Vol. 1, No. 34
Palmer, Alaska, January 21, 1948
Ten Cents
Housing Need
Of Nurse
Is Discussed
* Health Council Tables
Matter; Awaits Nurse’s
Arrival Next Month
What to do with Nurse Ruth
Zies, when she comes to take
up her duties as public health
nurse in this area, was the prin
cipal subject of discussion at last
■•Thursday's meeting of the Val
ley Health Council. Quarters in
a private home had been suggest
ed by the supervisor of health
nurses in Anchorage.
Mrs. John Devries offered a
room in her home but final decis
ion in the matter was tabled until
Miss Zies' arrival, since it was
felt that she may prefer to live
at the Ledge.
Bill Bouwens, head of the
American Red Cross in this area,
reported on recent Red Cross ac
tivities in the Valley. He said
that $3,000 had been made avail
able to the Valley Hospital As
sociation for purchase of needed
hospital equpiment. It was re
ported that a portion of this mon
ey has been spent, with some
ordered equipment already de
livered in Palmer. Mrs. Clyde
King, Council president, prom
ised a complete list of equipment
purchased as soon as the material
is delivered here.
Mr. Bouwens asked council
members to report to him any
cases in need of Red Cross aid
in the Valley. He has a complete
supply of children’s clothing for
use for the needy.
Mrs. Foster Sims volunteered
to write letters for the Health
Council to Dr. C. Earl Albrecht,
territorial commissioner of
health, and Don Foster, head of
the Alaska Native Service, urg
ing the building of the proposed
ANS hospital in the Valley.
Mrs. Harold Thuma, chairman
of the Alaska Tuberculosis As
sociation committee in the Val
ley, presented the Council’s pro
gram. She reported that the As
sociation, in Alaska, during the
past year had sponsored 13 radio
programs, had compiled a hand
book for home care of the tuber
cular patient, and had manufac
tured colored slides dealing with
this home care, as a part of
ATA’s educational program.
The territorial ATA also pur
chased films from the national
ATA to assist in Alaska’s educa
tional program. The sum of $2,
(Continued on Back Page)
Sportsman Meeting
Set Back A Week
A meeting of Valley men in
terested in organizing a Sports
man’s Association in Palmer, or
iginally scheduled for Wednes
day, Jan. 21, has been postponed,
it was announced this week by
Bill Bouwens. The postponement
0 has been called as the result of
a membership meeting of the
Matanuska Valley Farmers Co
operating Association, also plan
ned for Wednesday evening.
Mr. Bouwens said he felt it
advisable to delay the meeting
until all interested men could at
tend. The meeting time now has
-been fixed for Wednesday, Jan.
'** in the basement of the Mata
va hotel at S o’clock.
School Problems Puzzle P-TA
That territorial support for
schools cannot continue at its
present level and that Palmer
school could be faced with na
extra 300 students next fall,
were the two most thought-pro
voking points brought out in a
discussion of the problems and
advantages of an independent
school district led by C. C. Cald
well, superintendent of Anchor
age schools, at last week's Par
ent-Teacher’s Association meet
ing.
Mr. Caldwell began by declar
ing that he had not come to Palm
er “to tell you people what to do
about your school problems.”
He said he was here to show
what had been done in Anchor
age, and to help in answering
any questions about the school
district plan.
Asked to tell what he
thought was the chief advan
tage of such a plan, Mr. Cald
well replied that it was "one
way of helping yourself. Once
you've done everything pos
sible to help yourself, then
you have a talking point when
you go to the government to
ask for more help."
Under existing laws, two types
of school district incorporation
are possible. One, the independ
ent school district, is organized
where there is an incorporated
city government, and the other,
incorporated school district, is
applicable in towns and villages
where municipal government is
lacking. This latter type of dis
trict is possible to Palmer.
The first step, in the problem
of deciding for or against a con
solidated school district, is to
find out if that is really the an
swer, Mr. Caldwell pointed out.
He advised careful study of the
school budget, which in Palmer
has been estimated to be over
$96,000 for operation of the
school in its present status. Once
budget needs have been studied,
there must follow a study of the
taxable wealth in the commun
ity. The area within the school
district would be expected to
contribute 35 per cent of the
funds needed for operation of
the school. For the Valley, this
probably would reach $35,000
annually.
Finally it must be deter
mined how best to lay out the
district, which by law is re
stricted to an area of 250
square miles, in order to in
clude as many children as pos
sible.
It was pointed out that Pal
mer has many individual prob
lems, for the best interests of
Valley residents would be served
if Wasilla could be included
within the district. If this were
possible, Wasilla high school and
junior high school pupils would
probably be brought to Palmer
by bus, with the present Wasilla
school converted to grade school
use only.
Another major problem con
fronting Palmer is the undecided
question of whether farms under
mortgage to the Alaska Rural
Rehabilitation Corp., could be
taxed. Lawyers still have not an
swered that question.
Once the question has been
decided, Mr. Caldwell staled,
(Continued on Back Page)
‘Stay Home’
Mr. King Warns
The Anchorage-Palmer high
way still is in poor driving con
dition, Clyde King, Alaska Road
Commission foreman, warned to
day.
“If you don’t have to go, then
stay home,” Mr. King advises.
“However if you find it abso
lutely necessary to drive to town,
then put on chains, for they’ll
help, and drive carefully. You’ll
make it okay if you do it that
way.”
Mr. King said weekend frosts
and snow had improved the
road’s surface somewhat, but it
still “was mighty slick” most of
the way. Road Commission
crews are patrolling the highway
doing what they can to improve
it during this dangerous thaw,
he stated.
Asked where the particularly
bad spots were between Palmer
and Anchorage, Mr. King replied,
“There’s just one bad spot—the
spot between Palmer and An
chorage.”
Lodge Threatened
By Third Fire
For the third time within re
cent weeks, the Matanuska Val
ley Lodge was threatened by
fire, when flames last week were
discovered smouldering in a
third-floor closet. When the fire
was discovered, in the room of
Mrs. Ethel Lyons, school teach
er, smoke had filled the room
and fire had charred a consider
able area of baseboard in the
closet.
Previously, the Lodge had two
other narrow escapes when bed
ding in the rooms was set aflame,
once by a carelessly extinguished
cigarette, and again by a dis
lodged bed lamp.
SNODGRASS FILES
M. D. Snodgrass of the Valley
filed for territorial office in the
House of Representatives on the
Republican ticket last week. Mr.
Snodgrass is at present on jury
duty in Anchorage and could not
be reached for a [tenement.
Library Installs
Book Deposit Box
There’s no need to leave li
brary books on window sills and
in out-of-the-way corners now.
The Library Association is happy
to announce that the recently or
dered book box, to be used for
depositing books when the li
brary is closed, is now set up out
side the library door.
Aside from voting that the box
be ordered, the Library Associa
tion conducted only routine bus
iness at its recent meeting, ac
cording to Mrs. E. F. Graves, As
sociation president. As a book
keeping aid it was decided to
change the election date of li
brary officers from October to
January. This will necessitate
closing the Association books
only once each year, rather than
twice. The present officers, elect
ed last October, will remain in
office until January of 1949.
The Association also informal
ly discussed future plans for
the library, in the event the pres
ent building is sold. However, no
definite plans were made at the
meeting.
Plate, Sales Are
At Halfway Mark
As Deadline Nears
There are plenty of Valley res
idents who are going to be stand
ing in line next week, if they
delay much longer in the pur
chase of their 1948 license plates,
Lou Henke warned today.
Mr. Henke said that to date
only 206 plates had been sold
in the Valley. He estimates that
this is approximately half of the
total number required here.
Absolute deadline for the pur
chase of this year’s plates is Jan.
31.
C OF C MEETS
There will be a regular meet
ing of the Valley Chamber of
Commerce at noon on Wednes
day, it was announced today by
President Jack Maze. Chamber
luncheons are held in the base
ment of the Lutheran church.
All interested Valley residents
are invited to attend these meet
ings.
Membership in the Chamber is
open to all Valley residents, Mr.
Maze said.
CORDOVA GREETINGS
APPEAR IN WINDOWS
Palmer’s store and office win
dows will begin sprouting ‘Wel
come, Cordova’ signs this week,
in preparation for the invasion
of the Cordova Imperials, men’s
and women’s basketball squads
from that city.
Final plans for the entertain
ment and housing of the 27 vis
iting men and women were being
organized this week by Mrs.
Ethel Lyons, manager of
Wright’s Girls, and her commit
tee workers.
The two teams will play a
weekend doubleheader in the
Palmer gymnasium. Girls’ teams
will take the floor at 8 o’clock
on Friday and Saturday nights
this week, with the men's game
going on immediately after the
first game is finished.
Early ticket investors will get
a bargain of a 25 cent reduction,
if they buy a ticket to both
games. Game tickets are selling
at 75 cents each, if purchased in
dividually, but if purchased be
fore game night from members of
either the Shamrock or Wright’s
squads, game admissions for
both nights will cost $1,25.
The two - game basketball
weekend will be culminated on
Saturday with a dance in the
Palmer gymnasium. This dance
is open to the public. Music for
the function will be furnished
by the Carlson orchestra, which
played for the Fireman’s Ball
last Saturday.
Valley Farms
Need Market
To Exist
Cooperation Needed,
ARRC Head Tells
Anchorage Chamber
Twin problems of insufficient
markets for produce raised in the
Valley and an influx of home
steaders who are unprepared to
finance themselves until new
farms are in operation are retard
ing the full development of the
Matanuska Valley, C. W. Peters,
general manager of the Alaska
Rural Rehabilitation Corporation
told the Anchorage Chamber of
Commerce last Monday.
Mr. Peters told Chamber mem
bers the Corporation was set up
to establish colonists on their
Valley farms, but he declared
the day of government subsidy in
the Matanuska Valley is past.
"Farmers are on their own,"
he asserted. "They've either
got to make it or go broke.
They're not being subsidized.
They're in business."
However Mr. Peters pointed
out that their business of farm
ing could succeed only if An
chorage markets could be devel
oped for the produce. He said he
believed agriculture could be es
tablished on a sound basis in
the valley if “it is given a break
—and I think that’s what it needs
—to be given a break.”
He deplored past misunder
standings between Valley farm
ers and Anchorage businessmen,
and called for new cooperation
between the two groups, pointing
out that their success was inter
locked.
Mr. Peters said that he didn't
consider the cooperation must
be a one-sided effort, but
should be a mutual working
out of plans. He said he believ
ed the farmers must be pre
pared to put out qaulity pro
duce which can compete on the
market. He added further that
he believed if the farmers' re
sponsibility to cooperate
among themselves so that An
chorage merchants can be as
sured of a steady supply of a
high quality product.
He said the ARRC was prin
cipally interested in establish
ing farmers on the colony units,
and was unable to help the
home steader financially. He
further pointed out that markets
must be developed before other
homesteaders are urged to come,
saying “if the produce already
being raised by the farmers can’t
be disposed of, what are we go
ing to do if more acreage is open
ed?”
The Corporation manager con
cluded with the statement that
he believed Anchorage mer
chants, working together with
Valley farmers, had the oppor
tunity as well as the definite re
sponsibility to establish agricul
ture firmly in the Valley.
FALLS ON ICE
Father James Snead of St.
Michael’s church suffered a pain
ful leg injury last week, when
he slipped and fell on the ice in
his dooryard. Father Snead was
forced to cancel Sunday’s church
service* as the result of his ac
rirjrnt.