PONY LEAGUE PRACTICE
Tonight, 6:30
FAIRGROUNDS
BOYS TAKE OWN MITTS
The Frontiersman
PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
try a frontiersman
CLASSIFIED AD for that
item you may have for sale,
rent or lease.
VOLUME 7. NUMBER 30
PALMER, ALASKA, THURSDAY, MAY 20. 1954
PRICE TEN CENTS
LEGION AUXILIARY
RECRUITING FOR
ANNUAL POPPY DAY
An “army” of approximately
150,000 women and girls, all un
paid volunteers, is being recruit
ed by the American Legion Aux
iliary to distribute memorial pop
pies throughout America on Pop
py Day, May 29, according to
Mrs. Richard Demming, the Aux
iliary’s local Poppy chairman.
The Poppy Day volunteers will
be largely from the Auxiliary’s
own members, who now num
ber nearly 1,000,000. Junior mem
bers under the age of 18 will
serve side by side with their
mothers and grandmothers to
bring to Americans the little red
flowers worn in honor of the
nation’s war dead. Young wom
en and girls from other organiza
tions will help swell the ranks '
of the Auxiliary’s volunteers.
“We expect to distribute fully
25,000,000 poppies on Poppy Day
this year,” said Mrs. Demming,
'f* and we are gratified by the i
■way in which our members and
other women and girls are volun- j
teering to help carry out this
huge project. We need the help
of everyone who can give all or
part of the day to this work of
patriotic remembrance.
“The poppies have been made
by disabled veterans of the two
World Wars and the Korean War,
working in hospitals and work
rooms in every part of the coun
try. The flowers are crepe-paper
replicas of the little wild pop
pies which grew ‘between the
crosses, row on row,’ in the war
•cemeteries in France and Belgi- i
um, and wearing one is the in
dividual way to show that we ;
remember and honor those who
gave their lives for America.
“The Poppy Day volunteers
will receive contributions for the
welfare of disabled veterans and
needy children of veterans, these
contributions being the principal
source of financial support for
the vast programs of rehabilita
tion and child welfare work ear
ned out costantly by the Auxil
iary. We hope that everyone in
the Matanuska Valley will hon
or the war dead by wearing a
poppy on Poppy, Day, and will
contribute generously to aid
wars’ living victims.”
1
AMERICAN LEGION
BUILDING LEASED
BY GOV. AGENCIES
The offices of the Soil Conser
vation Service and the Extension
Service will soon be more con
veniently housed for easy access
by farmers, it was announced
this week. The American Legion
building located on Valley Street
has been leased to the two agen
cies and will be occupied before
the first of June.
The Soil Conservation office
will be situated on the north side
of the building on the main
f (Continued on page 8)
CO-OP PRODUCE MEMBERS
TO HAVE
SPECIAL MEETING
There will be a meeting for
all produce members of the
M.V.F. Co-Op on Monday
night, May 24 at 8 p.m. in the
Co-Op clubroom. All produce
members are urged to attend.
PALME!! HIGH SCHOOL CUSS OF 1954
Photo by Adams
. frjr
NO. PALMER ASSN.
TO BE DISSOLVED
All members of the North
Palmer Improvement Associa
tion are urged to attend a
special meeting to be held
Monday evening, May 24 at Ed
Christiansen’s garage at eight
o’clock.
The meeting is being called
by members of the board of
directors, who announced that
this will be the final meeting
of the association and is being
called to dissolve the associa
tion and dispose of funds in
the treasury.
MEMORIAL DAY
SERVICES MAY 30
Memorial Day services will be
conducted at the Palmer Ceme
tery Sunday, May 30 by mem
bers of the American Legion
Post 15, John Weisenberger, post
commander, announced this
week.
Because Memorial Day falls
on Sunday this year, Commander
(Continued on page 8)
46 SENIORS TO GRADUATE MAY 25;
BACCALAUREATE EXERCISE SUNDAY
Forty-six seniors, the largest
class to be graduated from the
Palmer High School, will receive
diplomas at commencement ex
ercises to be held in the school
gymnasium on Tuesday evening,
May 25 at eight o’clock. Senator
John Gorsuch will deliver the
address. This year’s class tops
the former record number of
graduates in 1950 when 33 seni
ors received diplomas.
Henjamin Ross, son of Mr. and
Mrs. Lucius Ross, will deliver the
saluatory, “Inspiration and Chal
lenge”, followed by Valdictorian
Dorothy Hoffman, daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. C. C. Hoffman. Her
topic will be “Education, Our
Ladder to Success”.
The exercises will open with
the processional by seniors. Miss
Dolores Mattila will play Jac
ques Lemmen’ “March Pontifi
cale.” Rev. George Geiwitz will
deliver the invocation, followed
by a Hugo Frey arrangement of
“Lil’ Liza Jane” by the boys
quartet. Another vocal number,
“Every Time I Feel the Spirit”
GLASS HOUSE SERVES AS
UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA CLASSROOM
m m immam** m manunn m ••••
f
Prof. Buswell explains root formation of a softwood cutting
from a begonia to Wesley Eckert of Palmer, in the Univer
sity of Alaska department of agriculture's greenhouse.
Alaska Extension Service Photo
Glass houses generally don’t
serve as classrooms, but that’s
exactly one of the functions of
the 80x 20-foot greenhouse, just
south of the University of Alas
ka campus entrance.
This semester Arthur S. Bus
well, head of the department of
agriculture, is using the green
house as a laboratory for his
1 course in general horticulture.
An arrangement made through
Dr. Allan H. Mick, dean of the
school of agriculture, makes the
greenhouse available for re
search projects of the Alaska
Agricultural Experiment Station
during the summer months when
the classes aren’t in session. This
summer’s project will be breed
ing and variety testing of to
matoes, cucumbers, and peppers.
will be offered by a small chorus.
Presentation of awards will be
done by William T. Zahradnicek,
superintendent of schools; pre
sentation of the jclass by Harry
Wimmer, high schol principal;
and members of the board of
education will present the diplo
mas.
Seniors who will receive their
diplomas are as follows; Dorothy
J. Adams, Janice M. Barry, Ar
lene J, Benson, Virginia L. Boul
ter, Harry M. Campbell, Jr., Carl
F. Caulkins, Patricia A. Chand
ler, Barbara A. Cooper, Riley W.
Curtis, Grace L. Dreghorn, Rich
ard D. Ganschow, James L. Good
man, Donna M. Harris, Albert
C. Harrison, Annie L. Havemeis
ter, Jerald J. Hemmer, Dorothy
L. Hoffman, Kenneth L. Hughes,
and Gloria J. Hume.
Also, Thera C. Hume, William
G. Hume, Margie L. Huntley,
Donald R. Ingalls, Edward D.
James, Donald R. Johnson, Ralph
O. Kircher, Gary A. Krise, Caro
line I. Lentz, Joe A. Lentz, Jr.
Larry E. McAllister, Jean E. Mc
Mahan, Leo E. Plumley, Alma
L. Roark, Billie Jean Roark, Ben
jamin L. Ross, Leola D. Sandvik,
.Loren N. Sasseen, Terry O. Sch
roeder, Charlene C. Smith, Rob
ert L. Smith, Philip F. Stain
brook, Jane A. Stephan, Lorene
M. Uzelac, Gale G. Wetherell,
(Continued on page 8)
Free Collection
Saturday Winds Up
City Clean-Up Week
All persons who have not yet
removed, or had their annual i
spring clean-up rubbish remov
ed are reminded that Saturday i
is the day when the city trucks,
A1 Mathews and Cook’s garbage
collection services will combine
and make a city-wide collection
tour, at no cost to the homemak
er.
All rubbish is to be stacked at ,
the edge of the road, in dispos
able containers if possible, if
not, then in regular rubbish con
tainers. They should not include
the winter’s collection of ashes
or similar refuse.
This will wind up the week
long clean-up campaign in the
local area, during which time
residents were asked to clear
yards, alleys, vacant lots, base
ments, attics and barns of old,
.mused, and combustible materi
als. Clean-up of Jim school
grounds was conducted Wednes
day of this week by the students.
MATANUSKA HOTEL
UNDER NEW
MANAGEMENT
Archie Browning, and Ray
and Doris (Babe) DeSomers
have leased the Matanuska
Hotel on a long-term lease, it
was announced this week.
Mr. Browning is well-known
in the Valley, having lived
here several years. Mr. and
Mrs. DeSomers came from
Fairbanks where they have
conducted similar businesses
in that city.
There will be few changes
for the present, Mrs. DeSom
ers said this week. We hope
to make some later on, she
added. The hotel will be oper
ated under the same policies
as in the past when Mr. and
Mrs. John Sullivan were in
charge of the hotel, she said.
Desk clerks will be Mr.
Browning, Fern Barber, and
Mrs. Ann Miller, the latter is
mother of Mr. DeSomers.
Mr. and Mrs. DeSomers will
be in charge of the hotel cock
tail lounge.
CALMER SCHOOLS
WILL CLOSE FOR
VACATION MAY 26
The last of final exams at the
Palmer School will be given
May 24, actually the final day
of school before summer vaca
tion. Students will return to
school on May 26 at 1:00 p.m. to
receive report cards and will
(Continued on page 8)
APPARENT LOW
BIDDERS ON OVER
3,000-T0N SPUDS
It looks like the Matanuska
Valley Farmers Cooperating As
sociation will furnish the lion’s
share of potatoes to the Army
this year.
According to Leonard O. Jones
>f the purchasing and contracting
office Alaska General Depot at
Fort Richardson, the figures re
leased today are of a tentative
nature and are not final. There
are still a number of items yet
to be negotiated due to the fact
that some bids exceeded Army
ceilings.
Bids which were opened at
Fort Richardson on May 17 in
dicate that the Co-Op will get or
ders for over 3,000 ton of pota
toes, at $4.96 per hundred. It
looks as though they will fur
nish all troop-issue spuds at Ft.
Richardson and Elmendorf, as
well as some for Ladd Air Base
in the Fairbanks area.
Ninteen bidders competed this
year, showing a definite buyers
market trend, with most of the
items considerably reduced over
prices of the past several years.
Of the 19 bidders, four new pro
ducers vyere included, two from
the Kenai area, and one each
from the Matanuska Valley and
Anchorage areas. A1 Bannon was
the apparent low bidder on cel
ery, although this bid is yet to
be negotiated.
The Co-Op apparently got a
good share of the cabbage bids
for Ft. Richardson and Elmen
dorf.
A more complete and detailed
report will be made as soon as
figures can be compiled and
prices yet to be negotiated are
completed.
Pony League Practice
To Begin Tonight
Pony League baesball prac
tice will begin for all inter
ested boys aged 13, 14 or 15
tonight at the Fairgrounds
baseball diamond at 6:30 p.m.
All boys interested in playing
! in the league are asked to turn
| out and are requested to take
their own gloves or mitts.
L. KENNETH BALTHROP
Evangelist
Dallas. Texas
LAST DAYS OF REVIVAL
First Baptist Church
NEW AUDITORIUM
PALMER. ALASKA
7:45 each evening thru May 23
Sermon Subjects^
Thursday—"Hell's Preview
Friday—"Who Is Your An
gel?"
Salurday~^“The Greatest Sin
ner in Palmer"
Sunday: ‘‘God's Extremity"
plus
Prize winning color film:
"I Beheld His Glory"
EVERYONE INVITED
MINERS' AND MUCKERS' DANCE l)
SATURDAY, MAY 22
ELKS HALL
ELKS AND INVITED QUESTS ONLY
A WEDDING AT INTERMISSION