Vol. 1, No. 21
. Palmer, Alaska, November 26, 1947
Ten Cents
Wilbur Keith
Caught Near
Alpine Inn
Wilbur E. Keith, 19-year-old
competed murderer, had four
and a half hours of freedom Fri
day, keeping the entire Valley
alarmed until lie was captured.
Keith, found guilty of the
knife slaying of Melvin Beck
with at Trent's Resort last Feb.
6. escaped at 11:02 a. m. from
outside the federal jail in An
chorage. He just dropped his
coal bucket and ran, and his un
armed guard gaped at him for
a few seconds and then rushed
in to phone for help.
Keith found a car with a key
in it, and headed for Palmer. He
ran both the MP gates at the
Post and the soldiers watched
him breezing by.
Reports circulated that he was
out t« "get” Mrs. Walter E. Hunt
ley who testified against him in
the two trials. If that’s what he
had on his mind he had a strange
way of showing it because he
just whizzed through Palmer. No
road block was set up because
apparently the call didn’t get
through in time to warn Deputy
Marshal Bill Bouwens.
Highway Patrolman Wesley I.
Gilman and Andy Anderson,
former Anchorage police officer,
nabbed the youth seven and a
half miles east of the Alpine
Inn. His car stalled about 4V£
miles further back.
"Hi, Andy,” Keith exclaimed
as he recognized Anderson. He
submitted without protest and
the handcuffs were slipped on
him.
He had a jackknife in his
pocket and plenty of cigarets,
but no money.
“I didn’t think I could get
(continued on page 10)
I
! SO LITTLE MEANT SO MUCH
When our pilgrim fathers wrested a meagre
living from their rock-strewn soil, they didn’t
wail about their hardships, rant against their
neighbors! They shared what they had . . .
and were grateful for life’s simplest awards:
food, clothing, shelter. Now that our lives
have become so greatly enriched, materially,
we must take care lest we lose the greatest
gift of all . . . appreciation.
—
Happy Holiday
Remember there is no paper
Saturday, giving both your
editor a holiday and the print
er, as well. There! We didn't
think we'd be able to fill this.
space.
Seniors Say—
Most Anything Goes
At Screwball Show
Statuesque brunettes, petite
blondes, flashing-eyed redheads
—t£iey ve all been signed to ap
pear as models in the colossal
fashion parade planned for the
Screwball show of the senior
class next Saturday evening. The
exquisite models, none of whom
have ever appeared in Palmer
before, will parade in breath
taking creations, never before
displayed.
That style show is easily worth
the adult admission price of 75
cents in itself, chairman Bob
Lucas asserts. However he’s
planning an* additional list of
entertainment numbers to round
out the evening o’f show-goers.
“We can’t say too much,” he
qautions. “Just remember—any
thing can happen. We’re pre
bared for the worst.”
' However he was willing to lift
• i corner fo the dark curtain con
cealing senior plans long enough
to list several other events. Sec
ond highlight of the evening is
an old-fashioned “mellerdram
mer,” done as a pantomime.
ThriM-packed and awe-inspiring
from the moment the curtain
goes up until the exciting climax
when good triumphs over evil,
Bob feels this pantomime will
be so outstanding the Screwball
audience will clamor for the right
to pay a second admission.
In keeping with the Screwball
theme, acts were being added and
substracted with lightning speed
this week. Seniors themselves
aren’t sure what’s going to hap
pen on the stage of the gym
nasium next Saturday, but what
ever does happen, it will be fun,
they promise.
The Screwball show will con
clude with a grand surprise, so
secret at press-time that Bob him
elf wasn't sure what it was. How
ever it will be an event in which
the entire audience can share, so
seniors ask that no one leave the
gymnasium until the announcer
reveals the surprise.
Tickets for the Screwball show
will be sold only at the gym
nasium door on Saturday. Show
time is at eight o’clock, but no
body knows when the evening is
to end. The entire Valley is in
vited by the seniors for an eve
ning of unusual fun next Satur
day.
Firefighting Jobs
To Be Assigned
Who’s going to drive the shiny
| new firetruck that will be deliv
I cred in Palmer this week?
J Who'll be the man who handles
! the hose nozzle at Valley fires?
! And who'll be detailed to man
all of the other fire-fighting gad
gets with which that new truck
is equipped?
Those are the questions to be
! answered at the very important
; meeting of the Matanuska Val
I ley Volunteer Fireman’s Associ
ation next Tuesday evening, ac
cording to A1 Hagen, chairman
of the board. That meeting will
be held at 8 o’clock in the Legion
clubrooms.
Until Tuesday’s meeting is
called to order, members of the
Fire Association themselves
won t know the answers to the
questions above. Those answers
; will depend on how many men
come to the meeting, when as
signments will be made.
Once jobs are offered and ac
cepted, the group will adjourn to
the garage where the truck is
stored, for their first briefing
in their new duties. Thereafter
there will be regularly sched
(continued on page 10)
it’s Still Virgil
A pre-holiday slump has
slowed entrants in the Valley
Frontiersman s u b s c r i ption
contest to a leisurely amble.
Point standings at an early
hour Monday morning ranked
the contestants this way:
Virgil .1260
Richard . 420
Barbara . 240 !
Leola .•. 120 1
Joan . 70 j
Four-H Trio
Leave Elmendorf
The parka-ed and mukluk-ed
! figures of Lynn Sandvik of
Palmer. Flo Alice Dinkel of
! Wasilla and Richard Dangler of
Seward climbed aboard an
Alaska Airlines plane at An
chorage at 6:45 last Friday eve
ning. When the pilot lifted his
ship from the runway at Elmen
dorf field it meant the beginning
of a 10-day vacation Outside, for
the three where they will repre
sent Alaska at a national 4-H
conference in Chicago.
H. A. Floyd, local representa
tive of the Allis Chalmers Co.,
which is sponsoring Lynn’s trip,
and Parker Lester, Extension
agent for the Valley, were at the
plane to see the big three of Alas
kan Four-H work on their way.
For Lynn it was beginning to
have all the earmarks of a com
mon occurence, for he has only
recently returned from another
flight Outside. Lynn won a trip
to Portland, Ore., for his top gar
den exhibit at the Matanuska
Valley fair this year.
The three were to stop at
Seattle’s Olympic hotel until
Tuesday of this week, when they
will join Washington and Ore
gon delegates on the special
Four-H train that will take them
to Chicago.
Music Club Plans
Holiday Program
This week’s meeting of the
Music Appreciation Club will be
devoted to a special Thanksgiv
ing recorded program, Father
James Snead announced today.
The meeting has been switched
to Tuesday, for this time only,
in order to avoid conflict with
holiday plans.
The program begins promptly
at "8 o’clock in the rectory of St.
Michael’s church. The music se
lected includes these numbers:
Belshazzar’s Feast by William
Walton with the Huddersfield
Choral Society and the Liver
pool Philharmonic Orchestra; a
recorded radio transcription of
Duffy’s Tavern and Ed (Archie)
Gardner; Manhattan Tower, a
musical narrative composed by
Gordon Jenkins and played by
the author and his orchestra and
chorus. Elliot Lewis is narrator
(continued on page 10)
Co-op Loses
Court Decision
To Dairymen
■ The 22 Valley milk producers
won their case against the Ma
tanuska Valley Farmers Co-op
erating Assbciation Friday when
Judge Anthony J. Dimond
awarded then $28,700.60.
The judge contended that this
sum was the milk producer’s
share of the profits from the
j sale of milk in the fiscal year
of 1945.
The 22 milk producers had
asked $34,065.23, plus interest
on the amount.
The judge arrived at his de
cision this way: He said the
Co-op's books showed a net
profit of $57,001.58 for that
year. He first deducted the
rent of $3,207.75. He also de
ducted two per cent permis
sible under the terms of the
contract on gross sales of milk
and milk products. This was
$6,377.32. That left $47,415.
51.
The 22 milk producers repre
sented 60.53 per cent of all the
milk producers in terms of the
monetary value of milk sold
that fiscal year. The judge then
applied this percentage to the
$47,415.51 and arrived with his
figure of $28,700.60.
The court case has been a sub
ject of deep concern and inter
est throughout the Valley.
Judge Dimond said he would
probably write a decision soon.
When this decision is written,
the Frontiersman hopes to get
a copy of it and print it ver
batim in the paper because it
believes that by so doing, the
paper is fulfilling a public res
ponsibility.
Attorney Ed Davis of Anchor
age did not know whether he
would appeal the judge’s deci
sion. He said he hadn’t discussed
it yet with the Co-op’s officials.
Both Davis and Attorney
George Grigsby, counsel for the
22 milk producers, prepared ela
borate briefs on the subject.
Judge Dimond complimented
both men on their thoroughness
(continued on page 10)
Shamrocks Say—
A Good Thing Is
Worth Repeating
Fun for Valley folks and funds
for a travelling basketball team
again are the basis of plans being
formulated for a dancing eve
ning at Butte hall.
This time it’s the Shamrocks,
town men’s team, who invite
Valley residents to a pre-holiday
dance at the Butte this Wednes
day evening. Dancing begins at
9 o’clock and will last as long as
the dancers do.
The barn dance theme of the
recent Butte dance will be re
peated on Wednesday. “It’s to
be a come-as-you-are dance,” Art
Stacey, Shamrock manager, ex
plained. “We’ve got the same or
chestra, and are planning the
same type of dance as the girls
had. We think everyone will have
just as much fun this time, too.”
The Carlson-Lossing orches
tra, which pleased Butte dancers
greatly three weeks ago, will be
even better this time, according
to Mr. Stacey. The musicians
have added another instrument
since their first appearance.
Refreshments and light
lunches will be served at the hall
in connection with the dance.
Tickets for the dance are now
on sale in downtown Palmer
through Shamrock squad mem
bers. They also may be pur
chased at the door on the night
of the dance.
The Shamrocks hope to finance
i an air trip to Cordova through
the Wednesday dance. They have
tentative arrangements to play
a Cordova town team on Dec. 12
and 13, but the team bank ac
count isn’t large enough to pay
for the plane ride yet.