ANNUAL PURPLE
BUBBLE BALL
Saturday. February 21
School Gymnasium
The Frontiersman
PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
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VOLUME 6, NUMBER 22
PALMER. ALASKA. THURSDAY. FEB. 19. 1953
PRICE TEN CENTS
Public Meeting for
Phone Discussions
A tentative date has been set |
for Thursday, March 5 in Grange !
Hall for a pubic meeting to dis
cuss the possibility of a rural tele
phone system in the Valley. The
meeting is being called by the
telephone committee of North
land Pioneer Grange No. 1 and
is scheduled to start at 8 p.m.
Members of the City Council,
Mayor Alfred V. Hagen and civic
organizations will be invited to
attend and participate in the dis
cussion.
The grange committee and
members of the city administra
tion have been exploring all ave
nues possible for obtaining com
plete telephone facilities through
out the city and farming area. It
is the hope of both groups thajt
the whole Valley can be covered
by an integrated up-to-date tele
phone system that would provide
efficient and modern service.
The Grange group is investigat
ing the possibility of the forma
tion of a rural telephone coopera
tive by the people of the Valley,
as a for-runner to securing loans
through the REA with which to
build a system. Such a coopera
tive would be organized and own
ed by the people who became
members. It would be similar to
but entirely separate from the
Matanuska Electric Association, j
Interested groups believe that
adequate financing is the major
item that would make a good
telephone system a reality.
To explore all possibilities and
Plan Warm Welcome
For Cordova Guests
Two basketball teams and a
, following of loyal rooters from
Cordova are expected to arrive
in the Valley next week for a
scheduled two-night series of
basketball games with the local
city teams.
The women’s team, The Imper- j
ials, will meet with the Palmer
Rockets in preliminary games Fri
day and Saturday nights at 7 p.m.
in the Palmer gymnasium. These
games will be followed by those
of the Cordova Moose vs the Pal
mer Independents at 8:30 p.m.
Entertainment and fun is being
planned for the visitors, in return
for the very warm welcome Pal
mentes received last month on
their visit to Cordova. Follow
ing the games on Friday night,
. the local Moose Lodge will be
* hosts at a dance and welcome
party at Moose Hall. Matanuska
Valley produce will be featured
on the menu. Palmer Elks are
planning a like welcome for the
groups the following night when
* they will hold open house at their
lodge quarters. Entertainment
and a smorgasbord wall be featur
ed.
The public is invited to attend
the games and the welcoming af
fairs.
TO OPEN BIDS
Eids for the construction of
the Valley Presbyterian Hos
pital will be opened Friday
afternoon, February 20 in the
Co-Op Club room at 2 p.m.
The public is invited to attend.
take definite steps toward sucni
an objective, will be the theme
of the meeting. All persons inter
ested in the proposal are invited
to attend the meeting.
Sourdough Making
Barrow Trip Stops
In Palmer for Rest
Jesse Stubbs, 72-year-old sour
dough who is making a “senti
mental journey” to the Will Rog
ers crash scene near Pt. Barrow
passed through Palmer this week
end.
Pitching his small white tent
along the Glenn-Highway across >
from Hartley’s Garage, Stubbs
and his dog Quako attracted the j
attention of photographers.
Quako was dragging an 80-pound
sled loaded down with supplies.
Stubbs was carrying a 60-pound
pack on his b^ck.
Lack of snow on the highway
forced him to put small wheels
on the sled before continuing his
1 journey up the highway.
Alpine Inn offered Stubbs a
“good hot bath and meal” to start
out on from that point along the
road. Stubbs has had many of
fers of money, car rides and even
plane rides on his journey. He
has turned down all offers say
ing he intends to make the 850
mile journey by foot. When he
reaches Pt. Barrow, which he ex
pects to do by summer, he will
i erect a shrine to his boyhood
| friend, Will Rogers.
i--——
ELKS TO MAKE
MOST VALUABLE
STUDENT AWARD
A cash scholarship of $500 will
be given to the Alaskan student
winning the “Most Valuable Stu
dent Award,” offered by the A1-.
aska Territorial Elks Association,
it was announced this week by.
Frank L. Hoover, committee
chairman.
The Elks National Foundation
Trustees announced that $19,000
in scholarship awards will be dis
tributed at the 1953 Grand Lodge
Session. This announcement of
the “Most Valuable Student
Award” will be of interest to
students of any community who
are leaders in their schools and
colleges. For more than 18 years,
these awards have been offered
and this year will amount to $9,
500 for boy winners and a like
sum for girl winners. -
The award will be given to any
student in the graduating class
of a high or college pre-paratory
school, or in any undergraduate
class of a recognized college who
is a resident within the jurisdic
tion of the Order.
Any qualified student may file
application. Forms are available
at the Palmer school office and
must be filed on or before March
1 in the school office. They will
then be forwarded by the local
committee. Winner of the Alas
kan award will automatically en
ter the National contest.
ATTORNEY ESCAPES
INJURY IN ACCIDENT
John D. Shaw, local attorney,
escaped injury February 14 when
his automobile skidded on ice 600
feet west of the Eklutna Bridge
on the GlenrT'Highway and rolled
over a steep embankment.
Shaw was traveling west when
the accident occurred. The High
way Patrol reported his car slip
ped off the pavement onto the
snow as he was pulling a slight
grade. The vehicle plunged over
the cliff and rolled. Damages to
the 1952 sedan were listed at
$2,500. Its top was smashed and
the body and frame damaged.
Octavio Luzistano of Elmen
dorf Air Force Base received a
sprained left wrist and a slight
forehead injury when the car he
was in skidded out of control on
Gambell street in Anchorage and
collided into another car. He was
a passenger in a car driven by
Lee L. McKinley, 16, of Palmer
whose car was damaged $600
worth. Louis W. Rinard, 18, oper
ating the other car, set damages
to his automobile at $1,050.
DISMISSAL ASKED OF
CHARGES AGAIHST
LOCAL ATTORNEY I
A motion for dismissal of
charges against John D. Shaw,
local attorney, was denied Tues
day by Judge George W. Folta in
Third District Court.
Shaw is accused of ma?practice
in that he violated a federal sta
tute by acting as counsel against
a government agency within two
years of the time he was employ
ed by the agency.
His counsel, John Rader and
William Sanders, argued at leng
th, that this statute has to do
with military wartime contracts
and was designed to keep ex-em
ployees from using confidential
information in suits on contracts.
Judge Folta said he believed that
the statute is not limited to mere
contracts.
Shaw has admitted being asso
ciated in a million and a half
dollar suit against Alaska Rail
road in which eight men injured
in a train-gas car collision March
24, 1951 seek damages. At the
time of the accident, Shaw was
assistant chief dispatcher for the
railroad and prepared a report on
the incident, the government al
leges.
Last week Shaw gave a state
ment to the Frontiersman but
because of lack of space, it
could not be printed. It appears
elsewhere in this week's issue.
Shaw says the charge is techni
cal and points out that he with
drew from the suit some time ago
when he began practice here
Attorney Rader entered a plea
of not guilty for Shaw. As yet,
no time has been set for trial of
the case.
COMMUNITY CHEST
TO HOLD ANNUAL MEETING
All members of the Palmer
Community Chest organization
! meeting to be held in the school
are invited to attend the anuual
Library Tuesday evening, Febru
‘ ary 24 at 8 p.m. All persons who
! contributed to the Community
Chest during the October drive
are members and urged to at
tend. An election of officers will
I be held. An interesting film has
I been secured and will be shown.;
Members of the board will serve
refreshments at the. close of the
meeting.
POLICE CHIEF INJURED
Police Chief Bernard Bouwens I
is recovering from torn ligaments'
in one foot.
The injury was received Febru
j ary 8 when he fell on the ice
I while on routine patrol duty.
Palmer Wins First Game, Loses Second; Faces Kodiak
The Anchorage Eagles defeat
. ed the Palmer, Moose 46-37 in the
second day of the annual basket
ball tournament sponsored by the
| Western Alaska High School Ac
! tivities Association.
The opening round saw the Pal
mer five win over the Seward
Seahawks in a closely fought
game with a climaxing finish
when Geiwitz leaped high in the
air to score a lay up shot in the
; final seconds of play, giving his
I team the winning point, 43-42.
Seward had entered the game
| with a determination to win, re
calling that Coach Bob Crites had
taken his team off the floor dur
ing the final minutes of their '
previous meet because of inade j
1
quate refereeing. Commenting on
the retirement during the game,
members of the Palmer Moose
team this week were emphatic in
their support of their coach’s ac
tion. “We don’t mind playing
football when we have the proper
gear, but a basketball court is
no place for that type playing,”
they said. /
The Moose win from Seward
Tuesday night automatically gave
them the opportunity to meet the
Eagles Wednesday. First quarter
of the Moose-Eagles game was
marked with fouls against An
chorage. The opening five play
ers and two replacements all
, drew one apiece. Of the charity
; shots, Palmer players made six
| points to add to the three field
goal points earned by Johnny
Brown. At the end of the first
quarter Anchorage’s Kahler had
eight points to his credit while
Beck rung up six. Anchorage led,
21-12.
At the half, Anchorage was
leading by nine points. Retaining
their lead throughout the third
period, the Eagles found them
selves on the high end of 37-21
at the close of the period. Scoring,
in the final quarter was slow in
starting, however the Eagles pick
ed up 10 points to come out on
the top of the final 47-36 score.
Tonight the Farmer Moose meet
the Kodiak team, winners of the
Seward-Kodiak game played yes
terday.
City Water System
Will Be Metered
LOCAL YOUTH CHOSEN
AS IFYE DELEGATE
Word was received in the
Valley this week of the ap
pointment of Roger Wood of
Palmer as the 1953 Interna
tional Farm Youth Exchange
delegate.
Wood is son of Mr. and Mrs.
Glen Wood, produce farmers
in the Valley and at present
is attending the University of
Arizona. He will leave for a
foreign country early next
summer, his destination to be
announced at a later date.
Miss June Sproul, faculty
member of the University of
Alaska was IFYE delegate in
1952 and recently spoke in
Palmer and Anchorage on her
experiences in France where
she spent several weeks this
past summer.
Kings Lake Camp
To Have Winter
Sport Activities
Winter sports have been added j
to activities at Kings Lake Camp,
the board of trustees announced
this week.
Ice skating and tobogganing
will be made possible by the pur
chase of a toboggan and gas pump
to be used for flooding part of
the lake for skating. The pump
will also furnish additional fire
protection during the summer
camp season.
The board announced the Fitz
simmons cabin has been winter
ized by the Rotary Club and a
fee of 25 cents per person was set
for skating parties and use of
the recreation hall for a period
up to five hours. Groups using
the camp overnight will be charg
ed $1.25 per person for the first
night and 75 cents for each fol
lowing night.
Chairman Lloyd Morley of An
chorage announced plans for the
coming year will include the roof-,
ing of one tent house in each unit.
Any organization wishing to
sponsor part of the project may
get details from Morley by call
ing Anchorage 34532.
Skier Breaks Leg
During Ski Meet
Rav DePriest, avid local skier,
and member of the Matanuska
Ski Club, missed out on compet
ing in the annual Chugach Ski
Meet when during the first down
hill race he fell and broke his
leg. He was taken to Providence
Hospital in Anchorage and early
i this week returned to his home in
Palmer for recovery. Also injur
ed was Norm Pichler of the An
chorage Ski Club who broke his
leg while practicing the day be
fore the races.
Gary King, Roy Van Dusen,
Muriel Pfeil and Wayne Stolt all
of Anchorage, skied-off with the
four-way combined Rendezvous
ski trophies. Favored Chuck
Hightower placed second for the
Class A four-way and Reno Du
prey third.
Alaska Public Works officials
and Mayor Alfred V. Hagen, all
guests at the Chamber of Com
merce luncheon held February
18 gave their support to the use
of water meters in the Palmer
area.
Scheduled speaker, Mayor Ha
gen, announced that work on the
Palmer City Water System would
resume probably the latter) part
of April with completion of the
system scheduled for August.
The reservoir is 90% completed
with very clear water in abun
dance, he said. Because of the
clearness of the water, heavy
clorination will not be necessary
he announced. “There will be a
small amount necessary at times,”
he added, “but not like Anchorage
is forced to use.”
Public attendance at city coun
cil meetings was urged by Mayor
Hagen. “It behooves everyone to
attend these meetings,” He
said. “All councilmen and myself
welcome visitors,” he added. "In
this way, we can determine just
what the people of the city want.”
A question from a Chamber
member brought out that pro
posed water-use rates will carry
a minimum charge of six dollars
for home use and a charge of $15.
75 for business establishments.
These rates were established to
enable the city to ammortize the
cost of the system.
“There are many quirks to iron
out in a project of this type,”
Willard Carlson. APW legal ad
visor told the group. “You people
here in Palmer are enjoying the
novel experience of actually see
ing your city grow. To an out
sider, like myself, just seeing the
cooperation between groups is a
wonderful thing, he said. “With
such a coperative spirit, you are
able to get things accomplished,’’
he stated. In mentioning the in
stallation of water meters, Carl
| son pointed out that these will
! control the use and flow of the
i water. “Why not just a flat rate
and enjoy all the water we
I want?” he asked. “Flat rates en
courages waste,” he stated.
“This community is being wat
! ched from all over the Territory
| as the first to install the deep
1 well water system. Naturally
there is a limit to the amount of
i water any well or wells can pro
! duce. For this reason, all efforts
; are needed to conserve available
j water. The meters will pay for
themselves within a short time,
Carlson predicted. Palmer will
not be the first city to install
| meters, however, he added. The
city of Haine has a metered water
system.
Many of the existing water
lines were installed without the
assistance of engineers; some have
never been recorded and many
! home-owners do not know exactly
; where they are located on their
property, Carlson said. When the
j construction starts this spring, we
| will not be sure where some of
; these old lines are until we start
digging. Carlson stated the APW
| had received great assistance
; from Richard Demming, who has
I been surveying the area, in lo
i eating several of these old lines.
Construction Inspector Ray
Mathews told the gathering that
recent tests made by the Geologi
cal Survey indicate a lot of water
(Continued on page 8)
ELKS ANNUAL Purple Bubble Ball
Saturday, February 21 - 9:30-1:30 - School Gym
FORMAL DRESS OPTIONAL - ELKS AND VALLEY FRIENDS INVITED