CANYON’S IN TROUBLE-See Page 2 !
Yol. 1, No. 7
Palmer, Alaska, October 8, 1947
Ten Cents
Dr. Reed Sees Very Bright Future For Valley
Ward Building
To Be Ready
By November 1
Plumbers and flooring carpen
ters are rushing work at the
Steve Ward building, newest
structure to be added to Palmer’s
list of office and living quarters.
Present plans call for the first
tenants to move in by Nov. 1,
Mr. Ward said Sunday.
The building, a two-story con
crete structure, 50x100 feet, will
house apartments and offices on
the,second floor and business es
tablishments on the first.
Ground was broken for the
building only last April. It would
be occupied at the present time,
but for a delay caused by plumb
ing materials, according to Mr.
Ward.
The upstairs offices will be oc
cupied by Experiment station
headquarters, a dentist and a
beauty shop. There are six single
and two double apartments on
this floor, in addition to janitor’s
quarters.
Single apartments consist of a
living room, kitchenette and
bath. There is a bedroom added
in the two larger units. The kitch
ens will be equipped with an all
electric porcelain kitchen unit,
combining sink, stove and re
frigeration.
Mr. Ward says he has had
“hundreds of inquiries” for liv
ing quarters already. He believes
that some of the apartments also
will be ready for occupancy by
Nov. 1.
The ground-floor will house
Mr. Ward’s cocktail lounge, a
modern restaurant and a store.
To date, the store space is the
only unrented portion of the
building. A plumbing shop is to
be set up in the basement. The
basement also will provide ample
storage space for the first-floor
businesses and will house the oil
furnaces which heat the build
ing.
Mr. Ward said tenants would
move into their quarters just as
rapidly as the space is finished.
Equipment for the restaurant is
already in Palmer and will begin
to be installed as soon as the
floor is laid.
It is estimated that the entire
building will be completed no
later than December of this year.
Two Movie Fans
Are Frontiersman
Readers Now
Two Friday show-goers got
added dividends for the purchase
of a movie ticket last week. Mrs.
H. M. Smith and Bernard Bou
vrens, only two present in the
Valley theatre when 10 names
were drawn, each received a
month’s subscription to the Val
ley Frontiersman.
Since Mr. Bouwens a d
stopped in the lojjby-'fiforder a
paper before the show, his or
dered subscription will be ex
tended to two months instead of
one. Mrs. Smith was a new Fron*
tiersman reader.
New Valley Store
To Sell Surplus
War Materials
Surplus war goods became ob
tainable to valley buyers last
week, when Clyde and John
King opened their new store in
the Theatre Annex building. The
store, at the present time, car
ries a supply of blankets, sleep
ing bags, parkas, army clothing
and small kitchen utensils.
Later larger surplus items will
be added and stoves and refrig
erators will be available at the
store. Store hours at present are
1 to 6 p.m.
Hobby Shop To Open
In Surplus Store
Shelves on which to display
model planes and the other stock
in trade of a modern hobby shop
are being nailed to the walls of
the Valley Annex building today.
The carpenter shop is in prepar
ation for the week-end opening
of the Hobby Shop, to be man
aged by Dick and Bob Lucas.
The shop will occupy one cor
ner of the war surplus store of
the King brothers. Model planes,
motors, and all hobbycraft ma
terials will be available there.
It is also the hope of the Lucas
brothers to organize a model
plane club in the Valley. They’ll)
announce further plans for that
club in the near future.
TO HOMER
Parker Lester, Extens i o n
agent, and Dr. O. E. Reed, chief
of the bureau of dairy industry
of the Department of Agricul
ture, will be in Homer on Oct.
9, they announced today. They
hope to meet with dairymen
there to discuss herd problems.
The pair will be in the Homer
area for at least three days.
Concern Will
Sponsor Trip
For Sandvik
Edward Aikins district manag
er of the Allis-Chalmers Manu
facturing Co., this week announc
ed that his organization would
sponsor the entire trip of Lynn
Sandvik of Palmer, when the
local youth travels to Chicago
next month.
Lynn recently was announced
territorial winner of the 4-H gar
dening project. He is to represent
the territory in that field at the
national 4-H conference in Chi
cago.
Several national firms, among
them the Allis-Chalmers Co., had
agreed to send territorial win
ners to Chicago from Seattle. A
number of Alaskan firms were
co-operating to finance the trip
from the territory to Seattle.
However, Mr. Aikins, who was
in Nome when the winners were
announced, secured his com
pany’s permission to finance the
entire trip for one winner.
The A-C representative said
he long had felt it was time for
Alaskans to share equally with
states residents in opportunity.
He stated that his company was
proud to be able to- offer Lynn
this trip as one proof of that be
lief.
Mr. Aikins was in the Valley
last week with H. A. Floyd of
Lomen Equipment, Inc., of An
chorage. He has been travelling
in the territory for the past sev
eral weeks. Although headquar
tered in Seattle, Mr. Aikins rep
resents Allis-Chalmers through
out British Columbia, Alaska and
the Yukon Territory.
I
Road to Romance
Via Brazil
Is Still Rocky
More coils of red tape were
being clipped by Bernard
Swoboda of Palmer this week.
Mr. Swoboda, whose fiancee.
Miss Adalgesia Lopes lives in
Recife, Brazil, was still sign
ing papers last Friday, in an
effort to get Miss Lopes aboard
an airliner and en route to
Alaska.
The couple recently discov
ered that a proxy marriage
would gain Miss Lopes admis
sion to the territory. Mr. Swo
boda signed the necessary pa
pers some time ago, and began
checking off the days against
the arrival of Miss Lopes.
But this week' there came
one more official request,
along with the news that Mr.
Swoboda isn't even a bride
groom by proxy yet. Before
the Brazilian ceremony can
be performed, he must swear
that he yrill re-marry his bride
immediately upon her arrival
here.
Mr. Swoboda swore and
Mrs. Walter E. Huntley, U. S.
Commissioner and postmis- |
tress here, drew up the neces
sary papers. She also sold Mr.
Swoboda a new supply of air
mail stamps so that he may
continue his Brazilian ro- }
mance.
LAWBREAKER FINED
Fishing without a license cost
Andrew Runyan of Fort Rich
ardson $50 this week. Mr. Run
yan was apprehended by Holger
Larson of the Fish and Wildlife
Service. The fisherman was tried
in commissioner’s court here last
Friday.
Palmer School Teacher Finds
France Still Hungry in 1947
If daily crisping temperatures
remind her too sharply of ap-j
proaching winter, Miss Peggy
Elfson, second grade teacher at
Palmer school, just lets- her mind
dwell on memories of a summer
biking trip through the south of
France when the temperature
was 140 degrees in the sun. It
doesn’t take more than a moment
or two of such reminiscing to
make Miss Elfson content with
the prospects of a Palmer win
ter.
In spite of soaring tempera
tures that gave her hives,
bleached her hair and tanned her
skin, Miss Elfson considers the
summer just past the most mo
mentous vacation she’s ever had.
The Palmer schoolteacher left
New York last June 24 aboard a
steamer carrying students and re
ligious workers to Europe. She
debarked at Le Havre in France
an dimmediately Jpok the train
for Cauterets, high in the Pyre*
•fjjes of southern France.
Slabl*T«
There, she andrll other ftififij
bers of the Youth Hostel groua
which left New York together?
spent three weeks in constructing
a hostel. The slight young school
teacher handled shovel and
wheel-barrow pushing assign
ments, in company with others
of the group. They were engaged
in transforming a barn, vacated
by its former dairy tenants only
the week before, into another of
Europe’s many Youth Hostel shel
ters.
Following the completion of
their project, the group was free
to travel until time to re-embark
at Le Havre on August 24. They
spent the weeks between in a
combined bicycle and train tour
of French, Belgian and Swiss
cities.
They travelled by bicycle when
in the Youth Hostel districts, and
made long trips by train. They
hiked in all, about 1,000 kilo
meters, and travelled 3,000 kilo
meters by train.
Through Four Lands
Their carried them to
Carcassone,
arseilles, Caa
amonix la
fence
£ journey into Switzerland',
mf at Geneva and Luxem
bourg, and continuing into Brus
sels and Bruges in Belgium.
The finished their trip with
a bicycle tour to Dunkirk and
the invasion coast in the north of
France, and ended with an eight
day stay in Paris.
The group, made up of 10 mem
bers of the Youth Hostel and
two leaders, stopped in Hostel
shelters along the way. They
spent nights in castles, stables,
farm houses, churches and
ruined residences. On occasion,
they camped outside in a farm
er’s field. At Cannes, their hostel
was located in a former prison
on an island' in the bay. In Paris,
Hostel headquarters were in a
tent city in the heart of the Latin
quarter.
Miss Elfson said the whole of
southern France wa$ hot, dusty
and dry, but the daily sea breeze
from the Mediterranean made it
pleasant. She particularly en
joyed tour stops at Cannes and
Monte Carlo oh this portion of
her trip.
One of the diost historic stops ,
the was at the an
anted city of Carcassonei
wtoere Napoleon and Charle-|j
(Continued bn Page 7)
>
Dairy Center
For Alaska
Is Prediction
The dairy center of Alaska,
with a future potentially as great
as that of Denmark—that’s what
can lie ahead of the Matanuska
Valley, according to Dr. O. E.
Reed, chief of the bureau of dairy
industry of the Department of
Agriculture.
Dr. Reed, who has been in the
Valley inspecting dairy farms for
the past several weeks, last Sat
urday spoke enthusiastically of
the future he sees ahead for Mat
anuska.
"There's no reason why you
shouldn't some day have a
dairy industry here as big as
that of Denmark—andL Den
mark is the dairy center of
the world, you know," the
agriculturist stated. -"You
should, and can. supply the
dairy needs of all of Alaska
in the very near future," he
continued.
Dr. Reed said the principal
problem of dairy farmers at pres
ent is that of raising sufficient
feeds for their herds. However,
he said rapid strides already have
been made in reaching that goal,
for enough hay was produced in
the Matanuska Valley this sum
mer to supply the 40 herds now
pastured here.
More land must be cleared,
for the production of more hay
and silage, he said. He finds
the oats, pea and vetch hay
now in use is best suited to the
needs of local dairy herds. He
said there was little sustenance
in the wild hay which grows in
Alaska.
A secondary Valley problem,
but one which must be solved
shortly, is improvement of exist
ing herds. Dr. Reed finds that the
Valley cow population of 800 to
900 animals is now producing an
average of 4,000 to 5,000 pounds
of milk annually. He says that
average must be materially in
creased if the Matanuska Valley
is to move ahead.
Most of the herds in the Vailey
have been crossed, he stated.
Only two dairy farmers, one new
to Alaska, have cows of a pure
strain. Predominant breeds here
are a mixture of Holstein and
Guernsey.
Enlarging upon his comparison
of the Valley with Denmark, Dr.
Reed said climatic conditions
(Continued on Page 8)
It Wasn’t So
Last week’s statement that
Palmer airport’s “smooth as silk”
landing strips were the work of
Alaska Road Commission equip
ment have brought anguished
-■ries of protest from Messrs.
Dave Bryant and Jim Hartley
pf Palmer.
It was Hoad Commission funds
paying for Hartley & Bryant la
por and equipment which pro
duced such effective results at
the airport. Mr. Bryant, tractor
mrf ias&taU were the point of
nterest inLrt^ front-page picture
xf 1 * 4 * •>