The Frontiersman
PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
TRY A FRONTIERSMAN
CLASSIFIED AD for that
item you may have for sale*
rent or lease
VOLUME 8, NO. 43
PALMER. ALASKA, THURSDAY. AUGUST 18, 1955
PRICE TEN CENTS
MVFCA GROSSES OVER $5 MILLION IN '54
IffHVWMHBnnW
City Council
Proceeding
Employees of the City of Pal
mer will soon participate in the
Social Security program. Coun
cil members Tuesday night voted
that a resolution and other neces
sary papers be prepared for plac
ing City employees under the
Social Security program.
* * *
Auditors of the area will be
requested to submit bids for the
annual audit of the City of Pal
mer books, according to an unan
imous vote of the Council mem
bers.
* * *
Members of the water commit
tee reported that the well at the
reservoir which had been out of
order has been repaired and is
now capable of producing 300
gallons of water per minute. The
committee also reported that
ditch digging work has started in
the ARRC sub-division where the
wood-stave line is to be replaced.
Members of the street and water
department are working togeth
er- to lay the pipe, it was an
nounced.
Single Street and the avenue
north of the churches have been
widened this past week, the
street committee reported.' City
Council members authorized the
use without cost, of the city road
grader and the services of the
street department personnel to
level gravel at the new high sch
ool and at Swanson school, fol
lowing a request from tl>e Palmer
Independent School Board.
* * *
The City of Palmer will soon
be capable .of accommodating
over-night “guests”, it was an
nounced. Cement work on the
new jail cells is nearing comple
tion and steel doors are being
prepared.
Authorization to offer the city
parking lot near the Fairgrounds
bo me n.iwams \^iud or r aimer as
a parking concession during the
1955 Matanuska Valley Fair was
voted by council members.
Complete building plans for
the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter Day Saints were inspect
ed and approved by council mem
bers. The city clerk was instruct
ed to issue a building permit up
on payment of proper fees.
Bills approved for payment in
cluded Matanuska Telephone
Ass’n., $38.30; Bryant & Son,
$37.50; Standard Oil, $10.45; Pal
mer Constructors, $2,000; Bert’s
Drug Store, $3.42; Health Center,
$42.88; Valley Excavating, $43.00;
Andrian W. Nolfi, $551.84; and
Cotton Explor. and Dev. Co.,
$1454.00.
The next regular meeting of
the Council will be held in the
clerk’s office Tues., August 30 at
7:30 p.m., Mayor Charles Wilson
announced.
Mrs. Justine Parks, ME A presi
dent, was presented an award
for leadership at the convention
held in Kodiak by the Alaska
Rural Electric Co-operative Asso
ciation of which she is president.
The award was made for out
standing, continueing leadership.
IBACK-TO-SCHOOL SPECIAL
PERMANENTS $10 - $12.50 ||
Through Month of August <!
VALLEY BEAUTY SHOP j:
Phone 3301 I;
^A^vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvOvvCOCCwCvvC
10 Sundays of
ILLUSTRATED LECTURES j; j
j: Wasilla Community !;
Hall
|j FREE
i| Starting Sunday Night j
]! July 31st — 7:30 p.m. ||
j! Change of subject each Sun. !; j
!; Sponsored by the Reorganized j; j
; Church of Jesus Christ ; ]
\ of Latter Day Saints ij
EKLUTNA PROJECT
DEDICATION SET
FOR AUGUST 29
Dedication ceremonies for the
Bureau of Reclamation’s Eklutna
hydroelectric project will be held
on Monday, August 29 at the pro
ject site. The date was set to
coincide with the arrival in Al
aska of Wi'bur Dexheimer, Bur
eau commissioner, and Don
Campbell, power division chief.
The Anchorage and Matanuska
Valley Chamber of Commerce are
making arrangements for the
dedication of the $29,500,000
plant which went into operation
early this year. A luncheon,
which will be served at noon, will
be supervised by a committee
from the local chamber. Approxi
mately 200 invited guests are ex
pected to be in attendance, ac
cording to Everett Adams, Cham
ber president. Included in the
dedication ceremony will be a
tour of the power house. Com
plete radio, television and news
paper coverage is expected.
CAPA ENGINEER
MAKES PALMER VISIT
Ivan Bloch, Norm Pacific Con-;
sultant engineer and Mrs. Jus
tine Parks, president of the Ma
tanuska Electric Association,
were guests at the noon meeting
of Palmer Kiwanis this week.
While in Palmer, Bloch pointed
out that the exploration work be
ing done at Cooper Lake by the
Central Power Association is a
step forward to avoid power
shortages. “Every State, and in
Alaska too, an aecute power
shortage is being felt. The rea
son for this, he said, is that more
and more electrical appliances
are being manufactured and put
into the home. As soon as econ
omically possible the homemak
ers put to use such appliances as
electric blankets -x- stoves—heat
ers and many other items. This
mans a constant increase in
power demand. If projects are
not explored and feasible sites
wuiaatvi uui, it 13 iikjt ucxi/xc;
there is a power shortage.
This trend is showing up all
over the States, he said. Elec
trical engineers used to figure
that power demand would double
in 17 years—now the demand is
being doubled every three years
and growing shorter all the time.
In Alaska all the power avail
able is not too much. Several
sites are being explored by vari
ous departments. Among them
are the Caribou Creek site and
a series of lakes in the Kenai
area.
CAPA was formed by various
electric associations in Central
Alaska with the idea of tieing
available power together, he
pointed out. It would increase the
total amount of power available
and with each association partici
pating, wider interest in the pro
ject is possible, he added.
Weekly'reports on the progress
being made at Cooper Lake are
going to CAPA from the engin
eering firm, Bloch said. Today
we are ahead of schedule and
the geological survey looks good.
Everything we h ve done and are
doing is a matter of record, he
stated. Money spent on the pro
ject includes the purchase of a
high priced drill. “This drill is
capital investment. When we
have completed our drilling
work it will be available for
other work. CAPA has an invest
ment in this drill that has a high
re-sale value, as there is no other
like drill in Alaska”, he said.
(Continued on page 8)
Have Space for 10
CARIBOU HUNTERS
To Go in at Mile 130.5
For Friday P.M.
(5) af 2:00 p,m.
(5) at 6:00 P.M.
Call Don - Palmer 2541
MTA Completes
Early Staking
In Local Areas
Preliminary staking of the
Palmer and Wasilla areas
have been completed by the Ma
tanuska Telephone Association
engineer, J. W. Bauler, it was
announced today. The next areas
to be staked will be Chugiak
and Sutton, which is expected to
be completed by next week.
When final staking is completed,
bids for construction will be call
ed for from contractors.
Rehab Progressing
The MTA rehabilitation pro
gram is progressing slower than
originally planned, according to
Robert Partridge, MTA manager.
Th recent shipping strike and
long delivery date of materials
is greatly responsible, for the de
lay, he stated. The lead cable,
which was purchased with the
acquisition of the City of Palmer
system, is being installed in the
fairgrounds and Co-Op areas.
Even with unexpected delays, the
complete rehabilitation should
be accomplished before the snows
level the present “spaghetti”,
Partridge said.
The completion of the rehabil
itation will result in better ser
vice throughout the entire pres
ent system and will serve ade
quately until such times as the
new dial system is cut over, he
pointed out.
Lee Hartley was awarded the
bid for a 1955 Ford station wagon
type vehicle, it was announced.
Two others had submitted bids.
MTA Manager Partridge and
Engineer Bauler will attend the
Alaska Telephone Association
convention to be held in Valdez
August 25, 26, and 27. Owen E.
Meals, association president will
preside at the meeting. Telephone
system managers from all over
AJaska are expected to be in at
tendance.
MINERS PROTEST
CHANGE-OVER FROM
COAL TO OIL
Members of the United Mine
Workers Local 7901 have pro
tested by letter to Secretary of
the Interior Douglas McKay the
proposed change over from the
use of coal to oil at Healy.
Mine workers pointed out that
this proposed change from coal to
oil could be but the beginning of
continued change-overs until no
coal will be used in large am
ounts, effecting the economy of
the coal industry. During the past
year 25 thousand tons of coal
were used at Healy, providing
employment for many miners. By
using coal, Alaskans in general
will benefit—by using oil, only
the Stateside firms will benefit,
they stated. The coal burned at
Healy is mined in that area and
transported a short distance of
four miles, they pointed out.
CITY CRACKING DOWN
ON TRAFFIC VIOLATORS
Warrants for arrest will be is
sued within the near future on
10 traffic summons which have
not been answered, it was an
nounced this week by City offi
cials. Frank Connally, city clerk,
has submitted the tag numbers
to Juneau and is waiting for id
entification, following which
warrants will be issued. Seven
additional tag numbers are being
submitted today.
Speeders Pay $50
Two speeders forfeited bail
last week totalling $50. Russell
Asay was issued a ticket for
speeding 40 miles an hour in a
25-mile speed zone on Colony
street August 14. He forfeited
bail of $20. Joe T. Cadden, Jr.,
speeding 50 miles an hour on
Valley street, forfeited bail of
$30. Bail is set at $10 for exceed
ing the speed limit, plus one dol
lar per mile over 30 miles per
hour. If the violator fails to ap
pear for court, his bail is forfeit
ed. -
ABSENTEE BALLOTS
i; AVAILABLE FROM
U.S. COMMISSIONER
j; Absentee ballots may be ob
j; tained at the office of U. S.
Commissioner Dorothy B. Sax
\\ ton in the Theatre building in
j! Palmer for the special election
j! to be held in the Territory of
j! Alaska September 13 for the
;! purpose of electing delegates
;! to the Constitutonal Conven
;! tion of Alaska, it was announ
> ced this week. Voters in this
;> area come under the Palmer
Wasilla-Talkeetna recording
;» district and are classified as
!* voters of Voting District 16,
1; from which one delegate will
I; be elected. Voters may also
!; vote for 12 delegates from the
Third Division at-large and
i; seven delegates from the Ter
\ ritory at-large.
FIVE QUALIFY
IN QUEEN CONTEST
Five contestants in the 1955
Valley Fair queen contest have
qualified and with their sponsors
are busier than ever making fin
al sales before the deadline,
September 3. Two contestants
were unable to continue in the
contest because of their type
work. They expressed their ap
preciation to those who support
ed them and regretted they were
unable to have enough free time
to devote to the ticket sales.
Stubs have been turned in to the
fair manager.
Girls who qualified are: Dona
McKechnie, Janice Barry, Sonja
Stadem, Jean Saulsbury, and
Carla Driggars. Jean had qual
ified last week but not soon
enough ot meet the Thursday
press deadline. The girls are in
Anchorage today, accompanied
by Fair Manager A1 Hagen and
junior members of the Arctic
Trails Riding club. They will ap
pear on several radio and tele
vision shows before returning
home this evening. Another day
of radio and television programs
is planned for Thursday, August
25.
FAIR SEEKING
HISTORICAL ITEMS
At a recent meeting of the
Matanuska Valley Fair Board of
Directors, the old log cabin, a
relic of early days in the Val
ley, which has stood in isolation
and neglect on the Fair Grounds
for a number of years, was vot
ed to become the first Matanuska
Valley Museum, and T. A. Moyer
was appointed as Curator. The
other day when the building was
being moved to its new place of
prominence on the Fair Grounds,
a woman who has traveled the
Springer Road for years, stopp
ed and inquired, “Where did
you get that old building?”
The Fair Board plans to re
store the building, beautify the
grounds and fill it with histori
cal items of the Valley, and Al
aska. Now is the time to do this
curator Moyer pointed out. With
every passing year, these items
are being lost, destroyed, or tak
en from the area for individual
collections or for other museums.
It is too late to do much for this
year’s fair, and the building is
not in good condition, but a num-„
ber of people have offered to
furnish items for an exhibition,
he added.
If you have old relics of early
days in the Valley, or even other
parts of Alaska, the Fair Board
would appreciate the loan of
them for the three-day Fair. The
philatelic department, (stamp
collecting) will be held in this
building this year, and a special
effort is being made to get all
stamp collectors to exhibit their
collections who knows but that
it might lead to an all Alaska
Stamp Exhibition each year.
Larger prizes are being offered
and the exhibits will all be plac
ed under glass. Get in touch
with the Curator or the Fair
Board Secretary and acquaint
them with what you have.
[ALASKA PRODUCE
WEEK TO FEATURE
HOME INDUSTRY
Plans for the Alaska Produce
Week, to be observed August 25
—September 5, are being firmed
up this week by the Matanuska
Valley Chamber of Commerce.
Members heard reports from
Stewart Durrant, chairman, H. P.
Gazaway and Glen Hunt of the
Hunt Advertising Agency at the
August 15 meeting.
“Although it’s too late right
now to do much on a Territorial
scale”, Durrant pointed out,
“this can be the beginning of a
big Alaska-wide project to pro
mote the sale of Alaskan—
grown or produced products”.
Attractive and colorful posters
are being prepared which will
be distributed free of charge to
merchants selling Alaska pro
duce during the special week.
The posters will indicate to the
purchaser that the product is a
“Nugget Buy”. Items sold under
this poster will be produced in
Alaska and sold by Alaskans.
In speaking to the group Hunt
pointed out that Alaskan indus
try has not had proper publicity.-1
For instance, he 9aid, how many
people know that in Anchorage
there is a furniture factory using
nothing but local cottonwood.
Also, the Anchorage Sand and
Gravel Company is the sixth
most well equipped establish
ment of the sort in the United
States.
With limited time and budget,
we feel that for this Alaska Pro
duce Week, we should narrow
our aims down to one area of
production and have chosen the
Alaska produce grown in the
Anchorage - Matanuska Valley
areas. Independent farmers, the
M.V.F.C.A. and all others are in
vited to participate in promoting
the Alaskan grown and produced
products during this week.
With such a project backed by
the Chambers of Commerce, I
feel certain that you will get un
limited support from all areas of
Alaska, Hunt stated. This can
grow into a thing similar to the
“Sunkist” brand u$ed on Cali
fornian products, he added. A
“Nugget Buy” will indicate to the
purchaser that it is a good buy
an Alaskan buy and a golden op
portunity to support local pro
duction.
Hunters Warned
On Shooting
Near Highways
Holgar Larsen, FWS enforce
ment officer, this week pointed
out to hunters that the regulation
pertaining to shooting near high
ways and roads means that there
will be no shooting less than 100
feet from the road or highway.
“This does not mean that a hunt
er can stand on or near the road
and shoot.” For some reason
several hunters have interpreted
this change to mean that they
may shoot across the road—from
the road—or near the road. Any
one found shooting less than 100
feet from the road will be cited
to court, he stated.
For the past week, without
even looking at a calendar, it
has been evident that hunting
season is almost here. Nearly
every type buggy—weasel—bal
loon tire rigs have been seen get
ting last minute touches added
for the grand exodus to the
woods this week-end.
MEMBERS HEAR
ANNUAL REPORTS
DURING MEETING
The Matanuska Valley Farm
ers Cooperating Association Pal
mer’s largest industry and the
largest business of its type in Al
aska, grossed $5.2 million this
past year, and will issue certifi
cates of equity in the amount of
$253,238 to 484 consumer and
producing members. The associa
tion’s net gain before provision
for Territorial and Federal taxes
amounted to $348,847. These fig
ures were disclosed at the an
nual membership meeting held
last Saturday in the Central
School gymnasium. This year’s
dividend was declared at 19 per
cent.
The association employes ap
proximately 100 persons and
paid out $620,000 in wages and
salaries, and $17,435 In the health
and welfare program. In addi
tion, approximately $40,000 was
spent by the association in taxes
and $33,940 for insurance. Con
trary to the belief of many, the
Co-Op association does pay taxes
—to the city, territory and fed
eral government. Improvement
and expansion programs this
past year included a new dairy
building in Spenard which is not
quite finished, and work on the
Fairbanks Creamery, totalling
$159,600.
During the meeting Goerge Mc
Neese, Toivo Bentti, William
Hecker and Jack Newcomb were
named by the membership to the
board of directors. Other board
members are Rex Kibbe, Clifton
Grover and A. R. Carson. During
the first board meeting officers
for the new year will be elected.
A new policy was voted by the
membership whereby board
members will be paid a set sum
for meetings attended. New ar
ticles cxf incorporation and a few
minor changes in the by-laws
were adopted during the meeting
and annual reports from officers
and departments were heard.
A total of 5.746,984 pounds of
milk was purchased from dairy
farmers for a total figure of
$675,476. With equity payments
included, farmers were this
year paid an average of $14.45
per cwi. Milk runs 2.15 pounds'
per quart and at the purchase
figure, cost around 31 cents
per quart directly and indirect
ly
Egg purchases averaged out at
82% cents per dozen. A total of
88,283 dozen eggs were purchas
ed by the Co-Op for $72,786.
Other large purchases made dur
ing the year were: 75 tons let
tuce; 95 tons cabbage; 77% tons
celery; 150 tons carrots; 7 tons
green onions; 4% tons turnips,
1% tons greens, 5 tons beets; and
less than a ton each in several
additional items. Potatoes topped
the list with a total of 49,853 100
pound sacks, purchased at an
average of $3.93 per sack.
Certificates of equity will be
issued at a 19 percent dividend
rate this year. One membership
will receive certificates totalling
$18,000. Other certificates range
from quite low to several thous
and dollars.
A committee of Harold Thu
ma, Jack Newcomb, and A. R.
Carson was appointed by out
going president John Nash, to
further investigating a possible
merger of the Tanana Valley
Farmers and the M. V. F. C. A.
Prizes awarded during the
meeting went to the following
members Toivo Bentti, clock
radio; Clyde Poisal, breakfast set;
Pat Hemmer, electric grill; Joe
Gislason, electric coffee pot; and
Dave Philo, electric toaster.
MOOSE AND GOAT HUNTERS
Will Fly You in, and You and Your
Game Out.
-Reasonable Rates -
Inquire VALLEY AIRWAYS
Earl Brown-Phone 2301