I Reporters—
Notebook. ;|
A1 Gregerson, long-time Alas
ka and valley resident, plans to I
leave for the Pioneer’s Home in
Sitka on September 24. Prior to
his leaving he will spend two !
weeks visiting in the Anchorage j
area.
Mrs. John Zimouske of Pal- \
mer is a patient in Providence :
Hospital in Anchorage. Another
Providence patient from Palmer
is Mrs. Chet Sandvik.
Monty Larsh, son of Mr. and
Mrs. Emil Larsh of Palmer, is
home on leave from the U. S.
Naval base at San Diego, Calif.
Miles Hyland, student at Edi
son Engineering School in Seat
tle, has returned to his studies
following a visit in Palmer with
his parents Mr. and Mrs. James
Smith of Wasilla Road.
Mrs. Alice Snodgrass has ac
cep ted employment in the De
partment of Agriculture office.
She is working on a part time
basis.
Dr. Fred Honsinger, territorial
veterinarian, is now in Kodiak
whew he will be conducting live
1 stock testings.
James W. Wilson, commission- j
• eg oi agriculture, will attend the
Ninilchek Fair.
Mn. Katherine Wilson left to
day for Washington, D. C. where
ah* will act as Matanuska Val
ley Eastern Star Chapter No. 14
delegate to the general grand
chapter assembly, meeting in
Washington. She expects to re
turn to Palmer in about three
weeks.
Dr. William Sweetman of the
• Alaska Agricultural Experiment I
Station and James Wilson, terri
torial commissioner of agricul
ture, were judges in produce
and livestock entries in the Jun
eau 4-H Fair.
Mrs. Bunny Westrack is work
ing as a pprt-time employee in
the office of the city clerk.
Charles W. Wilson, territorial
conservationist, is on a trip to
Fairbanks this week, planning to
return to Palmer Saturday.
Izola Sims
(Continued from page 1)
naire”: “During the term of PDC
Foster R. Sims and at the death
of former Department Adjutant
A1 Zenger, Izola stepped into the
breach and really served. In some
instances its hard, really, to say
‘thank you’ . . . adequately.
“Pynamic, efficient, vivacious
Izola Lee Sims has kept in touch
with department-wide activities.
Her achievements are too volum
inous to be inventoried here. We
expect to hear much more of
Izola Sims”.
Another Palmer woman was
elected to a Department office.
She is Mary B. Steelman, unit
president, who was elected De
partment Historian. Mrs. Steel
man became a charter member
of the Linwood Unit No. 353 in
March, 1946 and served as first
president for the balance of the
45-46 year. She was re-elected
for- 1946-47 and had been asked
to serve again when she resign
ed to come to Alaska. During
this period she worked on all,
standing committees to better
learn the aims and purposes of
the American Legion Auxiliary
and so help those who followed
her. At this time she served on
the County Committees of At
lantic County in several capa
cities.
Living in Chitina from 1947 to
1910 put Mrs. Steelman on the in
active list in the Auxiliary. Soon
after moving to Palmer she
transferred her membership to
the Matanuska Valley Unit No.
15 and became membership
chairman for 1950-51. After an
absence of one year she again did
membership work, finished out
a term as secretary-treasurer
with another year as membership
chairman. Any committee need
ing her services felt free to call
upon her and her largest job was
as co-chairman for the 1954 Am
erican Legion Auxiliary conven
tion.
In April 1955 she was elected
president of the local Auxiliary
unit, to serve one year. She has
attended two department conven
tions in New Jersey and four in
Alaska.
TO THE VOTERS OF ELECTION
DISTRICT NO. 16
I will consider it an honor and privilege
to sorvo you in the Constitutional
Convention.
Sincerely
M. D. SNODGRASS
VALLEY REAL ESTATE has taken on
a now service for the peope of the Valley,
Till Valley Insurance Agency
A complete line of Insurance
FIRE - AUTO - CASUALTY
A. L SMITH, owner -- Phone 2071
Specials at
Kirks Sales & Service
TUNE-UP ALL SIX CYLINDERS $12.50
Includes — clean, re-gap and test plugs;
adjust points, set distributor, dwell and tim
ing; clean fuel pump sediment bowl; check
fuel pump pressure and vacuum; check bat
tery gravity; clean terminals and adjust
valves on all engines with overhead valves
not equipped with hydraulic lifters
V-8 or STRAIGHT 8 $17.50
■
j CANCER CAMPAIGN
TOTAL UP TO $412
;j With the recent receipt of
!; $25 from the local Beta Sigma
!; Phi chapters, the Cancer
!; Campaign funds now total
$412, according to Mrs. Stuart
!!; Durrant, campaign chairman.
3; In making the announcement
! Mrs. Durrant extended her
jl thanks and appreciation to all
;! organizations and individuals
;! who have contributed to the
;! campaign. Additional funds
;! may still be mailed to the
|3 Cancer Campaign, care of Mrs.
Durrant.
SOILS OF THE
MATANUSKA VALLEY
By Charles W. Wilson
In these days of drouth and
dust in the southwest, tornadoes
A to E along the Atlantic coast
and disastrous floods in Pen
nsylvania, New York, and New
England, we in the Matanuska
Valley come to the beginning
of Fair Week with a feeling that
we are living in a very beautiful
and bountiful valley.
We who have chosen soils as
our principal field, how to use it,
and how to protect it, have found
working with Alaska soils and
particularly with the soils of the
Matanuska Valley a very satis*
fying calling.
We are getting the satisfaction
of working with new material
rather than something old, ab
used and worn out. As with all
new things, we must know some
thing about how they were made
and what use can be made of
them without injury or destruc
tion before we can safely use
them.
We see evidence at every hand
to give us proof, if proof is need
ed, that the Matanuska Valley
was out by ice from the many
gaciers and back filled by gravel,
boulders, and silt from the moun
tain area above carried by the
glacial ice. Over this has been
deposited the silt now at or near
the surface. Sorting and separat
ing is the result of winds which
seem to be ever present or near.
Lake George has added its an
nual deposits to the lower valley
and within a few days the wind
was bringing these deposits up
the valley to Palmer, for you see
the Matanuska Valley is still un
der construction.
Wind and water have made the
valley out of remains of glaciers.
Nature has helped by covering
the scars with weeds, grass, wil
lows, and forests almost to the
very face of the ice. Nature and
the elements have worked for us
but the laws of nature are inflex
ible. They react to conditions and
can destroy our valley through
the same forces that made it—
wind and water. Plants and their
dead ancestors (humus) are help
ful building forces. Without
plants and organic litter of the
grasslands and forests, wind and
water are extremely destructive
here in Alaska just as in the
great plains of the southwest and
the storm-ravished northeast.
Stabilization of the soils of the
Matanuska Valley is a problem
which cannot safely be ignored.
It is a point of pride we have to
know that there is a much more
widespread realization of the
problem by our people than is
common in most soil-problem
areas of the United States. To
solve a problem is first to recog
nize that a problem exists.
A few simple rules if followed
will go a long way toward main
ing the stability of Matanuska
Valley soils: avoid fall cultivation
maintain high organic content in
the soil by turning under all crop
: residue, including grass crops in
the rotation, and occasionally
plow or disc under a green man
ure crop. Grain and oat-pea sil
age should be cut with high stub
ble left to hold and soil through
the winter. In extreme hazard
areas the only real solution is to
maintain a grass cover at all
times.
We feel sorry for the dust
bowl people because they have
mistreated their land for so long
a time it is hard for them to
quit. We haven’t yet gotten into
that bad habit.
The technicians of the Soil
Conservation Service, cooperat
ing with the Alaska Soil Conser
vation District, are available to
assist valley farmers in solving
soil stability problems, as well as
irrigation and drainage problems.
For Delegate to the
Constitutional
Convention
, Vote for Hurley
4-H NEWS
This year the first 4-H club to
celebrate a club Achievement
Day was the Sutton Buttons, an
active club of seven membrs un
dr the leadership of Mrs. Paul
James and Mrs. Rudy Yerbich.
Last Thursday, at Mrs. James’
home, with Mrs. Robert Fancher
assisting ,a luncheon was served
to club members, their mothers,
and Maryiou Rideout. After the
luncheon, a style show of the
completed garments was given.
Judy James wore her tailored
suit of wool and nylon gaberdine.
A shirt-waist type dress of cot
ton print was made and worn
by Wilda Harris. After what
seemed to be quite a long-hard
row June Fancher had finished
her outing flannel pajamas.
Carolyn Wallace’s dress was a
princess-style, which fitted per
fectly. The dres was of lavender
figured cotton and had a bolero
of a plain matching color. Car
olyn had also made a cotton slip.
Sheila Postishek, Dianna Diet
rich and Jeanne Dietrich each, as
a first year project, modeled a
f--—- ——
head scarf, drindl shirt and
white fcotton blouse. Jeanne had
enough material left after fin
ishing her skirt to make her niece
a pinafore. This was modeled by
the little miss.
These girls and their two lead
ers are to be congratulated as
the first club to finish lOOg. The
4-H club is sponsored by the Sut
tonette Homemakers club. This
group took all the 4-H'ers into
Anchorage on Friday afternoon
to arrange their display and
boczh and exhibits. Perhaps the
storm drove them all home ear
lier than planned, but the plan
was for a treat of eats then a
show.
Last Friday morning the Ex
tension Service was a scene of
much activity, as 4-H’ers brought
in their 4-H exhibits to be en
tered in the first All Alaska 4-H;
exhibits to be entered in the first
All Alaska 4-H Fair sponsored by
the Anchorage Kiwanis Club.
Calves, chickens, eggs, vege
tables, photographs, clothing and
baked products were brought.
Fifty-two 4-H’ers from WasilLa,
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Sutton and Palmer exhibited a
good representation of our Val
ley.
Their fine exhibits and many,
many more were in place ready
for judges, when the storm, late
Friday night, blew down the
tent filled with all the exhibits
The livestock and poultry were
rescued and the clothing exhibits
were found. These were judged
the following morning. All foods
and garden products were in such
a condition that they could not
be judged.
Wesfside
SERVICE
SHIPMENT A liar
ARRIVING OF Alla*
dm* M**^1***
*
fP *.V *
TIRES AND
ACCESSORIES
NOW OPEN
24
HRS.
Hunt's Back to School Sale
THURSDAY THRU SATURDAY
CARNATION MILK
tins
Case
CANADIAN ^
Eggs 69c
LARGE
GRADE A
DOZ.
HUNTS
TOMATO JUICE
300 Tins
HUNTS
No. 300 tin
WHOLE KERNEL
HUNTS
TOMATO
ii fc'i
SAUCE
$
HUNTS
No. 300 tin
CREAM STYLE
CORN
r $400
for
1
Pork Loin Roast lb.
Ground Beef 2 lbs.
79c
89c
CORN
MJB
COFFEE
stock up e a 77
NOW ¥1 fl
2 lbs.
YELLOW
FLUFF0
31b. OQa
fin O/C