PALMER PERSONALITIES
The man chai*ged with the task
of making the Matanuska Colony
fulfill the expectations of its fa
thers is a genial Westerner from
’way back. Although b' rn in Iowa,
which is
wr e s t to
many peo
ple, Ross
L. Sheeley
spent h i s
boyhood on
a cattle
ranch in
Colora
do, wh ere
:he western
Ross L. Sheely tone grew
upon his tongue. Ranching W’as his
avocation, as wrell as his vocation
for many years in Colorado and
Wyoming. He took time out to be
graduated from the Colorado Agri
cultural College and to serve in the
Army during the World War. Five
years of work as county agricul
tural agent led to the position of
director of extension work in agri
culture for the University of Alas
ka in 1330. For five years he trav
eled the Territory from Ketchikan
to Kotzebue, and today he is the au
thority cn agriculture in Alaska.
First Man
The first man on the Matanuska
project, he headed the survey party
which laid out the future homes of
the colonists. Except for a month
and a half when duties at the Uni
versity recalled him he has been
with the project since its inception.
In November he was chosen gen
eral manager, making the sixth
man to be in complete charge in
six months.
To administer the affairs of 165
families requires tact and pa
tience; and a sense of humor is in
dispensable. When faced with dif
ficulty, however small, Mr. and
Mrs. Colonist come to arbitrate be
fore Mr. Shesly. Besieged by em
ployes, old settlers, colonists, gov
ernment officials and others for,
sixteen hours a day, his even tem
per is unfailing. Only once did the
pop valve blow off. An unruly em
ploye who persisted in using ob
scene language in an argument
was thrown out of the tent office
so hard that he bounced in the deep
mud in front of the office tent.
Word sped swiftly that Sheely
knew bow to handle situations of
that kind. But Sheely doesn’t like
to fight; prefers hunting for exer
cise.
Makes Friends
His calm, unhurried manner wins
confidence and the twinkle in his
eye makes friends. He sits back,
listens, -calmly puffing his cigar
until the steam is blown off. He
sees quickly to the bottom of the
affair because he understands peo
ple, and he wrastes few words in
straightening the matter out.
Sheely’s opinion of the Matan
uska Colony can be summed up in
a few words: “I thoroughly believe
the project is feasible, in spite of
so much that has been said to the
contrary. I know that the climate
is excellent, in fact, more temper
ate than in some of the northern
states. The soil is excellent, also.
There is ample rainfall. The mar
ket for our products is almost un
limited. Eggs alone shipped into
Seward, terminus of the Alaska
Railroad, last year had a value of
$115,000. They can be supplied by
the Matanuska Colony.
“In proportion is the market for
butter, cheese, fresh meat prod
ucts and vegetables. In fact, there
is a ready market available for
from three to four thousand dol
lars per family of colony farmers.
“The success or failure of the
project depends upon the human i
element more than on any other
factor.’’
Mr. Sheely is of the solid type.
His family consists of his attrac
tive wife, two boys, and a girl. Joe,
eleven and the youngest, recently
attained his greatest ambition
when the Colonial Fire Department
selected him as mascot, dubbed
him “Smokey Joe.”
PUBLIC HEALTH
NURSING SERVICE IN
MATANUSKA VALLEY
The health service for the resi
dents of the Matanuska Valley in
cludes a public health nurse. She
was originally sent here by the
American Red Cross and the Fed
eral Emergency Relief Administra
tion to carry on a program of
health promotion as well as caring
for the sick. The American Red
Cross, being- responsible for the
service, supervises and advises the
nurse.
1. —Maternity nursing, which in
cludes prenatal guidance and nurs
ing care of mothers and ne.v-born
babies.
2. —Child we’fa re work, which
includes the supervision of infants
up to one year and the pre-school
children from one to six years. An
effort is made to help these chil
dren establish good health habits.
3. —Nursng care of the sick in
the home and assisting the family
to give the necessary care, and
carry out the doctor’s orders.
4. —School nursing, which include
health teaching and supervision of |
school children, visits to the chil
dren’s homes to assist parents in
getting defects corrected and to
help overcome any poor health
habits that the children might
have.
5. —Communicable disease nurs
ing, to help in wiping out all such
diseases. This includes immuniza
tion and teaching how to prevent
the spread of disease through iso
lation, quarantine and sanitation.
6. —Group work through classes
in Home Hygiene and Care of the
Sick, First-Aid, and special talks
to help build up personal and com
munity health.
Close co-operation is maintained
with the physician, hospital work
ers, and all of the other people who
are interested in the health and
happiness of every member of our
community.
O. P. IJeeck came in from the
hills Friday where he has been
prospecting for the past thirty
days.
CONGRATULATIONS
To you, Jack, on your graduation
to long pants of newspaperdom
from
The Manager and Employees of the
I
Alaska
Greyhound
Daily Stages
to
Anchorage - Fire Lake - Eklutna
Palmer - Willow Creek Mines
and Way Points
PASSENGERS
EXPRESS
FREIGHT
Offices
Peterson's Taxi, Phone 111, Anchorage
Horton Building, Palmer
C. F. PETERSON, Mgr.