Vol. 1, No. 51
Anchorage, Alaska, March 24, 1948
Tea Cents
i
House Hears
ARA Needs
$480,000 in’49
Last week’s announcement
that a $480,000 appropriation for
the Agricultural Research Ad
ministration in the territory had
been favorably reported out of
committee in the House of Repre
sentatives was hailed as good
news by Don L. Irwin, local head
of ARA.
• That will fit in very nicely
with our plans for the coming
year,” Mr. Irwin commented. He
explained that $180,000 of the
proposed appropriation would be
spent for maintenance and opera
tion of Alaskan experiment sta
tions, while $300,000 would go
for proposed new construction.
The House committee, in
making its recommendations,
stressed the importance of
making the territory as self
St sufficient as possible. A com
mitiee spokesman said, "The
' I need for this would have been
painfully impressed upon our
national consciousness, if, dur
ing the recent war with Japan,
the enemy attempt to cut off
our sea communications with
Alaska had been successful."
The committeeman said a
group of touring scientists from
the Department of Agriculture
had visited Alaska this summer,
to find that the territory has
‘ enough tillable land to meet all
the Army’s needs for food that
can be grown in Alaska.”
liiest; suieuusib wv
orably on prospects for the
growth of potatoes, beets, tur
nips, onions, lettuce, cabbage,
broccoli, celery, small fruits
(strawberry and raspberries) and
dairy products program which
(Continued on DacK page;
Moose Can’t Come,
Court Fireworks
Fail To Explode
The grand basketball finale of
the year, planned for Palmer’s
gymnasium last Saturday be
tween the local Shamrocks and
the Anchorage Moose squad,
proved an unexpected dud. GI
members of the Moose squad
were unable to get away from
Fort Richardson, according to a
telephone message from their
manager early Saturday evening.
News of the game’s cancella
tion was received too late to al
low publication of change in
plans. The cancelled game will
not be played at a later date, ac
cording to Shamrock manager
Art Stacey. The gymnasium is
unavailable for several weeks, so
ihe Shamrock squad has agreed
To call it a season and have hung
up their suits until next year.
Spectators who came to the
gym last Saturday to watch the
Shamrocks in their final appear
ance of the year, saw instead an
intramural game between girls’
teams of Palmer high school and
a game between Palmer’s gradu
ating seniors and undergraduates
on the varsity squad.
Senior girls defeated the
fcpphomores 16-9 in the evening’s
first game. In the friendly en
gagement between erstwhile
teammates of Palmer’s basket
ball squad, the graduating seniors
administered a sound 37-20 whip
ping to next year’s hopefuls
New ARRC Shop
Gives Workers
Comforts Of Home
So pleased are the men who
work in the almost-finished
equipment shop of the Alaska
Rural Rehabilitation Corporation
with their new work quarters,
it's surprising they even bother
to go home nights.
When they recount their assets
of oil heat, electricity and water,
it’s even more surprising that
they don’t find their spacious
30x142 shop all cluttered up with
prospective homesteaders. All
that, plus its walking-distance-to
town location seem too much re
finement to waste on a repair
shop for trucks, tractors and
land-clearing equipment.
But that’s what the shop was
built for, and that’s what it’s
being used for, right now. “It’s
the most modern shop in Pal
mer,” according to foreman L. Z.
Scott. And Mr. Scott should
know, for he helped to plan it
and then to build it.
One of the nicest things in the
shop, according to its foreman,
is the new overhead hoist just
installed. It travels on an over
head beam and has a cross-hoist
which enables the work crews to
handle heavy equipment at al
most any location in the shop.
The building, on which work
was begun last fall, is of cement
biock construction. It cost about
¥14,000 to build.
There are three men now em
ployed at the shop, in addition to
Mr. Scott. However the employe
list swells to seven or eight dur
ing the busy summer repair
muutua. j-iiu men preseiiuy at
work in the ARRC shop are Ray
McKechnie, Fritz Herraon and
Jack Leik.
Just Another
“Tall Tale’
The Valley’s latest bit of
’inside information” was
branded as just a rumor this
week, when Walter Plett, re
gional administrator of the
Civil Aeronautics Administra
tion said his organization had
no plans for assumption of
control of the Palmer airport.
Questioned about the rumor,
which reported that CAA con
trol became effective last Fri
day, Mr. Plett laughed heartily
and replied, “I wish this were
the Truth or Consequences
program, because you’d sure
have to take the conse
quences.”
The CAA head said there
was not even “a movement to
ward assumption of control of
the Palmer port at any time in
the near future.”
Added Holy Week
Services Announced
Special Good Friday services
at 7 o’clock Friday evening and
Easter morning mass at 10
o’clock in St. Michael’s church
were announced by Father
James Snead this week. The
Good Friday evening services
will include Stations of the Cross
and Veneration of the Cross.
Easter music and a special
vocal solo by Mrs. Timothy Hen
nessey are planned for next Sun
day’s mass.
Call 8 io gei meeting notices
printed in the Frontiersman.
$850 Offered
In 4-H Prizes
It's going to pay to be a 4-H
club member in Alaska this year.
Eight state-side firms have an
nounced their intention of spon
soring contests for Alaskan 4-H
club members. They’ve backed
that offer with cold cash, for a
total of $850 has been listed to
date as prizes in several 4-H club
contests.
In addition to the money
1 prizes, some of which are in
bonds and some of which apply
toward trips, there will be terri
torial winners of a trip to the na
tional 4-H club conference.
District winners in the vari
ous contests will be given
medals, besides the grand prize
for the territorial winner.
The prizes have been offered
in these fields of 4-H club
achievement:
Ciothing, dairy production,
food preparation, gardening,
girl's record, home improve
ment, meal animal and soil
conservation.
Club members must have com
pleted three years of 4-H work
and have been 14 years of age
on Jan. 1, 1948, in order to win
territorial awards.
Valley winners last year in
cluded Lynn Sandvik of Pal
mer and Flo Alice Dinkel of
i Wasilia, who were territorial
representatives at the Chicago
convention, and Gloria Smith
of Palmer who won a bond for
individual demonstration.
4-H club members are asked to
register for these contests im
mediately. Club leaders will have
further information on the indi
vidual contests.
Junior Skit Night
is Profitable bun
One of the largest audiences
this year thronged to the Palmer
gymnasium to attend student
Stunt Might last Thursday eve
ning. The evening, sponsored by
members of the junior class as a
means of financing this year’s
junior prom, yielded a net profit
of $140.11.
Students presented a variety
of skits, many of them original
productions, for the entertain
ment of tneir visitors. The audi
, ence was particularly pleased
with the third grade's “Easter
Parade,” the fourth grade’s "You
Can t Have Everything,” (Mrs.
Harder’s room), the seventh
grade’s “Reunion in 1962” and
the sophomore’s “Pokey Hontus”
numbers.
Ballots were distributed and
the audience was asked to select
the number which they felt was
tops. The sophomore class polled
141 votes to win the contest, Mrs.
Harder’s room was in second
place with 104 tallies and the
seventh grade was a close third
with 102.
Prizes of $5, $3 and $2 were
awarded the top three contest
ants.
music Every Sunday
At St. Michael's
Arrangements have just been
completed whereby churchgoers
at St. Michael’s can enjoy the
world’s finest sacred music at
each Sunday’s mass. Wiring was
completed last week, which en
ables phonograph recordings of
organ music to be broadcast over
a public address system within
the church.
Shirt Shop
Planned Here
By L.A. Pair
A search for a new business
location that began in Los Ange
les, Calif., ended in Palmer last
week, and will shortly result in
the establishment of a new small
business here. David Algarin and
Joseph Hudock expect to be
ready to unlock the doors of Dave
and Joe’s Shirt Shop, located in
the former quarters of the
Frontier liquor store, by Thurs
day of this week at the latest.
The men were engaged in the
making of hand-tailored shirts in
Los Angeles, and expect to con
duct a similar business here.
They have an original pattern by
which they style their made-to
order shirts.
The made-to-measure shirts
will be available in light weight
wools and gabardines at the new
shop. If demand for their pro
duct is good, Algarin and Hudock
may later begin to tailor ladies’
skirts, for which they also have
an original pattern.
The newcomers plan to make
their home in Palmer. They are
fixing living quarters to the rear
of their shop location.
Asked how they happened to
choose Palmer as their new loca
tion, Mr. Rudock replied, “Well,
at first we didn’t—but we began
to hear so much about Paimer
when we got to Alaska that we
decided we’d better come down
and see it. The most up-and-com
ing little town in Alaska, they
told us.”
Mr. Hudock added that Pal
mer’s people were more recep
tive to the idea of the planned
shop than any other spot along
the Pacific coast or in Alaska.
The partners drove north from
Los Angeles, investigating pos
sible locations for their business
as they came.
School Head
Resigns
Carl Snelling, superintendent
of Palmer schools, last week an
nounced his resignation from
that position, effective at the
close of the present school term.
Mr. Snelling said letters of
resignation were mailed last
week to Dr. James Ryan, terri
torial commissioner of education,
and to members of the local
board of education.
The school superintendent said
he had “no comment” regarding
his announced decision. Neither
would he indicate what plans he
has made for the coming year.
Several teachers on the Pal
mer school staff also have an
nounced their resignation at the
conclusion of the present school
term. All teachers in elementary,
junior high and high school were
offered renewed contracts for
next year.
Issues New Pamphlet
The Alaska Development
Board this week announced the
publication of a pamphlet en
titled “Doing Business in Alas
ka,” an article recently published
in the Kiplinger magazine. The
pamphlet tells of the special
conditions under which retail
stores operate in Alaska. The spe
cial inventory, credit, tax, and
transportation conditions prevail
ing in the territory also are de
scribed.
Palmer Scouts
Place Second
At Rally
Second only to Anchorage in
the eight-troop competition in
Saturday’s Boy Scout district
rally, Palmer’s troop 654 gar
nered 194 points on the rally
scorecard. Troop 617 of Anchor
age bested that record by just
four points, to carry home the
trophy cup awarded by Anchor
age’s N.C. Co.
Competition was hot all
through the rally, for the third
place Cordova troop was just
four points behind Palmer, when
final scores were added. Some
■ events were so closely contested
that only small points of tech
nique separated winners from
losers.
Scouts competing in the rally
included Troops 617, 616, 628,
and 615 of Anchorage, Troop 621
of Cordova, Troop 627 of Seward,
Troop 619 of Wasilla and Troop
654 of Palmer,
Cordova’s Scouts were flown
to Fort Richardson aboard a DC-3
chartered by the Elks’ lodge of
that city. It was the first plane
ride for some of the Scouts, and
their first trip away from Cor
dova for many of them.
Palmer and Wasilla Scouts left
the Valley on Friday’s train for
an overnight stay at Fort Rich
ardson. All visiting Scouts were
guests of the Post on Friday,
whprp thpv oto i*-* nr
and were quartered in troops’
barracks for the night.
Saturday the Scouts, under the
escort of Capt. Salvatore Pelle of
the Public Information Office,
toured Fort Richardson. Local
Scouts were especially interested
in their trip to the control tower,
where they watched planes come
and go from the runways of
Elmendorf field.
The Indian dance staged by
Palmer’s Scouts, an authentic
ceremonial dance on which the
Scouts have been working for
the past month, was well re
ceived by the large crowd of
Scout friends and relatives who
attended the rally.
All PHS Seniors
Will Graduate
Hearts of the seniors of Palmer
high school were gladdened this
week by news that all 25 students
of the class will graduate in May,
if present grade standards are
maintained throughout the school
year.
The announcement that all 25
seniors had been approved for
graduation was made from the
office of Dr. James Ryan, terri
torial commissioner of education,
through Carl Snelling, school
superintendent.
Palmer’s May graduates will
include these students:
Evelyn Foster, Don Irwin,
Hilda Slenvall, Duane Hunt
ley, Nancy Smith, Noel Woods.
Sophie Vanderpool, Evon De
Land, Don Church, Bud Billot,
Alice Bouwens, Stanley Hoff
man, Bob Lucas.
Katherine Pederson, Georgia
Small, Glenn Miller, Lloyd
Plumley. Walter Stevens, Bev
erly Larsh, Gerald Davis, Her
bert Ising, Don Parks, Bob
Graham, Peggy Yohn and Earl
Onkka.