Vol. 1, No. 11
Palmer, Alaska, October 22, 1947
Ten Cents
Palmer School Forced To Refuse New Students
Many Storage
Problems Do
Stump Expert
‘ The man’s who’s probably
made more mistakes on potato
storage than any other man liv
ing.” That’s the way Alfred D.
Edgar, agricultural engineer
with the Department of Agricul
ture, describes himself. However
his associates would hasten to
add, ‘ also probably the'only man
living who knows as many right
answers on potato storage.”
All of which goes to prove Mr.
Edgar’s repeated assertion, “you
can’t make a hard and fast rule
in this business. The thing that
works in one place won’t al
ways work in another. The con
ditions seem to be the same, and
you think it should, but it won’t.”
Mf. Edgar is in the Valley now
to study crop storage facilities
here. He also has a second pur
pose, which is to attempt to tabu
late all the principal farming
problems here in land clearing,
irrigation, machinery and farm
UUlJLUlUgfe.
Looks For Trouble
Although not a specialist in
these particular fields, Mr. Ed
gar’s job as agricultural en
gineer gives him the background
Oj spot trouble when he sees it.
Ind once the trouble is located,
i^as his' hope to be able to di
rect a specific problem to the
ns|n who knows its answer.
He said, however, that the Val
2S could not hope for a series
f'visits from the Department of
Agriculture’s top men. Most of
the troubleshooting in the terri
tory hereafter will be done
through channels of the Alaska
experimental stations.
The Valley farmers already
have been extremely fortunate
in obtaining on-the-spot advice
froir> key officials in the Depart
ment, Mr. Edgar stated. He cited
as an example the recent visit of
Dr.. O. E. Reed, chief of the en
tire dairy industry of the United
States. He pointed out that it is
not often that a man with as
great a responsibility as Dr.
Reed’s can travel so far to de
vote time and attention to 40
herds of cows.
Mr. Edgar’s job, as he de
scribes it, is that of “finding out
how to design storages to get the
conditions that Federal, state and
territorial research workers say
they want.” He’s been at that
job since 1931.
Extensive Research
The engineer has conducted
extensive research projects in
Maine, Minnesota and North Da
kota. He finds the North Dakota
climate most closely approaches
that of the Valley, but again
he cautioned against the general
ization that because climates are
alike, the same type of storage
is desirable for both.
Mr. Edgar says there is no
other way to learn in this field
exce.pt by a trial and error meth
od. Laboratories can find,
through research, a method
which it is believed will work.
However that method can be
proved only by actual tests in the
field.
Maine Spuds Froze
“I’ve made lots of mistakes in
testing ideas that I thought
would work,” he commented.
“In Maine, once, I froze a lot of
(Continued on Page 7)
The Au-Ro-Ra, blue and gold streamliner recently put into operation by The Alaska Railroad,
is shown on its initial run. The train brought 3 00 Anchorage school children, as well as railroad
officials and guests, to Palmer last Thursday. The streamliner halted here for an hour and
then backed to Matanuska to switch for the return trip to Anchorage. The seven-coach train
reached a speed of 42 miles an hour just outside Matanuska, when Frank O'Donnell, 25-year
veteran at locomotive throttles, gave it the gun at a level section of track. The twin-diesel
powered train is expected to make a 10-hour trip to Fairbanks when track conditions are im
proved. (Anchorage Times Photo by Howard Robinson).
PHS, Alumni
Clash Friday
Official announcement of the
opening of the ’47-’48 basketball
season for Palmer high school
came from the office of the su
perintendent this week. Firsl
game of the current season wiL
be Friday evening’s engagemem
between Coach Lawrence Gib
son’s regulars and the Art Sta
cey-trained Alumni.
High school officials hope tc
make this Alumni clash a tra
ditional season-opener in th<
years ahead.
There will be a preliminary
game Friday between the higl
school scrubs and Wasilla. Game
times have not yet been definite
ly fixed, but will be announcec
later this week by Mr. Gibson.
Admission prices for the
coming season have been
fixed. Game tickets this year
will cost 35 cents for grade
school students, 50 cents for
high school students, and $1
for adults. No season tickets
will be sold.
Superintendent Carl Snelling
who announced the prices, saic
upkeep and insurance for th<
gymnasium must come fron
game receipts. He pointed ou
that ticket sales do not all r6
vert to the school, for a 20 pel
cent Federal tax is chargee
against each ticket.
Valley residents are invited t(
attend the high school game
this year. However, Mr. Snell
ing reminded that rules govern
ing' the use of school property
must be enforced at all basket
ball games, as well as at all othe:
functions held in the gymnasium
Smoking will not be permit
ted within the gym, but smok
ers may use the lobby between
the gymnasium and the school.
This 'no smoking' rule applies
to locker rooms and dressing
rooms, as well as in the gym
proper.
It is requested that everyom
attending the games enter th
gymnasium by the main gate
Guards will be stationed at al
other entrances, and no one wil
be admitted except at the fron
door.
Helen Mae Slenvall, president of the sophomore class of Palmer
high school, shows Col. John P. Johnson, general manager of
The Alaska Railroad, one example of the kitchen problem
local farmers are creating for Valley housewives. The cab
bage which Helen Mae helps Colonel Johnson hold, is a 32
pounder from the cabbage patch of Max Sherrod. If cabbages
this size continue to reach Valley dinnerlables, housewives
say outsize kitchen equipment is going to be needed to handle
them. The cabbage was presented to Colonel Johnson with
the compliments of the Valley Chamber of Commerce. (Photo
by Palmer Photographic Center).
I P-TA To Meet
, Tuesday Night
’ The October meeting of the
. Parent-Teachers Association will
r be held in Palmer school next
' Tuesday evening at 8 o’clock, it
was announced today by Mrs.
■ Charles Schaefer. Place of the
meeting has been changed from
the music room to the cafeteria.
At this meeting, all Valley resi
dents who have come to the ter
ritory over the Alaska highway,
are the invited guests of the reg
ular members. Mrs. Schaefer said
she was particularly anxious to
; have all highway travellers at
; tend. She has issued a blanket
. invitation to Valley residents and
1 also is atempting to reach as
1 many as possible by personal in
t vitation.
Guests are asked to bring pic
Dairy Industry Chief
Returns To Washington
Dr. O. E. Reed, chief of the
bureau of dairy industry, who
has been in the Valley for the
past several weeks, left Anchor
age last Thursday morning. He
planned to spend a day or two
there, and a day or two in Ju
neau, befQre leaving Alaska. He
will return to his office in Wash
ington, D. C., with a report of
Valley herd conditions.
While here Dr. Reed outlined
a herd improvement program for
Valley dairymen, which has been
unanimously accepted for use.
tures of their trip, if they de
sire. Pictures should be labelled
with the owner’s name so that
they do not become lost.
Three Grades
Reach Peak,
Others Near
The doors of Palmer school
were closed to four children last
Friday. The four sought admit
tance to grade classes in the
school, which already have
reached peak loads in classroom
capacity, superintendent Carl
Snelling said.
Mr. Snelling said he regretted
the necessity of refusing entrance
to the children, but he had no al
ternative. An absolute maximum
enrollment has been reached in *
the first, third and fifth grades
of Palmer school. Each of these
classrooms is jammed with a
plus-40 registration list. Normal
clasroom enrollment in the Palm
er grade school should not ex
ceed 20 pupils.
An appeal has been sent to the
office of the territorial commis
sioner of education for added
funds. One extra teacher could
take the over-load from several
classrooms, Mr. Snelling ex
plained. This would temporarily
meet the problem which faces the
Palmer school, but not for long,
he warned. Almost every class
in the Palmer grade school is
close to maximum capacity.
If funds for the salary for an
extra teacher can be secured, an
other grade classroom can be
added by shifting high school
classes. At present, there are no
seats available, but it is felt that
(Continued on page 4)
Rusty Dow Finds
Airborne Bulls
Are Lightweights
Rusty Dow, local trucker, got
a brand new 1947 Studebaker
truck this week.
She’s plenty thrilled with it.
From the first moment she saw
it she began dreaming up new
business possibilities for her
Palmer-Anchorage shopping ser
vice and freight hauling.
So she was more than pleased
to find her first assignment with
it was to be something slightly
different than a normal trucking
chore. She was ordered to pick
up two bulls, flown from the
states to Anchorage, for Valley
consignees.
Reaching back into early
Texas memories of cattle sizes,
Rusty spent the whole trip into
Anchorage calculating tonnage
and space. She concluded her
new truck was more than ade
quate and wheeled jauntily into
Merrill field planning how to
cope with her next problem—
that of persuading Hereford
bulls to swap air transportation
for a motorized conveyance.
Pulling into the Mt. McKinley
Airfreight yards to pick up her
cargo, Rusty found her space
problems had been greatly ex
aggerated. In her own words,
she found waiting for her, “two
of the cutest little Hereford
calves you’ve ever seen.”
Now Rusty’s hearing a good
many remarks about the truck
er that started to Anchorage for
bulls and came back with bull
ets.
The Hereford babies are des
tined to improve the beef herds
of the Grow brothers on the
Wasilla road and the herd of
Frank Clark.