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VOLUME 5. NUMBER 21
PALMER. ALASKA THURSDAY. JANUARY 31. 1952
PRICE TEN CENTS
BITS JO HOSE CURFEUI FOR SOOTHS
UDDER 17
Narcotics Enforcement Agent Reveals
Theft of Drug from Local Hospital
One of the Valley's best kept
secrets was released like a bomb
shell Monday upon the Kiwanis
audience listening to P. G. Greer,
Treasury Department enforce
ment agent in charge of narcotics
investigations in Alaska.
The thirty Kiwanis members
and guests who had listened com
placently to Greer’s dismal des
cription of the narcotics problem
in Anchorage and Fairbanks were
startled to hear him say that
there had been a theft of a con
siderable amount of morphine
from the local hospital last year.
The revelation followed a ques
tion from the audience:
“Do we have any narcotics
problem in Palmer?
“Where we have one addict, we
have a problem", answered Greer.
“Where we have a larceny of nar
cotics. we have a problem. There
fore we have a problem in Palm
er.”
After this cryptic statement, he
went on to explain that four
months ago the theft of a large
amount of morphine had been
discovered at the Valley Hospital.
Although the theft was known to
a number of local people, includ
ing the members of the hospital
board, staff members of the hos
pital and representatives of the \J.
S. Marshall’s office,.it was kept
quiet so that the Treasury Ds?
partment’s agent would not be
hampered in his investigation.
Greer said later that he is’ still
working on the case. The hospital
board, he said, was guilty of neg
ligence in leaving the narcotic in
an unsafe place. Apparently it
had been kept for years in the
back of a drawer in a one-lock
file cabinet without anyone being
aware of the danger. ,
The cost of the missing drug
was about $50-$75 to the hospital,
where it was used on physicians’
orders for medicinal purposes. On
the market, the amount taken
from the hospital would be worth
$11,000, Greer said.
Up The Highway
In another reference to the nar
cotics problem in Palmer and the
Valley, Greer lent weight to a re
cent rumor that “there’s a place
up the highway" where narcotics
can be obtained. He said that the
rumors had come to his attention
although he has not established
anything definite as yet.
In Anchorage and Fairbanks
there is a very definite problem.
Although he doubted that there is
a problem among the school
children of Palmer, Greer said
there is one among the school
children of Anchorage and Fair
banks. How do children become
narcotics addicts? Teen age
children, Greer explained, be
lieve that it is smart to do some
thing unusual. The primary ef
fect of marijuana is to give a per
Continued on page 4
Swamp Lake Road
Homesteaders Lose
Everything in Fire
The family of Douglas Vaden
lost everything in a fire that
swept their homestead home on
Swamp Lake Road north of Was
illa last week.
Vaden was walking home with
his three-year-old son when he!
saw his home in flames. Mrs. Va
den was at the Base hospital,
where the couple’s second child
had just been delivered.
It was reported this week that
this was the second time the fam
ily had been burned out in a little
over a year. Last year they lost
everything in a fire in Anchorage.
Mears and Stock
Beat Deadline,
File for House Seats
The names of two local
people were added today to
the long list of candidates who
have filed their intentions to
seek nomination in the April
29 primaries for seats in the
Territorial legislature.
With the deadline for filing
at five p. m. today. Betty
Mears, member of the Terri
torial Democratic central com
mittee, was in Anchorage to
day to file with the clerk of the
Third District Court her inten
tion to run on the Democratic
ticket, for a seat in the House.
L. C. Stock tossed his hat into
the ring yesterday. He, too,
will seek a seat in the House,
but on the Republican ticket.
The two last-minute filings
raise to four the number of lo
cal people who will be candi
dates for the Territorial legis
lature in the April election.
M. D. Snodgrass announced his!
decision to run for the House
earlier this week, and Dr. Lee
McKinley said Tuesday that
he would file for either the
House or the Senate. Both of
these men will run on the Re
publican ticket.
HAGEN HEADS VALLEY
REPUBLICAN CLUB
! A1 Hagen was elected president
I of the new Matanuska Valley Re
publican Club in an enthusiastic
organization meeting attended by
more than fifty persons Tuesday
evening in the Valley Theater.
Senator Heinie Snider was el
ected vice-president; Mrs. Ger
trude Felzien, secretary; and Don
In(Tol1o CQ/ir-oi »-» p T _
gil Eckert was elected as member
of the Executive Board. At the
next regular meeting of the new
club to be held Tuesday, Febru
ary 5, in the theater, organization
of the club will be completed. All
persons interested in joining the
new club are invited to come to
the next meeting. Regular meet
ings will be held the first and
third Wednesdays of each month.
Announcing their intentions to
run for office in the Territorial
primaries next April were M. D.
Snodgrass and Dr. Lee McKinley.
Snodgrass has filed for a seat in
the House and Dr. McKinley an
nounced his intention of filing
for a seat in either the House or
Senate.
Appointed to a committee to
arrange a Lincoln Day dinner
were Dr. McKinley, Russell Fel
zien, Heinie Snider, and the other
members of the Executive Board.
The date and place of the dinner,
which will be held in Palmer, will
be announced later.
Many Anchorage-area Republi
cans traveled to Palmer to give
the local group a helping hand in
the throes of organization. Attor- j
ney Paul Robison, president of
the Anchorage Republican Club,
introduced the visitors, most of1
whom responded with a few re
marks that were roundly ap- j
plauded by the appreciative aud-i
ience. The visitors included Mrs. J
Margaret Rutledge, president of
the Republican Women’s Club of
Anchorage; Mr. and Mrs. John
Gorsuch, candidate for the Terri
torial Senate and Divisional com
(Continued on Page 4)
VOTERS OKAY CITY’S
NEW WATER SYSTEM
BY HUGE MAJORITY
Palmer's voters decided Tues
day that they very definitely
wanted a new water system.
The electors authorized indebt
edness and the issuance of bonds
for the new' system by a vote of
137 yeas as against 17 nays on the
green ballots. One ballot was dis
qualified. Those approving re
presented an overwhelming 3.9
i percent majority of the electors,
j including property owners. A 50
percent yes vote was required for
approval.
The 143 property owners who
voted on the white ballots ap
proved the same proposition by
a majority of 90 percent; there
were 128 yes vote* and 14 no
votes. Approval of 65 percent of
the property owners was requir
ed.
The proposition on the two
separate ballots was the same. By
overwhelming majorities, the
property owners and the elect
; ors approved an indebtedness up
! to $300,000 for the new water
system and authorized the issu
ance of $250,000 in bonds at two
percent interest to asure the city's
one-half share of the construction
cost.
At the city Council meeting
last night, the vote wras canvass
ed and the council declared that
the two propositions of the spec
; ial election carried.
The council voted to write a
letter of thanks to the Kiwanis
Club and Kiwanian O. K. Kin
caid for the community service
performed by the sound truck in
getting people out to vote. During
the noon hour and after five
o’clock. Kincaid covered the
town with the sound truck re
minding people to get out and
vote. The council attributed the
city’s splendid response to the
special election to this publicity.
By one o’clock Tuesday noon,
only 34 had voted. The heavv
voting came after five o’clock.
Test Well Is Good
Even as the city was voting
approval of the city’s new water
system, water was being pump
ed at the test well located on the
property of Mrs. Henning Ben
son to determine the feasibility of
(Continued on Page 4)
Full House Enjoys
Glasby Program,
Boosts Hospital Fund
A full house—nearly 500 people
—acclaimed Chaplain William B.
Clasby and his singing sergeants
for their warm, friendly program
of message and song last Sunday
evening in the school gymnasium.
In the message, addressed to
I Protestant, Jewish, and Catholic
; people, Clasby decried the grow
j ing Infiltration of the godless, the
Communists who have substitut
i ed the State for religion and God.
He countered the pretensions of
the atheistic with proofs of the
existence of the Almighty. They
; were proofs not based on the
Bible or any creed. They were
; proofs to be found in the body,
i in nature, in the infinitesmal pat
! terns, locking and interlocking in
! perfect harmony—the inescap
; able proof of a Master Pattern
I maker.
The 16 singing sergeants were
MC’d by a red-headed tenor with
a brogue straight from old Erin
named Sgt. “Red” Wingerter.
Other soloists were Sergeants
Bocknight, bass; Wilfred Lee. a
Chinese-Haw'aiian boy; Jack Mor
an; and Billy Green. Sandwiched
in between many old-time favor
ite songs was a humorous skit in
which an over-200-pound Walter
R. Williams played the part of
Rosa, Joseph O. Trahan that of
Pasquale, and Felix F. DeLuca
the part of Luigi. Other members
of the choir were Staff Sergeants
Frank Fandetti, Joseph J. O’Neill.
Jackie Vines, Anthony H. Sant
ucci, Don C. Longstreet. and
George W. Garris, Jr; Sergeant
William Green; Corporals Patrick
Hammill and David C. Fait; and
PFCs John A. Mamcl. Bert R.
Lloyd, James Bloom, and Robert
A. Rejlly. Several of the singing
sergeants had already been lost
to the choir through rotation, and
their replacements had to prac
tice many hours last week in or
der to be ready for the Palmer
performance. The choir’s planned
program closed with the singing
of t w o melodious Gregorian
chants in Latin.
Col. Clasby was very candid j
about his purpose in coming to j
Palmer—to help raise money for j
the .Valley Fhresbyterian Hospital :
(Continued on Page 4)
IN STORMY SESSION CITY COUNCIL
DISAPPROVES LICENSE FEE CHANGES
In probably the stormiest ses
sion the City Council has ever
had, a committee recommenda
tion amending the city’s licensing
ordinance was defeated last night
in a three to four vote, with Ma
yor Meier voicing the decisive no.
The committee, consisting of
Allan Mick, Steve Ward, and
Frank Brown, was appointed at
the last regular meeting of the
council to study the existing or
dinance and make recommenda
tions for amendment in the light
of local protests that the fees
were far “out of line’’ for the
city of Palmer. The particular
fees protested were those on pin
ball machines ranging from $25
$100 and the $150 “special” dance
hall fee that applied to bars and
cabarets furnishing accommoda
tions for dancing.
In making the committee’s re
commendations, Mick stated
that recent information had dis
closed a raise in the Territorial
license fee on pin ball machines
from about $25 to $200, with 60
percent of the fee reverting to the
city from which it was collected.
In view of this large fee, from
which the city would receive an
amount more than the combined
total of the former city and Ter
ritorial fees, the committee felt
that Palmer should follow An
chorage’s recent action in drop
ping the city fees on pin ball ma
chines. The committee pointed
out that there is also a $150 fed
eral stamp tax on each pin ball
machine, and that the average
monthly “take” in Palmer does
not exceed $50 per machine. In
abolishing the license fees, the
committee would have had op
erators responsible for turning
over two percent of the gross
“take” as a service tax. The
“special” dance hall tax would
have been lowered to $25 pro
viding that the dancing accommo
dations provided were only inci
dental to the main business of
selling intoxicating liquors and
were provided merely for the en
joyment of patrons.
Chet Sandvik led the fight
against any change in the exist
ing city ordinance. Backed up by
Stan Sevems, he said that it was
the council’s job to make money
for the city, not lose it. He said
that pin ball machines were just
Continued on page 4
New Ordinance Sets Up 9:30 Curfew,
Establishes Parental Responsibility
First Minstrel Show
Chorus Rehearsal
Set for Tuesday
The first meeting of the Ki
i wanis Ministral Show chorus
will be held in the music room
: 3f the Palmer School at 7:30
P- m. Tuesday, February 5,
; 1 was announced this week by
; tl. J. Hodgson, chairman of
this years minstrel show com
mittee.
The role of the chorus in
; this year's ministrel produc
tion will be especially impor
tant", Hodgson stated, "Only
j seven weeks remain for re
j hearsals. It is especially un
poi tant that everyone interes
in singing be present at
this rehearsal so that the cho
rus may be organized and get
i ; into production as soon as pos
; sible."
BROCK NAMED CO-OP
GENERAL MANAGER
It was announced this week
i the Board of Directors of the
MVFCA was the appointment of
Roy Brock, former president of
| the board, as general manager.
; He assumed his new duties Mon
1 day morning.
The appointment was made
last Saturday at the regular
| board meeting. It foil owe., the
i board’s acceptance of Brock’s re
signation as president of the
! Board of Directors, a position in
which he has served the Co-Op
for the past five years.
The new general manager of
the Co-Op came to Alaska in 1942
from Longview. Washington. He
had had about 25 years of exper
ience in working with co-opera
tives in that state. He had also'
| sci vcu. da ucpuiy suue Arango
! master for Washington. From
! September 1942, until May, 1945.
j he operated the Anchorage Dairy,
j After giving up this position, he
: and his wife, Esther, purchased a
farm in the Valley, where they
have since operated a successful
poultry enterprise. He and Mrs.
Brock have also been associated
with Mr. and Mrs. L. C. Stock in
the operation of the Palmer Cafe
located in the Recreation Hall. j
In announcing Brock’s appoint
ment, Pat Hemmer, board secre
tary-treasurer, st a t e d : “The
Board of Directors of the Mata
nuska Valley Cooperating Asso
ciation feel that Brock, with his
intimate knowledge of the Co-Op
and the community which he
serves, wrill be a valuable mana
ger to have at this time. We con
sider ourselves very fortunate in
obtaining his services in this ca
pacity.’’
Brock has always taken a deep
interest in community affairs. An
avid sportsman, he has been pre
sident of the Matanuska Valley
Sportsmen. He is also a past mas
ter of the Northland Pioneer
Grange and a member of the local
Kiwanis Club.
The position of Co-Op general
manager has been vacant since
November, 1950, when James
Wilson resigned. Since that time
Carl Rasmussen, secretary-treas •
urer of the Board of Directors
until last summer, has served as
acting manager. He resigned his
duties as acting manager about
two weeks ago, and he and Mrs.
Rasmussen left for California
last week-end.
Following the recommendations
of the city police chief and the
local Chamber of Commerce an
ordinance establishing a curfew
for youths under 17 was present
ed for its first reading last night
before the City Council.
Under the heading of loitering,
the first section provides that:
“No person under 17 years of
age shall be upon the public
streets, alleys, parks, public build
ings, places of amusement and en
tertainment. vacant lots or other
unsupervised places between the
hours of 9:30 p. m. during the
school terms, and 10 p. m.. other
wise. and 5 a. m. of any day. un
less such person shall be aeeom
; panied by or in charge of his or
her parent or other competent
and adult persons or upon an em
i ergency errand or legitimate bus
iness directed by his or her par
ent. guardian, or other adult per
I son having the care and custody
| of the minor.”
The second section establishes
the responsibility of the parents,
making them liable for fines up to
$100 or 30 days in jail or both if
their children are apprehended in
violating the above provisions.
In the discussion that followed
the first reading, it was pointed
out that the ordinance is aimed
at loitering. Children on legiti
mate business or are on their way
home from a school or public
i function that might last after the
curfew hour will not be in viola
tion of the ordinance. The phrase
I “school term", according to city
Attn-ney Harold Butcher applies
o. , .< the time when school is
in session. Presumably, the week
end curfew will come at 10 p. m.
The ordinance is designed to
control a youth situation which
has been worrying thoughtful
’ adults and civic groups for some
time. Young persons below the
age of 17 have been reported
loitering about public places as
late as 3:30 a. m. Some of them
: don’t go home at all, according to
a report made by Clair Stock at
the last Chamber ot Commerce
meeting.
“Their parents don't have any
idea v.here they are. and some of
them don't even care”, Stock told
Chamber members.
Many parents who have had
difficulty enforcing their own
stipulations that their children be
home by a specified hour have
urged such an ordinance to pro
tect their children.
Police Chief Bernie Bouwens
Continued on page 4
Airport Road to be
Cleared for Arrival
Of Cordova Visitors
Airport road will be cleared of
its long standing snowdrifts to
day. Mayor Carl Meier promised
at last night's council meeting.
The assurance followed protests
of a delegation headed by L. C
Stock relative to the fact that the
:ity had not kept its bargain
made with the road commission
last fall. The city had agreed to
keep the road to the airport open
at the request of the ARC. In re
turn, Oliver Onkka had promis
ed that the road commission
would keep Valley Street cleared
up to Wasilla Road as w’eli as
Wasilla Road from the railroad
tracks west.
Stock said that about three
DC-3’s are bringing guests from
Cordova Friday for their annual
basketball game in Palmer. He
said that these guests should be
able to get into town without
Continued on page 4