1, No. 79
Palmer, Alaska, July 9, 1948
Ten Cents
1 Survey
To Begin
uediately
rk on a survey of the pos
ies and adaptabilities of
a’s soil is to get under way
ee, it was announced this
by Don Irwin, Alaskan
of the Agricultural Re
l Administration. The last
of a trio of agricultural
•mists of the Department of
terior is expected to arrive
ichorage today. Work will
.ence as soon as he comes
Valley.
^Chree men, Walter U.
man, O. L. Nimms and a
Jaschal, will study the eco
c possibilities of agricul
in Alaska. They intend to
: in the field this summer,
ucting farm interviews and
■>ys at Fairbanks, Homer,
Matanuska Valley and the
lorage area.
is expected they will return
•Vashington, D.C.. with their
piled information in the fall,
>re to coordinate the material
a report. They will be as
d in their work in Alaska by
es Hurley and Henry Fox of
Soil Conservation Service,
will work in co-operation
1 the Agricultural Research
linistration.
r. Irwin said that a market
survey is one phase of the
•k to be covered by the three
:ialists. One member of the
n is expected to deal exclu
;ly with the marketing phase
the work.
ilthough an agricultural econ
ist is to be a member of the
ricultural Research Adminis
tion staff here, Mr. Irwin said
le of these three men has been
pointed to the Alaskan posi
l.
i>
erserk Soldier
fcecks House,
attacks Sleepers
* t was a calm, though far from
• et, Fourth of July in Palmer,
srding to all reports from
enforcement officers, high
ay patrolmen and hospital at
ndants. Palmer’s most serious
ishap, occasioned when a sol
-?r on leave suddenly went mad
d created a shambles at a local
>ming house, occurred a day
'ore the holiday weekend got
der way.
Law enforcement officials
;ree that other residents at
e rooming house narrowly
ssed death, when the GI be
< his murderous destruction
the early morning hours last
lay. When captured by Mar
i il Bill Bouwens and merchant
trolman “Cap” Allen, the man
d kicked out most of the win
ws and door glass in the room-1
g house and had either beaten
frightened away all but one
the sleepers in the house.
He was discovered in the bed
om of the remaining occupant,
fellow soldier. He was armed
th a pair of shears and a jag
d sliver of glass wrenched from
* of the broken windows,
•omers reported that he earlier
td a knife in his possession.
Before the man was entirely
ibdued. he kicked out a down
(Continued on back page)
T
Engine Fails
But Pilot Lands
Plane Safely
A pleasant evening’s fishing,
almost ended disastrously for |
Jan Koslosky and Frank Brown
of Palmer last week. The pair i
made a forced landing in the
Koslosky plane on the surface
of the Yentna river, and then
spent a day and night waiting
for help to come and fly them
home.
I
The men had been fishing at!
Lake Creek and had taken off'
to return home, when trouble j
developed. The motor began ;
overheating, according to Mr. |
Koslosky, who began searching j
for the nearest patch of water |
on which to put his floatship ]
down.
The distance was too far to1
reach Lake Creek again. The
motor died over the Yentna riv-1
er and Mr. Koslosky brought the •
ship down safely in a patch of !
clear water. The pair paddled!
the plane to shore and moored !
it there, then sat down to wait
for help. They spent the night
at a cabin in the deserted settle
ment of Macdougal, after being '
passed over by several planes;
who did not realize they were j
in trouble.
A passing plane at length in-j
vestigated, and a floatship came i
to pick the pair up and return |
them to Palmer. A new motor!
was flown out to repair the mo
tor of the disabled plane. The
ship sustained no damage in its
forced landing on the river.
Mr. Koslosky is calling the
whole matter just a lucky acci
dent today, but he bemoans the
fact that of all the fish-filled
lakes and streams in Alaska, his
plane motor conked out over a
fish-less river. However he
hadn’t much choice in landing
spots at the time, and he’s just
as thankful that matters turned
out as they did. He estimates
that 15 seconds, either more or
less, would have found him se
lecting the softest spruce tops
for his landing.
There may be a whole lot
bigger salmon. In Willow
Creek, but Clyde Clark, who
hauled in this 35-pound beau
ty last week, is perfectly sat
isfied with the size of his catch,
as he clearly demonstrates
above. The fish was on dis
play at Palmer Cold Storage
for a time last week, before
it was popped into the Clark
frying pan. Mr. Clark is with
the Alaska Fire Control Serv
ice and is stationed in Pal
mer. His catch was one of the
first large salmon reported in
the early days of the new fish
ing season. (Photo by Palmer
Photographic Center)
Sportsmen Clear
Almost $100
In Holiday Shoot
The holiday trapshoot spon
sored by the club netted the
Matanuska Valley Sportsmen
$97.11 profit, it was reported
at Wednesday's meeting by Bill
Smith, chairman in charge of
the event. Mr. Smith said 17
matches were run off during the
afternoon’s shooting.
The holiday shoot was the
first to be held at the new loca
tion of the traphouse, which has
been moved about 30 feet closer
to present fair buildings. L. C.
Stock, asked to arrange for a
permanent location, reported that
he felt the new site probably
was permanent. Although The
Alaska Railroad has requested
an additional 100 feet of right
of way from the Matanuska Val
ley Fair Association, Mr. Stock
said the fair board had not ac
ceded to the request.
It is the opinion of the fair’s
directors that this land should
not be turned over to the rail
road, until need for it is shown.
The ground in question is not
land needed for the construction
of the wye. It has been requested
by Railroad officials as land to
be used for future industrial de
velopment in that area.
Club members discussed the
possibility of obtaining a build
ing, in which to construct an in
door rifle range. Several sug
gestions were advanced, most of
them proposing plans to secure
a building, on a loan basis, from
the Fair Association.
Ralph Goodrich reported that
the outdoor target range must
be relocated, since the trap range
has been moved. He said he had
not yet selected a new site.
Mr. Smith, in charge of the
holiday trapshoot, reported that
the directors’ proposal to sell
ammunition at one price to club
members and another to non
members, was impractical. He
suggested that club members, if
they are to have an advantage
in price, be required to buy their
ammunition in advance. The
club adopted a flat $2 price for
ammunition for all public shoots.
Wasilla Enjoys Its Holiday
WASILLA.—Hot dogs and ice
cream for all, the best of weath
er, a shooting gallery, races and
a baseball game finale made this
town’s Fourth celebration com
plete in every respect. The day’s
activities got under way with
children’s races at 10 o’clock and
ended with a teen-age softball
game late in the afternoon.
All Wasilla residents and busi
nesses helped with contributions
to the hot dog and ice cream
fund. The food was served by
members of the Auxiliary of the
Veterans of Foreign Wars. Cub
Scouts and Boy Scouts joined to
present a history of the Ameri
can flag in a short after-lunch
formal program.
Big prizes of the holiday,
which awarded the previous eve
ning, went to Mrs. George Plack
and to Everett Lemon. Mrs.
Plack took home a new washer,
while Mr. Lemon was given a
quilt.
Winners in the children’s races
on Sunday morning were as fol
lows:
Boys' and girls' dash, ages 3
and 4—(1) Bronwen Courtney,
(2) Helen Kay Carter;
Boys’ and girls’ dash, ages 5,
6 and 7—(1) Sally Carson, (2)
Marcia Alexander, (3) Janet
Mack;
Boys’ dash, ages 8 and 9—(1)
Ralph Cortney;
Girls’ dash, ages 8 to 11—(1)
Carol Hilburn, (2) June Gersh
mel;
Boys’ dash, ages 10, 11, 12—
(1) Billy Nelson, (2) Gene Dinkel
and Mike Carson, (3) Larry Bry
ant and Gerald Sorenson;
Girls’ dash, teen-age—(1) Bar
bara Carter and Charlotte Nel
son, (2) Pasy Carson, (3) Patsy
Plack;
Three-legged race for girls—
(1) Barbara Carter and Charlotte
Nelson, (2) Rosemary Vickaryous
and Patsy Plack;
Three-legged race for boys—
(1) Mike Carson and Billy Nel
son, (2) Don Dinkel and Benny
Cottle, (3) Bob Gershmel and
Gene Dinkel;
Girls’ sack race—(1) Charlotte
Nelson. (2) Barbara Carter (S'
Rosemary VickaryoiLs,
Boys’ sack race—(1) Don Din
kel, (2) Rodney Cottle, (3) Rich
\ ard Cottle and Mike Carson;
100-yard dash for boys—(1)
Don Dinkel, (2) Rodney Cottle,
(3)Richard Cottle;
Wheelbarrow race — (1) Don
Dinkel and Benny Cottle, (2)
Mike Carson and Dick Cottle, (3)
Charlotte Nelson and Barbara
Carter;
Shoe race—(1) Don Dinkel,
Dinkel, (2) Charlotte Nelson, (3)
Rosemary Vickaryous;
Potato race—(1) Marva Alex
ander, (2) Bobby King, (3) Janet
Mack;
Women’s nail driving contest
—(1) Mrs. Kit Carson, (2) Mrs.
Pat Carter, (3) Mrs. Oscar John
son.
Members of the Susitna Post
of the Veterans of Foreign Wars,
who were in charge of the day’s
program, expressed their appre
ciation to all who helped with
the Fourth celebration. They al
ready arc making plans for an i
even better holiday next year, 1
they declare. ]
Chamber Asks
Anchorage
To Be Guests
Anchorage Chamber of Com
merce members will be invited
to be the guests of the Valley
Chamber of Commerce on Aug.
4, it was decided at last Wednes
day’s luncheon meeting. An An
chorage representative will be
asked to address the group. Fol
lowing the luncheon, the visitors
will be taken on a tour of the
Valley, to be shown examples of
the several types of farming
practiced here.
President Jack Maze appointed
C. W. Peters and Clayton Ess
linger as a committee to plan
the farm tour of the visitors.
Rev. W. L. Zeile was placed in
charge of the menu for the day.
The invitation is proffered in
an attempt to foster greater good
will between Anchorage and the
Matanuska Valley. In keeping
with that idea, Valley members
of a proposed joint committee of
the two Chambers were appoint
ed by Mr. Maze. They were Alva
Brooks, Don Irwin, Carl Ras
mussen, Mr. Peters and Mrs. Ess
linger.
It is hoped that the Anchor
age members of this committee,
first proposed by representatives
of the Anchorage organization,
will be named during their visit
here.
Mr. Zeile told Chamber mem
bers that the new signs, recently
purchased by the group, were at
tracting comment from visitors.
He added that some attempt at
(Continued on back page)
1-1 , 1 "fc T
IT
.Ml r urmer news
Given On Hospital
No further word had reached
the Valley at press-time concern
ing construction plans for the
Alaska Native Service hospital,
which will be located in Anchor
age. Assistant Secretary William
E. Warne’s letter of announce
ment, sent to Chamber of Com
merce president Jack Maze last
Saturday, has not been followed
by further press releases con
cerning the institution.
As quoted in the Saturday ex
tra issued by the Valley Front
iersman, Mr. Warne stated that
the “advantages and disadvant
ages of each location and all
other pertinent factors were
weighed carefully in our desire
to make a selection in the best
interests of Alaska and of the
people served by the hospital.
Following this detailed review
of the possibilities, it has been
decided to locate the hospital in
Anchorage.”
It is understood that a letter
containing similar information
also reached A1 Hagen, former
Chamber of Commerce secretary,
early this week.
Anchorage earlier this year
bad offered a site east of the
water tank as a possible loca
tion for the six million dollar
structure. Estimates of land in
cluded in the offer vary from
less than 10 acres to nearly 15
acres. It is assumed that the
auilding will be erected on this
location.
This institution is the largest
?f several planned for Alaska
inder an announced tubercu
osis control program of the Alas
a Native Service.