INTERVIEW OF 4-H CLUB DELEGATES
AS REPORTED BY WRITER HUBER
By LOUIS R. HUBER
SEATTLE.
Three sure-enough pioneers from
America's last frontier — Alaska —
went through tthis city recently
•on their way to Chicago to attend
the National 4-H .Club Congress,
November 28 to December 2.
In their baggage, a parka . . .
and a problem.
“The parka is picturesque —
it gets us pleinty of attention,"
explained Mrs. Carol Winey, home
demonstration agent from Anch'or
aeg. who accompanied the 4-H trip
pers.
"The problem, she said, is
to keep people from thinking the
parka is typical.”
The real achievement of youth
in Alaska is not in wearing parkas
— which are about as numerous
as mink coats in the States — but
in doing the same sort of thing 4-H
members do in the States, added
Mrs. Joe Kendler. 4-H leader from
Juneau, who also accomjanied the
youngsters.
Mrs. Kendler, who arrived from
Germany 33 years ago, can speak
with authority; for with her hus
banc she took up the pioneer chal
lenge up north at about the point
where the sourdoughs of ’98 left
off.
The Kendlers established a very
successful dairy at Juneau, in an
area where nearly all foodstuffs
were shipped in to meet the de
mand of a gold-mining economy.
Recently the Kendlers "retired"
from the arduous dairy work —
to make just as large a success
of raising potatoes and poultry . . .
again, doing something that had
never been done before in that
part of Alaska.
When the 4-H ("heat, heart,
hands and health”) movement was
started in Juneau a few years ago,
Mrs. Kendler became its main
spring.
The fact that two of the Alaska
delegates to the Chicago gather- ,
ing this year come from Juneau 1
speaks for the effectiveness of her
efforts.
Don Hurlock, 18, and Henry Jen
kins, 17, the two Juneau 4-H dele- l
gates, have been* so successful in !
their 4-H work that they might j
almost be termed as businessmen. '
Don's 4-H poultry project has
netted him $3,700 over a three
year period. Henry won his trip
with a garden project that included
15 varieties of vegetables — in an
Alaska area, mind you. where no
bocy ever bothered with vegetables
before.
Equally impressive is the 4-H
work of Lura Peck, 15. who comes
from much farther north — Seward
— and who won her trip to Chi
cago by outstanding clothing ach
ievment.
In the five years she has been
a 4-H member, Lura completed 173
sewing, baking, and handicraft pro
ducts. She now mekes nearly all
her own clothes.
These are not the first 4-H
members in Alaska to win trips
to the annual nation-wide 4-H gath
ering. Since 1947 Alaska young
sters have been delegates — but
that particular date carries a spec
ial significance.
It is approximately the time,
most of the students of Alaska
agree, when Alaska residents who
intend to make the northland their
permanent home began to outnum
ber those who regarded Alaska as
a place of temporary sojourn while
earning a living.
The 4-H members have had more
that a little to do with this change.
They have proven that social roots
can be well nurtured in Alaska
soil.
Don Hurlock. for example, un
doubtedly would become a success
ful poultry farmer anywhere —
but he knows it is actually more
profitable in Juneau.
“We have to rely on shipped-in
feed at higher prices," he told
this reporter, “but we get 70 cents
a pound for fryers and a dollar a
dozen for eggs.”
The first 4-H club in Alaska was
organized at Fairbanks in 1930;
today there are 50 clubs, with
approximately 500 members.
The “farm belt” running from
Seward through Homer, Anchorage
and Palmer to Fairbanks has the
most activity — 'but Juneau now
has six clubs, and this year for
the first time won national rec
• ognition for southeastern Alaska, i
"Our greatest anxiety in com
ing to the States is to avoid giv
ing the impression the 4-H act
ivity up in Alaska is different from
4H work anywhere else." said Mrs.
VViney, whose home town is Elgin,
Illinois, and who is a graduate of
Iowa State College.
The really unique aspect of 4-H
work up north is that there is
so much of it," she said.
A very important feature of Al
aska 4-H work is its potency in
combating juvenile delinquency —
an affliction that is unfortunately
more serious there than in the
States.
"We have never heard of a 4-H
club member getlng into trouble
with the police," observed Jessen’s
Weekly of Fairbanks, in an edi
torial dealing with juvenile delin
quency.
Racial tolerance also is encour
aged by the 4-H movement up
north. In Faibanks all races are
represeneted in several 4-H clubs.
At Minto, near Fairbanks, a 4-H
girls’ sewing club is made up en
tirely of Athabascan Indians —
as is the entire village.
At Juneau a boys’ 4-H club sent
50 pounds of seed potatoes to the
Hydaburg Garden Club, more than
200 miles to the south, where the
population is almost entirely of
Haida Indians.
The trips to Chicago are made
possible for Alaska 4-H winners
by funds donated by various in
dividuals and commercial firms,
located mainly In the States.
Igloo Installation
Marks New Strength
At a meeting of the Pioneers
of Alaska Igloo No. 9 held last
week on Wednesday, January 12,
a new slate of officers was in
stalled to conduct the affairs of
the Igloo for next year. They are
as follows: President. Vance Hitt:
1st Vice-president. E. L. Senft; 2nd
Vice-president. Ray Seforovich:
Secretary-treasurer, Sol J. I'rie;
Historian, Charles Gilliland: Chap
lain. Win Ervin. Jr.; Sargeant at
Arms, Mel Halben: Doorkeeper.
Andy Krupatik: Trustees. William
O'Brien. Thor Osbo, Walter Holben.
The Pioneer Auxiliary also in
stalled their new officers the same
evening and they are as follows:
President, Amy Hitt; 1st Vice-pres
ident, Iva Senft: 2nd Vice-presi
dent. Beth Salit; Secretary, Bes
sie Kern; Treasurer Marie Osbo;
Chaplain. Helen Brosius; Histor
ian, Emma Jones; Sargeant at
Arms, Velma Ervin: Trustee. Syl
via Sexton. A social was held
after the installation.
The reactivation of Igloo No. 9
Pioneers of Alaska is well under
way and developing to where it
once again will be in good strength
and activity In the community
affairs as heretofore.
The next regular meeting will
be held on Thursday, January 27.
at which time a new regular meet
ing night will be chosen.
MRS. IRWIN METCALF
HONORED AT BIRTHDAY TEA
Mrs. Irwin Metcalf's birthday on
Tuesday, January 18, was the oc
casion for a lovely candlelight tea
given in her honor by Mrs. John
Salit. In addition to the guest of
honor, the following ladies were
present: Mesdatnes Russell Nor
ton, Melvin Deck, Charles Malin.
Charles Chestnutt, T. H. Howell,
Troy Bogard, Guy Kearns, T. H.
Jones, Harold Horton and the
Misses Ruth Murrell. Delia Gab
riel and Anna Martin.
loin the/
uTTiHT
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AT THE SAN
AUTHOR OF DARK
BOUNDRY VISITS SAN
Mrs. Ann Purdy, the author of
t h e recently published Alaskan
book. Dark Boundry, visited her
daughter and the other patients
at the San over the weekend. She
drove down from Chicken, Alaska
with her husband, Fred Purdy, and
their live year old daughter. Fred
said that they came over 65 miles
of the Taylor Highway which was
officially closed and it took them
three days Jto make the trip.
In an interview, Mrs. Purdy
announced that she has several
other hooks in the manuscript
stage now, and that she hopes to
have them in the hook stores 'be
fore much longer. One of the new
books is the story of Forty-mile,
and another is the story of the
Eagle mail-carrier. "My books
will never make me popular with
the people I write about” she said,
“I write things a I see them. I've
been accused o f seeing things
quite differently than the average
person sees them.”
Mrs. Purdy is well qualified to
write about Alaska. She has liv
ed. taught, married, and raised a
large family in the interior country.
She has endured the hardships
with a wonderful sense of humor
which can't help but be an asset
to any aspiring author who is
previously equipped with the tools
of the trade — words.
SAN CHAT REACHES
MANY STATESIDE READERS
More than 600 copies of the Jan
uary issue of the Sanatorium month
ly magazine. San Chat, have been
mailed at the Bartlett post office
this month. We have subscribers
in such far off places as Belgian
Congo, Africa, Liberia, England
and Australia, and nearly every
state in the U. S. In a small
way, the San Chat is doing its
part to publicize the best place
in the world to live — Seward.
Alaska.
PATIENT CENSUS CHANGES
Elizabeth Walunga, a sister of
Frank Walunga. Seward dock work
er, was admitted as a patient rec
ently. She was born at St. Law
rence Island, but the family has
followed Frank to Seward and
now live at Mile 5.
Robert Robinson from Fairbanks
PDH JUST OWE PHASE OF
THE EVALUATION, REPORTS
COME FROM 2,000,000
TEST TUBES.
gESSSZ""0**
This veteran polio
EXPERT TODAY IS
EVALUATING DATA FOR
1955 REPORT TO
ANSWER THE QUESTION:
POBS THE SALK
VACCINE PREVENT
PARALYTIC POLIO?
FROM ALL OVER THE
NATION/ CWY AND NIGHT#
SEVEN DAYS A WEEK#
REPORTS POUR IN ON
THE I/A30/0CD CHILDREN
WHO WERE PART OF THE
TRIALS-PR. FRANCIS IS
CONDUCTING THE BIGGEST
STUDY OF ITS KINO IN
HISTORY- HE IS BACKED
BY A GRANT FROM NATION
AL FOUNDATION FOR
INWTILE RARALVStS.
144,000,000 PACTS
FROM TONS OF RECORDS
ARE BEING POURED INTO
COMPUTING MACHINES
USED IN EVALUATION.
A 150-MAN STAFF WORKS
'ROUND-THE-CLOCK... CENSUS
BUREAU EXPERTS ARE HELPING.
The center is a building formerly
A MATERNITY HOSPITAL... FNAL
FIGURES WILL BE ASSEMBLED IN THE
former -
JOIN MARCH OF D/MES-JANUARY 3 7031
I
Polio Vaccine Plans
If evaluations of the new polio
vaccine determine that it is ef
fective, it will he licensed and
released for distribution in the
and Margaret Moses from Nome
are also new patients.
Agraphenia Nickoli left for her
home on last Tuesday. All of
which leaves o u r patient load
about the same. We are still
short of patients, which we would
l he the happiest to announce if
the reason was: there are no more
| people sick with TB. But that is
! not the case. We ARE short of
| patients. The reason? That's
i the question we ask.
spring of 1955, according to in
formation received from the Na
tional Foundation for Infantile Par
alysis by Dr. Charles R. Hayman,
deputy commissioner of health.
Distribution in Alaska will be
by the Alaska Department, of
Health, the announcement from the
NFIF New York office stated, and
will be for the following groups
only:
All children enrolled in the first
grade in the spring term of 1955
in public, private and parochial
schools.
Futher information regarding the
vaccine will be released as soon
as it becomes available to him,
the deputy commissioner said.
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