KEITHAHN, EIHiAku
ALASKA HIS :OR I CAL
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LIBRARY
: U N E A U
LITTLE LEAGUE
BALL GAMES
JUNE 17 — JUNE 20
6:35 P.M.
The Frontiersman
PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF THE MATANUSKA VALLET
TRY A FRONTIERSMAN
CLASSIFIED AD for lhat
item you may have for sale,
rent or lease.
VOLUME 8. NUMBER 34
PALMER. ALASKA THURSDAY. JUNE 16. 1955
PRICE TEN CENTS
City Council
Proceedings
mmmm «hb
Members of the Common
Council, City of Palmer, met in
iegular session on June 14. Cor
respondence read at the meeting
included a copy of a letter to the
School District from the Alaska
Department • of Health in which
the sum of $1,890.15 was desig
nated as the area’s share for the
cost of public health nurse ser
vice this past year. A discussion
on the current public health
nurse situation followed during
which it was pointed out that at
the present time the valley is
entirely without.the services of
a public health nurse. Members
of the school board are studying
the problem, it was announced.
*When the public health nurse re
turns from her annual leave, the
valley will then have the services
of one nurse. A contract between
the Department of Health, School
District and City of Palmer calls
for the services of two nurses for
the valley.
* * *
A letter of confirmation of the
agreement between the City of
‘Palmer and Palmer Constructors
•for the purchase of excess gravel
and sand was received by the
City and read at the meeting.
* * *
New water pipe will be used
to replace part of the former
AJtRC line has arrived, it was
announced by members of-the
water committee. Authorization
to purchase the pipe was given
several months ago.
* * *
A discussion on the street im
provement work now in progress
was held by members. Although
several residents have inquired i
about purchasing gravel for
driveways, etc., council members
decided to take no action at the
present time on the requests.
Street improvement work will j
continue with Wasilla road and
other areas to be graveled.
* * *
Oliver Smith appeared before
1he council and suggested three
blocks on Valley street be desig- j
(Continued on page 8)
POULTRY SPECIALIST
TO VISIT IN VALLEY
John Hamann, poultry special-]
isit, will be in Palmer beginning
June 23, it was announced today
by James Wilson, Territorial
commissioner of agriculture.
Mr. Hamann is making a visit
to the Territory from his Wash
ington, D. C. office of U. S.
Department of Agriculture and
will be making an appraisal of
egg marketing from both the
producer and consumer stand
point. Prior to his valley visit he
will spend two days in the Jun
eau area, visiting producers and
merchants.
Tickets are Available for
Anchorage Shrine
CIRCUS
At Bob Rehard's Barber Shop,
Wright Bldg, or at Alpine Inn
No need to stand in line for
tickets when available here at
same prices.
FAIR BOARD
SEEKS PICTURES
The Matanuska Valley Fair
association is in need of pic
tures of past Fairs, especially
shots of the 1954 event. Any
one having pictures they are
willing to lend the association
for publcity are requested to
contact A1 Hagen, fair board
secretary, as soon as possible.
All pictures used will carry
a credit line, indicating the
photographer, unless other
wise requested. Scenes parti
cularly desired are those of the
displays, queen contest, spe
cial events and general shots
of the grounds.
Lew Hanks New
Extension Service
District Agent
Lew Hanks of Palmer has
been named District Agent with
the local Extension Service, it
was learned this week. He re
places Grayson Murphy who re
signed from that position to go
to the States.
Hanks, who has been with the
local Soil Conservation Service
for several years, will be replac
ed in that position by Clifford
Markus, of the Fairbanks SCS
office. Markus has worked thro
ughout the territory in Conser
vation Service offices and is well
familiar with the valley, having
worked, here a short time prior
to his appointment to the Fair
banks office. Markus will be re
placed by Ted Freeman who will
arrive in Alaska from New Sal
em, N. Dak. about the middle of
July.
Hanks will take over his new
duties as District Agent follow
ng his return from Olympia,
Wash, where he will attend a
Masonic Grand Lodge meeting.
FUNDS RELEASED FOR
TELEPHONE SYSTEM
Lew Hanks, president Matan
uska Telephone Association this
afternoon received the follow
ing wire from Washington, D. C.
in regards to the MTA loan ap
plication.
“Release of loan funds approv
ed today by administrator. Re
quisition being processed”.
The wire was from Harold F.
Clark, REA, Department of Agri
culture in Washington.
“I believe that we may now as
sume that money for the con
struction of the Matanuska Tele
phone Association system will be
forthcoming,” Hanks stated.
PAftC Cancels
Playground Plans
Members of the Palmer Area
Recreation Council announced
this week it is forced to cancell
all previously made arrange
ments for a playground this sum
mer. Only four mothers volun
teered regular days of the week
to assist in the program. A min
imum of two each day was nec
essary to proceed with the pro
gram.
The PARC wishes to thank the
few area women who offered
their services during the past
week and expressed hope that
parents of small children will
feel the need for supervised
community recreation for their
children more strongly when the j
appeal is again made next year. !
t
ANNOUNCEMENT
Jackie Hoffman, formerly of the Westward
Beauty Salon in Anchorage is now with the
Kut 'N Kurl Beauty Shop of Palmer.
Mrs. Hoffman specializes in hair pinning,
shaping and permanent waves.
Appointments made for your convenience
KUT ’N KURL BEAUTY SHOP
Phone 3311 Ward Building
FAIR BOARD PUNS
RENOVATION OF
SETTLER’S CABIN -
Plans are being made to move
the old log cabin situated at the
back mid-section of the Fair
grounds, up to the front section
by members of the Matanuska
Valley Fair board of directors.
It is their hope that the build
ing can be restored to its original
condition and become a preman
cnt exhibition as an example of
the early-day settler’s cabin.
Development plans would in
clude landscaping around the
j cabin and interior restoration
work whereby the building could
be used as a Fair Association of
fice on special occasions and as
a passible meeting place for civ
ic activities.
Dining Room Bids
Board members are asking for
bids on the Association dining
room operations during the 1955
Fair. Prospective bidders are re
quested to inspect facilities in
the dining room which will be
available for use. This may be
done by contacting A1 Hagen, as
sociation secretary.
Ground Work
Ground work will begin as
soon as possible, it was announc
ed following the June 13 meeting
of the board of directors. Auth
orization was given for gravel
work around the new building
and inside the structure. Grad
ing, leveling and seeding work
will also be done. The fronts of
all huts, the grand stand, track
posts and doors on the new
building will all get a new coat
of paint.
Display space in the new ex
position building has been re
arranged this year whereby the
center of the building will have
double booths, as well as booths
along both sides. Booths in the
center will measure 8- by 10-leet
side booths 9- by 10-feet and the
corner booths slightly larger. A
total of 42 display booths will
be possible with the new arran
gement. Space rent will cost $16
per front foot—$4 lower than the
1954 rate.
Concession operators will not
have to worry about power fail
ure this year. The Board auth
orized the installation of three
additional power poles and a
new supply line which will serve
all the section east of the mid
way, including the new building
and the Pacific hints.
Flower Show
Members of the Palmer Gar
den Club will be invited to sup
ervise the staging of the flower
display and show, as they have
done during past Fairs.
Supervisors Meeting
On Monday, June 20, all de
partments of previous fairs are
asked to attend a meeting to be
held in the basement of the Thea
tre Building at 8 p.m. All other
interested persons are invited to
attend. Suggestions for the suc
cessful operation of the 1955
Valley Fair will be welcomed.
Other items on next week’s
adjenda include discussions of
the -budget, the queen contest,
publicity, fair manager, and the
fair book.
SUMMER WORK BEGINS
AT LUCKY SHOT MINE
M. J. Lynch, and son Tom, of
Juneau and Seattle this week
went in to the Lucky Shot mine
to do clean-up work at the gold
mine. “We worked up there for
a brief time this past fall,” Lynch
said this week,” and expect to
continue our work throughout
the summer.”
With the road through the
pass still blocked by snow it was
not possible for them to drive
by the Little Susitna road. Lynch
shipped his truck and materials
on the railroad to Willow and
planned to drive as near the
mine as possible, and then pack
in what materials will be imme
diately needed. Between seven
and eight persons will be employ
ed in the work at the mine this
summer, Lynch said.
I PAVING BEGINS ON
WASILLA ROAD;
SECTIONS CLOSED
Sections of the Palmer-Wasilla
road will be closed, effective
June 15, during paving work, it
was announced this week by Ken
Schedler, resident engineer in the
Anchorage office Alaska Road
Commission.
Sections effected are from
Four-Corners toward Wasilla.
Persons living in the closed areas
will be permitted access to their
homes. No other vehicles will be
allowed on the roads, he said.
Persons wishing to drive to Was
illa may turn either left or right
at Four-Corners, taking the low
er road around the Experiment
Station farm, or the Bogart road
around the lakes. Detour signs
have been erected to direct traf
' fic.
The closure will be effective
for two or three weeks, Schedler
said. We hope to have the work
completed by the fourth of July.
WW II EDUCATION
ENDS IN JULY 1956
World War II veterans train
ing under the original GI Bill
are reminded by the Veterans
Administration that July 25,
1956, marks the end of the pro
gram for all but a handful of
them.
Even though a veteran may
still have unused GI training en
titlement at that time, or even
though he may be in the middle
of a course, his GI training pay
ments will come to an end on
July 25, 1956.
VA advised World War II GI
trainees to keep the deadline in
mind, in working out plans for
the remainder of their training
programs..
The small group of veterans
exempt from the July 25, 1956
deadline are those who enlisted
or re-enlisted under the Armed
Forces Voluntary Recruitment
Act, between October 6, 1945,
and October 5, 1946. These vet
erans have nine years from the
end of their enlistment or re
enlistment to wind up their GI
training.
The 1956 deadline applies only
to WW II trainees, VA emphasiz
ed. It does not apply to veter
ans training under the Korean
GI Bill.
During the 11 years the WW II
GI Bill has been in effect, more
than 7,800,000 veterans—or half
of all who served in WWII—re
ceived some form of training.
The program reached its peak
at the end of 1947, with more
than 2,500,000 WWII veterans in
classrooms, and on-the-job train
i ing establishments.
CD WORKERS TO TOUR
AFB CONTROL CENTER
All local Civil Defense officials
and their alternates, who made
application to visit the 10th Di
vision control center at Elmen
dorf air base, have been certified
for the visit, according to word
i received this week by Alfred V.
Hagen, CD director of the Great
er Palmer area.
Those attending from this area
will go on three separate dates,
the first, this Sunday, June 19
when Director Hagen, Art Stacy,
assistant director, Ralph Moore,
Palmer CD director and one
other will be escorted on a tour
of the restricted nerve center.
The remaining personnel will
visit the establishment on June
25 and July 10.
Among Valley visitors this
week was Miss Edna Ferber,
author of Showboat, Cimmarron
and many other well-known
books. Miss Ferber was accom
panied by Mi's. Robert Atwood
of Anchorage, with whom she
visited the Experiment Station
and several valley farms. Mrs.
Minnie Clark accompanied the
women for lunch.
Officials Praise
Exoerimenfal Work
PATRONAGE TICKETS
NOW DUE AT CO-OP
The blue patronage tickets
distributed the past year by
the Matanuska Valley Farm
ers Cooperating Association
should how be turned in, it
was announced last week by
Clayton EssJinger, comptrol
ler. The tickets are given with
each purchase in all depart
ments of the Co-Op and are
redeemable in certificates of
equity which are redeemable
in 10 years.
Hugh A. Johnson
Resigns from
Hospital Board
Hugh A. Johnson resigned
from the Board of Directors,
Valley Hospital Association, at
the monthly meeting held in
May. Johnson was treasurer and
chairman of the finance commit
tee. Although illness prevented
his attendance in person, his re
ports on the hospital’s financial
situation were transmitted thro
ugh a committee member.
Johnson has served on the
Board for three years and re
signed in preparation for leav
ing Alaska to spend a year at
Harvard University where he has
a Littauer Fellowship in Econ
omics and Public Administration.
URANIUM LECTURES
PROVE POPULAR
Uranium prospecting was the
subject of three mineral infor
mation lectures held for the in
terested public in the Brooks
Memorial Building of the Uni
versity of Alaska on June 7, 8,
and 9. Assistant Professor Leo
Mark Anthony gave the lectures
on “Radioactivity and How to
Detect It.” “Radiometric Pros
pecting,” and “Radioactive Min
erals.” The average attendance
was 100 persons per lecture.
Dean Earl H. Beistline stated
that the lecttires were held be
cause of the many requests for
information about uranium pros
pecting.
As a result of the interest
shown in this type &f informa
tion, another series of lectures j
will be held to explain claim j
staking procedures. The time and
date will be announced later.
SOME BETTER PUBLIC
CAMP GROUNDS;
OTHERS DESTROY
Palmer Explorer Scouts last
week found an interesting
sign on a tree at the Moose Creek
Camping Grounds during a
clean-up trip to the camp. The
sign had been tacked to a tree
and read as follows:
“This campsite has been left
clean for your pleasure by mem
bers of the U. S. Army on 15
May, 1955.
“Who left it same way?
Then followed signatures of
the Reeches, Sappahs, and Jim
Larson of Michigan, and sugges- j
tions: 1. Glass, cans and garbage j
can be buried. 2. Paper will bum. !
MAKE SURE YOUR CAMPFIRE i
IS OUT! Thank you, M/Sgt. Ne- j
mours E. Patterson, Hq. Co., Al- 1
aska General Depot”. * l
Forester Bill Adams of the Pal- j
mer Fire Guard Station reported
that they will try to have sim-1
ilar notices printed, leaving space
for visitors to the camp grounds
to sign their name, date of visit
and from where they come.
On the other side of the led
ger, Adams reported last week
that the water pump at the
Moose Creek camp grounds has
been stolen and that casing there
and at the Finger Lake camp
grounds were filled with rocks.
“It will require redrilling to re
(Continued on page 5)
! “The Experiment Station in
Alaska is in a unique position
with the country’s long and short
days, in gathering factual agri
cultural information on both
plants and animals,” Dr. David
Lumsdon, director Territorial
division, Office of Experiment
Stations, told members of the
Matanuska Valley Chamber of
Commerce during the June 15
meeting of the local organiza
tion. Dr. Lumsdon is here from
his Washington, D. C. office on
an annual routine inspection
tour.
Dr. Lumsdon pointed out the
important role the Agricultural
Experiment Station is playing
throughout Alaska and the
States. He explained that experi
ment work throughout the de
partment are available to all
other stations, avoiding dupli
cation in the work. He stressed
the importance of enlightening
he officials in the States' and
Washington on life in Alaska and
referred to a film shown in
Washington by Dr. Allan Mick
showing factual Alaskan agri
culture. All experimental dollars
must be applied for, he pointed
out, and the results of their
spending must be proven.
Dr. Charles Grey, making the
visit with Dr. Lurnsden and also
attending the Chamber meeting,
explained that annual visitations
are required by law in all States
and Territories. “In this way,” he
said, “we get acquainted with
the problems on a state level.
It is not sufficient to sit in Wash
ington and study a problem.”
“Revues of research serves sev
eral purposes. One, research
money is limited. There is no sen
se in duplicating work. By put
ting Stations in contact with one
another the money will go further.
It puts us in a better position to
go before the house and Senate
committees to explain why these
funds for research are needed
to continue and expand the pro
grams.
We are pleased in the way the
(Continued on page 8)
FARMERS’ MARKET
TO OPEN SATURDAY
Opening day for Farmers’ Mar
ket in Palmer has been set for
Saturday, June 18 at 10 a.m., it
was announced this week.
Although the vegetables now
available will be limited, sellers
are planning to offer home made
baked goods, potted plants and
some vegetables. There will pro
bably be three or four sellers on
opening day. Depending upon the
weather and availability of pro
duce, the market will be open
again the following day.
Booth space is available to all
interested persons, by contacting
Market master T. A. Moyer. A
percentage of the gross sales will
be charged for booth rent, if
taken by the week. If contracted
for the entire season there
will be a small charge made for
booth reservation, plus the per
centage.
FLOWERS FOR THE
; JUNE BRIDE j;
; Maud's Flower Shop ij
I Theatre Building
SMART HAIR STYLINGS
by LaVonne
Evening Appointments
VALLEY BEAUTY SHOP
Phone 3301