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VOLUME 8. NUMBER6
PALMER. ALASKA. THURSDAY. DECEMBER 2. 1954
PRICE TEN CENT*
City Council
Proceedings
Among correspondence read at
the November 30 meeting of the
city’s Common Council was a let
ter of .thanks extended by the
Bureau of Indian Affairs for the
assistance and courtesy extended
to the group of Eskimos, Aleuts,
and Indians who visited the Val
ley a few weeks ago.
Also a letter from the Alaska
Department of Health announc
ing that the mobile chest X-ray
unit is expected in Palmer short
ly after the first of the year.
Plans for its operation will be
made through the Department and
the City of Palmer.
Insurance rates for coverage on
the new fire hall were reported
bv the Kay Pippel Insurance
Company.
* * *
Dr. John Burnett has agreed to
substitute as city health officer
during the absence of Dr. C. C.
Bailey, according to an announce
ment made by Acting Mayor Bet
tv Mears.
* * *
Members of the budget and fi
nance committee reported that
all bills for the new fire hall, with
the exception of the walk-in door,
are in and that the total cost to
date is 528,870.25. On the basis of
the part of this sum not yet paid,
the committee announced they
had made overtures to secure a
loan for the city of S10.000. Fol
lowing a lengthy hearing, invol
ving the paring of expenditures
and various ways in which it
might be done, the council voted
4-2 in favor of a resolution auth
(Continued on Page 2)
Christmas Seals
Mailed; Campaign On
The 43th anrual Christmas Seal
Sale got under way this past
week throughout -the valley, ac
• cc.rding to Mrs. Rose Kirsch, lo
cal chairman.
Letters outlining five reasons
for buying Christmas seals ac
companied the attractive green
and red seals that were mailed to
all individuals, organizations and
business establishments in the
•valley.
In the letter, written by Ernest
N. Patty, Alaska chairman of the
1954 Christmas seal sale, he
pointed out that tuberculosis is
■the most serious health problem
in Alaska. Last year 622 new
cases were reported, with the
present rate almost seven times
the average in the United States.
Money realized from the sale
•of health seals, and voluntary
contributions given in the collec
tion boxes which have been plac
ed in public places throughout the
valley, will be used for case
finding and X-rays; films, rec
ords and reading matter for pa
tients; occupational therapy and
rehabilitation programs; glasses,
dentures, hearing aids and many
other services to sanatorium pa
tients. All but six percent of the
gross receipts stays in Alaska.
Assisting Mrs. Kirsch in the lo
cal campaign are Mrs. Margaret
Cope and her typewriting class at
the Palmer School who assumed
the tremendous addressing job;
Mrs. Rivera Hiber of Eska, and
the Valley Theatre. The theatre
is currently showing, a film, pro
vided by the Alaska Tuberculosis
Association.
“Please purchase as many
sheets as you possibly can”, Patty
urged. “Your dollars will do real
work in breaking the chain oi
tuberculosis infection”.
Christmas Supplies
CANDLES — CARDS
Plastic Outdoor Ribbon
Ribbon — Papers for packages
Xmas Planters
Star Foam
BIRD CAGES and
PET SUPPLIES
MATANUSKA VALLEY
GARDENS
Phone 32J11 Palmer
4
Malanuska Electric Association's new headquarters building in Palmer is pictured above.
The association will observe open house in the new building tomorrow afternoon.
Palmer Studio Photo
Chamber Urges
Participation in
Annual Xmas Party
One of the largest attendances
at recent Matanuska Valley
Chamber of Commerce meeting
was seen at the December 1
meeting. Although there was no
scheduled speaker, Chamber
President Jones called on Lew
Hanks, chairman of the Matanus
ka Telephone Association, for a :
progress report on the sale of j
equity stock in the association. .
Hanks stated that the income '
slowed down a little last week, [
but it has been coming in at a I
rate of between four and five
hundred dollars a week. The j
Chamber went on record as en- I
couraging all valley area resi- !
dents to make their equity stock |
purchases as soon as possible to
facilitate the actual start of con
struction or the modern dial sys
tem.
A1 Hagen spoke briefly on the ■
annual Merchant's Christmas j
Party, staged each year in the i
Valley Theatre, for children of j
he valley area. During the 1953
j party 650 bags of candy were dis- j
ributed to valley youngsters, 525 ,
of them at the theatre. The bal- ‘
ance was delivered to the vari
ous childrens’ homes in the area
The cost of each bag of goodies
runs around 65 cents Hagen point
ed out. The use of the theatre is
donated by A1 and Imogene Ha
gen, as is the 20-foot Christmas
tree and the candy house, always
favorites of the youngsters. Mem
bers of the Chamber volunteered
to help Hagen in setting up the
candy house this year, assuring
Santa of the chimney through
which he slides to greet his val
ley friends.
The Chamber urged all merch
ants to participate in the annual
party, as they have in years past.
Nominations
Nominations of officers for the
coming year were held at the
December 1 meeting with the
following nominated to a board
of directors: John Gore, A1 Hag
en, Everett Adams, Lenore Amer
man, Marie Britton and Jan Kos
losky. Nominations were tabled
until the December 15 meeting,
at which time further nomina
tions may be made, and election
will be held.
Rosalind Miller, IFYE delegate,
will speak at the December 15
meeting. Guests at the meeting
were Harold Thuma and Howard
Campbell. New members includ
ed Everett Adams, Marie Britton,
and John Gore.
CORRECTION
A congratulatory ad on page 3
carries the opening date of Cobb's
Cafe as December 16. This was
printed in error. The correct date
i
>
is December 6.
BILLY GRAHAM FILMSj
i; TO BE SHOWN SUNDAY |
! Billy Graham’s “London ;
! Crusade” film telling of his
; trip to London and the great
revival there, plus an “Hour
of Decision” film, also by Gra
; ham, will be shown in the
!; First Baptist Church at 7:45
!> p.m. on Sunday.
Dog Owners Warned
To Control Pets
The attention of all dog own
ers was drawn today to the
acute situation being created
on the Palmer school grounds
by dogs running loose and in
packs.
Those owning dogs, who
wish to keep them, are warn
ed to keep them at home. Ap
proximately 15 dogs were re
ported by the school as fight
ing on the school grounds and
biting students.
A check with the City Clerk
shows that out of the hundreds
of dogs in the City of Palmer
only 23 have been licensed for
the" year 1954. Dogs running
loose may be picked up and
destroyed, according to the
law controlling dogs.
AUOTIGN ALL SET;
XIWANUNS TO AID
PROGRAM
Want to buy a piano? Need a
new plow? Palmer Kiwanis has
crate-loads of items that will be
sold at public auction on Satur
day night at the Palmer school
gym. The auction is being spon
sored by the local Kiwanis Club
as assistance to the Palmer School
Band program and all proceeds
will be turned over to the school
for that purpose.
In addition to the above nam
ed items, their list includes such
interesting “buys” as livestock,
automobiles, sawmill parts, dairy
equipment, costume jewelry, ski
ing equipment, and many other
surprise articles have been pledg
ed by local business firms.
Better come as early as you
can, Kiwanis President Emile
Ganschow urged today. The sale
will get under way about 6:30
p.m. and Kiwanis auctioneers will
be assisted by a professional auc
tioneer, Marve Hendrickson of
Anchorage, who has volunteered
his services for the evening’s
event.
Think of the unusual Christ
mas gifts you could give this year,
one Kiwanian said. Imagine send
ing your best girl a part for a
j sawmill—anyway, it will be an
I evening of lots of fun and bar
gains for all, he added.
PARC PLANS
BENEFIT DANCE
A benefit dance is scheduled for
this coming Saturday night at
Elks Hall.
Members of the Palmer Area
Recreation Council are staging a
Parc-A-Prom in an attempt to
raise sufficient funds to carry out
the winter recreation program
Admission to the affair will be
two dollars per adult couple, and
one dollar for high school coup
les. Hat checking service and re
; freshments will be offered.
; An innovation in the local
• dance field is being featured at
! the dance. Through the coopera
I tion of Brown’s Music Store in
! Anchorage an electric organ is
I being loaned to the Council for
the dance. Mrs. Lloyd Morley,
well-known organist of Palmer,
will play popular music for danc
(Continued on page 7)
fochassls Planning
Aifnisal Xmas Party
For Valley Ghildren
Plans for the annual Merchants’
Christmas Party for valley chil
dren are beginning to formulate,
following expressed desires of
several merchants to continue the
popular holiday event. A tenta
tive date of Friday. December 24,
has been set.
Members of Beta Sigma Phi
sorority will again this year be
asked 'to take charge of money
collections; Women of the Moose
the job of sacking the candy and
fruit: and Moose members the
work of ushering during the par
tv. Several members of the Cham
aer of Commerce tms weeK vol
unteered to assist A1 Hagen in
erecting the candy house in front
af the theatre stage.
Hagen announced, that as in
years past, there will be no charge
made toi the use of the theatre.
He is making arrangements for a
series of comics, cartoons and
childrens’ films which will be
-hown during the party. Cost of
the films generally runs around
S75.
For many valley children this
valley-wide Christmas party is
the only one they will be attend
ing. Over 600 bags of candy were
given away last year, along with
fresh fruit.
Word is being sent out to
Santa Claus about the planned
party and a reply is expected
most any day. He will make his
traditional appearance at the
theatre through the chimney in
the candy house.
Further plans for the party will
be announced as they are formu
lated.
COURT SUMMONS
SERVED ON CITY
A summons was served on the
City of Palmer this morning from
the District Court for the District
of Alaska Third Division.
Dated Novemoer 30, 1954 it
states that an answer to the com
plaint must be given the firm of
Hellenthal, Hellenthal and Cottis,
plaintiff Steve Ward’s attorneys.
The answer must be given with
in 20 days.
In a suppliment order, signed
by J. L. McCarrey, Jr., District
Judge, the City of Palmer is or
dered to show cause on Decem
ber 10 at 2 pun. in the District]
Court Room why it should not
be restrained during the penden
jcy of, or until further court or
der as follows: From incurring
further costs in connection with
the construction of a fire hall in
Palmer, Alaska; from making fur
ther expenditures for obligations
already incurred in connection
therewith; from incurring addi
tional obligations and liabilities
of any sort in contravention of
Territorial and City ordinances.
The suppliment was dated No
vember 24, 1954.
The complaint was filed in
U. S. District Court in Anchorage
on November 3 naming Steve
Ward of Palmer plaintiff, and the
City of Palmer defendant.
Public lo View
I READ WATER METERS
ON DECEMBER 20,
CITY REQUESTS
Ted Buzby of the city water ; j
department this week request
ed all city water users read ;!
their meters on the 20th of ;i
December, in order to get a ;
clear picture of w'ater con- !;
sumption the past 30-day peri- /
od, during which time the wat- ||
er department is trying to de- \ j
termir.e an accurate consump-;!
ticn of water. 'If the meter is \ j
read on the 19th or the 21st, it i
will not be a true picture”, 1;
Buzby pointed out in making
the request. During the test >
period all water pumped out ;
of the reservoir is being mea- ;
sured. This figure will be j,
checked against the amount I;
consumed by the user to de- >
termir.e water loss, if any. ;!
8 Clerks Walk-Out
At Kdosky’s
A picket walk is being conduct
ed in front of Koslosky’s Depart
ment Store today by the Retail
Clerk’s Union 1496 of Anchorage,
in protest to what they term ‘"un
fair labor relations”.
At 9 a.m. eight employees of
the store staged a walk-out.
Buckley Douglas, manager of the
Business Mens’ Association in An
chorage, of which Koslosky’s Pal
mer and Anchorage stores are
members, is in Palmer to assist
in handling the labor relationship.
Several employees of the store
did not join the walk-out.
Jan Koslosky said today he
had agreed to all the union’s de
mands for fringe benefits and
substantial pay increases, bu* that
the workers are holding out for
the Anchorage pay scale, ‘‘some
thing we just can’t meet in a
farming area, with our existing
overhead”, he added.
“We are willing to sit down and
negotiate w’ith the workers at any
time”, both men stated. To dr.tc
no meeting of the employees and
Mr. Koslosky has been held. Ne
gotiations have been carried out
by the union representative, rath
er than the workers, they report
ed. “We are sure that we will be
able to negotiate with the work
ers if they will sit down and go
over the requests with us”, they
said.
GOBB’S CAFE
TO OPEN MONDAY
Palmer's newest restaurant,
Cobb’s Cafe, will open Par the
first time next Monday morning,
December 6, in their location in
the King building, across from
the Elks lodge.
The attractively decorated res
taurant is owned and wifi be op
erated by Larry and Eunice Cobb,
formerly of Seward. Tlx* Cobbs
operated a restaurant in Seward
and were in Palmer planning the
purchase of equipment for an
other when they decided they
had fallen in love with the valley
and began negotiations to open a
restaurant in Palmer Mrs. Cobb
said she believes the valley re
minds her of her home in New
England. EJoth she and her hus
(Continued on Page 7)
Invitations to attend open house
in the Matanuska Electric Asso
ciation new headquarters uild
ing were mailed this week. A wel
come is extended to the <_■ v°l
ley to visit the modern
from 3 to 9 p.m. on Frid . -c. 3.
Refreshments of coffee and cook
ies will be served in the board
room, located in the basement sec
tion of the building.
The Matanuska Electric Asso
ciation began formation in 1940,
with work on the lines being
started the following year. On
January 20, 1942 lines were ener
gized and power began flowing
to the 150 MEA members. At the
present time MEA serves 1450
members, a growth of 1300 users
in less than 13 \ears time. It was
the first REA loan granted in the
territory and paved the way for
the several which have followed.
The MEA is a member of the
National Rural Electric Coopera
tive Association and also the
Northwest Public Power Associa
tion.
Visitors to the new building
will find that architect Ed Chrit
tenden, prime contractor C. R.
Foss, Inc., and interior decorator
Mel Kohler have combined their
talents to produce an outstanding
building. The same combination
of talent produced the beautiful
Valley Presbyterian Hospital.
Glassed-in stairs to the busi
ness office lead off the first floor
entrance, as do the stairs to the
board of directors room and the
shop, meters and small parts de
partments. located in the base
ment section.
Light shades of tans and greys
are used profusely in the decor
of the various rooms. Birch oanel
ing is used on several walls, al
ong with attractive cork tile, the
latter which may be used as a
t.ack-UD board. Floor tile in each
room blends with :.ie •■'•cor jfche
me, as do the fiber-glass drapes
hung at the thermopane windows.
Radio communications, account
ing, billing and the manager’s of
fice are located in a circle ar
rangement, with the cash desk to
the front. Modern inter-office
communications are b' ing install
ed by the Northern Engineering
Company. When completed, it will
include two lines, with four tele
phones. With the installation of a
high-grain radio antenna, great
er distance sending and receiv
ing is now possible. Radio com
munication is possible from the
two utility trucks, the meter
truck, station wagon and the
manager's car, operating on 158.19
megacycles. Communication-wise
the MEA is as well set up as most
companies using radio, Brewer
said this week.
The MEA employes a total of
l 12 persons, with Cy Brewer as
manager. Mrs. Molly Pierson,
head bookkeeper has been with
the MEA since its very beginning,
(Continued on page 8)
SHIPPING MAY BE
HELD UP BY STRIKE
According to word received
from Seattle this morning by
the Matanuska Valley Cooper
ating Association the ship ra
dio operators are on strike.
Negotiations have been start
ed by the Co-Op for a relief
ship to bring needed dairy
supplies to the territory.
Kiwanis Auction
Piano, Costume Jewelry, Plows, Livestock
Dairy Equipment, Skiing Equipment, Automo
biles, Saw mill parts, and many other items
pledged by local business firms
HIGH SCHOOL GYM - DEC. 4-6 P.M.
Benefit of Palmer Hi Band
Band will play several numbers during auction
•=. PARC-A-PROM
SAT., DEC. 4
10 p.m. - 2 a.m.
ELKS' HOME
P.A.R.C.
BENEFIT