Thought of the Week:
A minority party is one
that thinks up ideas that the
other one can steal to keep
itself in power.
ALASKA HISTORICAL S'.
& WJSEOM
2031
TONEAU ALASA/
The Frontiersman
PUBLISHED IN THE INTEREST OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
ICTY 9
VOLUME 14. NUMBER 35
PALMER, ALASKA, THURSDAY. MAY 24. 1962
TEN PAGES
PRICE 15 Ctwia
(Reporters—
Notzbao-Jz
Mrs. Vera Hayes and her
niece, Mary Berglof, are driv
ing out to Vancouver, B. C. to
visit relatives. While Outside
they plan to drive on to Seattle
to visit friends and the World’s
Fair.
* • *
Virginia Gallant, news editor
for The Frontiersman, has re
signed her position and will
work for the Anchorage Daily
Times in that city, starting May
25. Millie Johnson, editor of
The Cooperator, will begin
temporary duties at The Fron
tiersman on Monday.
* * *
The MVCCA bargain store,
located in the theatre building,
will be open on Friday and
Saturday of this week, manned
by volunteers.
» * *
Bythel Compton left this
week for King Salmon where
he will be employed by the
University of Washington, Fish
Research Department. He later
in the season will be employed
by the Alaska Department of
Fish and Game as a fish count
er, he has held this position
the past two years.
* * *
Mrs. Janet Stout and daugh
ter Dorothy left Palmer last
week and are now guests at the
World Center of Baha’i Faith in
Haifa, Israel. Mrs. Stout, who
is a teacher in the Willow
School, and her daughter will
spend a couple of months
sight-seeing in Europe before
returning home. They plan
visits with former Alaskans in
Switzerland, Luxenburg. and
Belgium.
* * *
Among communicable diseas
es reported for the Palmer area
during the week ending May 18
was one case of syphillis.
Chester Cantley, former tea
cher at Central School, is back
in Alaska and visited friends
in the Palmer area this week
end, enroute to his fishing site
at Ninilchik. He plans to re
turn to Palmer the first part
of August, at which time he
will be joined by his family.
Stewart Durrant, Co-Op gen
eral manager, left Palmer
Tuesday for Seattle where he
will remain a few days on as
sociation business. He then will
go to Provo, Utah to attend
commencement exercises at
Brigham Young University.
Olani Durrant, son of Mr. and
Mrs. Durrant will graduate
with a degree in civil engin
eering. The following week the
Durrants will attend American
Fork High School commence
ment exercises at which time
their son Steven will receive
his diploma. The following day
the family leaves by car for
Palmer.
« * *
Mrs. G. A. Ridpath of Okan
ogan, Washington, is in Alaska
visiting while awaiting the
closure of school. Next Friday
she and her daughter. Doris
Ridpath. fourth grade teacher
at Central School, will leave
Palmer enroute to Okanogan
via the Alaska highway.
POLIGE CHECKING
TRUCK RELIEVED TO
HAVE HIT BRIDGE
Dale Zimmerman of Anchor
age has admitted to state police
that he hit the Knik River
Bridge on May 13 with a truck
he was driving, but added he
does not think the truck did
the damage that has been esti
mated between $30-$40,000.
Zimmerman, was hauling a
core drill on a track-vehicle by
low-boy from the Wasilla area
to Anchorage, for the Hudson
Company.
The equipment was located
this week on the Seward High
way, where officials said tips
on the core drill showed dam
age, however, to date no charg
es have yet been filed against
Zimmerman.
City Tax Rate To
20 Mills
BISHOP GORDON
TO VISIT HERE
THIS WEEK-END
The Right Reverend Wil
liam J. Gordon, Jr., Episcopal
3ishop of Alaska, will visit in
Palmer this week-end.
Arriving on Saturday, Bish
op Gordon will attend a dinner
meeting of St. Bartholomew's
Episcopal Church Bishops
Committee which will be held
at 6 p.m. at the Richard Dem
ming home.
On Sunday morning Bishop
Gordon will conduct the morn
ing services at ten o'clock in
St. Bartholomew’s Church.
During the service church
school certificates will be giv
en in recognition of work, and
following the service, a parish
dinner will be held in the par
ish hall.
Before leaving Palmer on
Monday, Bishop Gordon will
visit the State Youth Conser
vation and Camp in Wasilla.
Bishop Gordon will be ac
companied to Palmer by the
Rev. Dennis Walker of Valdez.
All members and friends of
the church are invited to at
tend the services.
PUBLIC INVITED
TO HEAR ARA
SPEAKER MAY 29
All residents of Election Dis
trict 7 are invited to attend a
public Area Redevelopment
Committee meeting which will
be held at 8 p.m., Tuesday, May
29 in Legion hall.
Tom Bicshel, state director
for Area Redevelopment Ad
ministration will be present to
fully explain the A.R.A. pro
gram.
Assistance available under
the Area Redevelopment Act
includes direct loans, technical
assistance and training pro
gram funds for new industries.
Chairman of District 7 ARA
executive committee is Mason
LaZelle of Palmer. Other mem
bers are Rose Palmquist of
Pittman; Ray Johnston of Wil
low; Phil O’Neill of Sutton and
James Hurley of the Butte
area.
PALMER UNEMPLOYED
RECEIVE $27,646
DURING APRIL
Labor Commissioner Gil
Johnson announced today that
$973,943 in unemployment in
surance benefits were paid to
claimants in Alaska during
April. Of this amount, a total
of $27,646, including $23,213 un
der the State program, was
paid in the Palmer area.
53 Seniors Receive
Diplomas Friday
The Palmer High School
Pioneer Bund will play their
director’s “Marche Majestique”
for the processional which will
open commencement exercises
in Central gym tomorrow
night. There will be 53 gradu
ating seniors this year.
Dr. Don Dafoe, superin
tendent of the Anchorage
school system, will address
the class. His topic will be
based on "The Individual Es
sence of Strength".
The Rev. Roland Fritz will
offer both the invocation and
benediction.
Also partcipialing in the
program will be William T.
Zahradnicek. superintendent
of schools, who will present
the awards. Keith A. Smith,
high school principal will
present the class to George
Ed Smith, president of the
Palmer Board of Education
and Lew Hanks, board clerk,
who will award diplomas to
the graduates.
The high school chorus will
sing two numbers, “Rise
Crowned With Light” and
“Festival Prelude”. Graduate
William E. Combs will play H.
Carmichael’s “Star Dust” as a
saxaphone solo and the band
will play Lee Plumbley’s
“Young Pageantry” as the re
cessional number.
Grace LaVinnie Hurt, daugh
ter of Mr. and Mrs. Marvin
Hurt of Lazv Mountain is class
valedictorian. Miss Hurt, 17,
has attended Palmer High Sch
ool the past four years and
plans to attend Moody Bible
Institute in Chicago next fall
where she will take a satrred
music course and later plans to
attend college before going into
full-time Christian work. Thr
oughout her school term, Miss
Hurt was very active in extra
curricula activities and she car
ried a grade average of 10.8 for
the past three and one-half
years.
Salutatorian will be Michael
S. Steiger, son of Mr. and Mrs.
W. N. Kanipe. He has based his
talk on “Character Develop
ment”. Steiger has been in Al
aska since July, 1961 and has
taken a college preparatory
course, and plans to enter the
University of Alaska in the fall
where he will major in electri
cal engineering. His grade
average has been 10.2 since en
tering Palmer high school.
Graduates are: Barnes, Fred
Warren; Barry, James Edward;
Eeal, Glay Dan’l; Beck. Wayne
Jerome; Boyd, Robert Samuel;
(Continued on page 7)
GRACE LaVINNIE HURT
Valedictorian
MICHAEL SCOTT STEIGER
Salutatorian
EMERGENCY CLOSURE
ANNOUNCED BY F & G
An emergency closure is ef
fective immediately on Bear
Creek, Mile 127, Richardson
Highway, the Alaska Depart
ment of Fish and Game an
nounces.
High water conditions have
washed out an area immediate
ly below the highway road cul
vert, preventing the upstream
movement of grayling on their
spawning run.
The section of stream from
the highway bridge to a point
one half mile downstream will
remain closed to fishing until
May 31.
Department of Fish and
Game personnel are presently
working to provide means of
upstream passage for the block
ed grayling.
CALMER MAN GETS
J. S. PATENT ON
CLAMP HE INVENTED
U. S. Patent No. 36.286 was
>n May 22 issued to John F.
joic of Palmer for a spring
oaded clamp to he used in the
dectrical industry. The clamp
:erves to join two high-voltage
ines together with the use of
i stick.
Gore said this week it has
aken approximately three and
me-half years to obtain the pa
ent. Considerable paper work
.vas involved before the patent
A-as issued.
Gore said he hopes to sell his
dea to an industry that will
nanufacture the clamp.
Annual Memorial Day
Service Planned
Annual Memorial Day ser
vices will be held at the Palmer
Cemetery at 11 a.m. May 30,
according to Dr. Foster R. Sims,
commander, Matanuska Valley
Post American Legion. The
public is urged to attend the
service.
This week crosses have been
decorated with poppies and
will, along with American
flags, be placed on the graves
of all veterans buried at the
Palmer Cemetery.
The Legion Post will supply
the firing squad and buglers.
Police Chief
Dismissal Upheld
Taxpayers of the City of 1
Palmer will he paying the i <
same mill rate in taxation in
the coming year as they did
this past year. <
Members of the City Council
on May 22 approved a resolu
tion setting the tax rate at 20
mills, of which 14 mills goes to
the school district and six mills
remains in the city.
Last week the Boaid of
Education announced the
mill rate in the school dis
trict would remain at 14
mills, the same rate as ap
plied last year.
Visitors at the meeting in
cluded State Police representa
tives Martin Underwood, E. L.
Mayfield, and Howard Luther.
The men discussed with coun
cil members the rental arrange
ments of office space in city
hall occupied by the State Po
lice.
Under an arrangement made
several years ago. the State
Police have shared the office
with the City police depart
ment. In exchange, they have j
supplied a radio for the city j
police car and have paid main- 1
tenance costs on the radio of !
$32.50 per month. Underwood
[ pointed out that at the present
j time his department is work
| ing on a very tight budget.
FHA Officials
Visit Valley Area
A no-host dinner, held in the
Sourdough Room of the Fron
tier cafe last night, honored a
delegation of Department of
Agr^ulture officials who are
visiting in Alaska.
Headed by Floyd Higbee. de
puty administrator of the
Farmers Home Administration,
members of the party included
Robert Fierce, State Farmers
Home Administration director
for Oregon and Alaska: Wil
liam H. Rowe, representative
of the Federal Crop Insurance
Corporation: A, G. Stine of
Palmer, State Farmers Home
Administration supervisor for
Alaska: and Laura Olson, rep
resenting the office of Sen- I
ator Ernest Gruening.
The dinner, in addition to
the named guests, was attended
by members of the Matanuska
Valley Farmers Cooperating
Association, members of local
Federal agencies and other in
terested persons.
Will Ask Vsllcy b6 U6c!3r6d
An Emergency Aid Area
Governor William A. Egar
will be asked to declare the
Matanuska Valley an emer
gency area and thereby, make
the area eligible for emergenc>
funds.
The decision io request
help from the Governor
came Monday night at a
meeting of the American
Dairy Association of Alaska,
when it was determined that
some 6.300 acres of grass was
winter damaged and will
have to be replanted by val
ley farmers.
According to Cliff Marcus o
the Soil Conservation Service
there has not been such a se
vere winter kill before. In 195'
there was severe damage, bu
there was less acreag in grass
at that time. Local seed sup
pliers have placed special or
ders and are making a survey
to determine current needs.
Marcus estimated that
some 2,500 acres of grass was
killed and that the balance
of the 6,300 acres all have
damage to some extent. The
areas north of town were hit
harder than those south of
town. One person attending
the meeting said he felt that
the surveys indicate about 50
percent of the grass crops in
the valley were killed or
damaged.
The cost of replanting the
’ damaged fields will average
: some $45 per care, according to
the association. Although farm- 1
ers had large crops last year, j
some had to be left in the fields 1
when early snows fell. There |
has been an acute shortage ol
hay this spring. Mike Vasilie,
manager of the Co-Op Build
ing and Farm Supply said this
week some 150 tons of hay has
been imported during the past
month and one half and that
from 40 to 50 additional tons
are enroute to the valley.
Within 10 days a new seed
mix is expected, Vasilie said.
This is a new mix, tried out
last year, of oats and peas with
15-20 pound rye grass per acre.
The crop last year was cut
three times, once each in July,
August, and September, with
approximately 60 pounds avail
able nitrogen, and yielded two
and on-half ton ot dry matter.
Among those attending the ,
meeting were Roland Snod
grass, president of the associa
tion, Earl Ray, also a member,
H. J. Hodgson of the Experi
ment Station; Stewart Currant.
M.V.F.C.A. general manager; |
Jim Wilson, Matanuska Valley
Bank; George Crowther, Alas- i
ka Division of Agriculture act
ing director; John Nash, AGP
office manager, Cliff Marcus.
Soil Conservation Service tech
nician; and K. Daryl Bohman.
assistant Alaska State supervi
sor Farmers Home Administra
tion.
Pierce said he was pleased
and proud of the job F.H.A. has |
done in Alaska. He pointed out
that the FHA budget for Alas
ka has trebled until it now is
in the area of $1,350,000.
In speaking to the group
Higbee noted that farming is
an extremely risky business j
and one of the most misunder- '•
stood busineses of all. “One of
the most valuable assets of our
country is agriculture.” he said.
"During the many years FHA
has been in the loaning busi
ness, they have lost less than
four per cent on loans . . . j
they had expected to lose some j
“0 per cent." he added.
The speaker went on to say
that country bankers “ . . . are
the best friends we have. He :
pointed out that FHA does not
take the place of banks, rather. .
the program is a suppliment for
the farmer when he can not
borrow funds from other sour
ces. He stated that he feels the
real base of our economy is
agriculture, however, he added
farmers need a managing sup
ply program to take care of
their marketing situation.
Before leaving Alaska for
their home bases, the group
will have visited in Juneau,
Anchorage, Wasilla, Kenai,
Soldatna. Homer, Kodiak and
the Fairbanks area.
\-~
however, the city hopes to
ome up with an arrangement
hey feel will be more equit
ible for the city, and further
liscussions are planned.
Merle Puddicombe and
Jack Leek, representing sev
eral residents, presented pe
titions carrying some 102
signatures asking the city to
reconsider their decision to
release from service Police
Chief Bernard Bouwens.
Puddicombe told the council
there was another petition
with even more names, which
he had been unable to pick
up prior to 1 h e meeting. A
(Continued on page 7)
Buddy Poppy
Program Planned
By Wasilla VFW
Members of the Veterans of
Foreign Wars Susitna Post
9365 and the Auxiliary unit
will participate in the annual
Buddy Poppy day program irw
the Wasilla and Palmer areas
Saturday, May 26. Proceeds
from the campaign will go to
disabled veterans’ programs.
"Our motto," said Elmer L.
Jenkins, director of the V.F.W.
Buddy Poppy committee 'Hon
i or the dead by helping the liv
! ing’, points out that yesterday
j is soon forgotten. It becomes
Inst in the nroblems of todav
and tomorrow, but the living
men who suffered so much for
us must not be forgotten.
“Americans who have so
much of the good life cannot
neglect those who helped make
this life possible.
“Such is the meaning of the
Buddy Poppy, the symbolic
flower that says, ‘We have not
forgotten' ”,
The five-day outlook in the
Cook Inlet area, which includ
es the Matanuska Valley, lower
Susitna Valley, Anchorage area
and Kenai Peninsula, sees con
siderable cloudiness, with fre
quent showers on Thursday,
Friday and Saturday partly
cloudy and a few scattered
showers. Sunday fair; Monday
mostly cloudy with showers.
Temperatures near or a little
below normal. Precipitation to
tals near normal. Normal highs
in mid 50's to low tiO's; normal
lows near 40. Normal precipi
tation totals about 0.2 inches.
MAUD'S FLOWERS
PI 5-4056
REMEMBER
YOUR LOVED ONES
WITH FLOWERS
1
Talent Show & Dance
SATURDAY, ISAY 26, 9:30 p.m.
Free Lunch
DANCE TO THE TUNES OF
Bill Noble and His Orchestra
Palmer Moose Lodge
LOBSTER FEED
ELKS &
THEIR LADIES
Saturday, May 26
6:30 P.M. - ELKS HOME
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