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The Frontiersman
PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
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VOLUME 8, NUMBER 31
PALMER. ALASKA. THURSDAY, JUNE 2, 1955
PRICE TEN CENTS
City Council
Proceedings
The City of Palmer received
an invitation to participate in
the Fourth of July parade to be
held in Anchorage. Council
members authorized the City
Clerk to turn the invitation over
to the Chamber of Commerce.
* * *
A letter from the Administra- [
live Director of the Department
of Public Health was read at the
May 31 meeting of the Common
Council which stated that the De
partment is seeking a replace
ment for Mrs. Delores Heinie,
public health nurse who resigned
her position several months ago.
The letter stated that the Depart
ment is now interviewing a pros
pect and that if she accepts the
position, she should be in the
valley by September 1.
* * *
Alaska Public Works officials
were city visitors last week,
Acting Mayor Betty Mears re
ported. While in Palmer they
hoped to establish priority of a
gymnasium or sewer system. In
asmuch as the property owners
have already bonded themselves
sufficiently to build a gymnas
ium, they felt another at
tempt should be made on the
sewer proposal and suggested a
citizen’s committee be named to
make a study of the sewer pro
posal, following which. APW of
ficials and the City Council
would meet with the committee
for planning. Acting Mayor
Hears announced she will ap
point a citizen’s committee next
week.
* * *
A report from members of the
street committee showed pro
gress made on street improve
ments the past week. The classi
fied gravel is about in; the street
©action from the Glenn Highway
t© Ward’s building has been fill
ed with pit-run gravel, ready to
lay crushed rock. A section near
Ketchikan Spruce Mills has been
filled and on Thursday of this
week the street section from Hor
ton’# corner to Tost’s Service
will be torn up by the city grad
er and gravel will be put down.
It was estimated that this street
section would be closed to traf
fics one day only. Classified
rock will be dumped on Bailey
Hill street.
* * *
Nate Smith appeared before
the Council for approval of the
T. A. Smith subdivision plat.
Following a discussion, council
members approved the plat, as
approved by members of the City
Planning Commission on May 18,
1955, contingent on the inclusion
(Continued on page 8)
•MART HAIR STYLINGS
by LaVonne
Evening Appointments
VAUIY BEAUTY SHOP
Phone 3301
FLOWERS
Telegraph Delivery Service
Matanuska Valley
Gardens
Theater Bldg.
; Butte Residents Get
; Star Route Delivery
! In addition to residents ;
I along the Palmer-Anchorage \
| highway, beginning June 1, \
' residents on the Butte Loop \
■ road are receiving star route;!
| mail delivery, Postmistress
| Beatrice Huntley announced ;!
; this week. With the change in ;j
; the delivery route, air mail jj
; coming into the Palmer post j|
; office will not arrive until !;
! noon, she added. <;
! Mrs. Huntley expressed her !;
| thanks this week to members !;
I of the American Legion Post «;
! 15 who have volunteered to !;
! supervise flying of the flag on <;
! appropriate holidays on the
I post office. ;!
DISTRICT AGENT
RESIGNS POSITION
Grayson (Pat) Murphy is re
signing his position as district
agricultural agent for the Ma
tanuska Valley. The resignation
becomes effective June 15, Ar
thur S. Buswell, associate direc
tor of the University of Alaska
Extension Service, said. Illness
in the family requires them to
move to a warmer climate, Mur
phy explained in his letter to
Buswell.
Buswell is accepting applica
tions for the position. Applica
tions from Matanuska Valley
residents will be considered first,
he said. Since the Extension Ser
vice is an adult education pro
gram of the university, appli
cants are required to have a col
lege degree in agriculture.
Murphy joined the Extension
Service staff June 1, 1954, suc
ceeding Richard Blue in the Ma
tanuska Valley. He had had ev
tension experience as a county
agent in Kansas after his gradu
ation from Kansas State College.
He was a soil conservationist
with the Soil Conservation Ser
vice in North Dakota, Nevada
and Palmer. He operated the
Frank B. Linn daiy farm at Ma
tanuska for two years prior to
joining the Extension faculty.
“The Extension Service regrets
losing such an experienced and
capable agriculturist,” Buswell
said.
LEGION, AUXILIARY
OBSERVE MEMORIAL
DAY WITH SERVICE
Memorial Day services were
conducted at the Palmer Ceme
tery on May 30th by members of
the American Legion, Matanuska
Valley Post No. 15. Commander
Ray Lancaster was in charge of
the service.
Flags of the American Legion
and the American Legion Auxil
iary were carried by post mem
bers. In addition Brownie Scout
Veronica Trudell and Girl
Scouts Carol Jean Wilson and
Margaret Brewer carried flags of
Girl Scout Troop 71 for the first
time. The long row of colors
whipping in the wind were an
impressive sight.
Legion and Auxiliary members
this week expressed their thanks
to the firing squad of Co. C 180th
Engr. Bn., U. S. Army Reserve,
which was headed by Sergeant
John Dunlap; to Howard Camp
bell, bugler, and many others
who helped with the services.
1
New Hours
PALMER CAFE
Co-Op Shopping Area
7 a.m. - 9 p.m: Weekdays
10 a.m. - 6 p.m: Sundays
LUCKY WASILLA FISHERMAN
GETS LIMIT TROUT CATCH
The smile of a proud fisherman
almost tells the story. Ralph
Crothers got his limit in rain
bow trout at Rocky Lake on May
28 and was happy to pose for this
picture for Alex McRae of the
Department of Fisheries, who
was making a check on catches
that day. Crothers eight fish was
a limit catch, with the largest
measuring I6V2 inches.
Although fishermen getting
their limit are few, several good
catches of three to five fish were
reported out of Echo, Rocky and
Wasilla Lakes, McRae said. John
Wymesich of Anchorage got his
limit at Echo lake, fishing from
the bank; two other fishermen
got their limits at Rocky lake,
and Bob Peterson brought a
beautiful catch home from Echo.
Approximately 20 fishermen at
Rocky lake were checked for
their catch and licenses. All were
found to have their territorial
fishing stamp. Out of 45 fisher
men checked at Echo and Rocky
lakes, three were found at Echo
to be without the required li
cense stamp.
McRae stated that fishermen
reported their catches were all
taken within one hour and a half
of their first take and predict
ed better fishing as soon as the
warmer weather gets here.
PARC Pleads for
Playground Volunteers
Unless parents of children
aged four to eight years old ex
press an immediate desire for a
supervised playground this sum
mer, the Palmer Area Recreation
Council will be forced to aban
don ready-made plans for this
age group, to devote their time
to the teen-age group, it was an
nounced this week.
Because of a limited budget it
will be necessary to ask some
parents to volunteer one three
hour morning a week to help the
full time teen-age director the
PARC hopes to have. In order to
keep insurance rates at a mini
mum, adults must be present at
all times. A nominal registration
fee of 10 cents per day, per child,
would be charged to cover insur
ance, craft supplies, and play
equipment. An adult’s volunteer
services would automatically pay
their child’s fee for the six-week
period.
“If you want a playground for
(Continued on page 5)
NOTICE
Dr. E. E. Bach, optome
trist, will be in Palmer
for eye examinations
June 8
For appointment call Lavonne
Johnson at Valley Beauty
Shop, 3301.
Credit Union Official
Chamber Visitor
Damon Roemer, examiner for
Federal Credit Unions, was a
guest of H. P. Gazaway at the
June 1* meeting of the Matanuska
Vajley Chamber of Commerce.
Roemer is in the Territory mak
ing annual audit checks on Fed
eral Credit Unions.
Speaking to Chamber members
briefly, Roemar pointed out that
a Credit Union is not a bank. It
offers thrift and loan services
and set by the Federal Credit
Union Act and promotes thrift
and the use of funds benficial to
credit purposes.
“As the Credit Unions have
grown, the picture has become
more complex,” he said, and
gave as an example that in many
rural areas when a neighbor’s
home burns, everyone pitches in
and helps the family rebuild the
home. In a large city, such as
San Diego where Roemar makes
his home, he said such a thing
would not even be thought of.
We like to feel the Credit Un
ions make such help available—
members can save small amounts
of money to do things such as
this that in the past has been
done by the community. House
building is out of the realm of
Credit Unions, he pointed out.
Loans are provided for emergen
cies such as doctor bills, hospital
bills and refinancing of small
loans. Banks make commercial
type loans and perform where a
Credit Union couldn’t enter. The
two work quite harmonously to
gether.
He pointed out that Credit
Unions are generally operated by
“amateurs”. Investors are pro
tected by a 20 percent earnings
that must, by law, be kept in re
serve to cover any possible loss.
In referring to the local Credit
Union, Roemar pointed, out that
two insurance benefits are avail
able through participation. Sur
vivors of persons with savings
accounts receive double the in
vestment; at the time of death.
Should a person die before a loan
is paid off, the insurance would
automatically pay up the remain
ing balance.
‘•Credit Unions do promote
thrift security,” he concluded.
Business conducted at the
meeting included reports from
Colony Day committee chairmen
and a suggestion from Chamber
President Everett Adams that
action must be taken to increase
not only financial but personal j
interest in the local Chamber.
____
Robert Diltz, fifth-grade teach
er at Central School the past
two years, left for his home in
Stillwater, Pa. today. He plans to
make the trip by car over the
Alaska Highway.
Record Crowd Attends
Colony Day Fete
HOSPITAL SETS
COLLECTION POLICY
Following action vaken at
the May 27 meeting of the
Valley Hospital Association
board of directors, the policy
has been established that ac
counts will be automatically
considered delinquent after
90 days and turned over for
collection. This policy will ap
ply to all accounts except
those who have previously
made satisfactory arrange
ments for payments and who
are keeping up payments as
agreed.
GERRITT SNIDERS
LEAVE FOR HOLLAND
Tomorrow morning former
Senator and Mrs. Gerrit (Heinie)
Snider leave their home at Was
illa on the first leg of a journey
that will take them back to their
home country of Holland for a
visit of three to four months.
Flying from Anchorage to New
York, the Sniders will board the
S. S. New Amsterdam, flagship
of N.A.S.M., and will arrive in
Rotterdam nine days later. On
their arrival they will be greet
ed by Heinie’s 90-year-old moth
er, Mrs Elizabeth Snider, and
several sisters, brother-in-laws,
neices and nephews. Heinie will
be greeting his family for the
first time in 47 years and will see
sisters who were two, six and
and eight and ten years old when
he left for America.
Mrs. Snider will visit her fos
ter mother, 92-year-old Miss De
hoop Scheffer at Amsterdam and
cousins who are still living in
that town.
During their European visit,
the Sniders will travel -around
France, Switzerland and Ger
many. They will be taking mov
ing pictures of the 11 provinces
of Holland and a film of engin
eering work being done to dry
up the Zeider Zee.
They are taking with them 24
rolls of Alaska film, 100 slides
of the Matanuska Valley and
other Alaska points of interest,
two 14-minute reels of Bob
Reeves Pribilof Island seal mov
ies and a 40-minute film, “This
is Alaska” provided by the Al
aska Development Board.
The Sniders will be returning
to Alaska via the KLM Airlines
—a trip that will require but two
days from Holland to Alaska.
The Rev. James P. Snead of
St Michael’s Catholic Church
writes of his plans to return to
the Valley June 24. He is spend
ing a vacation in Oregon, with a
trip to some of the Eastern
states.
“Little more than half a cen
tury ago the sourdoughs began
to make history in Alaska. Only
a few of those giant men and
women remain today to intimate
ly remind us of the romantic
era”, Don Irwin, speaker at Ded
ication ceremonies held during
Colony Day, told thousands of
listeners.
“In the wake of the sourdoughs
came the pioneers who settled
permanently in Alaska and con
tributed immeasurably to its de
velopment and economic stabil
ity. They came into a rough, new
country fully realizing that toil,
privation and hardship would be
their lot. Those who 20 years ago
came into our midst as Colonists
have long since proved them
selves and are making a valuable
contribution to the spiritual, ec
onomic and social welfare of Al
aska. The sourdoughs, pioneers,
‘and Colonists, each have handed
down to us a rich and valuable
heritage which we and later gen
erations can well regard as a
sacred trust to be increased and
protected.
“Today we pause for a brief
moment in humble appreciation
for what these three groups have
bequeathed to us and in some
measure to do them honor. Their
deeds have been written indel
ibly on the pages of history.”
George Mumford, president of
the Alaska Rural Rehabilitation
Corporation told the large crowd
gathered at Colony Park for the
dedication that “It seems to me
to be very fitting and proper
that this Colony Day celebration
be co-sponsored by the Alaska
Rural Rehabilitation Corporation.
It was 20 years ago that the
Corporation was created to hand
le the colonization project.
“Until 1951, the corporation
was responsible for many of the
public services that citizens ex
pect from a city government.,
After the organization of the
City of Palmer these services
were taken over by the new city
and expanded. For many years,
land clearing and development
work was a principle activity,
but as private ‘cat’ operators be
came available the Corporation
gradually retired from this work.
Today our main activities center
around farm financing and land
management.
“The development of parks and
recreational areas is a part of
this program. This is the first of
a series of public areas that we
hope to establish for future en
joyment. The plaque which we
will unveil today is a fitting tri
bute to those people that have
contributed to the present devel
opment of this area.
The two prominent Alaskans
who were among the speakers at
the dedication ceremony at Col
(Continued on page 8)
LIQUOR CLEARANCE
Sale at
BUCK’S LIQUOR STORE
Qn Colony Street
Assorted Liquors and Wines
AT GREATLY
REDUCED PRICES
BEERS
MIXES