ANNUAL
CHRISTMAS CONCERT
SCHOOL GYM — DEC. 21
8 P. M.
FREE ADMISSION
The Frontiersman
PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
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VOLUME 9. NUMBER 8
PALMER. ALASKA, THURSDAY, DEC. 15, 1955
PRICE TEN CENTS
HOSPITAL IN LINE FOR $10,000 GRANT
GAME HEARINGS SET
IN WASILLA DEG. 28;
IN PALMER DEC. 29
Annual game hearings will be
held in Wasilla and Palmer the
last week in December, it was
announced this week.
Fish and Wildlife officials will
conduct hearings at Wasilla on
Wednesday night, December 28
and again the following night,
December 29, at Palmer.. In the
local area members of the Ma
tanuska Valley Sportsmen will
make arrangements for the meet
ing which will be announced
next week.
The annual hearings are held
to determine needs and wants of
sportsmen throughout the terri
tory. From the findings of these
meetings regulations and restric
tions are formulated by the Fish
and Wildlife Service for the fol
lowing year.
Ail interested persons are urg
ed to make plans to attend the
hearing.
CHAMBER OFFICERS
TO BE NAMED AT
SPECIAL MEETING
Due to the fact that three
board members were missing
from the December 14 meeting of
the Matanuska Valley Chamber
of Commerce, a special meeting
will be held for all board of di
rectors on Wednesday noon, De
cember 21, at Cobb’s Cafe. At that
time the board will name officers
for the coming year.
Elected to the board were Rich
ard Jones, Stewart Durrant,
James Hurley, and Ed Smith, all
for two-year terms. They will
serve for the coming year with
hold-over members, Alfred Hag
en, Glen Persinger, and Everett
Adams.
ALARM SOUNDED FOR
SPACE HEATER FIRE
Volunteer firemen of Palmer
were called to the A. L. Smith
home last evening where a space
iheater had become flooded and
was burning. No damage to the
the home occured, although the
heater was badly scorched.
' VS/VWVWVSAA/NAA/VWVWWWWWW'
\ DELEGATE HURLEY
INVITED TO SPEAK
TO VALLEY GROUPS
James Hurley, delegate to I;
j; the Constitutional Convention
from this district, has been in
[ vited to speak before three <[
jj groups during his holiday re- \\
|l cess at home. <J
;! On Thursday night, Decern- ;!
j| ber 22, he has been invited to ||
;! speak at the Northland Pion- ;!
;! eer Grange meeting; on De- ;!
;l cember 27 at the Palmer Ki- j!
11 wanis meeting and on Decern- ;!
j! br 29 the Matanuska Valley j!
j! Chamber of Commerce has in- \\
j! vited him to speak at a public j!
> meeting which will be held in jj
;j the cafeteria at the new high ;j
|j school. This meeting will be |j
ij'held at 8 p.m. and the public !;
!; is urged to attend. A question !;
!; period will be provided for in- ]j
terested persons. !;
![ On Dec. 21 at 7 p.m. Hurley !;
!; will speak to an assembly at !;
!; Wasilla School. The public, !;
\\ and all high school students !;
11 especially, are invited to at- j;
< tend. ®
FIRE CHIEF URGES
FIREPROOFING OF
CHRISTMAS GREENS
As a suggestion Fire Chief
Joseph Gallant this week urged
home rpakers to fireproof greens
they plan to use in the home for
decorations. ‘T*e days have gone
when candles were uesd on the
family tree, but the danger of
fire remains”, he pointed out.
Through the courtesy of
Maud’s Flower Shop, the follow
ing recipe was furnished for fire
proofing greens. Nine ounces of
borax; four ounces of boric acid,
and one gallon of water. Mix well
and use as a spray. A light syrup
of water and brown sugar in the
tree stand will prevent a fast-dry
ing-out of trees.
“It is especially important that
the man of the house check all
wiring for worn spots or breaks—
and do not over load your cir
cuits”, the fire chief warned.
PUBLIC INVITED TO OPEN HOUSE
AT NEW CITY HALL DECEMBER 23
All residents of the City of Pal- -
mer and surrounding areas have
been issued a cordial invitation
by Mayor Charles Wilson to at
tend an open house which will be
held Friday afternoon, Decem
ber 23, at the city hall, located on
Wasilla Road.
“This will be a wonderful op
portunity for our residents to see
just what their sales tax money
has been doing. We have a fine
functional building there and
residents should avail themselves
of this opportunity to see the
WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE
SANTA VISIT YOUR HOME?
Call 3154 for appointment
Dec. 21, 22, or 23
50c donation benefit LDS
Primary
MAKE “HER" GIFT A NEW
PERMANENT
We Make Evening
Appointments
VALLEY BEAUTY SHOP
Pbone 3301
LAVONNE JOHNSON
building and its various depart
ments”, he said.
The building, built last year to
house the fire fighting equip
ment, has ben completed during
the past few months and now
houses not only the fire depart
ment’s equipment but also the of
fices of the City Clerk, the po
lice department and the Territor
ial Police headquarters for Pal
mer. In addition there is storage
space for Civil Defense supplies,
and the U. S. Army Reserve has
been allocated temporary stor
age space for their supplies. Last
but not least, the basement quart
ers also house the city jail. Two
single-type cells have been com
pleted and the famed “bull pen”
is also ready for occupancy. A
new heating system has been in
stalled, more than adequate to
heat the entire unit, and offices
have been completely finished
off.
Open house will be held from
2:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. and city
official’s and employee’s wives
will be invited to act as hostesses.
Official host will be Mayor Wil
son.
City Council Proceedings
Members of the Common Coun
cil met in the new city building
for the first time on Tuesday
night of this week. Visitors at
the meeting were Ralph Moore
and Dr. C. C. Bailey, members of
the city planning commission.
Following a discussion period,
members of the council votfed to
accept recommendations for zon
ing in the city. Final approval of
their recommendations will be
reserved until after public hear
ings have ben held and final rec
ommendations made. Later in the
meeting the planning commission
was authorized to obtain the ser
vices of a city planner to make
a technical review, costs not to
exceed $50.
Council members approved
Mayor Charles Wilson’s appoint
ment of Dr. John Burnett as city
health officer. Dr. Burnett’s dut
ies will commence January 1,
1956 at a salary of $600 per year.
His duties are outlined in the city
health ordinance.
Following a report from the
personnel committee, the salary
of City Attorney John Shaw was
approved at $3600 per annum—
the same amount as paid in the
past. Regular quarterly reports
[ will be turned over to the Mayor
j by the attorney.
A map of the city and immedi
ate surrounding areas will be
prepared and brought up to date,
ready for reproduction.
A request from a sub-divider
for water line extension to his
property brought out the city
policy of not extending water
lines to areas with less than six
residents who have requested the
extension. The policy was estab
lished to cover costs of extension,
over a five year period. The re
quest was turned over to the
city’s street and roads committee
for further policy study.
Turned over to the health
committee for study was the pro
posed fluorination of the city
water supply. The committee
will study the feasibility, in re-,
gards to costs and desire ability. ^
Only 27 dogs in the city of Pal
mer are licensed, the city clerk
told Council members. Dogs run
ning loose may be picked up by
the city police and destroyed, ac
cording to city ordinlice, if they
are not licensed. Dog owners
were warned to get licenses for
their pets.
The next regular meeting of
the Common Council will be held
on December 27 in the city
clerk’s office in the new city
building at 8 p.m.
I
School Plans Annual
Christmas Concert;
Programs, Parties
Holiday activities in the valley
will' begin next week with num
erous programs and parties.
On Wednesday afternoon stu
dents at Central School, grades
one through six, will entertain
the six grades of Swanson School
in a Christmas program to be
presented during the afternoon
session. This presentation is not
open to the public because of
limited seating facilities. How
ever, the same program will be
presented Thursday afternoon at
the gymnasium and all parents
and friends are cordially invited
to attend this presentation. It will
begin at 2 p.m. The program will
center around the Christmas
story in a narration from the
Bible. Christmas scenes will be
presented from the stage with ap
propriate musical [numbers
worked in the program.,
Christmas Concert
The annual Christmas concert
will be presented by students of
| the junior and senior bands and
I choruses on Wednesday night,
December 21, at 8 p.m. in the
Central School gymnasium. The
public is cordially invited to at
tend. There will be no admis
sion charge. Chorus presentations'
will be under the direction of
Mrs. Lois Weldon, and will in
clude a senior chorus group who
will offer several selections,
among which will be the "Carol
of the Bells", "Birth of a King”,
"White Christmas", and "Winter
Wonderland". The junior chorus
will be featured in this year’s
presentation, Mrs. Weldon said.
Their program will center around
a narration of legends and cus
toms of several countries. There
will be French carols, some new,
and some familiar nufnbers such
as “Noel”and "Angels We Have
Seen”. English numbers will be
presented and will include the
well-known "Hark the Herald
(Continued on page 8)
Lew Hanks
Gives White House
Conference Report
“The greatest impression I
brought back with me from the
White House Conference on Edu
cation was the feeling that our
educational system in America
is good and that we need not take
a back seat to anyone”, Lew
Hanks, chairman of the Alaskan
WHC committee told members of
the Matanuska Valley Chamber
of Commerce.
The Alaskan committee consist
ed of 10 members from the edu
cational field and school boards
in the territory. Although one
member of the group was report
edly disappointed in the Confer
ence results, Hanks and other
members have stated that the
Conference accomplished many
valuable things and established
the base for continued studies by
individual States and Territories.
“It was surprising to me”,
Hanks said, “to find that nearly
every State has the same type
problems as we in Alaska in
fact, Alaska is way ahead of
many of them in problem solu
tions”, he added.
The Conference was the cli
max to meetings and hearings
held throughout the States and
Territories during which six spe
cific categories were discussed
and recommendations given the
Committee to take to the Wash
ington, D. C. meeting. A consoli
dated report on Alaska findings
will be available within the near
future, Hanks said.
The conference was set up at
about 170 round tables where
discussions were conducted. Vari
ously represented departments
in the educational field were
scientifically mixed so that no
two from the same area were in
cluded in the same group. The
findings of these groups were re
ported by a chairman from each
table and their findings to two
tables. The consolidated feelings
(Continued on page 8)
COLORED SLIDES
OF NEW SCHOOLS
NEEDED BY CHAMBER
Anyone who has colored
slides of Palmer’s new high
school or Swanson school, who
is willing to lend them to the
local Chamber of Commerce,
is asked to leave them at the
office of The Frontiersman Fri
day. These pictures will be ad
ded to those already collected
from which the Chamber plans
to make duplicates for a per
manent file of pictures of the
valley, and to send to a tour
group who have requested ad
ditional slides of the valley.
The slides will be sent out
for duplication immediately
and returned to the owners as
soon as they come back.
CHRISTMAS CONTEST
REGISTRATION TO
CLOSE SATURDAY
Members of the Palmer Gar
den Club have issued a last call
for entrants in the 1955 Christ
mas lighting and decorating con
test which they are sponsoring.
Judging will begin on Saturday
evening and will be completed
Sunday night.
All residents of the valley are
invited to enter the contest, re
gardless of how modest or exten
sive their decorating will be. The
contest is open to all interested
valley residents in a wide ahea
covering sections from the Knik
bridge north along the highway
and throughout the farm areas.
A few exceptions are those farm
roads not on main roads that
might prove inaccessible to judg
es.
To date only nine individuals
have registered for the contest,
according to Mrs. Sam Woolcock,
committee member. A few more
have indicated their intention of
registering and Mrs. Woolcock
urged thoes persons and all oth
ers to register at once at Maud’s
Flower Shop in the theatre build
ing. Registration is necessary so
that judges may plan their trips
around the valley without having
to return to the same area two
or three different times.
MAY BE UStU
FOR EXPANSION
OR IMPROVEMENT
“We have not heard directly
from The Ford Foundation”, John
Weisenberger, Valley Hospital
Association president said this
week. “But if what we have read
in the papers is true, we are ex
tremely grateful to the Founda
tion for the proposed $10,000
grant to the Valley Presbyterian
Hospital here in Palmer,” he ad
ded.
In an Associated Press news re
lease this week, residents of the
valley learned through an An
chorage newspaper that the Pal
mer hospital is among those list
ed to receive a share of grants
totaling almost $310,000 for hos
pitals in Alaska. A total of 3,500
hospitals in the States and Ter
ritories is listed for grants that
’ total $200 million. A total of $500
million is being given by the
Foundation to eligible colleges
and hospitals.
Weisenberger piointed out that
stipulations listed in the news
item state that these grants may
not be used for operation expen
ses or services the hospital cur
rently is performing. “That means
that much as we’d like to, we can
not use one cent of the grant to
pay bills, salaries, or other oper
ating expenses. Our problem still
exists—we miist operate with our
collection funds and we can not
stress to strongly the need for all
hospital bills to be paid immedi
ately, or some suitable arrange
ment for payments be made. We
depend on our collections for
our operational costs. We can’t
pay our grocery, lights, water,
salaries, and numerous other nec
essary expenses unless payments
come in to us from our patients,”
he stated.
According to the stipulations,
the money may be used, at the
decision of the hospital receiv
ing the grant, for “any improve
mentor extension of hospital ser
vices, but not for operating ex
penses or services the hospital
currently is performing”. The
'grant will mean the possible pur
chase of needed equipment which
the hospital has been unable to
purchase.
-t
ORGANIZATIONS JOIN IN PLANS
FOR AREA CHRISTMAS PARTY
Organizations, merchants, and
individuals will be approached
this coming week by members of
the Matanuska Valley Chamber
of Commerce for contributions to
the valley childrens’ Community
Christmas party being planned for
Saturday afternoon, December 24.
A list of all donors will be pub
lished in The Frontiersman. Com
mittee members figure total costs
will average around $500 and will
include treats for all children in
the valley who attend the pro
gram and for children at the vari
ous children’s homes through the
community. Children aged thr
ough the sixth grades will be in
cluded in the treats and program.
Organizations are joining to
gether in the program. Members
of the Elks lodge are providing
a large outdoor tree which will
be set up in Colony Park; the Le
gion will provide Santa Claus;
the Women of the Moose will sack
the goodies; Moose lodge mem
bers will help set up the Candy
House in the theater and act as
party ushers; Palmer Kiwanis
will be in charge of the PA sys
tern over which Christmas carols
will be played on Friday and Sat
urday. Other organizations have
offered assistance and will, no
doubt, be called on before the
program is completed.
HOLLY — MISTLETOE
CHRISTMAS GREENS —
CEDAR — PINE — NOBLE
FIR
PINE & CEDAR WREATHES
CHRISTMAS PLANTS
and FLOWERS arriving.
We have lots of materials for
making wTeaihs, and
arrangements or.
We will make table arrange
ments and holiday corsages.
Please place orders early.
MAUD'S FLOWER SHOP
Theatre Building
rank & His Hot-Rodders Sat. Dec. 17
SHAMROCK
LOUNGE
Frank-Tom and Pop
Happy Birthday to Eric