Vol. 1, No. 40
Palmer, Alaska, February 11, 1948
Ten Cents
Sims Named
To Presidency
Of Sportsmen
Dr. F. R. Sims was elected
president of the Matanuska Val
iev Sportsmen at a board of di
rectors’ meeting held last Sun
day evening. Others who will
hold office with him include
Walt Cooper, vice-president, and
Bruce Graham, secretary-trea
surer.
Ralph Goodrich and Claude
Carroll were appointed to a com
mittee to write the National
Rifle Association to learn re
quirements for affiliation with
that group. It was decided that
no membership cards would be
issued until an answer is re
ceived to that letter.
In a discussion of club ac
tivities, it was decided that
centers of interest would be
built up about specific activi
ties, with a committee head
named to take charge of each
activity, and the central group
acting as a correlating unit
only.
It was emphasized that the $5
membership fee will be used for
general club expenses only. Each
specific activity undertaken by
the club must be financed by
those participating in that activ
ity, if expenditure for purchase
of'special equipment is required.
Suggested activities for club
sponsorship this year included:
Trap shooting, indoor and
outdoor pistol and rifle shoot
ing, skiing, fishing and out
board racing.
Mr. Cooper and Dr. Sims were
appointed to a committee which
will seek a site for club use. In
the meantime, Clare Stock was
delegated to speak with Grange
heads to secure use of the
Grange hall for the next mem
bership meeting, to be held
March 3.
Dan Fleming, Ralph Goodrich
and Claude Carroll were named
to a committee which will in
vestigate possible sites for a rifle
range.
Russell and Rusty Dow were
t named as committee heads for
skiing activities.
A definite order of business
and a program were decided
upon for each membership
meeting. Ralph Goodrich was
named head of the program
, Committee. Suggested future
mentioned included lecture on
camp safety, instruction in use
and care of guns. Fish and
Wildlife Service movies, and
a discussion of ballistics.
The meeting adjourned after
the decision was made to
call another board of directors’
meeting on Sunday, Feb. 29, to
P j a n specific business to be
brought before the membership
on March 3.
RINK IS READY
Ice on the skating rink beside
Palmer school at last is in first
I class condition, student skaters
j say. The rink, which was plan
ned and prepared for skating by
* members of Palmer’s student
;$» council, is thronged with stu
dents each noon-time recess, aft
er school hours and over the
weekend.
Call 8 to ge: meeting notices
printed in the Frontiersman.
This is the photograph reward reaped by one cameraman on his first trip to the Matanuska
Valley in 1943. The then-GI photographer stopped in the -middle of Knik Bridge to point his
camera toward the headwaters of Knik river to get this unexpectedly tranquil picture of sum
mer peace over Knik's usually racing waters. Although frozen almost entirely solid now, open
leads visible in the river's channel today show swiftly moving waters which give promise of
Knik's power when spring thaws release ice-entombed tributaries along its upper stretches
(Photo by Palmer Photographic Center).
Valley Dairies
All Rated Grade A
For First Time
The 33 Valley dairy barns,
which were recently inspected
by Lloyd C. Morley, district sani
tarian for the Territorial Depart
ment of Health, all were “Grade
A plant-producers for the first
time in the history of the Val
ley,” the sanitarian reported.
Mr. Morley explained the term
plant - producers referred to
dairymen who retail milk to a
central plant for distribution.
"This is indeed a milestone
in the history of Valley milk
production," he continued. He
pointed out that in the past
nine years, from the time first
milk inspections were made in
1939, until the present year,
dairy farms have increased
from three to 33, as well as
reaching 100 percent produc
tion on ihe Grade A basis.
Standards in grading cover all
phases of milk production from
herd testing, barn lighting, ven
tilation and construction, milk
room conditions for cooling and
handling, provisions for steriliz
ing utensils used in milk hand
ling, bottling and capping and
health condition of personnel
working with the milk.
Of the original three dairymen
engaged in the production of
milk in 1939, only one, Rex Mon
(Continued on Back Page)
Tourist Figures Exaggerated
Recent figures concerning next
year’s tourist trade, quoted at a
meeting of the Parent-Teacher’s
Association and then widely cir
culated through the Valley by
members present at that meet
ing, were more than a little ex
aggerated. according to later
verification.
The figures in question, quot
ed by C. C. Caldwell of the An
chorage schools, reported 44,000
airlines reservations already on
file for next year and 200,000
applications for highway travel.
Neither figure has been sub
stantiated by highway and air
lines officials, nor by the Alaska
Development Board.
One Valley resident, seeking
verification of the figures, wrote
first to George Sundborg of the
Alaska Development Board. Mr.
Sundborg replied, in part:
“Until we received your let
ter, we had not heard this year
the story that 200,000 applica
tions were on file at Edmonton
from people wanting to drive
over the Alaska Highway. We
have heard a somewhat smaller,
but still shockingly large, figure
mentioned in each previous year
and every time, on checking, we
have found the information to be
incorrect.
“It could be that there are 44,
000 reservations on file with the
airlines. This is not an unusually
large figure in view of the fact
that nearly 20,000 cannery work
ers, and probably an equal num
ber of construction workers,
were flown north by the airlines
last year.”
J. A. Wooten, president of
Alaska Airlines, wrote that he
was unable t > verify the 44,000
figure, but said he “would not
be at all surprised” if the figure
weie correct.
C. Batch, an inspector with
the Royal Canadian Mounted
Police at Edmonton, Alberta, re
plied that the statement of 200,
000 applications was “some
what exaggerated.” Inspector
Batch said that his division had
received 171 letters during the
month of January, requesting in
formation and permission to
travel over the Alaska highway.
Loses Thumb
In Accident
Bobbie Meiers, 17-year-old son
of Mr. and Mrs. Carl Meiers of
Palmer, suffered the loss of a
thumb and injury to the tendons
of his arm in an accident last
Sunday afternoon.
The youth was engaged in re
pairing the axle of the Meiers’
GMC truck when the accident
occurred. With the motor of the
vehicle running, Bobbie caught
this thumb in the power take-off.
Before Bill Chambers, who was
working with him, could turn
off the ignition, Bobbie’s thumb
had been badly mangled, and
the tendons of his arm had been
torn.
The boy was rushed immedi
ately to the Valley hospital for
medical attention. Dr. R. E. Gar
rett, local physician, was in An
chorage at the time of the acci
dent, but he returned to the Val
ley in an hour, when notified of
the emergency.
Hospital attendants said the
boy’s condition was good on
Monday, although he suffered
considerable pain in his arm. He
expected to remain in the hos
pital for several days.
Bobbie is employed by his
father, who operates the C. H.
Meier Transfer Co.
t
Dept, of Health
Announces Events
For Farm Program
A two-day milk seminar has
been scheduled as the Territorial
Department of Health’s share in
the program of the Farm and
Home Institute next week, it was
announced today by Lloyd A.
Morley, district sanitarian. The
milk seminar will take place on
Thursday, Feb. 19, in Palmer
and Friday, Feb. 20, in Wasilla.
Charles Moon, sanitarian for
the city of Anchorage, Don L.
Irwin, director of the Agricul
tural Research Administration
for the territory, Lowell E. Lam
bert, district sanitary engineer,
Miss Marie Wetzel, acting senior
bacteriologist for the Department
of Health, and Mr. Morley will
be the principal speakers on the
two-day program.
The complete program, as out
lined by Mr. Morley, will follow
this tentative schedule:
On Thursday
10- 10:30 a.m.—Registration.
10:30-11 a.m.—Introductory
address, "The Scope of Milk
Sanitation," by Lloyd A. Mor
ley.
11- 11:30 a.m. — Movie,
"Quality Milk Production."
11:30-12 a.m. — Address,
"Dairy Barn Sanitation," by
Charles Moon.
1-2 p.m. — Address, "The
(Continued on back page)
Wasilla Has
School Plans
Of Its Own
WASILLA — Local residents,
who met recently to consider
community action in regard to
the much - discussed Palmer
school district incorporation,
which would include Wasilla, de
cided instead to conduct investi
gation into the possibility of in
corporation of Wasilla itself as
a school district.
Wasilla readily qualifies for
incorporation, residents learned,
with respect to requirements for
both population and school en
rollment. They were told that a
district of 150 square miles can
be established, provided a peti
tion signed by 30 residents is
presented to the judge of the
district court.
Upon receipt of the petition,
the judge may order a public
hearing on the question and then
will designate an election to de
termine the feeling of voters
within the required district. If
election results are favorable,
the area is declared a school
district, and a five-man school
board, elected at the time the
school district is voted upon, im
mediately goes into action.
The school board has exclu
sive control of school matters in
the district, subject to territor
ial law and rules and regulations
set up by the Commissioner of
Education. The new district
board elects its president, trea
surer and clerk and appoints an
assessor who also acts as tax col
lector.
According to the enrollment of
the Wasilla school, residents of
the new district would foot only
15 per cent of the cost of main
taining the school, which, based
upon current annual expenses,
would amount to less than
$4,000.
Tax figures on property with
in the proposed area of the Wa
silla district have been develop
ed. If the assessed valuation of
real and personal property with
in the boundaries of the propos
ed district amounts to only a
quarter of a million dollars, a
tax rate of 1.6 per cent would be
required to raise $4,000. A third
of a million dollar valuation re
duces the rate to 1.2 per cent or
a rate of 1 1/5 cents on the dol
lar.
It was stated that it is possible
the assessed valuation will be
higher, resulting in a correspond
ing decrease in tax rates. How
ever until property surveys can
be made, only rough estimates
of the prospective tax rate can
be established.
School Photos Are
Snapped For Annual
Students, teachers, club mem
bers and organizations of Palmer
school all had their pictures
taken last week. Photographers
Bill Rempel and Irvin Plitt spent
an entire day in Palmer class
rooms, taking pictures for the
Polaris, school annual.
All the classes of Palmer
school, from the first grade
through high school seniors, will
be represented in this year’s Po
laris. The annual also will fea
ture many informal photographs
of school sports activities, school
parties and club meetings.