Thought of the Week:
A moderate income is ere
v. riich ccmes wiih'n a meder
a’e d ar e cf covering mod
e.oie expenses.
PUBLISHED IN THE INTEREST OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
i T V
••
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
March 21 — Noon
Frontier Cafe
VOLUME 17. NUMBER 3
PALMER. ALASKA. THURSDAY. MARCH 15. 1962
Eight Pages
PRICE 15 CENTS
New Street
Reporters—
Nateluxah
Wilson (Woody) Woods left
Wednesday of this week for
Virginia Mason Hospital in
Seattle where he will enter for
further medical attention.
Woods was injured in an auto
mobile accident several weeks
ago at which time he was hos
pitalized in Palmer.
* * *
The Child Care Committee of
Women of the Moose is plan
ning a bingo party following
their regular meeting March 20
at Moose hall.
* * *
Stewart Durrant, general
manager of the Matanuska Val
ley Farmers Cooperating Asso
ciation, has returned from a
business trip to Seattle.
* * *
Several Palmer women bowl
ers had an opportunity to re
new acquaintences during the
bowling tournament held in
Anchorage. Among former Pal
merites who were seen at the
tournament were Cam Fancher,
Marie Westenbarger, Norma
Richie, and Doris Finn.
* * *
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Colliver
of Aniak spent a few days in
Palmer this week, prior to a
trip Outside. They plan to be
gone about one month, and will
be visiting in California and
Nevada. Mrs. Colliver is the
former Mary Ann Mears.
* * *
Mr. and Mrs. Ted Schmidtkt
have returned to Palmer fol
lowing a trip Outside during
which they visited in a numbei
of states, including Washingtor
where they visited Mrs. Wini
fred Graham, mother of Mrs
Schmidtke, and in Minnesota
where they visited Mr. Sch
midtke’s father, H. D. Schmidt
ke.
it * *
Roger Brager, PHS graduati
who has been attending Edisoi
Technical in Seattle the pas
two years, recently complete!
his course of study and is horm
for the summer. He will resurm
his studies in California thi
fall.
Ray Holtz Featured
la “Fallout Follies”
Ray Holtz, well-known local
musician and musical director
of this year’s Kiwanis minstrel
show, will be featured in a vib
ra harp solo in the show which
will be presented March 30 and
31 in Central gymnasium. Holtz
will appear during the third act
with a special arrangement of
“Nola”, long a popular tune.
Holtz also will furnish piano
accompaniment for several
specialty numbers during the
show and will direct and ac
company the 18-voice all male
chorus.
The chorus is now polishing
up the seven numbers which
they will sing during the show.
According to Holtz, the chorus
is progressing very well.
Property Owners illahe
Assessment Objections
Several property owners
voiced objections regarding as
sessments in Improvement Dis
tricts 1 and 2 at a hearing con
ducted by the City of Palmer
March 6.
Bill Roark objected to the
paving on the grounds the pe
tition. he felt, was not legal in
that the government-owned
(both State and Federal) was
not included on the petition
with a value placed for deter
mining if the petition was
signed by more than one half
NEW BUSINESS
OPENS SATURDAY
AT FOUR-CORNERS
At 10 a.m. March 17 the new
' Four Cnrnei s Tastee Freeze
I will open to the public, it was
I announced by owner Weldon
I (Archi) Leckwold.
: The new business is located
i at the four corners on Wasilla
i highway and will be open sev
i en days a week, from 10 a.m.
until "closing time”, Leckwold
said. In addition to ice cream
I items, hot dogs, hamburgers.
| coffee and soft drinks will be
| sold.
i The Leckwold family is well
! I known in the vallev area. Ar
fehie’s toother, fondly known
! at Mattie by her many friends,
I settled in the area back in 1917
; and was the original mail car
j rier for the area, delivering her
' mail on foot and by dog team.
the value of the property bene
fited. He also objected to pav
ing on Alaska Railroad proper
ty because the City has only
a use permit, renewable an
nually. Roark stated he had ;
paid $1,000 for his property, j
and with an addition of $1,400 ,
for paving assessment., he1
doubted he could find a buyer
at that price.
The Matanuska Valley Farm- ■
ers Cooperating Association.:
represented by Ray Rebar-i
check, Earl Ray and Lloyd Am- i
ans, pointed out that the as- j
sociation has about one-third j
frontage in an area where the
city has erected a building,
yet are being assessed 47 per
cent of the paving cost. The
men pointed out the association
could effect a savings by mov
ing their industrial plant to
Anchorage, but did not wish to;
do this, but with competition!
! keen the cost of paving was a!
i blow to their finances. The
Co-Op did not object to paying!
'on retail property, but object
! ed to paying for industrial
j share. The method of computa
! tion was questioned and the
Icily surveyor explained the
S method used and the Co-Op
representatives indicated they
! were satisfied with the infor
I mation and would contact the
| City if they had further ques
i tions.
A1 King stated property be
, ing assessed was not on the
i pavement, but on Matanuska
I Street, and felt the paving did
not benefit his property. The
nethod of computing paving
jssessments and other informa- '
ion was explained to King, but :
ie stated the City would have
to take him to court to collect
any assessments for paving.
Mrs. Hex Ehrhart stated that j
a portion of the pavement as- !
sessment was incorrectly charg- I
ed, in that a portion of the pro
perty is owned by another per
son.
The city surveyor was in
structed to check the Ehrhart
property question and to re
compute costs of sidewalks in
the improvement district.
Mrs. Edward Ueeck
Funeral Services
Planned March 16
Funeral services will he held
at 11 am. on Friday. March 1(1 |
at St. John Lutheran Church
in Palmer for Mrs. Edward A.
(Ethelyn) Ueeck. 82. who died
at Valley Presbyterian Hospital
March 13 following a short ill
ness.
Mrs. Ueeck was horn May 25,
! 1879 in Brooksviel, Wisconsin,
! and graduated from the Chi
! cago Sch'Kil of Nursing in 1900.
I Two years later she married
I Harry I. Campbell and made
| her home in Gladstone, Miehi
| gan. Widowed in 1915, Mrs.
i Ueeck supported herself and
three children by working as a
i nurse in Chicago.
In 1938 she came to Alaska to
be near her youngest son,
Harry M. Campbell, who had
come to the Matanuska Valley
in 1935 with the colonists.
C)n March 15, 1940, she was
married to Edward Albert
Ueeck at Palmer and resided
here until her death.
In addition to her husband,
Mrs. Ueeck is survived by her
three children, Harry M, Camp
bell, Sr. of Palmer. Whitney R.
Campbell and Mrs. Carlton
Matthews, both of Greenbav.
Wisconsin; eight grandchildren
and 11 great- grandchildren.
Since moving to the valley
area Mrs. Ueeck had been very
active in church work, home
makers clubs, and during
World War II and subsequent
man-power shortage, served as
construction camp cook for the
Alaska Road Commission,
working with her husband at
Talkeetna, Colorado Station
and McKinley Park
The Rev. Rolland Fritz will
officiate at the service. Inter
ment will take place in the
Palmer Cemetery and pall
bearers will be; Jack Hermon.
William Lentz. L ,M. DePriest.
L. P. Rorrison, Henry LaRose.
and Max Sherrod. Honorary
pall bearers will be M. D. Snod
grass and Otto Peterson.
PTA Congress Slates
Conference in Palmer
I The second biennial confer
I ence of the Third District of
i the Alaska Congress of Parents
and Teachers opens with a get
acquainted no-host dinner at
the Frontier Cafe next Monday,
March 19, at 7 p.m., it was an
nounced this week by Dr. Cur
tis Dearborn, chairman.
The dinner is open to all in
terested persons, however, res
ervations must be made by
March 16 through either Dr.
i or Mrs. Dearborn.
Organized P.T.A. groups in
District Three include Palmer,
Talkeetna, Willow, Big Lake,
Wasilla, Glenallen and Valdez.
There are 12 other schools that
could form parent-teacher as
sociations. All of these schools
have been invited to send re
presentatives to the conference.
The meeting Tuesday, March
20, in Swanson multipurpose
room, is concerned with leader
ship training. Guest instructors
[will include: Mrs. A. L. Hend-j
rick. National Congress of P-T
representative: Mrs. Robert!
Cole, Alaska Congress of P-T
president; Mrs. G. E. Smith,
ACPT first vice-president; Mrs.
Leo Frelin, ACPT legislative
chairman: Mrs. James DeCicco,
ACPT treasurer; and others.
A new chairman of District
Three will be elected and in
stalled to replace Dr. Dear
born. Candidates are Mrs. Kitty
Johnson, Wasilla P.T.A. presi
dent, and Mrs. Rachel Patter
son, Wasilla P.T.A. program
chairman.
The conference will close
with Mrs. A. L. Hendrick pre
senting a keynote address at
the regular Palmer P.T.A.
meeting Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
in the high school. Mrs. Hen
drick is the past president of
i the Mississippi Congress of
' Parents and Teachers.
TAX ASSESSMENT
NOTICES MAILED
Assessment notices for 19G2
iave been mailed to all proper
ty owners in the school district,!
according to John W. Marshall,
local assessor. Any pro|x;rty
owner who has a question re
garding his assessment should
visit the tax office. Marshall
said. “Such a visit almost al
ways results in mutual agree
ment," Marshall added.
If any properly owner
wishes to appear before
either the City or School Dis
trict board of equalization, he
must first visit the tax office ,
to fill out necessary forms.
These forms must be filled
out by the April 15, Marshall
stated.
For the benefit of those who,
may have a question on their;
assessment, but who cannot
conveniently visit the office;
during the week, Marshall said
he will keep the tax office oepn
9 a.m. until noon each Satur
day during the remainder of
March.
“We use the best address we i
can obtain in every case,” Mar
shall emphasized, “but if we do
not have your address we can
not send you an assessment no
tice.” Failure to receive a no
tice will in no way lessen the
responsibility to pay the tax. he
added. "If you own property
within the City of Palmer or
Palmer School District and do
not receive an assessment no
tice. or if the notice you receive
does not cover all of your pro
perty, then you are required by
state law to report such oniis
| sion to the assessor." Marshall
isaid. Property missed now may
be picked up at any time latei
and penalty and interest may
l then be involved.
Marshall stated he attain cau
| lions anyone buying land, im
provements or major pieces oi
personal property to check first
to be sure there are no hack
taxes against such property.
| The new owner will be forced
i to pay such delinquent taxes.
: the tax assessor pointed out. He
I also stated his office plans to
i begin filing civil suits against
delinquent personal property
owners in the near future.
MAYOR TO SPEAK
AT MARCH 21
CHAMBER MEETING
Mayor K. B. Miller will he
guest speaker at the March 111
meeting ul the Matanuska \ al
: ley Chamber ot Commerce. The
iAlaska State Fair Bill, which;
| was presented in both the j
I House and Senate, and is now
j in committee, will be the sub
ject of his talk. As manager ui
! the liifil fair and of the 1962
j fair. Mayor Miller attended
several meetings of the legis
i lature while in Juneau on be
! half of the Alaska State Fair,
1 Inc.
j The meeting will be held at
j noon in the Sourdough Room
of the Frontier Cafe and all
! interested persons are invited
1 to attend.
High Winds Cause Damage in Area
For a 24-hour period this
week, valley residents might
have thought the March lion,
who customarily arrive the first
of March, had decided 10 days
iate to come “roarin’ ” in.
Starting at 12:30 a.m. March
11, winds which reached 45
50 miles an hour within three
minutes, hit the valley. Dur
ing the first 10 hours of the
storm, winds averaged this
same velocity with gust over
65 mph every 10-15 minutes
and over 75 mph every 40
minutes. At about 12:o0 a.m.
March 12. the winds left, al
as suddenly as they ar
rived.
During the 24-hour period
extensive damage was experi
enced throughout the area.
Some $150 damage was experi
enced at the Agricultural Ex
periment Station green houses;
storm windows were simply
whipped away. Quick action at
the Palmer Airport prevented
what could have been extensive
damage. However, two planes
received wing damage and two
lost their landing gear. At the
city hall, where workmen have
been repairing previous storm
damage to the roof, roofing
paper was blown off and one of
the small buildings, recently
acquired by the city, was blown
apart. Sections of the building
were blown across the road and
onto the Sam Cotten property.
Many television antennas were
snapped off; others blown over.
The roof on a building owned
by Earl Goodrich was damaged
by the wind and several cases
of water freeze-ups were re
ported.
Many residents complained
of their inability to keep their
residences warm during the
storm. MEA and MTA both re
ported no major damage, al
though MEA did receive six
trouble calls. One ol tnese u,us
south of town were a main
feeder went out, effecting sev
eral residences and a similar in
cident at Green Acres. A street
light on the corner of the
Glenn highway and Walker
street was blown over. MTA re
ported several wires down, but
no major damage to the tele
phone system.
Minor roof damage occured
in many sections of the valley.
In addition to roof damage at
their garage, Hartley Motors
also suffered one of the largest
single losses when a new 10 x
55 house trailer was blown
over. win i
$2500 it was estimated. Marlin
Grasser's house trailer, which
was parked near Westside Ser
vice, also tipped and received
i considerable damage. Other
1 house trailers were damaged to
! some extent, one when the
1 front frame gave way and the
trailer rocked forward.
The storm, which brought
low temperature readings, was
j followed on Monday by snow
! Although most everyone wa;
' hoping they had seen the Iasi
I of the snow for this season, al
| agreed, it was far more toler
j able than the wind.
Commission Would
Rename All Streets
Bill Hermann and Sam Rei
ser, members of the City Plan
ling Commission, proposed to
City Council members this
past Tuesday, that an entirely
new system of street names be
established in Palmer. The
Commission based their pro
posal on a study made at the;
request of the Council regard
ing street names and signs for
the City. "At the present time,"
Hermann pointed out, "it is
very difficult to locate given
streets in Palmer. Who knows
where McDonald Avenue is?
During emergencies the fire de
partment has had some diffi
culties in locating fires because
of inadequate street designa
tions," he added.
1 he Uommission suggesieu a
system of streets and avenues
be set up that would fit with
future city expansion. Reiger
pointed out that there are ap
proximately 70 corners in the
street system and that the cost
of purchasing necessary signs
would amount to about $1 thou
sand. The council by motion,
instructed the Commission to
draw up plans for street nam
ing, working with the fire de
partment if they wished, and
submit the proposal to the
, Council for study.
Copies of the revised propos
ed city zoning ordinance were
turned over to members of the
Count il for study.
It was announced that lh>
Common Council will s-it as
Board of Equalization on Apri
24 to hear objections, if any
■ to property tax assessments ii
the city.
* * * *
By motion. Jack Dodge wa
granted garbage collection ex
emption on the grounds of dis
posal units on lus property.
*
Ted Buzby of the water tie
part men t was given permissioi
to attend a water purificatioi
session to be held in Anehoragi
March 22.
The water committee report
ed a leak in the city water s'ys
tern showed several feet of pip<
located at the Sherrod pro
perty had deteriorated. Beion
repaired, there was a 20.000 gal
Ion water loss per day.
* * *
Mayor Miller was called Up
on to break a tie regarding ttjr
purchase of an $80 signal ligttt
to be erected on the roof of ttfc
hotel for police calling. Voting
in favor of the purchase wely
Councilmen Gciwitz, Moone
and Pazaruski. Opposed were
Councilmen Blom, Ehrhart arjW
Watts. Mayor Miller voted in
favor of the purchase.
• * ♦
Bills approved for paymeQl
included General fund: $447.fPJ,
city clerk's office: $l,129.l!>,
municipal building: $186.It*
street department; $194.71, p?»
lice department; $84.52, firr
department; and $381.64, watee
department. ,
* * *
Balances in the Matanuska ,
Valley Bank as of March 12
General fund, $13,860.65; Wate*
fund, $5,045.27; Property UO»
fund, $17,468.53; Paving fun&
$455.50. Savings include: Gea
eral fund, $7,000; water fun§.
: $25,000; property tax fund $1(V
000; depreciation fund, $3.?0y,
and accrued leave, $4,915.6^
1 Grand total, $87,445.61.
Ticket Sales Open
Monday for Kiwanis
Minstrel Show
Tickets for the Palmer Ki
wanis minstrel show. "Fallout.
’ Follies' 'to be held March 30
; and 31 in Central gymnasium.
‘ go on sale next Monday, Marti*
■ 19, according to Dick Miller,
who is in charge of ticket sales.
Reserved seat tickets may
be purchased at Ketchikan
Spruce Mills. Bettys', and ai
Koslosky's Department Store.
General admission tickets are
, on sale at Kitty’s Kofice Mill,
or may be purchased froh>
members of high school Pioneer
i Band or any member of the
i Kiwanis Club In addition, gen
■ eral admission tickets may be
purchased at the door
"Reserved seat tickets usual
. ly are sold out in a hurry, so
get yours early as you wont
want to miss this show which
promises to be the entertain
• inent highlight of the year in
Palmer," Miller said.
Kerttula Supports
Three Resolutions
In a letter from Representa
tive Jalmar Kerttula this week
he reports that he passed three
Resolutions this week on road
programs and the Bin Lake air
port. “Usually I don't have too
much confidence in the results
of resolutions, but last year a
lot of programming was done
because of legislative resolu
tion. so I've taken a second
look and will await the re
sults.” he wrote.
Because of the tremendous
demand for schools and other
capital improvements Kerttula
reported he is hard pressed to
make a decision on the new
bonding prop. .sals However, hr
added, his per.sonl attitude is ttr
be extremely cautious about
any type deficit spending
"That is the reason why I sup
ported the tax increases last
year,” he said. "It Alaskans
want more facilities they need
'to be fully aware of the cost”
including the University of Al
aska.
“Personal letters on behalf of
the State Fair should be com
ing in NOW. Kerttula stated.
“ A. single legislator needs the
backing of his area at criticaT
times . . . and this certainly Is
one of them." he added.
.V.-V. -v- -V- .y. -V- -V- -V -X- -X- -X- X- -» -X“ *X* -Xr
| WEDDING RECEPTION FOR |
| Byron Johnson & Angel Ann
% *
Elks Hall - 8 P.M. - March 17 §
1 I
Everyone Welcome
* £
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9:00 P. In. - SAT., MARCH 17
Moose Orchestra
Moose M?nS«rs, Their Ladies & Guests
$1.00 per person