THE
LETTERBOX
Dear Editor:
Re the editorial in the Valley
Frontiersman of Aug. 4, 1949
concerning the placing of a Ter
ritorial mental hospital in the
Palmer area: There are so few
mental hospitals, and none at all
in Alaska, even though there is
such a great need for psychiatric
treatment, that Palmer should
not adopt a touch-me-not policy.
Some town in Alaska will obtain
the Territorial mental hospital
and derive benefit therefrom,
and Palmer might as well be that
town.
The attitude voiced in the edi
torial is the same attitude that
the general public has had for
anything remotely connected
with mental illness. It has
blocked the progress of medical
treatment of the mentally ill.
Why should a mental hospital
have a separate post office? No
stigma will be attached to Pal
mer or its citizens. There is
nothing disgraceful about a
mental hospital. There is nothing
shameful in being a patient in a
mental hospital. Those patients
are sick people and it is a heart
breaking and tragic illness. They
are as ill as anyone who has
pneumonia or tuberculosis.
It is time that the general
Valley
Real Estate
( A1 Saxton—Theatre Bldg. )
UNFINISHED house and lot,
28x20, in town.
140-ACRE farm on Butte
road, machinery, terms.
2 LOTS on main street of
town, 81,260.
3-BEDROOM home in town,
furnished or unfurnished,
large lot. Terms.
3-ROOM house on skids, to be
moved.
TRAILER houses.
10 ACRES on main highway, 2
room house, 83,675.
160 ACRES, about 20 acre lake,
81.680 cash.
3 LOTS, city water available.
LOTS OF LOTS
LeDuc Sub-Division
Bailey Heights Sub-Division
Q ACRES OF ACRES •
LISTINGS WANTED
public awoke to the responsibili
ties of aiding the medical profes
sion to provide adequate treat
ment for the mentally ill.
Why should Palmer be ridi
culed for possessing a mental in
stitution? In the tragedy of men
tal illness there is no place for
ridicule. What is ridiculous about
the building and maintenance of
a modern hospital for the care
of mentally-diseased persons?
What is ridiculous about living in
the community that houses that
institution? Is it ridiculous to of
fer the finest psychiatric care to
human beings, or do we live in
the Dark Ages?
There is no reason why the
new Territorail mental hospital
cannot be an institution to which
Alaskans can point with pride.
JULIA G. GRAVES. R. N.
fEditor’s Note: Normally we
dislike to intrude editorially on
this column, which we feel be
longs exclusively to our readers.
However, this seems to be our
best opportunity to clarify our
stand on this hotly-debated
issue.
May we suggest that Mrs.
Graves is possibly much more in
agreement with last week’s edi
torial than she herself knows.
The Frontiersman certainly is
not so unenlightened as not to
recognize the very fine work that
is being done in a modern psychi
atric institution. We know and
are humble before the achieve
ments of that work.
We further know that there
will be benefits derived from the
location of an institution of this
type in the Matanuska Valley.
We still think that we of Pal
mer, the hospital’s patients and
the hospital staff, will benefit
more if that institution is lo
cated at least five miles from
Palmer, in some secluded spot.
We’re certain that it must have
a separate post office address,
people being what they are.
We’re not arguing against men
tal hospitals, we’re arguing
against what mental hospitals
stand for in the mind of most
people. We believe that attitude
must be changed, but we don’t
think we’ll live to see the day
that change is brought about.
After two years of advancing
ideas that are supposed to have
changed people’s minds about
certain things in the Matanuska
Valley, we’re not optimistic
enough to think we've changed
rii
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even so much as two minds.
Therefore we’re not about to go
to work on any idea as firmly
lodged in the human mind as
the prevalent idea about mental
institutions.
And the reason for that sepa
rate post office address? We can
hear it now . . . “He’s ready for
Palmer.” Certain friends of the
journalistic brotherhood in our
near-by neighboring city could
ask for no more compelling argu
ment than that, when next we
make our bid for state capital,
territorial college, or some other
desired project.
VIOLA DANIELS,
Editor and Publisher
and I’m-for-Palmer
Exponent.
SHUTES HAVE SON
A son was born to Mr. and
Mrs. Carl Shute of Gulkana at
the Valley Hospital on Aug. 6.
The boy weighed seven pounds,
one ounce at birth.
Carpenter Tidies Up
Hospital Corners
Walter Niemann is top man on
the good books of the staff of
the Valley Hospital this week.
Mr. Niemann has been piling up
points on the credit side of the
Hospital’s good will ledger by his
contributed skill with hammer,
nails and saw.
Hospital Manager Janet Mills
said Mr. Niemann had spent a
full three days of time in seeing
that the hospital was properly
equipped with shelving and cup
boards, fitted with a new door
bell and performing a miscellany
of small carpentry chores.
Manager and nurses alike
voiced their gratitude for the
work Mr. Niemann has done to
aid in streamlining hospital
housekeeping.
VALLEY REAL ESTATE —
THEATRE BUILDING
FALL AND WINTER
SUITS AND COATS HAVE JUST ARRIVED
Available in Glen plaid, sharkskin, couvert, gabardine
Sizes 10 - 20
New Shipment of Women's Gloves
Now on Display
VARIETY VOGUES
• STILL AVAILABLE •
BUT NOT FOR LONG AT THIS PRICE
A Seven-Foot
Norge Refrigerator
Formerly Priced at $299.50
Now Selling at Just $210
(Only one left, so harry)
That's just ONE feature of our store-wide
FOURTEENTH
ANNIVERSARY SALE
BARGAINS IN EVERY DEPARTMENT
Sale dates are Aug. 1 through Aug. 15
Drastic price reductions at
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