The Frontiersman
PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
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VOLUME 7, NUMBER 1
PALMER. ALASKA. ..THURSDAY. SEPT. 24. 1953..
Palmer Men To
Present Papers Al
Science Conference
The program of the fourth Al
aska Science Conference which
will be held in Juneau from
September 28 through October
3, has been announced by the Al
aska Division, American Associa
tion for the Advancement of
Science which sponsors the con
ference.
Although the emphasis this
year in the scientific session is
being placed on the fields of for
estry and fisheries which are im
portant industries of southeast
ern Alaska, the main session will
be devoted to the problems of the
supporting basic sciences.
More than 90 speakers will pre
sent papers in the sessions. Or
ganizing chairman for each of the
sections are Allan A. Mick, Pal
mer, chairman of the agriculture
section; Harold E. Andersen,
Juneau, Alaska forestry sub-sec
tion chairman; Philip Moore, M.
D,. Mt. Edgecumbe, medicine and
public health section; Robert F.
Scott, Fairbanks, biological scien
ces section chairman; Johri A.
Dassow, Ketchikan, fisheries sub
section chairman; Dr. W. Weni
ger, University, physical sciences
section; Robert M. Chapman,
Fairbanks, geology sub-section
chairman; Edward L. Keithahn,
Juneau, social sciences section
chairman and Earl H. Beistline,
University, chairman of the en
gineering, mining and aviation
section.
Among three roundtables of
general interest scheduled is a
symposium, “Frontier Develop
ment Problems” under the direc
tion of Allan H. Mick which will
include discussions of land settle
ment in Alaska indifstiiaiization
and agriculture, the territorial
farm loan program and Alaska’s
land potential.
Two geology field trips and a
movie are scheduled for Friday
and Saturday when the scientific
meetings have concluded.
The AAAS is the oldest gener
al national scientific society on
the North American continent,
having been organized in 1848.
The Alaska Division was organiz
ed early in 1951, with three
branches, the Arctic branch at
College, the Cook Inlet at Anch
orage and the Southeast branch
at Juneau. Membership in the
association is open not only to
professional scientists, but also
to those who are interested in the
scientific problems of today.
Others from Palmer who will
be attending and participating
are Don L. Irwin, Hugh A. John
son, Arthur L. Brundage, Neil
Michaelson, H. J. Hodgson and
Richard Washburn all of the Al
aska Agricultural Experiment
Station. Also James Wilson,
(Continued on page 4)
NOTICE
Service connections from
property line to home or busi
ness should be made immedi
ately because service connec
tion ditches or trenches will be
back-filled by this week end.
Many trenches and ditches
have been left open as a cour
tesy of the contractor to the
home owner, to facilitate the
home owner’s making the con
nections.
The water job is nearing
completion and the contractor,
in order to live up to his con
tract, will have to back-fill all
ditches and trenches.
Mayor, City of Palmer <
Al V. Hagen
«««««<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<K< <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< «««««««<
SCHAEFER’S ORCHESTRA
per couple-Lades Free!!
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26 9:30 P.M. -1:30 A. M.
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MNCVNft 0T"EI1 Wasilla Community Hall aJ
VlilSATURDAY Saturday. September 26 9:301
HOSPITAL SETS 1
NEW CREDIT POLICY
“Rising costs of operation and !
the human habit of hating to !
pay bills have forced the Valley 1
Hospital into a very tight situa- ;
tion,” Ed Smith, president of the
hospital board reported this,
week. “We sifnply can’t continue
to function unless we get a bet
. ter record on. collections.” ,
A finance committee report at
last Friday’s monthly meeting
showed that there were over 400
accounts receivable, amounting to
an excess of $27,000 on the books.
Further study by the committee
showed that 150 of these accounts
were for services provided be
fore January, 1953. Accounts of
this age normally are termed
“bad” the committee reported.
Approximately $13,000 of these
bad accounts were being carried
by the hospital. The accounts had
been billed an average of eight
times without being cleared up.
Many supposedly substantial and
upright local residents and neigh
bors are included in the group,
they pointed out.
The committee recommended, j
and the board approved, that 42 j
of the 150 bad accounts be mark-1
ed “N-G” and the $2,500 repre
sented be written off as uncol
lectable. Letters have been mail
ed to 16 other past-patients hav- j
ing accounts of less than $401
stating that their accounts would >
be marked NG unless settled im
mediately. The board feels, Smith
said, that most of these custo
mers have no intention of paying
their bills but recognize that
court costs would be more that
the account is worth. Board mem
bers stated that any of this group
that its not settled by Ocober 1
will be placed on a list and post
ed in the hospital to advise the
staff that these persons are poor
pay and that extra caution should
be practiced when accepting
these families for future hospi
talization.
Another 30 accounts are to be
turned over to the hospital’s legal
advisor Paul Robison of Kaye,
Robison and Moody in Anchor
age, on October 1. These 30 ac
counts represent over $4,600 J
owed by persons known to have
resources and able tc ray their
accounts. Legal action already
placed on some accounts has re
sulted in payment of the full
court costs, plus attorney’s fees.
I gmount due plus interest, plus
This step makes hospitalization
rather expensive for the indivi
dual, ranging from 20 percent to
over 100 percent, in addition to
the balance of the bill, they
pointed out.
A finance committee member
has written personal letters, after
a personal appeal, to 31 accounts
where it was believed there
might be some chance of pay
ment. These accounts represent
very nearly $3,000 and are con
idered to be collectable. It is
hoped by the board that this
group will settle their accounts
without court action. However,
they added, any that are not
settled within the next few weeks
also will be turned over to Mr.
Robison for legal action.
Many of the 1953 accounts in
volve insurance or are new and
considered to be perfectly safe
the committee asserted. However,
narly half of them are for $30 or
less and should have been cleared
I up immediately. Some of the
others rapidly are becoming bad.
Appropriate steps to collect these
will be made during October and
then certain accounts will go to
the attorney for legal action.
(Continued on page 4)
White Spot Cafe
and Valley Theater
Offstr $10 for the largest
Potato by weight delivered to
either of above firms.
10" Water Line
Gets Final Weld
Workmen this afternoon j;
completed the last weld on the 1;
; 10 inch water supply line in 1
;he new city distribution sys- :
Tern, George Lilly, contractor ; j
stated.
We expect to have our work \
in Palmer completed by the !
middle of next week and will ;
:urn the completed construe- !|
:ion over to APW at that time, :;
ne-said. The completion will;*
nclude all installations, back
fill work and ditch compacting. I
There have been four back
does installing service con
nections this week with an'
average of 24 to 30 connec-1
iions going in per day. Ditch ;
Dompacting is being done by
Dave Bryant with a motor
jrader following.
Community Chest
Goal to be $4,000
A goal of $4,000 for the 1953
Palmer Community Chest cam
paign to run from October 5,
through October 24, was set by
board members at a meeting held
September 17.
Although this amount is an in
crease over the 1952 goal, mem
meet the figure, considering the
bers expressed hope to be able to
rise in Valley residents this past
year. Last year’s goal was $3,500
but actual contributions were
short of this amount.
Participating agencies who will
share in the 1953 Community
Chest contributions and who sub
mitted budgets are the Palmer
Library, the Matanuska Valley
Health Council, Palmer Girl
Scouts and the Alaska Crippled
Children’s Association. The Mata
nuska Valley Welfare and Dis
aster Council stated that they
would not need additional funds
for the coming year, therefore
dj^i not submit a budget. Increas*
ea budgets were submitted, mem
bers stated, notably from the
Health Council and Library.
For the first time a poster con
test will be held in the Palmer
School with three prizes in two
groups to be awarded. Posters
in grades 1 through 6 may be
either individual or. room pro
jects. Posters in grades 7 through
12 will be individual posters
only. All will be judged on neat
ness, originality and effective
ness. The school contest will close
Wednesday, October 7.
Campaign Chairman A1 Saxton
and the committee are busy ar
ranging for group captains for
this year’s campaign, with an
other *board meeting scheduled
soon to get the campaign under
APW Grants City
Use of Water System
The use of all waler lines in
stalled in the new city water
system, except the 10 inch line
on Valley street from Wasilla
highway to Gulkana avenue, will
now be permitted, according to
a notice to Mayor Alfred V«
Hagen from W. J. Tweet, APW
construction engineer.
A clarifying statement from
APW this week lists the follow
ing general information:
(1) City has use of all lines laid
under contract except that in
front of hotel.
(2) Contractor is required un
der contract to backfill and com
pact all services and trenches and
finish street in the condition that
he found it in.
(3) Contractor will replace gra
vel over ditches where graveled
street was cut by trenches.
(4) To do items 2 and 3 con
tractor cannot hold trenches open
for private connections to exist
ing lines at property line.
(5) Private connections may be
made at the time the service is
installed if it does not interfere
with the contractors work.
(6) In most cases it is neces
(Continued on page 8)
Special Council
Meeting Tonight
There will be a special city
council meeting tonight in the
office of the Palmer City Clerk
at which time members of the
fire, police and telephone com
mittees will make recommenda
tions on several issues which time
prevented being fully discussed
at the Tuesday night meeting.
Members of the fire and police
committees will report on hous
ing for their respective depart
ments. A representative of Butler
Huts attended the Tuesday meet
ing and gave specifications on a
40 by 40 building, complete with
constructed frame and 10-foot
over head doors. The council is
considering the construction of
a building to house the fire
equiptment and jail in lieu of
rental space, of which there ap
pears to be none. Two separate
calls for bids for rental space
have received no answers, they
pointed out. It will be necessary
to house the trucks very soon
Fire Chief Lancaster said. Mayoi
Alfred Hagen offered this week
to house the trucks in the new,
section of the Valley Theatre
and the old jail space in the
basement for $200 per month un
til May 15. This proposal and thai
of the Butler Hut representative
will be discussed tonight.
Members of the telephone com
mittee will report on a join
meeting last night with member:
of the Matanuska Rural Tele
phone association. Representa
tives of REA from Washington
D.C. — Mr. C. H. Goetting anc
Mr. Harry Buit, attended the
Tuesday night meeting alonf
with MTA representatives Lev
Hanks and Lucy Mick to reques
an agreement as soon as possible
regarding the possible purchase
of the city telephone system b;
the local group. Mr. Goetting, as
sistant head of the western sec
tion, telephone loans divisior
REA told council members h
was under the impression tha
negotiations between the loca
group and the City of Palme
were further advanced than h
found them. However, he point
ed out, his visit to the area i
limited and a definite under
standing would facilitate th
MTA project.
Telephone Officials
Make Palmer Survey
Meeting with the board o
directors of the recently organiz
ed Matanuska Telephone Asso
ciation September 22 were Mr
C. H. Geotting, assistant head o
the western section, telephon*
loans division, REA and Mr. Har
ry Buit of the REA telephone en
gineering division. They explain
ed that there were here to mak<
cost estimates and a prliminarj
engineering survey in response t(
an application sent in by thi
local group last July.
Goetting indicated that the pros
pects appear favorable for a RE/
loan. “*
He also indicated that prompt
ness in getting a modern tele
phone system ready for servici
depended largely on the coopera
tion and energy of the loca
group. Three things necessary be
fore the REA officials leave Alas
ka in earlv October are: (1) t
determine the type of service de
sired by each of the potentia
customers: (2) to work out
definite agreement with the Cit;
of Palmer regarding purchase c
its present telephone facilities
and (3) to incorporate accordin
to the type organization desire
by the board.
By a unanimous vote of boar
members present it was decide
to retain John Shaw as attome
for the association and to ir
struct him to draw up article
of incorporation for a non-pre
fit cooperative association in
mediately.
Mrs. Alice Smith, telephon
operator, was granted a 60-da
leave of absence by the cit
council September 22.
FEW SEEK SEATS
IN CITY ELECTION
Mrs. Elizabeth Barry, Palmer
city clerk, announced today that
the city clerk’s office will re
main open Saturday, September
26, until 5:00 p.m. to accomodate
any who intended to file nomina
tion papers for the four city of
fices which will be voted on
October 6. Nomination papers
must be filed by September 26
in order to have the nominee’s
name appear on the ballots.
Although no nomination papers
have been filed, three persons
have announced their intention
to seek election to a city office.
Mayor Alfred V. Hagen will seek
re-election to his office, he an
nounced today. William T. Zahra
dincek, who has been serving
the past few months on a three
year term vacated by O. K. Kin
caid will seek election to that
office. Parker Lester, long-time
resident and owner of Parker’s
Park trailer courts, will seek
election to one of the two, three
year terms.
Joseph H. Gallant, who com
pletes a one-year term will not
seek election to another office
he stated. Don McKechnie, also
completing a one-year term has
: stated that he will not seek elec
i tion, either.
School Board
Two positions on the Palmer
: Independent School Distrid
; School Board have three ares
men registered for the electior
■ I to be held October 6. They art
, . Lew Hanks, seeking election tc
i a regular term of five years anc
j Bill Roark and A1 DeJulio whc
E seek election to one unexpirec
r term of four years,
t A candidate for the Palmei
? Board of Education may hav<
; his name placed on the printer
r ballots by filing a declaration o
- intention to run and leaving i
- at the school office on or befor<
, 5:00 p.m., Thursday, October 1
? Declarations oi intention to rui
t may be secured at the school of
1 fice.
r General qualifications of schoo
- electors are: (a) Citizen of Uniter
- States, 21 years of age or over
5 (b) Continuous resident of Alas
- ka during the entire year im
J mediately before the election, (c
Continuous resident of the dis
trict 30 days before the electioi
and (d) ability to read and writ'
the English language.
An application to transfer th
F Palmer Bar liquor license fron
Bob Totten to- Bob and Rutl
Peterson was approved by mem
bers of the city council Sept. 22
^ fl> i i w i ^ mu*
We're Culling Prices
THE ALASKA RAILROAD ANNOUNCES..
Winter Excursion Kates
to mt. McKinley national park
(NOW IN EFFECT)
Roundlrip Fare
From Anchorage
ECT)
$16.10
(Including Tax)
Why not get your Club together—or the office
gang—and all go to McKinley National Park!
You can't beat these rates—here is a chance to
get out and see Alaska!
ALWAYS...
GO AuRoRa
Daily AuRoRa Schedule
(No Irain on Tuesday)
Lv. Anhorage .8:30 a. m.
At. McKinley Park 4:36 a. m.
The Alaska Railroad
‘Ml. McKinley Park Route"
Peanut Sales; Fun
And Parade Set For
Kiwanis Kids Day
Members of the Palmer Ki
Vams Club will be out in full
force Saturday, September 26,
selling peanuts to one and all.
Funds derived will go toward the
expenses of the annual Kids Day
celebration to be held on that
date, starting at 1:00 p.m.
Valley youngsters planning to
participate in the celebration
must register their hobby, craft,
or talent or novelty act with their
Friday afternoon, September 25.
home room teacher npt later than
The teachers will then turn re
gistrations in to the school office
at 3:30 p.m.
Contestants may enter any or
all three events, starting with
the Kids ‘N’ Pets parade for
which youngsters are to meet at
the school gym at 12:30 p.m. The
parade starts at 1:00 p.m., sharp.
Three awards will be given for
.each of the following entries:
Kids in costume; bicycle entries
(bikes may be decorated); pets
(pets may be dressed up or de
corated) and miscellaneous en
tries.
A chance for amateur singers,
musicians, dancers, actors, jug
glers and others to win awards
in each of the following will be
offered. Singing, solo or group;
solo or group dancing; musical,
reading, skit, stunts or variety
acts.
Entries in the hobby show will
also receive awards in the fol
lowing classes; Collections, scrap
books’ handicrafts; art; sewing;
needlework and others.
Every child who takes part
■ will receive a badge of recogni
; tion and a dixie cup.
Co-Op Creamery Gets
Two New Contracts
• The creamery department of
1 the Matanuska Valley Farmers
• i Cooperating Association will sup
! ply enough ice cream mix to
1 make 7,000 gallons of ice cream
l a month to the Fairbanks Artie
. Ice Cream Plant, according to
- Fred Zieke, Co-Op general mana
- ger who returned from a trip to
) the far-north city this week
- where arrangements for the sale
i were made. The concern has been
; shipping their mix in from the
States.
In addition, Ray’s Super Mar
; | ket in the same city will be ex
i elusive distributors for all Mata
l nuska Maid products to be ship
■ ped to Fairbanks from Palmer,
. i Zieke said.