VALLEY FRONTIERSMAN
Published each Thursday
Palmer, Alaska ___
Entered as second class matter on Oct. 21, 1947, at the post office
at Palmer, Alaska, under the Act of March 3, 1879._
Subscription rates .50c month, $5 a year
Viola Daniels..Editor
No printed material in the Valley Frontiersman may be
reproduced except by permission of the editor.
Mailed to all points in Alaska and the United States
We’ve just had a matter brought to our attention, by one of
the newer residents of tlie Matanuska Valley, that you and I have
been overlooking for a long, long time. We're more than a little
ashamed that it took a resident of three months to remind us,
starting on our third year in Palmer now, that the word “commu
nity” belongs in the title of the Valley Hospital.
Our hospital is that, you know undoubtedly; just as undoubt
edly you’ve been perfectly willing to forget it as soon and as com
pletely as you can.
That word “community” ought to mean that we have a share
and a responsibility in the hospital, and most of us would much
rather forget it. Most of us have. About the only persons who are
remembering that our hospital is a community affair are its paid
employes. Those people. w’ho actually have no responsibility be
yond seeing that they give eight hours work for eight hours pay,
are doing much more than that.
There’s not a nurse on the staff of the Valley Hospital who
knows what an eight-hour day is. Neither is there anyone on that
hospital staff who knows what it mean to plan for, and be assured
of, a definite day off during her work week. Hospital staff members
are constantly on.call, and emergencies are arising so often in this
Valley, that they’re becoming the rule rather than the exception,
so far as the hospital is concerned.
However the staff is doing the best it can, and there arc no
complaints. They’ll continue to do the best they can. But there
are times when their best is not enough. There are times when
the present,staff members simply can’t cope with both emergencies
and run of the mill hospital duties. There aren’t enough hours in
a day. And that’s when they’d like to have you remember that lit
tle word “community.”
There arc small jobs that you and 1 could do to help the over
worked nurses and staff members, so that they’d have the time
for the bigger jobs. And those small jobs don’t require any hospi
tal or medical training. They’d like to have people who would do
nurse’s aide work, people who would help with the mending, and
people who would help, in just any way they can. “Even a man
would be a handy gadget to have around on occasion,’’ the hospital
manager admitted. “We could keep him busy, too.”
Now we know all the excuses you're sorting out in your mind,
and frankly we think they’re pretty trivial. Of course you’re busy;
so are we. I don’t know of any reason why we ought to be the
privileged characters who are supposed to be un-busy. We have
never heard of any ordinary human being who didn’t have more
work to do than he thought he ought to be required to do. We
notice it usually gets done, though.
In all the going-on-three years we’ve been in Palmer, we vc
heard that “busy” excuse. But in all that time, we ve never yet
heard of a single person who collapsed from overwork on commu
nity responsibilities. We know of a few who laced a breakdown
from overwork, but it was the kind of work they were collecting
good hard cash for. so we feel that crisis was strictly one of their
own making.
We know, too, you “can't stand a hospital.” Neither ran we.
But maybe they’d find a chore for you to finish in your own home.
It would be worth a try anyway.
So, we’ll be the first — we hate the sight, sound and smell of a
hospital, but if there are letters to write, statements to type, or
stenographic chores to do that someone would like to turn over
to us, we’ll volunteer.
Who's next?
MRS MIELKE'S SEWING SERVICE
Immediate Service Given on All Alterations
Make sure that new dress F I T S, in every detail
Hours 9 a. m. to 5 p. m. — later by appointment
Located in Ken’s Electric Shop
Gil Anthony's Air Service
Headquarters at A1 King’s Garage
Coll 25 for Information — Reasonable Rates
AIR TRAVEL ANYWHERE IN ALASKA
Fair's 4-H Club
Prize Winners
Are Announced
A complete list of 4-H Club
prize winners at the recent Ma
tanuska Valley Fair was an
nounced this week by Miss Mary
Lou Lashbrook, home demon
stration agent. Valley 4-Hers
who carried home some of the
Fair’s cash as premiums in
cluded:
Joyce Dinkel and Judy
Burford, first prize for press
ing demonstration; Neola
Sandvik and Dorothy Hoff
man, second prize for yeast
rolls demonstration; Lee Ann
Hoffman and Leona Lucas,
third prize for muffins dem
onstration; Arlene Benson,
second prize for cake dem
onstration; Marilyn Drag
seth, second prize for nut
bread demonstration.
Genevieve DeLand was the 4-H
Club winner for an individual
display. Genevieve’s projects
were canning and dairying. The
Wasilla Happy Snapper Snippers
took the club prize in 4-H work.
Booth prizes were won by:
Busy Hoers, led by Cliff
Marcus, first prize in gar
dening; Lazy Mountain 4-H
Club led by Miss Gertrude
Vandemeer, second pribe in
gardening; Nimble Fingers
led by Mrs. Duane Mohan,
first prize in general club
work; Mixing Bowl led by
Mrs. James Hurley and Mrs.
Paul Martin, second prize in
health; Busy Bees led by
Mrs. Hertha Byers and Mrs.
Florence Sawby, second prize
in clothing; Happy 4-H Club
led by Mrs. Mary King, third
prize in foods.
Laddie Dinkel won the Aimer
PetersQn prize or best 4-H Club
garden judged in the field just
prior to fair time. Other 4-H
Club garden prize winners were
Elden Sandvik, first; Don Din
kel, second; Adelard Beylund,
third.
Potted Plants
Cut Flowers
MATANUSKA
VALLEY GARDENS
KEN'S ELECTRIC SUPPLY
Located at corner of Valiev Street and Glenn Highway
GENERAL
ELECTRIC
APPLIANCES
Window Frames
Door Frames
We make 'em any size you want in our shop!
Severns Cabinet Shop
ALWAYS . . .
A GOOD PLACE TO EAT
Dinner served daily from 11 a. m. to 9 p. m.
Short Orders Are Our Specialty
Fresh Matanuska Cream served with our coffee
BAR-B-Q
(Located in Palmer Bus Depot)
YOU'LL FIND
HOME COOKING
AWAY FROM HOME
at the
RON-DA-VOO CAFE
HOME-MADE CAKES AND PIES
Meals served at all times — open 24 hours