The Frontiersman
PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
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VOLUME 7, NUMBER 22
PALMER. ALASKA, THURSDAY. FEB.. 18. 1954
PRICE TEN CENT*
Valley to Gel 200-T
Ammonium Nitrate
Mr. and Mrs. Fred Zieke re
turned to Palmer Thursday after
noon from Seattle where Zieke
spent several days in conference
with officials of the Alaska
Steamship company, Coastwise
Lines, Canadian manufactors of
ammonium nitrate, and officials
of the Charles Lilly company, fer
tilizer brokers.
As a result of these conferences,
farmers of the Matanuska Valley
have been assured the shipment
of 200-ton of ammonium nitrate
this spring, and at the same rate
as was established last year. Or
iginal freight rates had been set
at $3.17 per hundred which would
have made the cost of shipment
beyond the means of Alaskan
farmers. Through negotiations
the rate was dropped to $1.80 plus
mid-loading costs which will
bring the rate up to around $2.50
—approximately the same figure
as last year’s rate.
In reference to the proposed 10
percent increase in freight rates
by the steamship companies, Zie
ke said that in discussions with
steamship officials he received as
surance that very careful screen
ing would be given to feed, seed,
and fertilizer shipment rates to
the territory, and that every ad
vantage possible would be ex
tended to the farmers of Alaska.
'‘I do not feel that there will be
an advance in freight rates on
these items at this time”, he ad
ded.
Y+ H
RICHARD JONES NEW
C OF C PRESIDENT
Seven members of the Matan
uska Valley Chamber of Com
merce were elected to the board
of directors at the February 17,
meeting which was held in the
Co-Op club room.
Those elected are: John Weis
enberger, Betty Mears, Ed Smith,
Glen Persinger, Richard Jones,
Jim Hurley, and Don Irwin. On
the evening of the 17th the new
board of directors met and elect
ed Dick Jones president and re
elected Betty Mears secretary
treasurer, a position she has held
n the organization for four years:*
Communications introduced at
the noon.meeting included an an
nouncement of the annual All
Alaska Chamber of Commerce
meeting to be held March 25-21$. at
Mt. McKinley park.
A discussion on the formation
of a credit-rating bureau in the
Valley was introduced by Mrs.
Mears, following discussions with
several local merchants. The ad
vantages, both to the seller and
purchaser were brought out. Jim
Hurley, acting chairman in the
absence of Fred Zieke, chamber
oresident, appointed Richard
ji'.es to investigate the feasibility
of starting such a service in the
valley.
Plans for an Anchorage Day
dinner were also discussed and
referred to the nfw board of di
rectors for action. During the
board’s evening meeting it was
decided to hold a luncheon on
March 6 at which the hospital and
church officials who will lie in
Palmer for the new Valley Pres
byterian Hospital dedication and
members of the Anchorage Cham
ber of Commerce will be invited
guests.
“Potato Party”
Participants to
Got Public Thanks
All potato farmers in the Mat
anuska Valley who are interested
in expressing their gratitude .to
the Anchorage merchants, con
sumers and members of the An
chorage Chamber of Commerce
for their participation in the new
going “Potato Party” are asked to
contact Jim Wilson, Jim Hurley
or Lew Hanks by Monday of next
week.
These men are working with
the local Chamber of Commerce
on a project of thanks which will
be expressed in half-page adver
tisements in the two Anchorage
daily newspapers. The local
Chamber has offered to under
write any costs of the advertising
that is not taken up by the farm
ers. Any of the above mentioned
persons may be reached by tele
phone at their business offices
or may be contacted in person.
Two Injured in
Head-On Crash
Two vehicles were demolished
in a head-on collision at Mile 39J2
on February 15.
According to territory police
who investigated the accident,
a 1946 Pontiac sedan, driven at an
apparent high rate of speed by
Allan Mulkeit of the Alaska Na
tive Service Hospital in Anchor
age, failed to make the curve and
hit a 1952 Nash Rambler, driven
by Owen Moffitt of Palmer, head
on. Moffitt, who was headed to
ward the Eklutna Project at the
time, received lacerations of the
knee and an eye injury. Mulkeit
also received lacerations and had
a knee injury. Both were remov
ed to the Valley Hospital "for
treatment.
A charge of reckless driving
was lodged against Mulkeit by
territory police and following ar
raignment in U. S. Commission
er’s Court in Palmer, was re
moved to federal jail in Anchor
age pending the posting of $500
bond.
MEA OFFICIALS URGE
MEMBERS ATTEND
SPECIAL MEET SATURDAY
“Don’t forget your special
membership meeting being held
this Saturday in the Palmer High
School auditorium”, Cy Brewer,
manager of the Matanuska Elec
tric Association reminded mem
bers this week.
The meeting will open at 9:00
a.m. and continue throughout the
day and evening, or until all busi
ness is completed.
Members are especially urged
to attend the meeting and cast
their ballots to establish a debt
limit and revise the articles of in
corporation and by-laws to per
mit staggering the terms of di
rectors. If a member can not at
tend, he may give his vote to an
other member by signing a proxy
form which is available at the
MEA office. i
Those who register and cast
ballots, some time during the day,
will be eligible to win a television
set or its equivalent of $250 in
cash.
FREEDOM AND EQUALITY
"Ay, call it holy ground, The soil where first they trod,
They hove left unstained, what there they found,—
Freedom to worship God."
Our forefathers fought to preserve the freedom
of worship which the pilgrims came to this country to
obtain and to establish equality for all men.
We, today, enjoy these privileges which are the
outgrowth of the basic principles on which our great
country was founded.
As we commemorate the birthday of one of our
great statesmen, George Washington, the first Presi
dent of the United States of America, let us be mindful
and appreciative of the sacrifices which he and others
have made to insure for us Freedom and Equality.
KIWANIS 5TH ANNUAL BASKETBALL
TOURNAMENT FEBRUARY 25, 26 AND 27
Eight teams will participate in
the Kiwanis fifth annual invita
tional basketball tournament to
be played in the Palmer High
School gymnasium February 25,
26, and 27. All participating teams
are well coached and some fast
basketball is expected to be play
ed during the tournament.
Beginning at 5:00 p.m. on Feb
ruary 25 the Wasilla Town tean.
will meet players from the Sheep
Mountain ACS station. Following
at 6:30 p.m., will be the Post Or
dinance team vs. the Matanuska
Hotel team.
Members of the Palmer High
School team go on the court at
7:45 against the 5006th team from
Elmendorf Air Force Base, fol
lowed at 9:00 by the Palmer
Moose team vs the Army Head
quarters and Headquarters team.
Winners of game one will play
winners of game two at 7:45 p.m.
the following evening. Game three
winners will take on winners of
game four at 9:00 p.m.
Saturday night finals will be
played off with losers of the sec
ond round playing for third and
fourth place, beginning at 7:45
p.m.
Championship play begins at
9:00 p.m.
At the close of the tournament
awards will be made by members
of the Kiwanis club. Gold and
silver basketballs will go to the
winning team and coach. Belt
buckles and other awards will be
made to the “best sportsman”:
highest point man; and the most
valuable tournament player.
Throughout the three tourna
ment nights Kiwanian Bill Kel
leigh, Jim Hurley, and Marve
Slaughter will circulate around
the gym, selling pop, popcorn and
other refreshments. If any money
is made on the games, it will go
into the Kiwanis project fund
from which the organization lends
support' to local projects.
As in past tournaments, there
will be a general admission
j charge made for each game. Ad
I ults, $1.00; High School students,
j 50 cents; and grades one through
| eight, 25 cents.
Following tournament play
members of the Palmer High
School basketball team will play
in the annual Eastern Conference
high school tournament which
will get under way at Fairbanks
j on March 9, continuing until
i March 13.
SEED TESTINGS
ACTIVELY UNDER WAY
Seed testing is now actively
under way, according to Jim Wil
son, Commissioner of Agriculture.
Purity and germination tests are
now being made on holdover
stock and on locally-grown seed.
Anyone wanting seed tested
should forward it to the Depart
ment of Agriculture at Palmer
immediately, he said.
To submit seed representative
samples should be obtained samp
ling all sacks of same variety or
probing different parts of a bin.
The sample should then be thor
oughly mixed and reduced to the
following sizes: clovers, timothy,
etc.—two ounces; grasses, five
ounces; and grain, peas, or vetch,
two pounds. This should then be
split into two packets and labeled
identically. One packet should be
sent to the Department for tes
ing; the other retained. Each sam
ple should show the variety name,
lot number, and name and ad
dress of person requesting the
1 test.
Plan Services for
Three Fire Victims
Market News Shows
Gomparitive Costs
Between 1945 - 54
Interesting figures were work
ed up during the past month by
the Department of Agriculture in
conjunction with information
needed in battling freight rate in
creases. Some of these figures ap
pear in this month’s issue of the
“Alaska Market News”, distribut
ed by the Department of Agricul
ture.
These figures were given as
follows: Egg producers are receiv
ing 92% of the 1945 price for eggs
—and paying 147% of the 1945
price for egg mash. Dairymen are
getting 122% of 1945 price for
milk but are paying 153% of
the 1945 cost for feed, seed, and
fertilizer. Produce growers are
getting, this year, 98% of 1945
prices and paying 167% of lQ45’s
fertilizer costs. Southeastern
dairymen are even more in the
squeeze than those in other areas.
The figures were presented at
a meeting with steamship offici
als. The Grange, the Matanuska
Valley Co-Op, the ARRC, Herman
Leirer of Seward and Jim Wilson,
commissioner of agriculture, pre
sented the farmers’ position. Since
that time a 30-day delay on rate
increases has been announced.
This will permit the shipment of
this year’s fertilizer and seed ship
ments on the old rate, shipments
which in the past have run at
least 1200 tons each spring.
LEW HANKS TELLS
KWANIANS OF
TELEPHONE PLAN
Lew Hanks, chairman of the
Matanuska Telephone Association
was speaker at the regular Ki
wanis meeting held February 15.
Plans for future development of
the MTA was discussed by Hanks
who told members the association
hopes to get a dial telephone sys
tem for the valley. He told of cur
rent communications being ex
changed between MTA and REA
in Washington pertaining to the
proposed purchase of the City of
Palmer telephone system.
The next regular meeting will
be held next Monday noon at the
I Co-Op club room.
FREIGHT LINES REDUCE
RATES TO STATES
The Alaska Freight Lines, Inc-,
has filed reduced freight rates
with the Federal Maritime Board
to become effective March 5, ac
cording to information given Del.
E. L. Bartlett by the Federal
Maritime Board, on freight going
from Alaska to the States.
“The any-quantity rate from
Valdez and Seward, to Seattle
and Tacoma,” L. Tibbot, chief of
the regulation office of the Fed
eral Maritime Board stated, “has
been reduce fronv $4.50 to $3.50
per 100 pounds; from Anchorage
and Palmer to Seattle and Ta
coma from $5.00 to $4.00 per 100
pounds and from Fairbanks to
Seattle and Tacoma from $6.50
to $5.00 per 100 pounds.”
In addition, Alaska Freight
Lines has established a $3.50 per
100 pound rate on minimum quan
tity of 20,000 pounds from Anch
orage and Palmer to Seattle and
Tacoma.
A mother and two of her three
children perished in an early
morning flash fire that quickly
destroyed the small home in
which they were living at Knik
on February 17.
Mrs. Clyde Homell, 26, and two
' sons by a previous marriage,
i Tommy DePriest, 7, and Danny
i DePriest, 11 months, were vic
■ tims of the fire. Mr. Hornell wasu.
badly burned about the hands in
' an attempt to quell the fire and
■ rescue the victims.
Hospitalized with burns was
Mrs. Hornell’s third son, Robert
; DePriest, 3, and Richard Barnes,
18, who was working for the
1 Hornells and who rescued Robert
from the blazing cabin.
The Hornells were married by
U. S. Commissioner May Carter
this past week-end and had mov
ed to the cabin only Monday. The
fire was believed to have started
when young Barnes, attempting^
to build up a fire in the stove,
poured gasoline from a five gal
lon can on live embers. The re
sulting explosion set plastic cur
tains ablaze and from there the
fire quickly spread to the rest of
the cabin. .
Barnes aroused Mr. and Mrs.
Hornell, and then took Robert,
who was sleeping on a top bunk,
outside the cabin. According to a
territorial police report both Hor
nells got up but in the confusion
Mrs. Hornell and her two boys
did not get out of the cabin. Fu
tile attempts to break a window
prevented anyone from re-enter
ing the cabin. Within half an
hour the cabin was entirely burn
ed police reported.
Mrs. Hornell, the former Avis
Ethel Bolton, was born in Souths
Dakota and had lived in the ter
ritory the past few years, com
ing here from Idaho. She is sur
vived by her parents, Mr. and
Mrs. John Bolton of Page, Idaho;
a sister, Mrs. Harr'ett Campbell
of Washington and two brothers,
William of Salmon, Idaho and
Jack of Washington. In addition
to their brother Robert and their
maternal grandparents, the two
boys are survived by their father,
Linnus DePriest and their pater
nal grandparents Mr. and Mrs.
L. M. DePriest, all of Palmer.
Memorial services for the vic
tims will be conducted at St.
John’s I.utheran Church Saturday
afternoon, February 20 at 2 p.m.,
by Rev. Edward H. Imme, follow
ing which the remains will be
shipped to Page, Idaho where bur
ial will take place.
Outside-City Republicans
Elect Committee Heads;
Delegates and Alternates
Alba Brooks and Mrs. Sarah
Moffitt were elected committee
man and committeewoman re
spectively at the Palmer outside
precinct election held by Repub
licans February 10.
Delegates to the Third Division
Republican convention to be held
:n Palmer March 19 and 20 wilt
be Melvin Burgon, Art Stacy, and
Clair Stock. Alternates who were
chosen are Jim Hurley, V. Louise
Kellogg and Archie Moffitt.
A discussion on resolutions to
be present at the convention fol
lowed the election.
ELKS PURPLE BUBBLE BALL, SAT., FEB. 20
PALMER ELKS LODGE HOME Elks and Their Ladies and Guests by Invitation