Thought of the Week:
Ready cash, it seems, is able
to outdo magicians in a disap
pearing act.
: :al society
6 (,
’■ ' r ! i *
■'V-'-V'oJ'
MARCH OF DIMES DANCE
Wasilla Community Hall
Jan. 19
10 p.m.
VOLUME 15, NUMBER 17
PALMER. ALASKA THURSDAY. JAN. 17. 1963
TEN PAGES
mtL io
Reporters—
Natehoah
Latest word from the Sher
ords is that Max is getting
along well after having under
gone surgery, but is awaiting
one more operation. He sends
thanks to Matanuska Valley
friends for the many letters and
cards he has received. Plans for
their return to Palmer are as
yet indefinite. Mail will reach
the Sherrods at 1411 Cameo
Drive, Redlands, California.
» * *
Lea Ehrhart of Lea’s Dress
Shop left Wednesday for a buy
ing trip to Seattle, where she
will see merchants’ displays of
women’s wearing apparel to be
exhibited during Spring Mar
ket Week. She expects to be
back in Palmer next Wednes
day evening.
* * *
Miriam Johanson of Palmer
gave a stork shower in her
home Jan. 11 for Mrs. William
(Daisy) Kudlacek of Sutton.
Games, gifts, and refreshments
were enjoyed. Assisting the
hostess was Annette Johanson.
Guests were Grace Boulter,
Leone Carson, Daisy Swoboda,
Nancy Widich, Helen Beal, Vir
ginia Norris, Leola Durrant,
Anna Peay, Betty Bohman,
Mabel Wallace, Doris Downes,
Leora Spendlove, Wanda Wil
son, Karen Eckman, Harriette
Cottrell, Bergie Hecker, and
Vera Grover.
* * *
Mrs. William Hoskins left
Jan. 12 for San Francisco,
where she will visit relatives.
She plans an indefinite stay.
* • «
Mr. and Mrs. David DeVries
(Cheryl Leek) of Los Angeles
are the parents of a baby dau
ghter, Barbara Jean, bom Jan.
2. Grandparents are Mr. and
Mrs. Jack Leek of Palmer and
Mr. and Mrs. John DeVries of
Lazy Mountain.
* * *
Harry M. Cottrell, seaman,
USN, son of Mr. and Mrs.
James A, Cottrell Jr. of Palmer,
was serving aboard the dock
landing ship USS Thomaston
while she was part of the Un
ited States quarantine forces in
the Caribbean. The Thomaston
returned to San Diego, Calif, on
Dec. 15 after spending two
months with the Caribbean for
ces.
* • *
At least two Palmerites, Ed
Ueeck and Richard Jones, have
been called for petit jury duty
in Anchorage, beginning Feb. 4.
They would be interested in
knowing whether anyone else
in this area has been called to
serve.
FREEDOM BRIEF
FOR RUNAWAYS
Three boys who walked
away from the Youth Conser
vation Camp near Wasilla late
Saturday afternoon were pick
ed up only a few hours later,
one in the vicinity of Willi
way Lodge, the other two at
the Alaska Hardwoods mill on
the Wasilla highway, I. F. Mar
tin, superintendent at the
camp, said this week.
The minimum security insti
tution, the only one of its type
in Alaska, is designed to re
habilitate juveniles in trouble
with the law, who would other
wise have to be housed in adult
correctional institutions.
Martin pointed out that since
there are no barred windows,
locked gates, or guards at the
camp, it is very easy for a boy
to leave it, but that since its
inception in 1960 very few have
attempted to.
The youths are now in the
Anchorage city jail, awaiting
disposition of their cases,
which will be tried individual
ly by officials of the state
Youth and Adult Authority.
They will decide whether or
not the boys should be return
ed to the camp, Martin said.
What Iodine-131
Means to Area
By A. H. Mick. Alaska Experiment Station
Milk is a major source of revenue in the Matanuska
Valley’s economy. In 1961, milk sales returned nearly $2
million to Valley farmers. Its retail value was over $4
million. 1962 revenues are expected to be about the same,
accounting for over 60 per cent of all farm income passing
through Palmer. Milk is therefore important to Palmer’s
business people and everyone else in the Valley, even
though they may not drink much of it themselves.
News stories released by the Department of Health
Education and Welfare about high levels of radioactive
iodine in Palmer’s milk therefore caused considerable con
cern just before Christmas. Many dairymen, already
squeezed by slim profits and worried about preserving their
Grade A status, began to worry about whether or not
their product was fit to drink. Anchorage consumers also
worried about local milk. Were their fears justified? How
dangerous is radioactive iodine? Where does it come from?
What can we do about avoiding it?
The Frontiersman begins in this issue a series of edu
cational articles, hoping to dispel some of the mystery and
confusion about radioactivity in general and iodine—131
fallout in particular.
Who tests milk and what do the reports mean? Milk
samples are collected in Anchorage by employees of the
Greater Anchorage Health District. They are collected from
milk offered for sale by both Matanuska Maid, Inc., and by
North Star. Samples from both sources are bulked together
and shipped to the Radiological Health Laboratory at Las
Vegas, Nevada, where the test is made. In November, 1962,
monthly reports issued by HEW began to list the 12-month
totals of average daily amounts of 1-131 and other radionu
clides in one liter of pasteurized milk at each sampling station.
Anchorage milk had the highest annual total 1-131 in this
first report. Since most of this milk comes from Palmer, a
good news story was at hand on two counts — radioactivity
and nostalgia hanging over from the 1935 colonization of
the Valley. A natural result was that Palmer received a lot of
misunderstood publicity in hundreds of newspapers. Clippings
returned to friends and relatives in Anchorage gave more
weight to the incident than is merited.
Next week: What does the report mean to Palmer's milk
drinkers, dairymen and businesses?
Palmer Moose Defeat Thundeitirds
In Upset of Basketball Season
Gene Rumple
By Butch McKenzie
Friday night the Palmer
Moose pulled off the biggest
upset of the basketball season
by clipping the East High T
Birds with a 60-54 victory.
A zone defense watered down
the fast break tactics of coach
Earl Walker’s East squad and
the offensive ball handling of
Andy DeVries and Wayne Eck
ert proved to be too much for
the T-Birds to hold down. Pal
mer’s gunning squad just could
not be kept down on the farm
as they rambled to a whopping
52 per cent shooting average.
East’s Ray Barret and Floyd
Ladegard with 14 and 12 points
respectively were top scorers I
for the T-Birds while Wayne
Eckart’s 21 points led the hot
Moose gunners.
After a five point deficit at
the beginning of the game the
Moose pulled ahead, never to
slow down with a first quarter
score of 16-12, half 29-28, and
a third quarter score of 44-41.
G. D. Course
Starts Next Week
Various phases of civil de
fense will be covered in a
course to be offered at the
Palmer high school, starting
Wednesday, Jan. 23, at 8 p.m.
A series of six classes, each
two hours in length, will be
taught by Walter Ward, who
took the civil defense training
course, sponsored by the state
department of education, in
Anchorage during the month
of December.
Topics to be studied will be
the national warning system,
effects of nuclear weapons,
personal and family survival
plans, shelters, and shelter
supplies. Four modern civil de
fense films will be shown. One
session will include city, local,
and school C. D. plans.
At least 20 persons must en
roll in the class in order for it
to continue, the instructor said.
The Palmer JV’s could not
stand up under the driving of
fense of East and they lost, 34
60.
Revenging their loss of the
night before, the East T-Birds
swept over the Moose 75-43
with a fifty point second half.
First half found the T-Birds still
shaken from their loss the night
before, and only the addition of
the secoind string brought the
T-Birds from 9 points behind
to a 25-24 halftime lead. Us
ing their fast break, the East
squad wore down the smaller
Moose and had the court to
themselves from the half on.
Eagle-eyed Butch McKenzie
and play maker Andy DeVries
both fouled out late in the
third quarter although the Pal
mer book showed only four
fouls marked McKenzie.
Scoring of the Saturday
game for Palmer was Eckert 7,
DeVries 9, McKenzie 17, Fel
zien 2, and Smith 5. For the
Thunderbirds it was Ladegard
13, Gose 10, Klingbeil 12,
Smith 10.
The Palmer moose face the
Seward Seahawks this week
end, Jan. 18 and 19 on the Pal
mer court.
COMMITTEE ASKS
SERVICE GROUP
ASSISTANCE
Palmer area church or ser- i
/ice groups are asked to con- i
;ider the possibility of relocat
ng a Cuban refugee or refugee
’amily here, Mrs. John De
aries, chairman of the United
’rotestant Church committee
vhich is working on plans to
)ring a Cuban or Cuban family
o Palmer, said this week.
Mrs. Margaret Gillespie of
he Presbyterian Church immi
gration department has inform
;d the committee that the refu- j
*ees from Castro’s commun- i
sm prefer to relocate in a small
?roup, rather than as an indi
vidual family.
Committee members expres
sed the feeling that, since job
jpportunities are limited in the
Palmer area, it would not be
economically feasible to bring
tic ~e than two families, or
perhaps a family and an indi
vidual, here. Persons knowing
jf available work, as well as
service group respresentatives,
ire asked to call Mrs. DeVries.
— —
Bo-Ops Meet With
REA Administrator
A joint meeting of MEA.
HEA, and CEA representatives
was held Monday in Las Vegas.
Nevada, followed on Tuesday
by a meeting with Norman
Clapp, REA administrator, ac
cording to Phil O’Neill, presi
dent of the MEA board of di
rectors. The co-op representa
tives are participating in the
National Rural Electric Coop
erative Association annual
meeting, which began Jan. 14
and will run through Jan. IT.
The Las Vegas conferences
follow' a series of meetings be
tween the three southcentral
Alaska co-ops in Anchorage in
late December and early Janu
ary, at which the over-all gen
eration problem wras discussed
and a number of different plans
were considered which wmuld
provide the needed generation
capacity. Ideas developed dur
ing these meetings were fur
ther discussed with the REA
administrator and his staff in
an effort to determine what
would be acceptable to REA in
leading to an early start in con
struction of new generation,
O’Neill said.
Attending the annual meet
ing are O'Neill. Walt Mayr, C.
Ivan Branton, Robert Tucker,
members of the MEA board,
and Mason LaZelle, MEA man
ager.
Meier Reported
Somewhat Improved
Carl Meier, taken seriously
ill yesterday afternoon and
admitted to Valley Presbyter
ian Hospital last evening, was
reported doing well this mor
ning by the hospital staff.
Meier, proprietor of Palmer
Transfer, has not been well for
the past several days and col
lapsed yesterday while work
ing in the Wasilla area.
Blood transfusions were giv
en Meier last evening. Several
Elks lodge members and other
persons were donors.
Clinic Will Study
Dairy Problems
Former Resident
To Serve on Panel 1
Alaska Dairymen and allied
business firms will sponsor a
three-day “dairy clinic” in Pal
mer on Jan. 30 and 31 and Feb.
1 to study new advances in
dairy technology and to con
sider means of increasing effi
ciency of production and im
proving product quality, it was
announced this week. Meetings
will be held at the Grange hall
in Palmer and will begin Wed
nesday, Jan. 30.
Wesley Eckert and Ralph
Giesey of the Kittitas County
Dairymen’s Association, Ellens
burg, Washington, and Roger
Brown, dairy specialist. Wash
ington Farmers’ Association,
Seattle, will speak on the most
modern and best methods and
types of milking operations,
equipment, and dairy manage
ment. Marketing and quality
control will also be discussed.
State department of health and i
military officials will serve on
the discussion panels, as will
experiment station personnel.
Eckert, manager of the El
lensburg firm, is the son of Mr.
and Mrs. Virgil Eckert of Pal
mer, and having grown up in
the Valley is familiar with;
farming conditions here. Geisey
is field man for the dairy asso
ciation. and works closely with
Eckert. Brown is dairy special
ist for the Western States
Farmers’ Cooperative.
These men all work closely
with dairymen in Washington
state and have conducted some
very productive meetings in
their area.
Some purposes of the clinic*
will be to discuss modern de
velopments in milking proce-1
dures, dairy management, sani
tation. manure handling, radio
activity control, milk code,
marketing methods and types
of milk handling equipment.
Sponsoring organizations in
clude the Fresh Milk Associa
tion, Breeders' Association,
University of Alaska Extension*
Service, Experiment Station,
Matanuska Maid, Inc., the Ma
tanuska Valley Bank, the
Farmers Home Administration’,
the vocational education de
partment of the Palmer schools.
North Star Dairy, and Cfilig
Taylor Equipment.
Salvation Army
Opens Fund Drive
Lt. Colonel Daniel G. Rody.
divisional commander of the
Alaska division of the Salva
tion Army, and Lt. Winston
Cramer, service committee su
pervisor, visited Palmer Mon
day and were guests at the
Palmer Kiwanis Club lunch
eon.
The two officials discussed
the goals of the annual main
tenance appeal, held during
the month of January. Funds
collected go to maintain re
habilitation centers, particular
ly for unmarried persons with
an alcoholic problem, homes
for unwed mothers, assistance
to needy families or disaster
victims, and thrift stores which
offer clothing and furniture to
low-income families at nominal
prices.
Lt. Cramer will conduct the
maintenance appeal in the
Matanuska Valley, contacting
local businessmen and resi
dents.
Rody and Cramer also met
with the Matanuska Valley
Service Committee on Monday.
Members are Ed Smith, chair
man Kyle Turner, treasurer:
Dorothy Saxton, secretary; Phil
O'Neill. Sutton-Eska represent
ative; and May Carter, Wasilla
representative.
During the past year, the
local committee gave assistance
to 21 adults and 35 children,
including two burned-out fam
ilies and one where the hus
band was injured and unable, to
work. Local low-income fami
lies have also been referred to
the Anchorage center's thrift
store, where clothing and fur- |
niture needs are supplied at j
very low cost.
The local service committee
is not hampered by regula*.
tions, Colonel Rody said, aside,
from checking to make sure
that no duplication exists in
supplying needs. The commit
tee can help needy persons in
the area at their own discre
tion, as far as available funds
permit.
Twenty per cent of funds col
lected in the valley remain
with the local unit for distri
bution to those in need, the di
visional director said,
Hold Borough Deadline—Reid
Extension of the July 1
deadline for transfer of local
government to borough status
would not be in the best inter
est of the state, Eugene Reid,
newly elected representative
for District 7, said at the Mat
anuska Valley Chamber of
Commerce luncheon meeting
yesterday.
“I personally feel that .there
has been sufficient time for
conversion to borough govern
ment, and that extension of
the deadline will merely ex
tend a period of complacency,”
Reid said.
Emphasizing that after July
1 the entire state will become
an unorganized borough, sub
ject to taxation for necessary
services, including education,
Reid expressed the opinion
that residents of outlying areas,
will more readily take part in
local borough organization
when this happens.
Other pending legislation
discussed at the meeting in
cluded the designation of the
Matanuska Valley fair as t h e
official Alaska state fair. The
bill introduced last year was
tabled, Reid said, and it will
be necessary to present a new
bill this year. He reported that
a suggestion has been made i
that the fair board contact An
chorage legislators to enlist
their support for a new bill,
and pointed out that a bill will
be introduced in this session
to provide for the transfer of
the International Airport to
Anchorage, a possible basis for
bargaining.
Other suggested valley legis
lation included the possibility
of an improved road to the
Independence ski resort area
and the proposed trail to Lake
George.
Reid said that he would con
sider all legislation on the mer
it of what is good for the state
and what is good for the dis
trict, and if pending legisla
tion appears to local residents
to be detrimental to District 7,
he wants to be informed about
it.
Asked his opinion on a pro
posal to increase the agricul
tural loan fund by $1 million
in the next five years, the rep
resentative said he would ap
prove such a move. “The mon
ey is not a gift,” he said. “The
fund returns three per cent, hv
terest annually to the state."
William Hermann, chairman
of the nominating committee,
announced three nominees for
three two-year vacancies on
the board of directors, and
suggested several other per
sons who have not yet been
contacted. Those named were
Max Clements, Dick Jones,
and Ben Dansie. Bob Pippel
was nominated from the floor.
Carry over members of the
present board of directors are
Betty Mears, Ted Schmidtke,
William Hermann and Barney
Fish.
Community College
)pens Registration
For New Semester
Registration for second sem
ester Palmer Community Col
lege classes will open Monday,
Jan. 21, and will continue thro
ugh Friday. Jan. 25, Alvin Oke
;on. community college direc
:or, announced yesterday. Pros
pective students may register
at the high school office from 7
p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Offered for degree credit
will be elementary and inter
mediate typewriting, anthro
pology. social psychology, so
ciology, principles of account
ing, and audio-visual education.
Vocational and interest cour
ses include beginning short
hand, co-recreational physical
education, fencing, and elemen
tary surveying Course descrip
tions are included in an ad
vertisement appearing in page
§ of this issue of the Frontiers
man.
If sufficient interest is shown
to warrant the class, principles
of accounting 116 will be held
on Saturday afternoons, Oke
son said, since this is the only
time an approved instructor
can come to Palmer.
• If there is enough demand,
the shorthand course may be
given for academic credit, he
added.
Monday-Wednesday classes
I will begin Jan. 28, while Tues
day-Thursday groups will be
gin work Jan. 29, Okeson said.
Cost of the degree courses is
$15 per credit, or a flat rate of
$75 for seven or more credits.
Persons interested in enroll
ing in any of the above-named
courses may call Mr. Okeson at
the high school, PI 5-4890, dur
ing the day, also from 7 to 9
p.m. evenings.
Two Outages Occur
In Power System
A two and one-half hours'
power outage occurred in the
Eagle River area at approxi
mately 11:45 a.m. on Tuesday.
January 15, 1963, when a fault
developed on the transmission,
line between Reed Substation
and Eagle River substation,
MEA personnel reported this
week.
Restoration of service was
delayed by a defective reclos
ure in the Eagle River substa
tion, and further difficulty de
veloped when attempts were
made to close the oil circuit re
closure on the line at Fire
Lake. It was found that the in
creased load due to the outage
period was too large for these
reclosures to pick up. Sections
of line had to be isolated in or
der to get service restored.
MEA crews are continuing
their patrol of the lines to de
termine the extent of the dam
age.
The warm weather and rain
storm added to the difficulties
in restoring electric service to
the Big Lake area on Sunday,
January 13. The outage occur
red at approximately 9 a.m.,
but the report was not received
by MEA personnel until 12:30
p.m. Service was restored at
11:20 p.m.
The outage was caused by a
truck sliding off the road, hit
ting a guy wire, and break
ing the MEA service pole. Con
siderable difficulty was exper
ienced in getting proper
equipment to the location to
replace the broken pole, due to
severe ice conditions.
SATURDAY NITE
JANUARY 19
PALMER BAR
FREE SMORGASBORD
.Ui