However, a crowbar,
belonging to carpenters doing
work at the store was stolen and
later found in the Palmer Drug
where entrance was again made
through the rear door. Heavy iron
braces had been specially made
and attached to the door with
the thought that entrance could
not longer be gained. However,
with the help of the crowbar,
some person or persons got in and
this time cleaned out the stock
of watches, took additional cig
aretes and rifled through the
camera stock. There was no
money at either place last night.
The confidence of the robbers
was illustrated at the North Pal
mer store where outside neon
tubing and a light within the
store burn all night. Entrance
was made through the front door.
Bob Johns said this morning that
the glass in the door was not
broken but that the door-jam had
(Continued on page 8)
WASILLA COMM. HALL
MARCH 21, 1953
10 P.M.-2 A.M.
WASILLA ST. PATRICK'S 'DANCE
SCHAEFER’S
ORCHESTRA