Vol. 1, No. 24
Palmer, Alaska, December 10, 1947
Ten Cents
Hospital Is
Not Available
To Valley Now
Last week’s announcement of
title Army’s offer of a S250.000
hospital to replace the Valley’s
fire-destroyed plant was prema
ture, Dr. R. E. Garret reported
this week. A second conference
with Post authorities has re
vealed that needed equipment
and buildings for the discussed
40-bed hospital are not avail
able at present through the
army.
Lt. Gen. Nathan F. Twining,
commanding general of Alaskan
armed forces, announced that
a staff officer now is making a
routine survey of Alaskan De
partment medical facilities to
see if any equipment is not
needed. Should there be a sur
plus of equipment and supplies
they would be turned over to
war surplus agencies.
These surplus goods then
would be sold on a priority
basis. Since the Valley is with
out nospuai iacnities it is be
lieved that a high priority
would be given the Valley.
Meanwhile, at a joint meeting
on Thursday between the hos
pital board and members of the
hospital committee appointed at
last week’s Chamber of Com
merce meeting, it was decided
not to attempt to rebuild a per
manent structure on the founda
tions of the burned building.
This plan was first advanced
for discussion at the Wednesday
Chamber meeting.
Victor Rivers, registered en
gineer and designer, and Jack
Pegues, newspaperman, were
guests at this meeting. Mr. Riv
ers, who designed plans last year
for a new hospital unit here, was
asked to inspect the former
foundation and make recom
mendations.
The engineer urged that no
permanent structure be attempt
ed at the former plant. He said
he felt it unwise to rebuild on
a spot which had presented
parking problems, and which
had proved too small for an ex
pansion of the hospital plant.
Mr. Rivers inspected the old
foundations, and then the pres
ent hospital structure on Friday
morning. He recommended that
any temporary structures the
Valley might secure be mounted
at the present hospital site. He
roughed out several possible
ways in which buildings might
be added at the present site.
He pointed out that the pres
ent steam line, water lines and
wiring made that plan the most
practical solution. He said if
Army hospital buildings could
be procured, one could be set up
and utilized while workers were
preparing additional units.
Mr. Rivers estimated that one
building, on which four or five
permanent workers were em
ployed, would take a minimum
of two months to set up. Three
such buildings, which it is be
lieved the Valley will need,
would cost about $50,000 to
^ bring into operation, he said.
Bill Bouwens was back in
Palmer briefly last weekend, but
was away on a flight Outside
early this week. Mr. Bouwens
had made hurried trips to Kodi
ak, Fairbanks and Nenana to
take charge of prisoners whom
he will escort to Outside prisons.
Merchants Plan
Christmas Party
For Valley Kids
There will be a community
Christmas party for Valley chil
dren, sponsored by Palmer mer
chants and business men, held
at the Valley Theatre on Dec.
20, owner A1 Hagen announced
today. The program begins at
1:30 p.m. and is limited to chil
dren under 10 years of age or
children under the seventh
grade level in school.
The children will see 100 min
utes of an all-comedy show in
cluding Popeye, Little Lulu,
Terry Tunes, Lil’ Abner and
many others.
Then, exactly at 3:10, Santa
Claus is to appear with bags of
candy for everyone present.
North Pole schedules have been
checked, and Santa Claus has
definitely promised to be at
the theatre that afternoon.
At 4 o’clock on the twentieth,
there will be a second show, this
one open to adults and to any
child over the age of 10. An all
comedy program is planned for
this show, but Santa Claus will
not be present.
Again at 7:15 another free
show is scheduled, this one to
last until 10 o’clock. Com
edies will be shown. Children
may attend this show, only if
accompanied by their parents.
The Christmas show is being
sponsored by many Valley mer
chants. Their names are not yet
complete, but the list of con
tributors will be published next
week. Each sponsor is requested
to give two hours of time to pro
gram preparation, in addition to
his contribution.
A cost report will be pub
lished in the Valley Frontiers
man’s next edition following the
Christmas program.
Mrs. Kenser Falls,
Fractures Leg
Last week’s thaws and result
ing icy streets, claimed Mrs. Ger
trude Kenser as a victim. Mrs.
Kenser, hurrying to work last
Saturday morning, broke
through a patch of soft ice and
fell, breaking her leg.
Examination at the Valley hos
pital revealed she had suffered
three fractures of the leg bone
between the ankle and knee, ac
cording to Dr. R. E. Garret, at
tending physician.
Sturdy, Studious Pupils
Get Half-Day Vacation
High school students who
were prompt and who held a C
plus average in their school
work for the past six weeks,
won a half-day vacation from
school last Friday. These stu
dents, neither absent nor tardy
for the school period just com
pleted, enjoyed a study-free af
ternoon:
Seniors — Evon DeLand, Rob
ert Graham, Don Irwin, Ray
Puhl, Nancy Smith, Hilda Sten
vall, Peggy Yohn; juniors—
Marianne Bryant, Gayle Eckert,
Lewis Geiwitz, Don Hutchinson,
Esther Kerttula, Norma Loyer,
Marjorie Mielke; sophomores—
Edward Cope, Jack Elmore, Ed
ward Gaylord, Roberta Hemmer,
Helen Stenvall; freshman—Ir
win Benti, Gloria Carroll, Nan
cy Frank, Harvey Hiber, Sarah
Smith and Edison Thuma.
Girl Heads
PHS Students
A girl, Evelyn Foster, heads
the student body of Palmer high
school in scholastic records for
the second six weeks of school
work. Evelyn is at the head of
the honor roll with an all-A rec
ord.
Other honor students for this
second period of work are:
Seniors—Hilda Stenvall, Her
bert Ising, Ray Puhl, Robert
Graham, Donald Irwin; juniors
—Gayle Eckert, Marianne Bry
ant, Donald Hutchinson; sopho
mores—Roberta Hemmer, Helen
Stenvall; freshmen—Gloria Car
roll, Jean Smith, Sarah Smith
and David Vigdahl.
As an award for all honor
students of Palmer high school
during the remaining weeks of
school, A1 Hagen, manager of
the Valley Theatre, has offered
to admit them without charge to
the Sunday evening movie im
mediately following the pub
lished honor roll. His only pro
viso is that students must at
tend the movie in a body.
No Change
It's still Virgil, Leola, Rich
ard, Barbara and Joan, in
that order, in the Frontiers
man subscription contest.
Joan improved her point
standing last week, but still
trails all other entrants by
several hundred points.
The contest has only anoth
er week to run, ending next
Monday, Dec. 15.
I.
Fire Marshal
From Anchorage
Visits Valley
Jim Brown, Anchorage fire
marshal, was in Palmer Satur
day to confer with A1 Hagen
concerning problems of fire pro
tection in the Matanuska Val
ley.
Mr. Hagen, chairman of the
board of directors of the Valley
Volunteer Fireman’s Associa
tion, said Mr. Brown made sev
eral helpful suggestions. The
visitor pointed out that more
hydrants are needed in Palmer,
and that the town’s biggest
equipment need at present is a
truck with a larger tank ca
pacity for carrying water to
areas without hydrants.
Mr. Brown also urged the
need for some type of building
code here. He discussed with Mr.
Hagen the possibility of incor
poration as a fire district, and
recommended an over-all terri
torial building code which might
be enforced in such fire dis
tricts.
SCOUTS TAKE IN $115
Weary Girl Scouts, counting
change at the end of their Holi
day Sale last Saturday, found
they had $115 to divide between
the two troops. Senior Scouts,
led by Mrs. Harry Ryan, and In
termediate Scouts, in charge of
Miss Mietzi Bleck, shared equal
ly in sale proceeds.
Display table boards were
nearly bare when Scout sales
girls decided to call it a day at
7 o’clock Saturday evening.
Baker’s Work Easier
With New Equipment
An automatic flour sifter that sieves out four bar
rels of flour at a whack may not be the latest kitchen
gadget to please Valley housewives, but the men of the
Shamrock bakery crew are mighty proud of their new
one. They also point to their new bread molder with
justifiable pride. It kneads and molds and turns out
one-pound loaves of bread with automatic precision, and
all without the touch of a finger-tip to the bread dough.
Lawbreaker Almost
Gets Juror’s Pay
Who says crime doesn't
pay? It almost did for Harold
Palmer, on trial here last
week for illegal possession
an dtransportation of moose
meal last Nov. 17.
Mr. Palmer was buttonhol
ed by Mrs. W. E. Huntley, as
he entered the courtroom of
Mr. Huntley last Wednesday,
and asked to "come over here
and sign the payroll."
Mr. Palmer replied that he
had "been paying all week
but this is the first time any
one's offered to pay me."
Mrs. Huntley, who thought
she was talking to one of the
jurors, agreed that payment
probably would be slow in ar
rival for Palmer.
Newsman Gathers
Valley Copy
Jack Pegues, columnist for
Jessen’s Weekly and now visit
ing in Anchorage, was in Palm
er for a day or two last week.
Mr. Pegues has been writing a
guest column for the Anchor
age News, and was here to gath
er material for a column on the
Matanuska Valley.
He first came to the Valley
in 1935, when he was assigned
to cover the arrival of the colon
ists in Palmer. He visited here
again in 1939, but had not been
in Palmer since that time until
last Thursday.
He said he found many
changes in this growing town,
commenting particularly on the
construction of the several new
cement buildings in the business
section.
Territory Can Run Buses,
P-TA Committee Is Told
There is a local misunder
standing with regard to school
bus operation, in the event an
independent school district is
organized in the Valley, Dr.
James Ryan, commissioner ot
education, wrote Harry Wimmer
last week. Mr. Wimmer was
chairman of the committee which
made a study of incorporation
as a school district for the Par
ent-Teacher’s Association.
Mr. Wimmer had reported
that under school district incor
poration the Valley would be re
quired to pay for the operation
of school buses. Mr. Ryan point
ed out that the territory “can,
and probably would, take care
of it.” He said buses in Fair
banks and Anchorage were
maintained by the territory.
Cost of the Valley school bus
operation is estimated at about
$68,000 annually.
u s tne era oi pusn-ouuon DaK
ing at the Shamrock now, and it
means a cleaner, finer and more
sanitary loaf of bread on Valley
dinnertables. Even better than
that, the bakers feel, is the hours
of back-breaking labor that
those two machines save them.
Before the sifter was installed
last week, flour had to be lifted
to shoulder height and dumped
in the mixer manually. The new
sifter basin is easily reached, and
the two machines are operated
as a unit, with flour travelling
from sifter to mixer along a pipe
connection.
200-Loaf Oven
Once flour is sifted and loaves
are made and ready for baking
the 200-loaf capacity revolving
tray oven takes over to complete
the job. That oven is filled again
and again in the course of a bak
ing day at the Shamrock.
When the bread is baked it is
placed on the elevator and
transferred to the basement,
where loaves are run through an
automatic slicing and wrapping
machine. Then they’re stacked
on storage trays to await trans
fer to one of the five Shamrock
delivery trucks, or for sale across
the counter upstairs.
But there was much more than
bread-making machinery in the
new baking equipment unpacked
and installed at the bakery last
week. There was a cookie press,
designed to make all kinds of
cookies, which can turn out
cookies faster than a Ford as
sembly processes cars.
1,344 Cookies In 40 Minutes
Baker Harry Rice mixed, put
through the press and baked
112 dozen cookies last week in
just 40 minutes’ time. One cus
tomer who wanted ice-box cook
ies, was asked to wait. The
cookie dough was taken from
the refrigerator, processed and
baked while she chatted with a
clerk, and she was handed her
order fresh from the oven in
plenty of time to make a noon
lunch deadline.
In the doughnut-making de
partment of the Shamrock, them
are two new pieces of equip
ment. One, believed to be the
first in the territory, takes a
blob of dough, dropped in at th *
top, and turns it into doughnut;,
complete with hole, which drop
from the bottom at the flick of a
lever.
These doughnuts are placed on
a screen in the baking kettle,
cooked for three minutes, and
then run through an automatic
glazer, which neatly frosts top
and bottom in one operation,
while the doughnuts still rest on
the original tray. After glazing
they’re then transferred to other
racks for cooling.
2,400 Doughnuts Hourly
This machinery will process
six dozen doughnuts at a time
and will turn out 200 dozen
(Continued on Page 8)