VOLUME 7. NUMBER 3
the Frontiersman
PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
J
PALMER. ALASKA. THURSDAY. OCTOBER 8, 1953
PRICE TEN CENTS
DON McKECHNIE NEW MAYOR OF PALMER
RED FEATHER
CAMPAIGN STARTS
TOWARD $4,000 GOAL
Team captains and their as
sistants have started their house
to-house canvassing for the 1953
Community Chest Campaign, A1
Saxton, campaign chairman said
this week.
Anyone interested in assisting
in the full-scale campaign is ask
ed to contact Mr. Saxton or any
of the following captains: Dick
Benson, Eleanor Hartner, Mrs.
Charles Schaefer, V. Louise Kel
logg, Mrs. Jim Hurley, Ed Smith,
Mrs. Trowbridge, Mrs. Marty
Sherman, Mrs. Russell Felzein,
Rev. Edward Imme, Mrs. Jim
Wilson, or Mrs. Dick Jones. Also
Jasper Skok for the Jonesvihe
area and Mrs. Robert Wendt at
the Eklutna Project. Ed Smith
and Emile Ganschow will can
vass the business section.
Another captain is needed, Sax
ton said, in the area south of
Wasilla Road and the ARRC re
gion and another in the Sutton
area.
Posters were distributed this
week throughout the business sec
tion, urging the whole family’s
participation in the annual red
feather drive. Boys distributing
the posters were Dave Whalen,
Steve Colberg, Tom Kucera and
Ernest Boicourt.
Palmer Man Elected
Head of AAAS
Hugh A. Johnson of Palmer
was elected president of the
Alaska Division of the American
Association for the Advancement
of Science at the fourth annual
meeting held in Juneau from
September 28 through October
3.
Other officers are El K. Day,
Anchorage, vice-president; and
Troy Pewe of Fairbanks, secre
tary-treasurer.
Anchorage was chosen as the
site of the 1954 annual meeting
of the science conference.
Others attending from Palmer
and participating in the many
sessions were: Don L. Irwin,
director of the Agriculture Ex
periment Station, Dr. Allan Mick
of Palmer, dean of agriculture
at the University of Alaska, Ar
thur L. Brundage, Neil Michael
son, H. J. Hodgson and Richard
Washburn, also of the Experi
ment Station.
Also Jim Wilson of Palmer,
Commissioner of Agriculture,
and Charles W. Wilson, Soil Con
servation Service.
Homestead Desroyed
By Midnight Blaze
Fire of undetermined origin
destroyed the entire dwelling
and personal possessions of the
John Luster family in the
Chickaloon area around mid
night October 11.
Mr. and Mrs. Luster and their
seven children ranging in age
from two months to nine years
escaped without injury but
were unable to save any of the
clothing, food or other posses
sions. Included in their loss
was a quantity of canned food.
Palmer Moose
Seek Win In
Third Football Game
Tomorrow afternoon members ;
of the Palmer High School foot
ball team will meet the An
chorage Eagles for their third ;
try at a win. Although Palmer
has been defeated in the two !
games already played, Coach
Norman Rousey said his team
will be going onto the field with ;
a determination that may result ;
in a surprise for the Anchorage
players. :
In the second of the four home
and home games played between /
the teams, Palmer went down to !;
defeat with a score of 24-0. Out-j >
standing passing by the Anchor- !;
age combination of Grange and ;!
Batson accounted for two of their;;!
four touchdowns. The other 12 ;!
points were tallied by an end!
run in the second period, and >
a 39-yard run by Eagles Lynn !;
Woodside. J!;
The Palmer team is shaping
up and have put in concentrated \
practice this week. Game time is ;>
1:30 at the Fairgrounds. Admis- ;!
sion will be $1.00 for adults. The lj
next game, and in all probability
the final game of the season,
will be played with Anchorage ,
at Anchorage October 16. .
CHAMBER HEARS OF
OIL WELL PROGRESS;
Drilling at the oil well site £
in the Eureaka area is progress
ing at the rate of approximately '
58 feet a day, William O’Neill, 1
president of the Alaska Gas and *
Oil Development Co. told mem- 1
bers of the Chamber of Com
merce during the regular noon 1
meeting October 7. 1
Drilling work, under the super- <
vision of C. F. Shield, will con- :
tinue on into November or as 1
long as possible before the freeze <
up, he stated. ‘
O’Neill, geologist and mining 1
engineer of Anchorage also spoke 1
to the group of the geological <
formations in the Eureka, Ninil- 1
chik, Huston and other territor- <
ial areas, illustrating his talk with 1
maps and charts. ‘
Transfers Funds 1
The balance of Colony Day
funds were transferred to the '
general fund by vote of the ;
membership. <
To Study By-Laws
At the next regular meeting
members will make a study of ]
the Chamber by-laws and also 1
hold a nomination for officers 1
for the next year. The meeting ]
will be held November 4 in the
Co-Op club room. All members i
are urged to attend.
ALASKA'S LAST
COVERED BRIDGE TO GO
The last covered bridge in
Alaska will soon be a _ thing of ■
the past. Bureau of Public Roads ■
recently called for bids to build
a new steel and concrete pier
span across the Kenai River at
Schooner Bend.
Hospital Board to Meet
A regular meeting of Valley
Hospital board mebers will be
held next Friday, October 16.
There will be no special meeting
this week.
««««««■*««< 4.4.4444,
FIRE INSURANCE
RATES TAKE CLIMB
Effective October 1, fire in- I
surance rates in Palmer and j
vicinity were raised, it was an
nounced this week.
Class D, frame house with
composition roof in the city
went from $4.40 per thousand
to $5.20. Furnishings in the
same class were raised one
dollar from $4.40 to $5.50.
Class C, cement structure was
$3.20 per thousand and the
only class to show a drop in
rates went down to $3.10 per
thousand. Furnishings in this
class were $3.20 and were
raised to $3.50.
Insurance rates for struc
tures and furnishings outside
the city were raised from $7.60
per thousand to $8.80 per
thousand.
Although there has been
some speculation this week on
an additional increase ,and
one that would appear to be
considerably higher, local in
surance salesmen said this
week they have received no
official word on any additional
changes in the present rate.
Second City Council
Holds Final Meeting
Members of the Palmer City
Council met October 6 for the
inal regular meeting of the pre
ent council. Following the can
vass, held Wednesday of the
October 6 city election, new
nembers and those with un
xpired terms will take over at
lext week’s meeting.
During the meeting, Ray Mat
lews, APW inspector told mem
>ers that water users on the new
:ity system are at present con
uming approximately 200 gal
ons of water per minute, indi
cting wastage. A lengthy dis
:ussion followed pointing out
he immediate need for the me
ering of all water consumed by
:ity system users. The issue was
ater turned over to the water
:ommittee for further study. The
jumps are capable of handling
!30 gallons per minute, it was
jrought out.
In the absence of Mayor Alfred
lagen, Council member Betty
Vlears presided at the meeting
md presented correspondence
rom the Palmer Loyal Order of
vioose in which they requested
jermission to erect signs “Pro
ect Our Children” at city limits.
Council embers voted to grant
jermission for the sign erection.
A payment policy for all elec
ion judges and clerks was esta
jlish by the council. They will
je paid at the .rate of $2.50 per
lour for all general and special
Sections.
An application for a building
jermit to construct a building
’or $116,690 was granted to the
VTatanuska Electric Association.
ATTENTION!!
Members of the Matanuska
Sportsmen club have announced
:hat the annual game dinner will
ie held on October 17 as pre
viously planned. There will be
10 change of date, they said.
Serving will start at 6 p.m. in the
school gym.
(-<■<<<<<«’$ <■<<<<<<■<<««■
24-UNIT APARTMENT
BUILDING NEARING
COMPLETION
Eight families are moving this
week into completed units in the
new Pioneer Apartments, Inc.,
located at the southeast comer of
Valley Street and Glenn High
way.
The 24-unit apartment building
has been under construction for
less than one year, excavation of
the basement having been done
the previous year while Contrac
tors Sandvik and Roark of Pal
mer were awaiting final go
ahead on a $300,000 loan from the
Federal Housing Authority.
The Valley’s newest housing
project is owned and will be
operated by a closed corporation
with but four shares of stock
held by Chet Sandvik, president;
I. M. Sandvik, vice-president;
Bill Roark, secretary-treasurer
and the FHA.
The completed apartments on
the north end of the building
consist of four one-bedroom and
four three-bedroom units. Within
two weeks, the remaining 16
units are expected to also be com
pleted, Roark said this week.
They will consist of one- two
and three-bedroom units.
Each apartment has been at
tractively decorated in deep pas
tel shades, chosen to blend with
all type color schemes. Attractive
hardware, mahogany doors, Vene
tian blinds, thermopane windows,
linen and clothes closets, ample
electrical outlets and a telephone
outlet as well as metered laundry
and drying facilities; heat and
water will all be furnished to
each apartment for rental prices
starting at $135 for the one-bed
room units, to $15 additional for
each additional bedroom. Private
dry storage space will be provided
in the basement for ea$h tenant,
furniture provided consists of
electric stoves and refrigerators
and steel cabinets.
A bin-fed stoker will provide
hot water heat for the building.
The stucco finish framed building
was designed by Anchorage
architects, Manley and Mayer,
has asphalt tile floor covering
throughout the building and plas
tered walls in the entrance ways
and halls.
Don Mealy of Palmer has been
named manager of the apartment
building. Although there will be
no general open-house, Roark
said this week, anyone interested
in seeing an apartment is invited
to contact Mealy who will be
located at the building or at his
home on Matanuska Street.
In addition to the apartment
building, 12 heated garages have
been completed and will be rent
ed as separate units.
RECORD SPUD EARNS
$10 FOR PALMER BOY
Larry Trowbridge of Palmer
is the winner of the largest Val
ley-grown potato contest, having
turned in a record spud weighing
four pounds, 10 ounces. The ten
dollar prize offered by the White
Spot Cafe and the Valley Thea
ter will go to the youth, a 4-H
member.
<<<««««<«<<«<<«.<*<*
C. R. FOSS, INC.
AWARDED MEA BID
The Matanuska Electric As
sociation received a wire of
approval from E. L. Arnn of
the Rural Electrification Ad
ministration in Washington,
D. C. last night, for the award
ing of the construction bid for
the new MEA headquarters
building. The bid goes to the
C. R. Foss, Inc., of Anchorage
who bid $116,690 for the work.
As apparent low bidder, the
compart started excavation
work on the site opposite from
the Fairgrounds last week.
Benefit Film to
Feature the Life
Cf Will Rogers
A P-TA benefit movie, “Life of
Will Rogers,” will be shown
Wednesday evening, October 14
at the Palmer School gym.
Mrs. Harold Winegarner, chair
man, has announced there will be
a showing of the film for all stu
dents in grades one through eight
during the afternoon. There will
be only one evening showing,
starting at 8 p.m. Donation will
be one dollar.
$50,000 ELKS HOME
GOING UP IN PALMER
Construction work on the new
Palmer Elks Home has advanced
so rapidly the past month that
members said this week that they
anticipate holding their first
meeting in their new quarters on
November 4. Open house and
dedication plans will be made
shortly afterward to afford Val
ley and Anchorage area residents
an inspection of the 40 by 90
foot stuccoed frame building.
Financed entirely from within
the local and Anchorage Elks
organizations, the finished build
ing will run around $50,000, Clair
Stock, member of the building
committee, said this week.
The lodge will consist of a
40 by 50 foot lodge room. Mohair
upholstered chairs will be backed
against the walls, leaving a large
dancing area for social events.
The floor is constructed of oak
and is the only hardwood dance
floor in the area. There will be
one section of the lodge room for
reading and relaxing. A cloak
room has been provided just off
the entrance and a large storage
(Continued on page 4)
BILL ROARK, LEW
HANKS ELECTED
FOR SCHOOL BOARD
Palmer voters and the Indepen
dent School District voters show
ed their preferences when they
went to the polls October 6 and
elected a new mayor, three coun
cilmen and two members for the
school board.
Don McKechnie, completing a
one-year term as city council
man, was elected mayor over in
cumbent Alfred V. Hagen by
polling 158 votes, 28 more than
were cast for the incumbent, who
received 130 votes.
Unopposed council members
were voted in with three-year
candidates Parker Lester and
Lucille Mick receiving 188 and
189 votes respectively. William
Zahradnicek, elected to complete
the unexpired two-year term poll
ed the highest number of votes,
241. Zahradnicek was also the first
person to cast his ballot October
6 in both the city and the school
district elections.
Lew Hanks, running unopposed
for a five year term on the
school board, received a total of
298 votes for his election to that
office. Bill Roark, former school
board member, was elected to
complete the unexpired four year
term with 169 votes. A1 DeJulio,
also running for the unexpired
term polled 148 votes.
Voting for the school board
was very light in the Eska area
where Revira Hiber, Bernice
Kuoppola and Mary Estep were
judges and clerk. A total of 13
ballots were cast as follows:
Hanks, 13; DeJulio, 4 and Roark,
7.
Total ballots cast in the school
district were 320. In the city, 288.
OLD ACCOUNTS BEING
PAID UP, HOSPITAL
BOARD ANNOUNCES
Approximately $2,000 in old ac
counts has been paid to the Val
ley Hospital during the past two
weeks, a board member announc
ed this week. The establishment
of a new credit policy is believed
to have resulted in the payments.
However, the spokesman add
ed, this week over 30 old ac
counts, which the board has tried
to collect through many notices,
have been turned over to the
attorney for collection.
Equipment for the new Valley
Presbyterian Hospital is beginn
ing to arrive, he said and will
be installed as soon as possible.
LITTLE SUSITNA LODGE
Is Giving a
Free Lamb Barbecue
SATURDAY OCT. 10
COME ONE COME ALL
and try the local grown Lamb raised in the
beautiful Little Susitna range by Harold
Nickles of Wasilla.
START SERVING 6 P.M.
DANCING
EVEUT OTHER WaSHfe (OnMNIlitT Hall S2J»%r - L.Rh» Fr^tl
SATURDAY SATURDAY, OCTODER 10 9:30 P.M.-1:30 A. H.
* »»»»»»»»»»»»»■>»■»■»■>>>>>>>>>>>>>>»»■>>>>>■>>>>>>>>>>>>>>»•»>>>>>>►>>>>-»»»»>>>>>>»»» >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>->>>>>>>»>>>>>>>>»>»■>»»»»»>>>>>»»»»>