Vol. 1, No. 81
Palmer, Alaska, July 16, 1948
Ten Cents
Back Injured In
Farm Mishap
Jack Cody of Palmer suffered
a serious back injury last Tues
day evening when he fell back
wards into the cultivator while
working on the potatoes of his
neighbor. Lauritz Loberg. The
pins which held the seat of the
cultivator sheared away, drop
ping Mr. Cody into the machine.
The injured man was taken
immediately to the Valley Hos
pital where he was reported to
’have fractured a vertabrae. He
will be forced to wear a cast for
the next 6 or 8 weeks.
The accident occurred about
9 Tuesday evening. Mr. Cody had
finished cultivating his own po
4atoes earlier that day, and had
volunteered to help his neigh
bor, since Mr. Loberg has been
ill.
Director Davis
Expected Today
James P. Davis, director of the
division of insular possessions
and territories and chairman of
the board of directors of the
Alaska Rural Rehabilitation
Corp., is due to arrive in the
Valley today.
Mr. Davis, at first expected
early this month, arrived in An
chorage last Tuesday. He made a
flying trip to Seward, Seldovia
asd Homer on Wednesday. He is
expected to spend the entire day
in the Valley today, when he will
inspect the units of the Mata
nuska Valley Farmers’ Cooper
ating Association, and will study
the several farmer organizations
set up in the Valley.
Fire Department Short Two ItemsI
Men and money are still the
two prime needs—in the order
listed—of the Valley Volunteer
Fire Association, it was disclosed
at Tuesday’s quarterly meeting.
More men are needed to ade
quately man the equipment now
owned by the Association, and
more money is needed to buy
still better equipment, board
chairman A1 Hagen told the sev
en Association members who
were in attendance at the meet
ing.
Present equipment needs in
clude a pump for the tanker
truck, and either hats or badges
for use by volunteer firemen, it
was said. Mr. Hagen reported
that the Association’s bank bal
ance was a little more than $450,
with outstanding bills for radio
and newspaper advertising and
for materials purchases still to
be paid. A new pump for the
tanker would cost about $500, he
estimated.
Members agreed that it would
seem wiser not to spend a great
deal of money in outfitting the
tanker truck, which was recently
purchased from surplus property.
It was decided to attempt to
buy a small pump locally, or to
check surplus property lists for
a suitable model.
O. R. Mitchell, fire chief,
agreed to contact the Co-op with
regard to firemen’s hats. It was
reported that the garage owns a
number, which are not now in
use.
Mr. Mitchell said the depart
ment equipment is more than
adequate for local need at this
time. “We have good equip
ment,” he stated. “As it stands
now, the equipment is much bet
ter than the water supply with
which we must use it.”
Assistant fire chief Vic Niel
sen agreed that equipment was
not a particular problem with
the department at this time.
“What we need is men,” he said.
“The way it is now there’s no
body to drill and nobody to man
the truck. That’s what we’ve got
to work on first.”
Members puzzled over the
problem of additional manpower
for a time. The solution, they de
cided, is to ask each merchant in
Palmer to name one of his em
ployes to duty with the depart
ment, with attendance at drill an
obligation. Lodges and civic
clubs also will be asked to assist
the department by naming one
of their membership as a volun
teer fireman.
A committee of three, Jack
Maze, Ray Lancaster and Steve
Ward, will canvass the business
district today to discuss this mat
ter with Palmer’s merchants.
Even Firemen
Gotta Pay
There are few exceptions to
the payment of school tax, ac
cording to Walter E. Huntley,
U. S. Commissioner. As defined
by Section III, Chapter 38 of the
1943 Session laws, only these per
sons are exempt:
Those who are in the Army or
Navy; who are paupers or cared
for by the territory, and persons
who are permanently disabled
and unable to work to support
themselves.
The belief, expressed at a
Tuesday meeting of the Valley
Volunteer Fire Association that
volunteer firemen are exempt, is
erroneous, Commissioner Hunt
ley said.
Premium List Proofs
Sent To All Farmers
All hands answered here when
roll was called at last Tuesday’s
meeting of the directors of the
Matanuska Valley Fair, so busi
ness matters which have been
awaiting the attendance of the
full board were handled with
rfispatch. Principal job of the
board that evening was the
okaying of page proofs of the
premium list, which are just off
the press.
Copies of those proofs already
have been mailed to all stock
holders of the Fair Association,
and to all farmers who are pos
sible exhibitors for the coming
event.
An additional supply of the
11 premium lists is available at the
Extension Office, if there are
potential exhibitors who have
been overlooked in the mail.
Other copies are to be mailed to
- Anchorage, Seldovia, Homer and
Fairbanks, according to board
president Parker Lester.
I' ’ This year’s premium book is to
include a short history of the
Matanuska Valley, now in pre
paration by M. D. Snodgrass.
Several pictures of Valley scenes
also are to be a part of the final
book.
It was agreed that the fair’s
board will sponsor a radio pro
ments for that program this
week, and will announce further
details in the near future.
Following the formal meeting
in the Extension Office, the
board adjourned to the fair
grounds, where buildings and
grounds were inspected.
It was announced that the
board has arranged to secure at
least two large Pacific huts for
use as exhibition halls, on an ex
change basis with the Valley
Hospital Association. The hos
pital has still other buildings
available for fair use, should
they be needed.
“All exhibits will be located
on the fair grounds this year,”
Mr. Lester promised. Board
members concurred in the state
ment that this centralization of
exhibits should provide for a
much better display.
“This is the year when we
should have the best fair we’ve
ever had,” Mr. Snodgrass said.
“We have done everything pos
sible to make it the best—it’s all
up to the exhibitors now. We can
have a real fair this year if the
farmers just do their part.”
Construction work on the
fair’s buildings, as well as need
ed grounds work, is to begin in
the n e ar future. Marshall
Noted Botanist
Works On Plant
Classification
Dr. James P. Anderson of
Ames, Iowa, former long-time
resident of Alaska and foremost
Alaskan botanist, arrived here
last week to conduct continued
research on Alaskan plants. Dr.
Anderson is engaged in the task
of classifying the plant life of
Alaska and western Canada. He
is a pioneer in this field of Alas
kan and Canadian research.
Dr. Anderson first came to
Alaska to serve as botanist at
the Sitka experiment station in
1908. Following extensive work
with trees and shrubs there, he
moved to Juneau where he op
erated a greenhouse for a num
ber of years.
Since leaving Juneau the bot
anist has spent most of his time
at Iowa State College where he
has a vast collection of Alaskan
and western Canadian plants in
his herbarium. As he finishes
each phase of his work, his
classifications are published in
pamphlet form by the Iowa
Science Journal.
Dr. Anderson is cooperating
with Alaska’s Agricultural Re
search Administration this sum
mer. In his travels about the
territory to further study Alas
kan plants, he will be watching
for the seeds or fruits of any na
tive plant, either useful or orna
mental, which may be of com
mercial value. These seeds will
be sent to the Palmer office of
the ARA, where they will be
studied to determine their poten
tial use in farm home gardens.
Don Irwin, local head of the
ARA, said his agency was most
grateful for the help of Dr. An
derson. “He is one of the high
! est men in his field today,” the
director said. “His contribution
to the territory has been out
standing, and we are fortunate
to have him here again.”
The botanist already has spent
some time at Chickaloon. After
leaving Palmer he will go down
the Glenn and Alaska Highways
and the Haines cut-off to Haines
Group Plans
Farm Program
Seven of the territory’s key
figures in agricultural work met
in conference at the office of
Don Irwin, director of the Agri
cultural Research Administra
tion, this week. The men sought
to outline a program which will
coordinate the agricultural work
of Alaska.
Those who attended the Mon
day meeting in addition to Mr.
Irwin, included:
Frank Heintzelman, commis
sioner of agriculture; I. M. C.
Anderson of the Farm Home Ad
ministration; Parker Lester of
the Extension Service, represent
ing Lorin C. Oldroyd; Herbert
Bryan of the Rural Electrifica
tion Administration; C. W. Pet
ers of the Alaska Rural Rehabili
tation Corp.; Charles Wilson of
the Territorial Soil Conservation
Service.
Still further conferences are
scheduled for later this month in
Fairbanks.
Soil Survey Group
Goes To Kenai
Several of the soil scientists
and agricultural experts head
quartered in Palmer left for
Kenai this week, to begin their
initial work on the soil survey
of Alaska. Among the men who
flew to the peninsula were Dr.
Walter U. Fuhriman, O. L.
Mimms, J. L. Paschol, Kirk
Stone, Henry Fox, R. A. Mick
and James Hurley.
This first trip will be primari
ly an inspection of the country
to be surveyed, in order that
plans for coordination of the
work may be made. The men ex
pected to go as far as Homer be
fore they returned to the Valley.
Anchorage Names
Fair Dates
Dates for the Anchorage agri
cultural fair, which is known as
the Western Alaska Fair, have
been fixed for Aug. 14, 15 and 16
of this year, it was announced
last week. A portion of fair pro
MEA Plans
Three New
Work Projects
Tentative approval of three
new projects of the Matanuska
Electric Association, Inc., was ex
tended at the recent Rural Elec
trification Administration con
ference at Butte, Mont., H. G.
Bryan, REA representative here,
announced upon his return. Mr.
Bryan emphasized that only pre
liminary approval had been
given the projects, but he said he
expected all three to be author
ized in the near future.
Of first importance to MEA at
the present time, was the authori
zation given architect Victor
Rivers to draw up plans and
specifications for a S40,000 build
ing. Mr. Bryan said he expected
processing of this project to be
speeded, since REA is cognizant
of MEA’s vital need for a build
ing to replace its burned quarters
in the former Wright Building.
An MEA application for a
$50,000 loan with which to
supply power within the pres
ent area served by the organi
zation is under consideration.
Under this application, the
funds will be expended to
build fill-in and extension lines
in areas already electrified.
A third application for loan
funds with which to build addi
tional lines to Sutton and to
Eagle River also is under REA
consideration. As soon as the ten
tative approval is confirmed on
these projects, and as soon as
materials become available, the
new work will start. It is ex
pected that some of the work on
extension of service may begin
this year.
In order to assist MEA in the
setting up of new records, REA
has assigned an auditor, Russell
E. Wade, to duty here. He is ex
pected to arrive next week.
In reference to the further
development of Eklutna, Mr.
Bryan said REA is attempt
ing to organize a program
(Continued on back paga)
Farmers Buy
Record Amount
Of Electricity
Rural areas are springing from
darkness into light at an unprece
dented rate, according to figures
released by the U. S. Department
of Agriculture last week. In the
fiscal year which ended June 30,
1947, users purchased from Rural
Electrification Administration
cooperatives a total of 3,082,267,
051 kilowatt hours.
This electrical energy cost its
users an average of 8.7 mills per
kilowatt hour, a reduction of
one-tenth of a mill over the pre
vious year.
As of June 1, 1948, there were
1,037 REA-financed cooperatives,
the announcement reported. Of
that number, 917 were actually
in operation. Their facilities in
cluded 645,000 miles of line serv
ing 2,190,000 consumers. New
consumers were being connected
at the rate of more than 1,500
a day.
REA-approved loans amount
ing to $1,300,000,000 finance