valley Frontiersman
VOL. II.
PALMER. ALASKA AUGUST 11, 1949
No. 36
$180,000 Airport Fund Is Possible
Lower Insurance
Rating Possible
For The Valley
It appears entirely likely that
Palmer’s insurance classification
can be geared down to a Class
Seven rating, and a Class Six
rating is not impossible, Col. O.
G. Hoass of the National Board
of Fire Underwriters told Valley
businessmen last Monday. Col.
Hoass and Stanley McPherson of
the Underwriters were guests of
honor at a luncheon by mem
bers of the Valley Volunteer Fire
Association.
Colonel Hoass explained that
towns are rated on a seven-point
deficiency schedule, which in
cludes the following items:
<1) Water system, <2> Fire De
partment, Fire Alarm Sys
tem, <41 Police Department, <5>
Building Laws, <6> Fire Preven
tion Regulations, and (7i Struc
tures.
The Underwriter’s representa
tive said that Palmer’s water
system is its major drawback in
any rating for fire insurance
classification, because of small
pipes and dead-end lines. The
town draws 100 per cent defi
ciency on the rating schedule
for water systems, it was stated.
In an effort to reach a lower
insurance classification, Colonel
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Farm Tour
To Be Next Week
Plans for the farm tour on
Aug. 18 still were tentative at
press time, it was explained by
Parker Lester, Extension Service
agent. Mr. Lester said it had not
yet been possible, by Monday of
this week, to determine which
farms would be visited on the
tour.
However, Mr. Lester did an
nounce that the tour would de
part from the civic center, on
the plot where the Soil Conser
vation Service insignia has been
planted ,at 10 o’clock next Thurs
day morning.
The morning’s tour will end
at noon at the Matanuska sta
tion, where farmers will join in a
potluck luncheon. Coffee will be
supplied, but those who partici
pate in the tour are asked to
bring food for the luncheon.
The afternoon hours will be
spent at the station, where
farmers will be shown various
phases of the experimental work
in progress there.
Jay-Cee Day
Planned For
September 4
Sunday, Sept. 4. has been
named Jay-Cee Day at the
Matanuska Valley Fair, it was
announced this week by M. D.
Snodgrass, chairman of the fair’s
board of directors. On that day,
members of the Anchorage Ju
nior Chamber of Commerce, who
plan a territorial convention on
Sept. 3, 4 and 5, will attend the
fair in a body.
The Jay-Cee convention will
be attended by the national
president of the organization, as
well as by various West coast of
ficers, it was reported by William
Olsen, president of the Anchor
age chapter.
Present plans call for the de
parture of convention-goers from
Anchorage immediately follow
ing a luncheon at Fort Richard
son. They will come to Palmer
by special Brill car, to be met
here by members of the Valley
Chamber of Commerce, who will
escort them on a conducted tour
through the Matanuska Valley.
Jay-Cee-ers will spend the re
mainder of the day sight-seeing
at the fair. In the early evening
they will meet in the basement
of St. John’s Lutheran Church,
where they will be served a ban
quet of Matanuska foods by
members of the Lutheran Ladies’
Aid.
Following the banquet, Jay
Cee members again will adojurn
to the fair grounds to witness
the planned entertainment for
Sunday evening. They will re
turn to Anchorage by Brill car
at 10 o’clock that evening.
G-l Fined For Misuse
Of License Plates
Donald E. Traves o f Fort
Richardson was tried and con
victed on a charge of misuse of
license plates in the court of U.
S. Commissioner Dorothy Saxton
this week. He was fined $75. A
second charge of failure to stop
at the scene of an accident was
dropped because of insufficient
evidence.
The charges grew out of an
early morning automobile acci
dent last Sunday. The Traves ve
hicle collided with one driven by
Jack Hemmer. Neither driver nor
passengers were injured in either
automobile, but the Hemmer car
suffered an estimated $150 in
damages. Damage to the Traves
car was negligible.
They Don't Worry
Any More
Twenty-four cases of dyna
mite. abandoned at an unused
mine above the Fern, has
caused many an anxious wor
ry wrinkle in brows of Fern
Mine employes in recent
months. ‘Somebody ought to
do something,” they fretted.
But that’s all changed now.
Nobody worries any more, be
cause last wreek somebody did
do something.
Newcomer Bob Bronson, late
of Los Angeles (and only by
some special kind of luck still
at Fern Mine) settled the
matter neatly. Bob took his
shooting iron up the moun
tainside for a little target
practice the other night.
As he strolled along the
mountain path, his eye fell on
the 24 stacked cases. “I won
der what’d happen,” he mused,
then quickly raised his gun,
took aim at the bottom-most
case and blazed away.
Twenty-four cases of dyna
mite blasted into kingdom
come in an explosion of al
most atomic proportions, and
Bob strolled on down the
mountain to report to his fel
low workers that he’d taken
care of that particular worry.
Fern Mine owners were
properly relieved, although
they eye the camp’s cracked
window panes and the new
gray hairs on many a Fern
Mine head, and wonder if 24
cases of dynamite stored three
miles up a mountainside had
been such a major source of
worry after all.
Grading Session
To Be Tomorrow
All Valley produce growers,
both independent farmers and
members of the Matanuska Val
ley Farmer’s Co-operating Asso
ciation, are invited to attend a
vegetable grading meeting to
morrow, James Wilson, Co-op
manager, announced today. The
meeting will begin at 1:30 p. m.
in the new produce department
of the Co-op.
Representatives from the Army
are expected to be present, to
discuss with Valley farmers the
types and grades of produce
which should be sent to market.
Produce defects and packing
methods also will be considered
in the discussion, in which Har
old Stephan, manager of the
Co-op produce department, is to
participate.
PUN EXTENSION
OF RUNWAYS
FOR DC-3'S
Tony Schwamm, director of
aeronautics for the territory, in
formed L. C. Stock and Roland
Snodgrass ot-the Palmer Airport
Association last week that a re
cent announcement of a $60,000
appropriation of Federal funds
for Palmer airport was prema
ture. However, he hastened to
add that it might be considered
good news rather than bad, for
Mr. Schwamm believes the local
airport is entitled to approxi
mately $180,000 in Federal funds.
The aeronautics director,
Messrs. Stock and Snodgrass, and
Frank Metcalf, territorial high
way engineer, met in Anchorage
last week to discuss the matter.
In the light of a recent ruling,
brought about through questions
directed to the attorney’general’s
office during Mr. Stock’s and
Clayton Esslinger’s recent trip to
Washington, D. C„ it appears
that all the money Palmer has
expended on the port since 1946
may be considered matching
money for Federal funds. This
amounts to approximately $60,000
and would require $180,000 in
Federal matching funds.
Both Mr. Stock and Mr.
Snodgrass explained that the
figure is one of pure con
jecture, arrived at in last
Wednesday’s meeting and
not yet confirmed by official
notice from Washington, D.C.
However, Mr. Schwamm visited
the Palmer airport last Saturday
to inspect the progress of work
to date, and to advise the Palmer
Airport Association officials on
how to institute action to bring
about CAA approval of the ex
penditure of Federal funds here.
Mr. Schwamm found that re
location of either runway is un
necessary, but that the shorter
runway must' be lengthened.
Present plans call for the exten
sion of runways, so that a fully
loaded DC-3 might take off from
either strip.
The aeronautics director said
that the Palmer port need not be
an instrument field, and thus the
formerly proposed relocation of
the east-west strip to give a
longer approach is not now ne
cessary.
The first project before the
Airport Association at pres
ent is the problem of acquir
ing the additional land need
ed to extend existing run
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