vaiieyFrontiersman
VOL. II.
PALMER, ALASKA JUNE 2, 1949
No. 26
Photo Art Begins Building Prog
ram
Fair to Stage
Beauty Contest,
Talent Show
A trip to Hollywood for the
queen of this year’s Matanuska
Valley fair, a flight to New York
for the most talented Alaskan
musician to compete at the Sep
tember fair, and a visit to Chi
cago for the farmer who brings
the best all-around farm display
for fair exhibition—those were
the promises announced this
week by Charles Dillon, fair
manager.
For the girl who is crowned
queen of the 1949 fair, which is
to be held in Palmer on Septem
ber 3, 4 and 5, there will be a
royal reception in Hollywood,
according to word received last
week from Larry Crosby, broth
er of the actor Bing.
The queen, who will be dubbed
“Miss Statehood of ’49,” will he
lunched and squired through
Hollywood’s studios, radio shows
and other points of interest by
representatives of Paramount
Studios. She will watch movies
in the making, and will be
photoed and interviewed for
California newspapers.
The talent winner will go to
New York. Although plans are
not complete, negotiations are
now in process through which it
is hoped that the Alaskan win
ner may be guest artist on one
of the nationally-broadcast tal
ent shows.
The farm winner, who is ex
pected to display not only farm
products, but samples of wife’s
cooking, baking, canning and
sewing as well, will be taken to
Chicago. It is hoped that the
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Colony Day Money
Is Not Yet Counted
Although it was far too
early at press-time to make
any accurate report of the
financial return for Colony
Day, chairman L. C. Stock
said it appeared that con
cession operators and spon
sors of Colony Day featured
attractions, all would show
a profit. First to estimate
returns was the Palmer Ath
letic Association, which re
ported a gross of $600 and a
probable profit of $500.
Out - of - town attendance
was disappointingly small,
but Valley residents were
present in full force at the
Sunday program and the
following “Night in Reno.”
Saturday’s planned train
from Anchorage had to be
cancelled, when only seven
persons bought tickets for
the special excursion.
Mr. Stock said all conces
sions operators would be
contacted early this week, in
order that a complete finan
cial statement can be pre
pared for publication in next
week’s Valley Frontiersman.
Visits in Valley
Mrs. Carl Erickson, former
Valley resident, visited with
friends here for the past week.
Mrs. Erickson, who now makes
her home in Anchorage, attend
ed the Colony Day celebration
over the weekend, and was a
special guest speaker at the
meeting of the Ladies’ Aid of the
United Protestant Church yes
terday. She sketched highlights
of her trip to Norway last sum
mer, for the entertainment of
Aid members.
Patty Plumley
Wins Poster Prize
Patty Plumley won first prize
in the Poppy Day poster contest
sponsored among children of the
first six grades of Palmer School,
it was announced this week. The
poster contest, an annual event,
is sponsored by the Auxiliary of
the American Legion.
Adelard Beylund took second
place in the contest and David
McKenzie was third.
District Incorporation
Unopposed at Hearing
Last Friday’s hearing in Third
District court on the incorpora
tion of the Palmer school district
was ended without a dissenting
voice being raised against the
move. About 10 Valley residents
drove to Anchorage to be pres
ent to speak for incorporation.
Judge Anthony Dimond fixed
June 28 as the date of the elec
tion which will ultimately de
cide whether Palmer incorpor
ates as a school district or re
tains its present status of terri
torial school. A school board of
five members will be elected at
the same time.
Continuing its sponsorship of
the plan, the Palmer chapter of
the Parent-Teacher’s Associa
tion has fixed June 7 as the date
for an election caucus to select
the candidates for the June 28
ballot. That meeting will be held
in the Palmer school lunchroom
at 3 o’clock, according to Mrs.
A. H. Mick, P-TA president.
Everyone interested in the
school is invited to attend this
meeting. Candidates for election
to the Palmer school board are
asked to file their names at that
time.
NEW QUARTERS
TO INCLUDE
DRUG STORE
Construction began this week
on a 40x60 building, located di
rectly across from the present
Koslosky Building, which will be
the new home of the several
businesses of Palmer Photo Art.
Partners Irwin Plitt and William
Rempel said the building would
be of frame construction, with a
concrete basement. They expect
it to be finished before Christ
mas of this year.
The building, which is to cost
nearly $40,000 to erect, will
house the present photography
and gift shop, and in addition
will include a modern drug
store, newsstand, tobacco and
candy counter and a fountain
lunch.
In addition to these enter
prises, all to be housed in the
Photo Art section of the build
ing, there will be space for a
men’s clothing store. This part
of the business will be leased, the
partners said, and will not be a
part of the Photo Art business.
The dark room and portrait
studio of the photography shop
will be housed in the basement
of the building. This basement
also will include storage space
for the businesses.
The several businesses to be
combined under the one roof
still will retain the name of Pal
mer Photo Art, the partners
said.
A son was born to Mr. and
Mrs. Fred Cottrill of Palmer on
May 28. The newcomer arrived
at the Valley hospital weighing
five pounds, eight ounces. Mr.
Cottrill is a miner at Jonesville.
Writer Finds World Is War-Jittery
Bernard Wickstett, columnist
for the London Daily Express,
ripped a ticket from a fat as
sortment representing seats on
a total of 15 different airlines,
and presto! a few hours later he
stepped from a plane in Anchor
age last week to drive to the
Matanuska Valley for an over
night stop at Palmer and a quick
inspection of Valley scenery. A
day or two later he was as
quickly whisked away again, as
he presented still another of the
seemingly inexhaustible supply
from his ticketbook.
The writer, who calls his col
umn “It’s Fun to Find Out,” was
given the ticket collection, which
represented a globe-girdling tour
aboard planes of several coun
tries, by his newspaper employ
er. The trip was designed to
“find out” how and what the
rest of the world is doing.
Mr. Wickstett was already
more than two-thirds of the way
toward the end of his journey
when he arrived in Palmer. He
had visited Prague, Rome, Ath
ens, Cairo, India, Irak, the Ma
layan states, Hongkong and To
kyo before disembarking at An
chorage. He left here en route
for Seattle. He expected to visit
Hollywood and Chicago before
returning to London.
Questioned concerning the
feeling toward peace in the
world, the writer replied,
“There is no peace any
where. The only place I
found any indication of
peace was in Ceylon. Every
where else the people either
are living in the shadow of
the next war or with the
legacy of the last one.
“We in England, who are
much closer to Russia than
most of you are, hope and
_ >_
pray, as everyone does, that
there will be no war, but we
believe it is close. And when
they start dropping atomic
bombs on an island the size
of England, that will be the
end of our civilization.”
Mr. Wickstett faced the reali
ties of present-day war in al
most every city he visited. Ath
ens was actively engaged in war,
and visitors were permitted to
move about only under armed
escort. There were wars in
Egypt and Irak and he moved
out of China in advance of the
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