Vol. 1, No. 47
Palmer, Alaska, March 10,1948
Ten Cento
Grange Plans
Local Details
01 Contest
Cash prizes were recommend
ed for local entrants in the na
tional contest sponsored by the
Grange, an Arbor day was sug
gested as one method of interest
ing the Valley in the Grange
contest, and a possible fair ex
hibit was planned at the contest
committee meeting of the
Grange held at the Roy Brock
home last Saturday night.
* The Grange contest, which
covers both road side clean-up
and home beautification, was
discussed in detail. Members of
the committee advanced several
plans through which they hope
to gain Valley cooperation for
the contest.
It will be recommended at the
next Grange meeting that local
prizes of money be offered for
the three Valley farms showing
the most improvement between
the spring months and the Aug.
25 closing date of the local con
test.
Awards will be made on the
first day of the fair and excur
sions will be planned to take
tourists to see prize-winners in
the Valley contest. A map of
Valley farms was suggested as a
jossibility for part of the home
beautification fair exhibit, as
well as pictures showing the
progress made by individuals.
It was decided that the Cham
ber of Commerce and the Val
► ley’s Homemakers’ clubs would
be asked to push the project and
keep it alive during the coming
months.
J-ncic w ct£> 2>UiUC UlS>eu&blUIl UI
^.Homemaker’s club proposal to
sow poppy seeds as a part of the
beautification project. Commit
tee members suggested it might
be better to sow seeds of Alas
ka’s own flowers and shrubs.
An Arbor Day was discussed as
one means of securing commun
ity interest in the project. A
committee of three, Mrs. Maude
Hosier, Mrs. William Hoskins
and Mrs. Vivian Goodrich, were
named by committee chairman
Tom Lepak to plan the Arbor
Day. The committee selected
May 16 as the Valley’s date for
Arbor Day, and will announce
complete plans for the occasion
*_ in the near future.
In a general discussion of
road side clean-up, it was voted
to ask Valley farmers to move
fences back, so that Alaska Road
Commission equipment can doze
out the roots of brush thickets
now growing along many fences.
There was some discussion of
necessary reports for submission
hi national contest quarters. The
need for “before and after” pic
tures, to show results obtained,
was stressed. It was decided thal
these pictures must be enlarged
to a uniform size of 2V£ inches
by 4!4 inches.
Staff Greets Manager
h Miss Ethel Dale, manager oJ
the Valley hospital, was guest 02
/ £onor at a surprise birthday din
ner prepared at the hospital las'
Sunday afternoon. Members o:
the hospital staff planned a birth
day cake and special birthdaj
r'rpot,r>"s for their manager.
Elks To Be As Welcome As Spring
When the special train from
Anchorage, carrying members of
the Elks’ lodge and their ladies,
pulls into the Palmer station at
8 o’clock next Saturday night,
initiation of the Valley’s Bill’s
club candidates already will be
well under way. A special An
chorage committee is scheduled
to arrive in Palmer on Saturday
afternoon to commence public
initiation ceremonies for local
candidates.
In preparation for Saturday’s
visit, which will be followed by
the Elks’ annual St. Patrick’s
day dance in the Palmer gym
nasium, L. C. Stock of the local
planning committee asks the co
operation of all local business
men. Mr. Stock has a supply of
welcome placards which he asks
Palmer merchants to display in
windows.
The entire group of Elks and
their ladies who reside in the
Valley are asked to be at the
station when the Anchorage
train arrives. A welcoming com
mittee from the Valley will drive
to Matanuska to board the train
there and extend Valley greet
ings.
The visitors will go immed
iately to the Palmer gymnasium
to complete the initiation of the
Valley class of candidates. Fol
lowing that initiation there will
be the St. Patrick’s dance, which
is open to the public. Dancing
begins at 10:30 p.m. and will
last until 2 a.m. St. Patrick’s day
hats and favors will be dis
tributed to everyone attending.
Tickets for the dance will be
on sale at the door of the gym
nasium. Dress will be informal.
Mr. Stock said all Elks had
been named to a general plan
ning committee for the Saturday
event. Names of Valley members
registered with Mr. Stock in
clude:
Tom Dickinson, A1 Dodson of
Fern mine, Sam Keist, Sam Rad
ich of Jonesville, David Onkka,
George Black, Lee Hartley, John
Reed, Walter Teeland, Heinie
Snider, Trent Johnson and C. L.
Cadwallader of Wasilla, Tommy
Gamble, George Kezak, Jan Kos
losky, Dr. F. R. Sims, Lou
Henke, Fred Wallace, Johnnie:
Evan,
Frank Brown, Bill Welles,
John Galavin, Ed Johns, Har
old Morton, A1 Hagen, Jack
Stump, F. Blum, Don Irwin, Bill
Shimmel, Seth Cook, Richard
Demming, and Ralph Goodrich.
r Mr. and Mrs. Dodson and Mr.
Radich all have been appointed
to a special committee and must
be in Palmer on Saturday after
noon, Mr. Stock said.
If names of other members of
the Elks lodge, among present
residents of the Valley, have
been omitted, it is requested
that these men get in touch with
Mr. Stock. Every effort is being
made to reach all members of
the lodge.
The time and place of Satur
day’s public initiation, as well
as a detailed program for the
entire day, will oe announced
in the Friday issue of the Valley
Frontiresman.
Plane Crash
Kills Two
Clifford Kirkelie and Ralph
I Walker, CAA employes at Sheep
I Mountain, died in a plane crash
j on the surface of Lila Lake last
Saturday afternoon. Little is
known of the details of the acci
dent, in which both men appar
ently died instantly.
The pair had taken off from
the Sheep Mountain airfield
about 2 o’clock Saturday after
noon, expecting to be gone only
two hours. When they failed to
return on schedule, the Army’s
Tenth Rescue Squadron was
radioed with the request that a
search plane be sent. The
crashed plane was located on
Lila Lake that same afternoon.
Two CAA employes, Bill Leh
(Continued on Back Page)
Scout Rally
Is March 20
The annual rally for Boy!
Scouts of the Anchorage district;
will be held in the gymnasium j
of Anchorage high school at 7 j
o’clock on Saturday, March 20,
it was announced last week by
Keith Leish, district chairman.
Scout troops will come from
Seward, Cordova, Kodiak, Pal
mer, Wasilla and Anchorage to
participate.
Fort Richardson will play host
to the visiting Scouts, most of
whom will arrive in Anchorage
on Friday. Palmer and Wasilla
Scouts expect to go to Anchor
age by special train on Friday,
and will return to the Valley on
Sunday. They will be housed and
entertained at Fort Richardson.
(Continued on back page)
iw
Even though it doesn't show in the photograph, there's a robin
chirping just around the corner. The damp blanket of snow
is just winter's final fling before this year's spring takes
over. In fact, spring already has stolen a march on winter's
last-ditch effort, as open water in the little stream in the
foreground clearly indicates. (Photo by Palmer Photographic
Center).
Army Will Buy
Local Produce
From Valley Farms
Henceforth the Army is going
to do its part toward fostering
Alaskan agriculture by buying
the produce of local farms, Val
ley vegetable growers were told
at a meeting held at Fort Rich
ardson last week.
Not only does the Army plan
to buy local produce to meet the
needs of Fort Richardson, but it
will buy vegetables for other
Army posts located in the terri
tory, the farmers learned. For
mal bids will be submitted later,
and contracts will be awarded
for vegetable purchases.
In addition to Alaskan po
tatoes, now served in Army
messhalls, the Army believes
it can utilize other locally
grown vegetables as cabbage,
carrots, celery, lettuce, beets,
cauliflower, rutabagas, tur
nips, green onions, radishes,
spinach, green peas and rhu
barb.
Last week’s meeting, called by
representatives of the Quarter
master Corps at Fort Richard
son, was for the purpose of dis
cussing Army requirements for
each vegetable listed and to de
velop plans for increased pro
duction of the vegetables the
Army wants.
The minutes of that meeting,
together with a letter listing
needs of the Army for each pro
duct named and area needs for
each product, will be mailed to
any interested farmer. Requests
for estimated price quotations
also will be mailed to vegetable
farmers. Other information con
cerning the plan is available
from Capt. John J. Mahoney,
Quartermaster Supply Section.
Alaska General Depot, Fort
Richardson.
Farmers present at last
week’s meeting included:
Mads Johannsen, Ray Rebar
chek, Virgil Eckert and Glen
Woods, independent vegetable
growers from the Valley; Mar
vin Allyn and Harold Stephan
of the Matanuska Valley Farm
er's Cooperating Association;
Walter Pippel and L. V. Cast
ner.
Board To Sell
Bonds To Pay
For Hospital
Members of the Hospital As
sociation’s board of directors
have evolved a plan by which
they hope to raise a necessary
$50,000 for a new hospital build
ing, it was announced this week
by C. W. Peters, secretary-trea
surer of the group. The board
plans to sell building and im
provement bonds in $100 de
nominations in order to build
their fund.
Bonds will be issued in three
series. The first will be of 10
years duration and will bear two
percent interest; the second will
oe for 15 years with two and a
half per cent interest; the third
is lo be for 20 years with inter
est at three per cent.
The campaign for bond sales
win begin on Monday, March
lo, al a special pep rally, prob
ably lo be held in Ihe Palmer
gymnasium. George Sundborg,
luimer chairman of the Alaska
Development Board, has been
leruaiively selected as guest
speaker for the rally. Enter
tainment and a potluck lunch
eon are also tentative possi
mnties for that evening.
Delinite plans for the rally
will be formulated at a hospital
uuuru meeting to be held Tues
day aiiernoon. A complete pro
gram for the Monday entertain
ment will be announced follow
ing that meeting.
Mr. Peters said the necessary
bank account is the only barrier
to hospital construction, and the
oond sales are expected to over
come that obstacle. Board mem
bers expect to begin construc
tion on the basement of a per
manent hospital building as soon
as frost leaves the ground.
j: our sues are unaer con
sideration for the hospital.
They are: A site at approxi
mately the present location of
the temporary building; the
site of the hospital which
burned; a site opposite the fair
grounds to the east; a site near
me Alaska Rural Rehabilita
uon Corporation's sub-division
across the tracks.
As soon as the site committee
brings its recommendation to the
uoarcl, it is planned to begin the
| erection of the four Pacific huts
I which arrived in the Valley
I eany this week. These huts will
| be erected as temporary wings to
the permanent central structure,
out will not be occupied until
ihe permanent building is ready.
The Pacific huts are now in
storage, awaiting the selection of
the hospital’s location.
Funeral Siill Pending
Funeral arrangements for Wil
bur Granger, to be buried under
| no ..uspiCes of the American Le
] tl.on, were still incomplete this
week. Legion Commander Jack
Maze said he hoped to make an
nouncement of the time and date
of service later this week.
TEACHER'S BEEN SICK
Miss Mary Marsh, Palmer pri
mary grade teacher, was ill and
absent from her classroom for
three days last week. She was
much improved in health by
Monday.