Daniels - - - In The Lion’s Den
Sunday opened the week which is set aside yearly as fire
{Jrevention week in the United States. Dates vary slightly, but
jare always fixed to include Oct. 9. Oct, 9 is the anniversary of
the date Mrs. O’Leary’s cow got in a tizzy and kicked over the
lantern that set Chicago blazing in 1871.
It was probably not long after that-fire that the insurance un
derwriters and others most directly concerned with fires began
the first campaign for fire prevention in the United States. Since
that time reams of paper have been used up in a ceaseless effort
to cut down the needless loss of life and money from fire.
So far all those words seem to have been wasted effort on the
part of those who set them down on paper. The National Fire
Protection Association has this to say about fires occurring today
in the United States.
“Ninety percent of all fires are due to carelessness. A prevent
able fire breaks out somewhere in this land of ours every 20 sec
onds—right around the clock!
“By the time the sun sets today over 1,600 building fires will
have killed 28 Americans (more than half of them women and
children), destroyed nearly 1.000 homes. 140 stores, 80 factories,
6 churches. 6 schools, 5 theaters and three hospitals.
“Of more than 10,000 lives lost last year, 3,500 were farm
folks. The farm property fire loss was about $85,000,000.
Since 1937 annual figures of fire losses have been climbing.
At least one state thinks it has found the reason for the ascending
cost of fires and has done something about it. Farmers in Iowa
^believed that too much attention was paid to fighting a fire after
it got started, and not enough real thought given to preventing
fires by removing their cause. That thinking has paid off in
Iowa, for farm fires there have been on the down grade since
1941.
Common causes of farm fires, according to the records of
the Agricultural Committee of the National Fire Waste Council,
are:
ueiecnve uues ana neanng systems; sparks on combustible
roofs; misuse of gasoline and petroleum products, spontaneous
ignition of hay, straw or oily rags; lightning striking unprotected
buildings; defective stoves, furnaces and their pipes; matches and
smoking; defective wiring and misuse of electricity; hot ashes
and coals; including open fires —
Fires caused by these hazards take thousands of lives andvcause
millions of dollars worth of damage each year. Removing these
hazards is the number one job of fire prevention. Fires can us
ually be traced to some kind of carelessness. They don’t just
start unless someone has set the stage for them.
* A special cause of farm fires, according to a Report of the Na
tional Board of Fire Underwriters, is faulty building construction
and lack of knowledge. %
Now the fire experts have done a whole lot more than just com
pile figures on what fires cost and statistics to prove what causes
them. There are booklets and pamphlets available that give speci
fic instructions on removal of fire hazards.
Probably the single rule of fire prevention that will do most to
help is have your construction and electrical work checked by an
expert, if you have done the work yourself. A working know
ledge of wiring is not enough to make your home or barn fire
proof. Have someone who knows, at least check work you have
"aone before you consider the job finished.
Another mighty important thing to remember is be careful
where you toss your cigarette stub or your match. It's a matter
of common knowledge that those “safely quenched” stubs and
matches have been the cause of many a mystery fire on the farm.
We of Alaska have more reason than most to be constantly re
minded of the need for fire prevention. In this land of compara
tive wilderness, this last fro.ntier, there’s not a road of any con
sequence anywhere that you can follow for more than a few
short miles and not find acres of scarred and blackened hillside.
A plane ride over wilderness will reveal dead tree skeletons and
barren wastes left-by some forgotten forest fire.
In Palmer, we have cruel and recent memories of what fire can
do in this community. The cramped and crowded rooms and
halls of the Matanuska Valley Hospital bear testimony to the in
adequate facilities forced upon us in a fire’s wake.
We know here that fire prevention week comes 52 weeks of the
year. But perhaps we need this one week of reminder. In Palmer,
do we know the condition of our fire fighting equipment? Do we
know, today, how and where to turn in a fire alarm during the
hours when the telephone switchboard is not in operation?
Does each one of us know, in Palmer, what his responsibility is
in the event of a fire? There is a community responsibility for
every one of us. It may be no more than the common duty of
‘’staying away from the fire-fighting zone and thus aiding the men
who are bearing the brunt of the work.
Perhaps we need a fire prevention week in order to again fix
the answers to these questions in our mind. Perhops we need such
a week in order to ask other questions. Perhaps we need an out
line of year-round responsibilities in this community in order that
we may never again face smouldering ruins of business houses,
homes and public institutions.
Let us make this week of Oct. 5 to Oct. 11a week of questions
and, answers. And let us continue to ask the questions until they
are answered completely. That is the way in which Palmer may
benefit most completely by a fire prevention week.
Valley FRONTIERSMAN
„ Published each Wednesday and Saturd*^
Palmer, Alaska
Printed in Anchorage plant of Anchorage Daily Times
Viola Daniels ..Editor
No printed material in the Valley Frontiersman may be re
produced except by permission of the editor.
Subscription rates.75c month
Delivered by carrier in Palmer. Mailed to all points in
Alaska and the United States.
Freneh Hungry,
Teacher Finds
(Continued From Page One)
magne are said to have camped.
Here the ruins of a Roman arena,
a Renaissance church, moated
castles and the modern city all
make up today’s Carcassone. The
Hostel in Carcassone is located
inside the ancient walls.
Limited Diet
Food in France ‘was terrible,”
according to Miss Elfson. Stoves
and kitchen equipment are lo
cated at each Hostel stopping
place, and members of the group
take turns in marketing and pre
paring meals. Breakfast in
France always consisted of a
type of oatmeal (without milk)
and fruit.
At one place powdered milk
was purchased, but dairy prod
ucts were not obtainable in
France. Neither were butter and
meat. Everything in France is
rationed, but even so, meat and
canned goods were missing from
market shelves.
Potatoes and fresh fruit were
easy to get, and the mainstay of
Hostel dinners was potato stews
mixed with various combinations
of vegetables. Rarely, and as an
extreme delicacy, the day’s cooks
found horsemeat for sale, and
were able to add it to the eve
ning stew. Dinner was completed
with bread and cheese, fruit, and
a ‘‘horribly sticky jam,” Miss
Elfson remembers.
Lunch also consisted of bread
and cheese and jam, augmented
by fresh salads.
Hostelers were never forced to
guess “what’s for dinner to
night,” for the menu never var
ied throughout France. Dairy
products and good food were
easily purchased in Switzerland
and were also available in Bel
gium.
Primitive Plumbing
Plumbing was mostly “pretty
primitive” in Hostel dormitories.
Miss Elfson tells of one unusual
shower she found at the end of
a hot and dusty ride in France.
Shower equipment consisted of
a sprinkling can mounted over
head and connected to circular
r lengths of black hose.
The bather slipped the hose
over his shoulders nd turned a
spigot. Water, very cold, flowed
tfrom small openings in the hose,
and showered three-quarters of
the bather. •
Marks of the recent war scar
France, which appears to be still
disorganized. Temporary repairs
to all bridges have been effected,
and trains do move through
France. However, Miss Elfson
said there seemed to have been
little actual effort to pick up and
move ahead.
Ruins and rubble still dot the
countryide about Dunkirk. Sunk
en ships still lie rotting on the
floor of the harbor at Le Havre.
Dunkirk “was alive with vaca
tionists” while the Hostel group
was there, but they were satisfied
to live in the ruined shells of
houses and to pick their way
around rubble piles, rather than
to rebuild and clear away their
country.
The black market flourishes
through France, although sup
posedly in secret. However there
is little gayety, the Hostel group
found. Paris was very quiet.
Yanks Are Welcome
Miss Elfson said Americans
were welcomed warmly through
out France, with the exception of
Le Havre. “There they still lock
up their daughter at night and
they still remember the A mer
ican bombings of the port when
it was in enemy hands,’ she stat
ed. French people seem especially
pleased to meet Americans of
moderate means rather than the
rich travelling tourists, whom
they dislike.
The English-speaking members
of the Hostel group met with
little language difficulty in their
travels. Although they picked up
a smattering of French in their
summer stay, Miss Elfson said
they found a remarkable num
ber of the French people spoke
English. English and other lan
guages are a part of the elemen
tary school curriculum in Euro
pean schools.
Go Everywhere
Asked what she had learned
of the international situation in
Europe through her summer’s
travels, Miss Elfson said her re
turn trip on the steamer, on
which 918 students returned, had
provided interesting information
on that subject.
‘ As far as we could discover,
there is no ‘Iron Curtain’ in Eu
rope,” she stated. “Students on
the boat had been in almost every i
country in Europe. Russia and
Germany were difficult to enter, j
There are no Youth Hostels there
yet, although work projects in
both places had been planned this J
summer. But some students had!
been able to travel, even in those
countries.” ;
Among those returning on the
steamer were representatives of
Girl Scouts, who had been or-1
ganizmg the movement in Ger
many, several religious groups,
members of a society called Inter
national Experiment in Living,
and delegates to the Prague Con
ference. More than 30,000 young
people had been present at this
latter conference in Czechoslo
vakia, she said.
Cost Is Small
Questioned about the expense
of her trip, Miss Elfson said her
entire summer vacation had cost
her only $600 for travel and food.
The trip is planned through the
American Youth Hostel, which
buys steamer and train tickets at
reduced rates. Hostel rates, when
the passbook is shown, are only
25 cents a night.
The movement is new to Amer
ica, but is widely spread'through
out Europe. It was organized to
provide a cheap method of trav
elling for young people, and be
gan in Germany. Trips may be
planned for either hiking or bi
cycling. Future plans are consid
ering reservation of an ocean-go
ing steamer just for Hostel tours.
This will cut transportation costs
materially.
Cake baked in a square pan,
especially if the pan is enamel
ware, is likely to become too
brown at the corners, reports the
Department of Agriculture.
Hospital
Ins and Outs
New patients admitted to the
Valley hospital late last week in
cluded:
Miss Delores McNevin, Albert
Huebner and Mrs. Arthur Yohn.
Dismissals through Saturday
evening were Miss McNevin,
Mrs. William Bouwens and Mrs.
McKellar.
Girl Scouts
Elect Officers
Girl Scouts of the Palmer In
termediate troop elected officers
at last Friday’s meeting. Scout
officers named were:
Neola Sandvik, president; Ann
Moffit, vice-president; Geraldine
K i n d g r e n, secretary; Alma
Roark, treasurer; Grace McGib
oney, reporter.
A number of members of the
Intermediate troop, which now
has more than 30 girls enrolled,
passed tests for the tenderfoot
rank last week. Girls who won
the new badge included:
Jean Carroll, Virginia Boulter,
Mary Graves, Alma Roark, Ger
aldine Kindgren, Leona Lucas,
Dorothy Mau, Billy Jean Roark,
Neola Sandvik and Patty La
Walter.^
Since the troop has grown so
large, only half of the patrols
meet each week. Miss Mietzi
Block, Scout leader, works with
alternate groups each Friday af
ternoon at 3:30. She would very
much appreciate assistance with
the work. If there are qualified
Scout leaders willing to help,
Miss Bleck asks that they call
her.
To remove a brown stain left
from soap which settles on your
clothes, wash the things again in
soap and water and rinse thor
oughly. Bleaching in the sun af
ter rinsing is helpful too.
Under New Management
Valley Theatre Recreation Center
Lunch Counter, Pool and Billiards
Bowling Alley
Open. 3 p. m. to 3 a. m.