t
Thought of the Week:
The world is crammed with
brave men who are afraid of
their wives.
» •» . I I
*j • ■ 2 u } 1
The Frontiersman
PUBLISHED IN THE INTEREST OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
BOROUGH MEETING
8 P. M.. MARCH 5
WASILLA SCHOOL
VOLUME 17. NUMBER 1
PALMER. ALASKA. THURSDAY. MARCH 1. 1962
Eight Pages
PRICE 15 CENTS
Aiat&booJz
Phil O'Neill of the MEA
hoard of directors, and Mason
LaZelle, MEA manager, will at
tend the N.R.E.C.A. convention
being held in Atlantic City
March 4, 5, 6. While in the
East the men will also confer
with REA officials on the gen
eration picture relative to area
development.
Bodel Rasmusson will be hos
tess for the March 5 meeting of
Theta Chapter Beta Sigma Phi.
Paula Kucera will conduct the
cultural program based on pic
tures.
Two Palmer men will be ob
serving their birthdays during
the month of March. They are
Alfred (Al) Gregerson, who
will be 84 years of age on
March 21 and Angus McDonald
will be 76 years old on March
3 Both men are guests at the
Alaska Pioneer’s Home in Sit
ka.
MEA COMMITTEE
NAMES NOMINEES
An appointed nominating
committee for the Matanuska
Electric Association on Febru
ary 20 nominated the following
candidates for vacancies on the
board of directors:
Robert Tucker and Walter
Mayr, incumbents, both of Sut
ton; Virgil Flint and John Stee
by of the Chugiak-Birchwood
Eagle River areas; Pettis L.
Woodward and Claude Kelton
of the Wasilla-Big Lake areas;
Robert Douglas of Willow
Ilouston area, and Robert Es
tes of Palmer.
Due to road conditions four
members of the nominating
committee were unable to at
tend the meeting. However,
their nominations were sub
mitted prior to the meeting.
Members of the nominating
committee were: Don Irwin,
chairman, Virginia Gallant.
Palmer area; Eleanor Mrak,
Claude Gabbitt, Sutton area;
Carl Steeby, Dale Briggs, Eag
le River-Chugiak - Birchwood
area; Mary Bergman, Walter
Teeland, Wasilia - Big Lake
area; Bob Douglas, Ray White,
Willow-Houston area; and
Mike Vasilie, Butte area.
Two directors are to be elect
ed and will serve for a two
year period. The annual mem
bership meeting of MEA will
be held on April 14.
SELF SERVICE
DRY CLEANING AT
Valley Cleaners
(Across from P.ggly-Wiggiy)
WILL
RE-OPEN MARCH 10
instead of March 3 as
previously announced
3 LBS. for $2.25
plus tax
Door prizes will be given
away every day for the
first two weeks!
Proposal Threatens
Mine Month Power
In a telegram received this
week by The Frontiersman,
Jalmar Kerttula, District Re
presentative, reports that the
Bradley Lake power resolution
has been tied to the Snetisham
power proposal and has passed
the House. "Theoretically this
j could be adverse to local mine
month electrical generation,”
Kerttula stated, and added that
the Senate should be advised
AUCTION RESULTS
ASSURES VALLEY
OF NEW MUSEUM
Some $830 was realized from
the merchant’s auction spon
sored by the Matanuska Val
i ley Chamber of Commerce and
i Matanuska Valley Historical
Society last Saturday. With
work and material donations
offered by the Matanuska Elec
tric Association and Ketchikan
i Spruce Mills, the goal of $1,
000 was a little more than real
ized, according to Harry Evans,
t manager of the Palmer Piggly
i Wiggly store who served as
i chairman of the auction.
Much of the success of the
I auction goes to the contributing
1 merchants who gave generous
j ly of new sale items from their
places of business, and to Jim
i Rutt, a member of the Nation
• al Auctioneers Association who
i donated his time and unlimited
talent to the auction which was
i held in Moose hall, courtesy of
; the Palmer Moose lodge.
Several members of the spon
j soring organizations devoted
| much of their time to the nec
; essary preparations. Naming
only a few of these would
! include Howard Campbell who
| donated the use of his truck
! for pick-up service, Dick Ben
. son who loaned his truck and
PA system, and Eva Campbell,
i who conducted a coffee sale at
i the auction and donated all
' proceeds to the auction.
The Campbells several weeks
ago donated space in the base
GDP’s Reschedule
District Convention
Eugene Reid, Republican
committeeman in District 7,
this week received notice from
the Southcentral District Com
mittee that the District Repub
lican Convention, scheduled for
April 6 and 7 has been resched
uled for August 17 and 18. Area
caucuses will be called prior to
I the August meeting. The State
I convention meeting dates has
; been announced by the Repub
; licans for September 14, 15,
! and 16, Reid added.
HEART FUND CANS
ARE DISTRIBUTED
Collection cannisters were
this week placed in various
business establishments in the
valley area. Although the cam
paign was late in getting start
ed in the valley, it is anticipat
ed that annual contributions to
the fund will run about the
same as in past years.
PUBLIC INVITED
5TH ANNUAL SHROVE TUESDAY
PANCAKE SUPPER
Toes., March 6 —Elks Hall —5-7 p.m.
• SOURDOUGH PANCAKES
• HAM • FRUIT COCKTAIL
• HOT OR COLD BEVERAGES
Sponsored by
St. Bartholomews Episcopal Church Women
Adults $1.50 Children 75 cents
by interested persons. The reso- j
lution is HJR 57.
Representative Kerttula also
reports that HB 36 has passed '
the Senate. “This about cinches
Jack Corey's righl to own his!
land,” he stated. The guide bill
which adversely effects lo al
enterprises, has been tabled, he
reported.
No mention was made of the
State Bair bill. Mayor Bill Mil
ler, who is in Juneau on behalf
of the Alaska State Fair, Inc.,'
reported last Friday that he
feels he is making some pro-,
gress, but no favorable word
has been received in the valley
to date. As far as can be deter
mined, the bill is still in the
hands of the finance committee
and has not yet been reported
out on the floor.
NEED MORE SINGERS
FOR KIWANIS
MINSTREL SHOW
Tiie ail-male chorus which
will appear in the 1962 Kiwanis
minstrel show, is in need of two
ar three additional singers, it
was announced this week by
Harlow Hodgson, co-director of
the show. Chorus rehearsals,
under the direction of Ray
Holtz, are held at 7 p.m. each
Tuesday and Thursday at Cen
tral school. Any man interested
in singing in the chorus is in
vited to turn out for rehearsal.
Specialty numbers, which
this year will include a variety
of nine acts, are busy in re
hearsal, as are the mirth- pro
voking end men and interlocu
tor.
The minstrel show, ‘‘Fallout
Follies” will be presented Mar
ch 30 and 31 in Central gym
nasium. and promises to be one
of the local club’s best produc
tions.
WORLD DAY DF PRAYER
TO BE OBSERVED MARCH 9
The 7Gth annual observance
of World Day of Prayer will
be held at 12:15 p.m., Friday,
March 9 in the Church of God
on Matanuska Street. A pro
gram of worship and prayer, es
pecially prepared by Christian
women of Uruguay, will be
followed, it was announced.
Two areas of special need, for
which an offering will be tak
en, center on the unfinished
task of 1901—Alaska and Afri
ca. In Alaska the focus is on
Anchorage where persons are
moving in by the thousands.
Part of the offering from
around the world will help fi
nance a Christian worker for
the Anchorage area who will
coordinate newcomers into a
Christian community, a spokes
man said this week.
In Africa the special offer
ing will be used to help estab
lish a broadcasting and audio
visual center for the whole of
Africa; equip two recording
studios in Elizabethville and
Luiubourg in the Congo and
one in Uganda, together with a
broadcasting-recording studio
in Nigeria.
Another special emphasis of
1962 will be on the training of
women of the Protestant
churches for fuller service in
today's world. This will include
visiting lectureships or ex
change professorships from col
leges now aided by World Day
of FTaver offerings.
VIRGIL ECKERT REJOINS CO-OP
Stewart Durrant, general
manager of the Matanuska Val-j
ley Farmers Cooperating Asso
ciation, announced this week
that Virgil Eckert of Palmer on
March 1 was retained by the
association as purchasing agent
and supply manager, a position
Eckert previously held, prior to
leaving the association in 1959.
Eckert's Supply Center, lo
cated near Wasilla, opened
about a year ago by Eckert, will
become a branch of MVFCA
and operated by the associa
tion. Durrant said.
Eckert lias been associated
with the association for many
years as a farmer and dairy
man and as manager of the
warehouse for a number of
years.
In his position as purchasing
agent and supply manager he
will have his office located in
the general office building,
however, he will be spending
considerable time in personal
contact with area farmers and
field work m special sales re
presentation
"Lo and Behold" Here
Friday and Saturday
<1
The first performance of the
laugh-loaded play, “Lo and
Behold”, will be presented to
morrow night when the cur
tain rises at Central gymnasium
at eight o’clock. Curtain time
will be the same for the final
performance on Saturday
| night.
I Members of the Valley Thea
j tre Guild have been guided in
their rehearsals by Midge Mel
endy, director and Jack Riley,
who also plays the role of the
attorney in the play. Mrs. Mel
endy, who has put a great deal
of effort into the production,
is affectionately called “Cecil
B.” (DeMille) by the cast. Riley,
in addition to helping with the
direction, has done an inspired
job of painting posters which
are on display around town,
and has handled much of the
stage work.
Cast of this leading comedy
are this week putting final
touches to their roles. The aud
iences viewing this production
have a big surprise in store for
them when they see the re
J
markable talent displayed by
the amateur performers. Larry
Kincaid is spell-binding in the
difficult role of the accentric
Milo Alcott. The three lively
“departed spirits” are excep
tionally portrayed by Myrtle
Hume, Kitty Johnson, and Jack
Dodge. The romantic triangle
is deftly handled by Harry
Evans, Muriel Watturn and
Gary Brown. Rounding out the
cast is the small, but important
part of the attorney, played by
Riley.
A joy-filled evening is fore
cast for all those who see the
Theatre Guild’s production. Ad
vance ticket sales indicate a
good house for both performan
ces. Reserved seats are still
available at Kitty’s Koffee Mill.
General admission tickets may
be purchased at the door at
$1.00 each. Reserved seats are
$1.50 each. Several theatre par
ties are being formed in the
valley area and those groups
desiring group seating are in
vited to make reservations at
the Koffee Mill.
PALMER RESIDENTS
TAKE AWARDS AT
FUR RENDEZVOUS
Many valley residents at
tended the 19G2 Anchorage Fur
Rendezvous last week and join
ed thousands of other viewers
in declaring it the best one
ever staged. There were quite
a few area residents who par
ticipated in the Rendezvous.
The Palmer high school drum
corps, for the second year, took
first place in drum and bugle
corp section of the annual Fur
Rendezvous parade. This year
the drum corp had new Scotch
kilt skirts and knee socks.
Trumpets have been added this
year. Also seen in the parade
was a new calliope which was
recently purchased by Play
land at Wasilla. Bud Brouse
was organist. Members of the
Arctic Trails Riding Club ad
ded much to the section of the
parade which featured Alaskan
riders. The Riding Club also
participated in ski joring
events held later in the day.
Ed Ueeck, Mr. Furface of
1961, took first place this year
in the heard contest’s Pole cat
division.
One Palmer resident, who
charmed the many with whom
she came in contact, was Gin
ger Lawton, Alaska State Fair
Miss Congenality who rode in
the parade directly behind the
Palmer drum corps. For her
parade appearance Miss Law
ton was attired in ski clothes
and fur parka. During the after
noon she was a guest at the
Parade of Industry and in the
evening joined queens from
throughout Alaska to attend
the Queen’s Pageant where she
was introduced to the public.
She was again introduced at
the Queen’s Ball which was
held at Edge-water. Mrs. Law
ton accompanied her daughter
to the Rendezvous events.
Mary Dee Fox, IT year old
East Anchorage high school
senior, was named queen of
this year’s Rendezvous, and
George Attla of Huslia. for the
second time in his racing car
eer, won the Championship
Dog Sled Races.
Forming Power Co-Op
In Southcentral Area
j The formation of a coopera
tive corporation which would
develop generation and trans
i mission facilities in the Central
and Southcentral areas of Al
i aska, was the subject of a
! meeting held February 23 in
Anchorage.
j The City of Anchorage. City
of Fairbanks. Chugaeh Electric
i Association, Homer Electric
Association and the Matanuska
Electric Association were re
j presented by their attornies at
• the meeting. Tiie City of Sew
ard was represented by Admir
al Chester Kuntz. The Copper
Valley Electric Association and
; Golden Valley Electric Asso
ciation were not represented
(but have indicated their accep
tance of the concept.
| The delegates reached a un
animous agreement on board
j articles of incorporation to be
1 submitted to the various gov
erning bodies ot the utilities in
volved, according to Mason La
Zello, MEA manager.
The primary purpose of the
! corporation, to be known as Al
: aska Generation and Transmis
sion Electric Cooperative
| (AGATE) will be to construct
I and operate a generation and
I transmission grid stretching
! frm the Seward-Homer area on
the south, to Fairbanks on the
north and the Copper Valley on
the east.
Incorporation will be the
first step taken. Following this
action a series of meetings will
jbe held among members and
.with Rural Electrification Ad
i ministration officials to work
j out various problems encount
(Continued on page 8)
Officials to Meet
In Wasilla Tuesday
A joint conference will be!
held March 5 at 8 p.m. at the
Wasilla School of all Advisory
School boards. Palmer Board of
Education and invited State
educational authorities who
will attempt to determine the
transitional phasing, budgetary
problems, and State-supported
programs which will occur as
schools are placed under the
jurisdiction of an area-wide!
school board administration in j
the boroughs system.
All other persons interested
in this phase of borough
study are asked to attend the
meeting and to aid in con
structively developing recom
mendations to provide area
wide participation.
At a meeting held February
2ti borough study committees
undertook to determine the ex- j
tent of the government struc
ture and administration costs
as well as determining the tax
base (as presently possible),
within the Matanuska-Susitna
f valleys.
Investigation of the borough
, assembly size and npportion
, ment is being conducted by the
| Wasilla Grange, Don Dinkel,
master; service area function
and determination of areas that
may require use for supporting
fire protection service and
j other needs is jointly admiriis
tered by K. R. Gillow of Was
illa and by Mrs. Libby Martin
and Mrs. Jean Woods in the
Pioneers Planning
Institution Here
On March 11
Big plans are under way for
a celebration which will be ob
served in Palmer on March 11
: when the Alaska Pioneers Igloo
31 is instituted, according to
Heinie Snider who was recent
ly elected president of the
Pioneer’s first new igloo in
, many years.
Many dignitaries have been
invited to attend the cere
monies which will begin at
12:30 p.m. at the Palmer Elks
hor.iu*. invited ouests include
U. S. Senators E. L. Bartlett
and Ernest Gruening, U. S.
Representative Ralph J.
Rivers, Governor William A.
Egan (all Pioneer members
except Gruening), Palmer
Mayor Bill Miller. Grand
Igloo officers.
A public welcome for the
Grand officers and other visit
ing dignitaries will be held at
12:30 p.m. and the public is cor
dially invited to attend. For
mal ceremonies will begin at
2 p.m. at the Elks home. It is
anticipated that there will be
somewhere near 4a charter
members of the Igloo. Initia
tion ceremonies will be follow
ed by the institution of the
lodge and then officers will be
installed in their respective of
fices
Don Ingalls, Igloo secretary,
today reminded these charter
members that all applications
and fees must be in and ap
proved prior to the March 11
date. These may be left at Kos
losky’s Department Store, or
given to Ingalls.
Palmer area.
School administration and
transitional programming,
fiscal investigation and pro
jected costs of upgrading all
stale schools to level of Pal
mer Independent School Dis
trict consists of several com
mittees from all commun
ities: Mrs. Jones, PTA. Tal
keelna; Blankenship and
Langsfor. Montana; Ed Mar
tin, Caswell; Jennie Edwards,
Big Lake; Mary Carter, Was
iila; William Zahradnicek and
school board members. Pal
mer Independent School Dis
trict.
Revenue committee, which is
investigating the extent of real
property evaluation. City of
Palmer administration costs,
sources of shared taxes with
the state, and projected costs of
borough government and ser
vice is well advanced under the
leadership of L. J. 'Smith and
the cooperation of the Palmer
city government. ;
The committee on govern
mental structure and depart
ment functions has a very
heavy work load to deter
mine the present state and
city functions which may be
integrated into the local gov
ernmental unit, cost analy
sis for recommending inclu
sion or exclusion, and pro
jected department personnel
needs, is being carried on by
Rev. Claude Klaver and Wil
liam MacPhearson of#Wasilla.
with the cooperation of exist
ing agencies.
Contact and conferenced with
the State Division of Highways
has been made to determine the
transitional program for as
sumption of local roid main
tenance and construction by the
roads committee as reported by
L. J. Smith and R. Kurnofsky.
Community meetings in
Willow, Goose Bay, Bag Lake
Burma Road area are be ill g
programmed for thfc early
part of March. Enaourage
ment to aid in the investiga
tive studies is urged'. *
All committtees need addi
tional personnel to carry out
some 01 their assignments. Vol
unteers who are nee dud imme
diately are asked t^coiitact
Bob Vroman, boruuMt study
chairman at FR 0-324* or Paul
Carlson, PI 5-3072, or commit
teemen mentioned abi^ve. ^
PALMER LOSES iFiRST
GAME; MEETS WASILLA
The Palmer Moose'lost their
first game in the opining ses
sion of the Western Alaska
Basketball Tourname&it in An
chorage February 27 when East
Anchorage High tLok the
game, 48-46. The Moose will
play again tonight when they
meet Wasilla loser of Wednes
day's game betweetf Wasilla
and West Anchorage. Wasilla
this year took the Class C tour
nament.
The tournament is being con
ducted on a double-elemina
tion basis and therefore a team
may lose one game and still
win. but if two ganuls are lost,
they are eliminated.!
The Palmer Pioneer Band
will be playing at thi game to
night. |
—--:-i-:-.
GOME HONOR IDA (Granny) BEITS
ON HER 77TH BIRTHDAY
KING MT. LODGE
FREE KING GRAB FEED
SATURDAY, MARCH 3,-7 P.M.
Mile 77 Glenn Highway
ALL WELCOME
r
March "¥ A an|l ,p" CE,T"lL eY"
2^3 JU^P m&S&Uh ■VVMiWHlfi Presented by Valley Theatre Guild