It's Fair Time Again
xsy M. L). Snodgrass
Fair time calls all Alaskans—
Palmer invites you—“Come and
show what you have wrought by
skids in your homes, gardens,
and fields. The valley, hills and
mountains are in the deepest
green; the early hay harvest is
done and we are ready for a lit
tle fun and play. Come and get
acquainted.”
Fiwt Fair in 1937
TTie first agricultural Fair in
Alaska was held at Fairbanks
around 1915 at the old skating
rink. It was a great success and
decorations on the walls were
atm hanging there when I ar
rived August 17, 1917.
Mrs. Margaret Harris, then
superintendent of schools, or
ganized the war-time victory gar
den project for school children
and requested my aid in the
work. I suggested the Hen and
Brood for 8 to 12 year olds—
pens of laying hens for 12 to
17 yeaf olds, and pig clubs for
all ages. The Farmers’ Associat
ion and the merchants contri
buted funds; $500 and some pigs
for prizes—also setting hens.
Results were surprisingly suc
cessful. All Fairbanks young
sters, mammas and dads gave a
hand and the 4-H Club move
ment was launched in Alaska.
The greatest surprise of all was
the interest shown in the Hen
and Chicken class. The fine e
suits of the victory garden, pigs
and Chicken class. The fine re
sho.w paved the way for Agricul
tural Fairs in Alaska.
Organises Fair Ass'n.
It was my great pleasure to in
troduce a Bill in the 1923 Ses
sion providing for Agricultural
and Industrial Fairs in Alaska
and securing Territorial aid for
same. Two years later I helped
organize the Western Alaska
Fair Association at Anchorage
and served on the finance com
mittee with the Hon. Z. J. Lou
8K*ct Thomas Price, Mrs. Monch
man, and others, to raise funds
to purchase the Alaska Moving
Picture Corporation building
Dwell the Captain Latrop inter
ests This provided exhibition
space for the fair, auditorium and
provided fur animal exhibit un
dancing. The vacant lot east side
der open shed, and Federal
block, tlien vacant, was convert
ed to livestock sheds and pens.
Several successful fairs were held
there.
The greet depression was fatal
io the project.
The Community Center activ
ities by agreement with Western
Fair Association were custodian
of the ..building 51 weeks, except
during* Fair Week, each year.
During the WPA period the own
ership somehow slipped over to
the City of Anchorage—and was
gone with the wind.
With the coming of the great
recovery period the Federal
building replaced livestock ex
hibit grounds; the high school
auditorium nosed out the Com
munity Center, and it was gone.
, Twice the Western Fair Associa
tion made efforts to return but
faded to find a location.
Valley Fair Organized
With the coming of the Col
ony in 1935, provisions were
made for Fair grounds. The idea
grew. The Northland Pioneer
Grange No. 1 did something
about it and here we have the
Matanuska Valley Fair to offer
you today.
Provisions for a Community
Center and Fairgrounds in Pal
mer were made for the Colony at
the time of purchase of the Pal
mer townsite. Northland Pion
eer Grange sponsored the Mata
nuska Valley Fair Association at
their March 13, 1936 meeting; ap
pointed a Fair committee to or
ganize the Matanuska Valley
Fair for the coming fall in 1936.
That was a challenge taken up
by all Valley people, including
4-H clubs, boys and girls—in fact
all citizens of the Valley.
We started from scratch—fi
nanced biy the sale of common
and preferred stock—and then
Territorial funds were secured.
Queens were selected after the
same manner as now. Three
nights of dancing^ — our school
teachers, queen and her court
M. D. SNODGRASS
ladies were the taxi dancers.
These most popular dances aid
greatly in the financial suc
cess. Colonist children put on
good exhibits in all departments
and classes. The Palmer school
building basement and first floor
class rooms and halls were part
ly filled with exhibits. Conces
sions were along the north en
trance walk and then enlarged to
include the west sidewalk to the
Co-Op area in 1937.
Field sports, ball games, etc.
were held in the playgrounds and
livestock and pens under canvas
shelters were located where the
skating rink is now. 1938 found
frame buildings on concrete pil
the Valley Fair with two new
frame buildings on concrete pil
lars east of the present Agricul
tural Experiment research build
ing. In 1939 the Association’s
frame buildings were moved to
the present location where we
purchased 15 acres of land from
the Alaska Rural Rehabilitation
Corporation for permanent Fair
grounds, consolidating all depart
ments in one unit except the
Community hall were social fun
ctions were held.
It has long been our aim to
build permanent and large en
ough buildings to house all our
community activities and serve
the people of the Valley, Anchor
age and Third Division, in in
door or outdoor sports, year
round.
Fair Goers
Four-H Fairs were continued,
supported by rental funds, except
CONGRATULATIONS
to the
MATANUSKA VALLEY FAIR
and the
FAIR DIRECTORS
Shamrock Lounge
Harvest Time
Harvest scene shown above was taken at the Alaska Agri
cultural Experiment Farm, located a few miles south of
Palmer. Experimental plots are conducted by scientists
throughout the growing seasons—their knowledge passed
on to farmers of the entire Territory.
AGRICULTURE EXPERIMENT WORK
IN ALASKA DATES BACK 57 YEARS
Frotei the office of Alaska
Agricultural Experiment Station
It was the native grasses of Al
aska’s souhern coast and the is
lands out to The Westward that
first caught the attention of agri
cultural scientists. Here, they
speculated, might be a future
livestock industry. It has been
one of the mos tenacious ideas
ever to plague the minds of Al
askans. The job of developing it,
say today’s agronomists, has only
begun. And forage crops are still
a very important part in Alas
ka’s broadening farm picture.
The early Alaska Agricultural
Experiment Station men — Geo
rgeson, Gasser, Snodgrass, Irwin
—were agronomists, forage spec
ialists. .In the fifty-seven years
since the first experiment sta
tion was opened at Sitka here
have been many major accom
plishmens in the introduction and
development of grains anc^ grass
es for Alaska’s livestock indus
try. Alaskland red clover, Edda
barley, Golden Rain oats, Siber
ian alfalfa, Gasser wheat have
come from their long efforts.
The beginnings of agricultural
research were humble-there
were few scientists and fewer ap
propriations. The stations at Sit
ka, Kodiak, Copper Center, Fair
banks ,and Rampart on the Yu
kon distributed seed to sour
doughs and town dwellers, asked
them to report back on the wide
open question of “What will grow
in Alaska?” The report trickled
back to the stations, swelling the
list.
The scientists got about the
Territory to see for themselves,
travelled by dog sled, river boat,
and on foot along wilderness
trails. They hunted out vege
table gardens growing from the
sod roofs of isolated cabins, hay
fields in the tiny clearings where
farmers had pushed back the wil
derness to open a new agricultur
al frontier for the U. S.
It was not until 1947 that lar
ger appropriations made possible
more rapid study of Alaska’s
agricultural potentialities, but
the year our hospital burned.
That year all rentals were spent
for quonset huts for a temporary
hospital. Quonsets were made
available to the Fair Association
following the war. Race track
and other facilities were add^d
as our earnings grew from year
to year. Our first permanent
building came last year and the
gate house this year. With your
support and exhibits we are
steadily growing.
The work of our 4-H clubs,
Future Farmers of American,
Boy and Girl Scouts, Homemak
ers’ clubs, Ki womans, Sports
men, and all other organizations
and industries, in Alaska, we
will continue to build and grow.
Editor's Note: M. D. Snodgrass
served as president of the Ma
tanuska Valley Fair Associa
tion board of directors in 1936,
1937, 1938, 1939, 1940; as vice
president in 1950 and 1951, as ad
vertising manager in 1953 and
during the years 1941 through
1946 as a member of the Board
which was held over each of
those years; as vice-president in
1950 and 1951, and as advertis
ing manager in 1953. In 1952 he
was named lifetime 'honorary
member of the Matanuska Valley
Fair Association. Clyde King, Sr.,
Don Irwin, Parker Lester, John
Reed, Claire Stock, A1 Hagen, A1
Brooks and T. A. Moyer are other
-Association presidents.
even that was out-paced by a
bolstered military establishment
and the needs of a growing civil
ian population. Followiriig? the
now-famed “Task Force” study of
Alaskan’s agricultural research
needs in 1946, Director Don Ir
win began assembling his staff,
drew in Agronomist H. J. Hodg
son, Soil Scientist Allan Mick,
Animal Husbandman William
Sweetman, Horticulturalist My
ren C. Babb. Others followed,
and today experiment stations at
Fairbanks, Matanuska, Peters
burg, and Palmer boast a tech
nical staff of 21. Seventy-four
other employees plus seasonal
workers bring the number to
more than 100.
Agronomists still work at the
painstaking task of plant breed
ing to provide hardy, prolific
grains and grasses for livestock
feed. But there are also horticu
ltural ists, an entomologist and
plant patologist, soil scientists,
animal huabandrymen, engineers
and economiss at work to solve
the unique problem of develop
ing a self-sustaining agriculture
in the sub-Arctic. They are, says
Director Don Irwin with under
standable pride, on their way.
There is yet, he acknowledges,
much to be done.
Time for
Anti-Freeze
It’s Later than yon think ...
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE
MATANUSKA VALLEY FAIR
Norm's Super Service
HOURS — 7 A.M. — 10 P.M.
AT HARTLEY MOTORS
CONGRATULATIONS
to the
Matanuska Valley Fair
A. L Smith Army-Navy
Surplus Store
Located in Quonset Building, next to Hotel
Hours: 9 A.M. - 7 P.M.
Tremendous
$aving$
Women's, Men's & Children's
COATS & JACKETS
Winter Jackets, Suits and
Sport Coats
At such terrific reductions we
can't print the price!
Sale begins Fri., Sept. 2
K&iloAJzyb ^bejzt. State