The Frontiersman
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VOLUME 9, NUMBER 7
PALMER. ALASKA. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 1955
PRICE TEN CENTS
UHuliEy RECOVERING FROHIUIIND SIORIR
MEA MANAGER
WARNS OF TV
ANTENNA DANGER
Cy Brewer, Matanuska Electric
Association manager, this week
repeated a warning to owners of
television sets who have antennas
erected on or near their homes.
“'If the antenna blows down on
am electric line, grave consequen
ces could result", he stated. "In
fact, the contact could cause the
TV set to blow out—could result
in the house being set on fire",
he added. The MEA manager
urged all television owners to be
sure the antennas are securely
braced at all times and that all
antennas be checked now for
ddnaged or loose bracing caused
by the recent wind storm. A num
ber of antennas were knocked
down or bent during the heavy
storm that swept through the val
ley on Tuesday and Wednesday
of this week.
Brewer reported that not too
much damage was suffered in. the
MEA system during the storm.
"Our biggest problem was in try
ing to get to the trouble spots,”
he said. Drifted snow made roads
impassable. One drift, about 150
feet in length, on the Wasilla
hill just outside Palmer would
have prevented a crew from re
turning from work in the Wasil
la area if it hadn’t been for the
MEA’s new truck. “The new four
wheel drive truck was a life sav
€T for us,” Brewer said. The crew
had tried to return to Palmer by
two other routes but were block
ed off by unsurmountable drifts.
The new truck, driven by Stan
Lowe, broke through the drift on
Wasilla road and pulled the sec
ond MEA truck on through. No
other traffic was able to get
'through the drift that night. Leo
(Continued on page 8)
Extension Service
Office Now Located
Over Bert's Drug Store
The Extension Service office
has been set up in quarters
formerly occupied by the De
partment of Agriculture over
Bert’s Drug store, it was an
nounced this week. Since the
fire that damaged the office in
the Legion building, the Ser
vice has been carrying on
business from the basement of
the Matanuska Electric Asso
ciation business office. Regular
office hours will be observed
in their new location in the
Wright building. The Depart
ment of Agriculture recently
moved to space over the Val
ley Bank.
URGES REGISTRATION
FOR XMAS CONTEST
Area residents planning to par
ticipate in the Palmer Garden
club Christmas lighting contest
are urged to register as soon as
possible at Maud’s Flower Shop
in the theater building. Six prizes
are being offered by the club for
the most attractive outdoor and
indoor Christmas decorations by
valley homemakers.
Registration will be held open'
'until December 17. Participants
will have until December 18 to
complete their decorations. Judg
ing will begin the evening of the
18th. Places not contacted that
evening will be done on the 19th,
and winners announced as soon
as possible. The date was select
ed one week in advance of
Christmas to enable the judging
committee to get around the val
ley for a complete coverage of all
entries. Themes for decorating
may be of a general holiday or
religious motif.
$437,334 AGRICULTURE LOANS
MADE DURING PAST TWO YEARS
One hundred and seventy-three
Joans have been made by the Al
aska Agricultural Loan Board,
according to James Wilson, ad
ministrator of the Loan program
who made this report during the
annual meeting held at the new
offices of the Alaska Department
of Agriculture November 29.
President Paul Greimann of
Fairbanks presided over the
meeting. Also in attendance were
Vern Mutch, vice president of
the board, from Homer; Richard
Jones, secretary, from Palmer;
Burt Stimple from Fairbanks;
Leonard Kyger from Palmer;
Wilson, and Herbert Lang, loan
agent. Items of business includ
ed a review of all loans outstand
ing, discussion of loan policy,
election of new Board officers
and consideration, of several new
loan applications.
Of the 173 loans made, 124 are
currently outstanding. A total of
$437,384.48 has been loaned in
the two years of operation. The
Board now has $317,182.27 out on
loan with $16,000 in loans pend
ing. Farm development comes in
for the largest share of these
Joans with a total of $150,550.36
PERMANENTS for ihe
.... HOLIDAYS !
We Make Evening
Appointments
VALLEY BEAUTY SHOP
Pbone 3301
LAVONNE JOHNSON
A total of $124,376.82 was loaned
for the acquisition of chattels and
$42,255.09 to aid in crop financ
ing, the report showed. Presently
on loan, in all three classifica
tions is $11,460.23 in the Tanana
Valley; the Matanuska Valley -
Anchorage area has $11,841.10
outstanding; and other areas (all
outlying regions), $94,880.94.
The 1953 Legislature set up the
Alaska Agricultural Revolving
Loan Fund and appropriated
$200,000 at that time. Some of the
original provisions of the bill
were expanded by the 1955 Leg
islature and an additional sum of
$150,000was appropriated, mak
ing a total of $350,000 available
for loan. The object of the bill
was to set up a fund from which
Alaskan farmers, unable to se-'
cure necesary credit through reg
ular credit channels, could bor
row. According to Lang three
types of loans are available:
Farm development, chattel, and
crop loans.
Loans to date have been made
on all types of agricultural en
terprises. Geographical distribu
tion of the loans have ranged
from Southeastern Alaska, Kodi
ak and the Aleutians, through
the Kenai Peninsula, Matanuska
Valley and the Tanana Valley in
the north.
Loan applications are available
at the Palmer office of the Alas
ka Department of Agriculture
where they are processed.
BASKETBALL FANS
HAVE CHANGE TO
SEE FIVE GAMES
Palmer High School basketball
coach, “Chip” Chatterton, an
nounced today there will be five
basketball games played in Pal
mer tomorrow and Saturday
night. At 6 p.m. Friday the Jun
ior High team will play the fresh
men team; at 7:30 p.m. the junior
varsity will take on the Wasilla
team; and at 9 p.m. the Moose
will meet the Seward Seahawks.
On Saturday the games will open
at 7:30 p.m. when the teen-age
club from Anchorage visits Pal
mer for a game with the Palmer
junior varsity team. The Moose
and Seahawks play again at 9
p.m. following this game.
Starting line up for the Moose,
Chatterton said, will see team
captain Jack Worledge in the
center berth, Johnny Bob Reed
and Neil Hermon in the forward
positions, and Mike Leek and
Paul Campbell in the guard spots.
Moose reserves who will probab
ly be seeing action during the
games are: Lane Rice, f; Larry
Trowbridge, f; Jerry McKechnie,
c; Bert Varral, g; Tosh Pearson,
g; Keith Smith, f; and Bob Estel
le, c.
All games will be played in
the Central School gymnasium.
Admission prices are 25 cents for
junior high; 50 cents for senior
high; and $1.00 for adults.
Palmar Elks Plan
Annual Charity Ball
All Elks and their ladies are
invited to attend the annual
charity ball being held by the
Palmer BJP.O. Elks lodge Satur
day December 10 at Elks hall.
Dancing will begin at 10 p.m.
and continue until 2 a.m. Formal
dress will be optional, it was an
nounced.
Proceeds from the annual fun
ction will go toward the lodge’s
Christmas baskets and children’s
party. The local Elks lodge plan
to have their own Christmas tree
and party, as in the past, and
svill also participate in the com
munity party being planned for
valley children.
In addition to local Christmas
plans, the Elks, with the coopera
tion of the Matanuska Valley
Airmens Association, will send
Santa Claus to Talkeetna and
Glenallen where he will distri
bute food baskets and bags of
goodies.
GIRL SCOUTS REMAKING
TOYS, GATHERING
CLOTHING FOR NEEDY
Girl Scouts of Troop 33 are
preparing toys and clothing for
Christmas donations* to needy
families, under the leadership of
Mrs. Keith Love joy. Anyone
having clothing or toys they
wish to donate may leave them at
the office of the U. S. Commis.
sioner, The Frontiersman, or may
call Mrs. Love joy and they will
be picked up.
The Scouts are remodeling the
toys—making new faces on old
cloth dolls, washing them, restuf
fing where needed and making
new doll clothing. So how about
cleaning out the toy box—sort
through outgrown clothing, and
helping the girls in their Christ
- mas project.
(^^^wwvwvwwvwvyww^^^«
DELEGATE HURLEY
TO BE HOME FOR
HOLIDAY RECESS
James Hurley, local dele
gate to the Constitutional Con
vention now in session at Col
lege, will be home from De
cember 20 through January 1,
according to word sent down
this week. During his recess
period he will he available to
clubs, organizations, or other
groups, for Constitution dis
cussions. It was suggested that
advance plans be made for dis
cussion periods to avoid con
flicting dates, by calling Mrs.
Dorothy Woods, secretary, at
the Alaska Rural Rehabilita
tion Corporation office.
SALK VACCINE
STILL AVAILABLE
A limited amount of Salk vac
cine still remains to be distribut
ed in the Valley region, it was
announced this week. The vac
cine, available to all children
aged five to nine and to all preg
nant women, may be obtained
through family physicians with
no charge made for the vaccine.
Physicians are permitted to make
a nominal charge for service.
Those who have had their first
vaccine injection may now have
their second, providing at least
one month has elapsed since the
first injection, it was announced.
Anyone else, desiring vaccine
injections, who does not fall in
the specified age group, may
purchase the vaccine from a
druggist and have it injected by
their family physician. A limited
supply has been made available
to druggists for this purpose. .
Chamber May Conduct
AVA Membership Drive
Everett Adams, president of
the Matanuska Valley Chamber
of Commerce, has named a com
mittee from the Chamber to
study the feasibility of conduct
ing a membership campaign for
the Alaska Visitor Association in
the valley. Named to the com
mittee were Richard Jones,
Lucille Mick, Betty Mears, and
Stewart Durrant.
The election of officers, origin
ally scheduled for the December
7 meeting of the Chamber, was
postponed to December 14 a1
which time a special meeting will
be held. Members voted to dis
pense with the regular December
21 meeting.
The local Chamber of Com
merce urges all organizations
churches, and individuals whc
plan to contribute Christmas box
es for the needy, to clear through
the office of U. S. Commissioner
Dorothy B. Saxton to avoid du
plication and omission.
KIWANIANS SEEKING
TALENT FOR ANNUAL
MINSTREL SHOW
Members of the Palmer Kiwan
is minstrel show committee have
started preparations for the club’s
annual show which will be pre
sented sometime in the earlj
part of 1956.
Anyone with ideas for the 195(
show—anyone knowing of loca'
talent—is asked to contact Char'
les Logsdon, The Frontiersmar
office, or any Kiwanian. The
committee is working hard tc
make the coming show one o:
the biggest and best ever pre
sented to the valley.
| Two Houses Total
j Losses in Separate
Fires This Week
Fire hit twice during the se
vere wind storm that struck
Palmer Tuesday and Wednesday)
of this week. Tuesday night, with
extremely high winds blowing, a
one-story house owned by Ferb
Bailey burned 'to the ground^
while Palmer volunteer fire
fighters concentrated on prevent
ing nearby buildings from catch
ing fire from sparks which were
flying many feet through the air.
The fire was discovered by Roy
Felix and the alarm sounded at
6:45 p.m. Fire Chief Joseph Gal
lant said the fire was apparently
caused by wiring in the upper
part of the house. The house was
unoccupied.
Wednesday morning at 6:30
Mr .and Mrs. Allen Richie of the
Glenn Highway were burned out
of their home. As near as can be
determined the fire started in
the basemept, Richie said. This
is the second severe fire the coup
le have suffered in the past year
and one half. Previously the lar
ge log home, located about a mile
above the site of their second,
home, burned to the ground. The
Richies had rebuilt in the new
- location. Their house, furnishings,
__ garage and automobile were a to
tal loss. Because of the distance,
fire fighting equipment could,
not be moved to the fire in time
to have prevented the loss. Lack
of electricity at the time of the
fire prevented the use of the
water pump* at the Richie home.
The couple have takn an apart
ment at Christensen’s Apart
ments.
MONDAY, DEC. 12 MEETING
GREAT BOOKS, Sextus and Em
piricus. Exper. Station, 7:30
p.m.
jHEAVY GALES
HIT AREA IN
TWO-DAY BLOW
Residents of the Palmer area
are busy repairing damages suf
fered earlier this week during a
Severe wind storm.
Strong gusts that acompanied
gale winds that did considerable
damage in the Palmer area early
this week were officially clock
ed at 60 miles an hour Tuesday
afternoon. Lesser winds showed
a speed of 35 miles an hour. These
figures were obtained by C. Ivan
Branton of the Alaska Agricul
tural Experiment Station from
an Alnor Velometer, an air speed
checking device. The winds were
clocked at the laboratory here in
Palmer.
A great number of television
antennas were snapped off—as
many more were damaged by the
winds. The small building, which
until very recently was occupied
by the Palmer Shoe Repair, was
blown off its foundation, and the
warm-up shack at the PARK
skating rink was turned over
twice by the force of the gale.
Telephone services were among
the first casualties reported dur
ing the storm.
Robert Partridge, manager of
the Matanuska Valley Telephone
sytem, reported the new cables
held up well. “Our trouble,was
mainly from the drop lines. We
had about 25 outages reported by
mid-afternoon Tuesday and sev
eral more have come in since
that time”, he said. Prior to the
wind storm the MTA work
crew were in the midst of com
pleting rural lines. Considerable
wind damage was suffered on
this incompleted work, Partridge
said.
Through Civil Defense an aux
iliary power plant has been se
cured for the telephone inside
(Continue^ oh page 8)
T. A. MOYER RE-ELECTED PRESIDENT
MATANUSKA VALLEY FAIR ASSOCIATION
T. A. Moyer was re-elected
president of the Matanuska Val
'ley Fair Association at a board
of directors meeting held Decem
ber 5. Others named to office
were Rusty Dow, vice president;
Alfred Hagen, secretary; and
William Adams, treasurer.
Five valley residents were
named to the board of directors
of the association at the annual
membership meeting held De
cember 1. Stewart Durrant, who
was named to fill a vacancy on
the board last year, was elected
to complete that term, which
has one year to run.
Elected to serve two-year
terms were T. A. Moyer, William
Adams,forester at the local Fire
Guard Station; and Dr. R. F. Fo
ley, who is affiliated with the Ex
periment Station. Robert Part
ridge, Matanuska Telephone As
sociation manager, was elected to
serve a one-year term. Board
members Rusty Dow and Alfred
; Hagen complete the board of di
, rectors.Each has one year to com
plete their two-year terms.
Following the board president’s
annual report given at the mem
I bership meeting, various sugges
tions offered by Moyer were dis
■ cussed by the membership. Pro
l posals made by Moyer included
! (1) A four-day Fair in 1956. Be
► gin on Friday, close on Monday.
: (2> A revision of the premium
■ book. (3) A balanced budget. Be
able to spend the money after
made, rather . than before. (4)
Complete projects started before
starting new ones. Those include
the new office building, finish
setting fence already on hand,
Fair Museum in shape, level,
landscape, and seed ground and
make repairs; fix grandstand
faults, more adequate toilet re
pairs, complete electric accomo
dations, condition concrete build
ing, and name buildings and re
number huts. (5) Work out a five
year plan for construction and
expantion. This would include
another concrete building, ade
quate toilets, shooting gallery
building, permanent concession
booths along midway, and plan
ning and charting of grounds for
the future.
(6) Better midway facilities—
permanent concession booths.
Carnival equipment: (possibly,
encouragement of private enter
prize.) (7> An All-Alaska fair at
Palmer. Objectives for 1956: A
name and organization. Channel
ling of best exhibits to Palmer.
Advertising and publicity. Unity
of purpose of all Alaska fairs.
(Continued on page 8)
Save Telegraph Charge#
on Flowers io the State#
Orders placed now go by air
MAUD'S FLOWER SHOP
Theatre Building
ELKS
HOME
PALMER ELKS ANNUAL CHARITY BALL
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10
ELKS AND THEIR LADIES
NEW ORCHESTRA