Civil Defense Town Meeting
Palmer School Gymnasium
January 12. Public Invited
The Frontiersman
PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
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VOLUME 6, NUMBER 16
PALMER. ALASKA. THURSDAY, JANUARY 8. 1953-=:
as
PRICE TEN CENTS
id (?S3
POLICE CHIEF SUSPENDED IN DISCIPLINARY ACTION
C of C Hold Joint Meeting
MEMBERS HEAR OF
LOCAL MARKETING
PROBLEMS; PLANS
Establishing an even flow of
Valle produce to the Anchorage
market seemed ,in the opinion of
members of the Anchorage and
Matanuska Valley Chamber of
Commerce organizations, to be
the main objective in aiding the
expansion and growth of the Val
ley.
Approximately 15 members of
the Anchorage chamber attended
a joint meeting with the local
chamber held in the Co-Op Club
room Januray 7 for the pur
pose of discussing constructive
agricultural problems in the two
areas that could be proposed at
the All Alaska Chamber of Com
merce to be held in Juneau, Janu
ary 12 through January 16.
In speaking to the capacity at
tendance, John Croul, manager
of the Anchorage chamber, asked
how they could help the people
of the Valley help themselves.
Citing the unemployment prob
lem facing the city of Anchorage,
Croul said they are ever on the
alert for potentials to absorb some
of this overflow. Valley poten
tials include both mining and
agriculture, he pointed out.
“What do you in Palmer feel
are your potentials in marketing
3'our products?” he asked. The
Army has indicated their i*eeds
will be considerable, he added
and proposed that possibly higher
production could start with land
clearing and addiitonal funds.
“We will do whatever we can to
get additional financing and
clearing programs started,” he
stated.
In pointing out accompnsn
ments in the Valley, local cham
ber president, Fred M. Zieke said
that he felt the basic need in the
Palmer and Anchorage area is a
better reationship with the An
chorage market. “A demand was
created for some products we
were not able to keep on the mar
ket,” he said. There is a strong
effort being made to establish a
stable market with best quality
goods, he said. To illustrate this,
Zieke told of a planned demon
stration in the Valley to be held
sometime in February at which
time latest means of preparing
produce for market will be dem
onstrated. This will include
modern packaging of fresh pro
duce.
There is a move on in the Val
ley now, he went on, to re-organ
ize the poultry farms and estab
lish an even flow of eggs to the
city of Anchorage. Milk produc
tion is leveling off and within 30
60 days, there will be an adequate
flow of milk to the Anchorage
market, he stated.
‘‘Our farmers are willing to ex
pand,” Zieke told the group.
“They can’t, however, if there is
no market.” A surplus at one time
of the year, and none at another
won’t do. There must be an even
flow established throughout the
12 months of the year. The Ma
tanuska Valley Farmers Co-Oper
ating Association is working to
ward that effect with their own
expansion program, he said. Farm
expansion can come with the help
of a stable market, proper pack
aging and advertising.
Speaking about farm financing,
•L M. C. Anderson, chairman of
the Agriculture Committee, point
ed out that risk capital is needed
in the Territory. Federal farm
loans are made for 40-year pay
ments. “In most cases it takes
that long to develop the farm and
Continued on page 5
Public Urged to
Send Questions for
OD Town Meeting
The community will have an
opportunity to ask questions per
taining to the Civil Defense pro
gram in the Palmer area during
the town meeting scheduled to be
held in the Palmer School gym
nasium January 19.
Scheduled to start at 8 p.m., two
films, “Tale of Two Cities,” a film
on the atom-bombing of Hirosh
ima and Nagasaki and “Texas
City Oil Disaster” which shows
the terrific explosion and it’s re
sultant fires.
The public is invited to send
questions regarding Civil Defense
before January, 16, if possible, to
Rev. E. H. Imme, civil defense
director. A panel made up of
the various departments in CD
will answer these and any other
questions put to them from the
floor the night of the meeting.
Coffee and doughnuts will be
served.
REPUBLICANS PUN
PRECINCT CAUCUS
Matanuska Valley Republicans
[ will hold a precinct caucus Mon
jday evening, January 12 in Co-Op
club room.
Scheduled to start at 7 p.m., the
meeting will be highlighted by the
election of a precinct committee
man and committeewoman. Pre
cinct endorsement of appointees
to Federal and Territorial offices
will also be sought.
All Republicans are invited to
attend the caucus and have a
voice in the selection of appoin
tive officers. This opportunity is
the result of a policy established
at the Republican convention held
this past June at Cordova when
it was voted to provide the op
portunity to all persons to have
a voice in the selection of persons
to fill the appointive positions.
Republicans are urged to at
tend the meeting.
Bartlett Again Asks
Fish Traps Banned
E. L. “Bob” Bartlett, Alaskan
delegate to Congress, introduced
a bill January 7, calling for the
abolition of fish traps in the
territory of Alaska over a five
year period.
The bill would allow full use
of the traps through 1954 but in
each year the allowed catch
would be cut by 20 per cent until
the traps were entirely elimin
ated.
Bartlett had unsuccessfully
sponsored a similar bill in the
last Congress.
FOSTERS RETURN FROM
TWO-MONTH VACATION
Mr. and Mrs. Ken Foster re
turned to the Valley this past
week-end, following a two month
vacation that included trips to
Michigan, Indiana and Florida.
Foster reported the Hart and
Alaska highways in very good
condition all the way and added,
“ ... but we’re sure glad to be
back.”
CLYDE KING, SR.
RECOVERY FROM ILLNESS
Clyde King, Sr. who has been
ill al his winter home in Santa
Barbara, California, is reported
resting comfortably following a
sudden illness last week. Clyde
King, Jr. and his sister, Mrs.
June Liebing flew outside to
be with their father during his
illness.
GOVERNOR’S PROCLAMATION
MARCH OF DIMES MONTH — JANUARY 1953
WHEREAS, infantile paralysis in 1952 hit our nation
with tragic force, and more than 55,000 boys and girls and
men and women were stricken by this cruel disease in the
worst polio epidemic of all time, and,,
WHEREAS, the National Foundation for Infantile
Paralysis speedily came to the aid of the afflicted; assum
ing costs of patient care, and providing for the recruitment
of professional personnel, as well as supplying thousands
of vitally needed respirators, and
WHEREAS, we of the Territory of Alaska have witness
ed the impact of polio as attested by the 156 cases reported
by the United States Public Health Service within Alaska
with 65 of this total reported by the Alaska Department of
Health as having originated in the Ketchikan-Metlakatla
area between September 16th and December 3rd, 1952, and
WHEREAS, by year’s end the National Foundation was
in debt in the amount of $7,000,000 as a result of the
staggering costs of polio in 1952, and
WHEREAS, during the 1953 March of Dimes, January
2-31, volunteers throughout the Territory of Alaska and
the nation will call upon the American people to join the
fight against polio as never before,
NOW THEREFORE, I, ERNEST GRUENING, Governor
of the Territory of Alaska, do hereby proclaim the month
of January as “March of Dimes Month,” and ui'ge every
resident of our great Territory to give, and give again to
this truly humanitarian cause, in the knowledge that what
we do for our fellow man shall likewise be rendered unto
us in full measure in our time of need.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand
and caused the Seal of the Territory of Alaska to be
affixed.
DONE at Juneau, the Capital, this thirty-first day of
December in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and
fifty-two.
ERNEST GRUENING
Governor of Alaska
ATTEST: BURKE RILEY
Secretary of Alaska
VALLEY PLANNING VARIOUS PROGRAMS
FOR LOCAL MARCH OF DIMES CAMPAIGN
The month-long 1953 March of
Dimes got under way locally last
week with committees, lodges and
organizations making plans to
help combat the ever-increasing
fight against poliomyelitis by
planned fund-raising activities.
66% Stricken Since 1948
According to statistics, nearly
two-thirds of the 300,000 reported
cases in the past 15 years have
occurred since 1948 with an all
time high established in 1952
with more than 55,000 cases re
ported.
For the fifth successive year,
the polio fighting organization
wound up in the red with $7,
000,000 in unpaid bills at the end
of 1952. This was in spite of a
record March of Dimes last year.
Basil O’Connor, president of
the National Foundation, in com
menting on the need for the
month-long campaign instead of
a two-week appeal, noted that,
“It appears that polio is mobil
izing all its forces to attack man
kind But meantime, scientists
suported by March of Dimes re
search grants, are approaching
closer to conquest of the disease.
“We must not falter now,” he
continued, “and we must con
tribute more than ever before to
the 1953 March of Dimes.”
Plan Talent Show
William Rempel, Valley direc
tor of the 1953 March of Dimes,
announced, this week that the
Kiwanis Club of Palmer and
Theta Chapter, Beta Sigma Phi
will jointly sponsor a Talent
Show. The date for the event will
be announced as soon as decided.
Kiwanians who were appointed
as committeemen at the January
5 meeting are: Harlow Hodgson,
Jim Hurley, Ed Smith and Rich
ard Andrews. Sorority members
will be headed by Dorothy Sax
ton, Marne Hanks and Norma
Ritchie. Several acts have been
promised and will include talent
from Eska, Sutton and Wasilla
as well as Palmer.
The repnembered success of a
similar Talent Show, co-spon
sored by the organizations two
years ago prompted the decision
to hold one again this year. Those
who wish to offer their talents
are asked to contact any of the
above named committeemen.
Tickets will soon be available
from members of both organiza
tions.
To Sponsor Ball
Many organizations have in
dicated to Director Rempel their
plans to participate in the Valley
wide campaign.
Palmer Moose Lodge and Wo
men of the Moose have announc
ed plans to sponsor the annual ■
March of Dimes Ball. The ball
will be held in the Palmer
School gymnasium Saturday,
January 31 with dancing schedul
ed from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Al
though plans are not all together
complete, the organization plans
special entertainmnt during in
termission. Jack Leek of the
Moose Lodge is committee chair
man and announced that tickets
will be on sale within a few days
at $2.50 for men. There will be
no admission charge for women.
Formal dress will be optional, it
was announced. Women of the
Moose will be in charge of hall
decorations and a checking ser
vice will be provided.
Phil O’Neill has accepted chair
manship of the March of Dimes in
the Sutton area, Rempel announc
ed and is making plans for fund
raising activities in that region.
In Wasilla, Mrs. Martin Olson
is chairman of the March of
Dimes project to be announced as
soon as decided upon. .
Many other tentative plans are
being made by individuals and
groups. Members of the American
Legion Auxiliary have indicated
they will participate and Women
of the Moose plan additional ac
tivity. Individual bake-sales
throughout the month will be
sponsored by various churches in
the community and there will be
a movie at the school, for all
students, sometime during the
month, with proceeds to go to the
Continued on page 4
City License
Payments Very Slow
Says City Clerk
City Clerk Larry Mooers an
nounced this week that the major
portion of business houses in
the city are delinquent in the
payment of their business licen
ses for 1953.
In making the announcement,
Mooers pointed out that persons
who fail to abide by the license
ordinance are subject to a $100
fine and/or a 30 day jail sentence.
Delinquent payments are subject
to a 10 percent penalty.
Only 22 dogs in the city have
been licensed, Mooers pointed
out. Of these, 19 were males, and
three females.
60-MILE WINDS
AT PALMER AIRPORT
Winds averaging 37 miles an
hour but blowing up to 60 rn^s
an hour in gusts were received
at the Palmer Airport yesterday
morning.
Starting during the night of
January 6, the howling wind
awoke many Valley folk to the
tune of rattling rubbish cans,
banging doors and various other
noises the wind brings into town.
One family on Springer Road
has a iargfc wish tub that "blew
in” early in the morning, striking
first their house trailer, then their
cabana but missing the family
car parked nearby. Sections of
galvanized roofing were blown
off the Farmers’ Market stand
and sailed off down Railroad
street like paper before the wind.
In spite of the velocity of the
wind, very little major damage
was reported. One Piper Cub air
plane suffered a damaged wing
while moored at the Palmer Air
port but other planes had little or
no damage.
First Aid Courses
Being Conducted
Bert Kellogg of the Alaska
Highway Patrol from Glenallen
is conducting standard and ad
vance classes in American Red
Cross first aid for members of
the Matanuska Ski Club and em
ployes of the Matanuska Electric
Association. Sergeant Stanley
Laird will assist him during the
courses.
Standard courses require 18
hours of instruction while the
advance course runs 30 hours.
Classes for the ski club are being
held at the Palmer School from
7:15 to 10:15 p.m., five nights a
week for two weeks. Those who
complete the 30 hour course will
receive certificates. Members of
the ski club are taking the course
as a forerunner to the formation
of a Ski Patrol unit within the
club. Thirty hours of first aid and
ten additional hours of winter
survival are necessary for partici
pation in a ski patrol unit.
All outside pearsonnel of the
M.E.A. are taking the advance
course.
COMMISSIONER'S OFFICE
TO BE OPEN TWO NIGHTS
U. S. Commissioner Dorothy
B. Saxton announced this
week she will be in her office
on the evenings of January 12
and 13 for vehicle owners
who are unable to get in
during the day. Drivers li
censes, car registration plates
and school taxes may be paid
at that time. .
NOTICE GIVEN FOR
ALLEGED VIOLATIONS
OF CITY ORDINANCE
Effective at 2 p.m. January 8,
Police Chief Bernard Bouwens
was suspended of all duties as
chief of police in the city of Pal
mer for a period of ter days, by
Mayor Alfred V. Hagen. Reasons
for the suspension were given as:
1. Failure to carry out orders of
the Mayor and, 2. Dereliction of
duty. The suspension period,
scheduled to end at 2 p.m. Janu
ary 18.'will be without pay, ac
cording to the announcement.
The action follows alleged vio
lations of City Ordinance No. 11
by Bouwens over a period of
time, including not carrying out
orders of the Mayor when he
was instructed to cut down the
police force as of January 1 and
handle the city policing alone,
which he apparently did not do,
as special police were on duty Jan.
3, it was announced. Failure to
see that special police officers
did not wear badges while off
duty and putting men on the city
payroll without the permission of
the Mayor, were also alleged. His
failr keep up to date police
rec s also pointed out.
Bouwens will be given the op
portunity to request a hearing on
the suspension if he desires,
Mayor Hagen stated. “There are
several questions that should be
cleared up,” he said. Approxi
mately a week after Bouwens
was instructed by the Mayor and
Council not to war badges while
off duty, thr<$epolice officers
were seen in and around the Val
ley Theatre wearing badges. No
one seems to know whether they
were all on duty or not.
Highway Patrol
Reports 79 Accidents
Investigated in 1952
During the 598 work days in
the Palmer Precinct, Alaska High
way Patrol, four traffic and two
non-traffic fatalities were inves
tigated by the Patrol in the Pal
mer Precinct during 1952, accord
ing to the annual report recently
made public.
Other deaths included one sui- |
cide and one natural death. A !
total of 524 warnings were given j
motorists during the year and 69 ]
arrests were made that resulted
in either fines or jailing for those
involved, with fines collected tot
taling $3,275.00 for a total of 2,
489 days. Twenty operator licen
ses were suspended, because of
violations,
In addition to the four fatal
traffic accidents there were 35
persons injured, with 14 receiving
first aid treatment.
Property damage amounted to
$97,320.00. Eight stolen cars, with
a total value of $8,150.00, were re
covered.
Covering a total of 76,892 pa
troled miles, the Patrol rendered
assistance to 238 motorists and
general public, examined 279 op
erators; inspected 169 vehicles; at
tended nine fires and reported 99
complaints.
The Palmer Precinct starts on
the Glenn Highway at Mile 30 and
extends north to Mile 113 and also
includes the Matanuska and Was
illa areas. Sgt. Stanley Laird and
Ptlm. Herbert Hoff are officers
on duty in the Palmer Precinct.