Community Che«l Driv*
Malley Wrnntiergman
PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
U PAGES
TOBAY
VOLUME 5. No. 4.
PALMER. ALASKA. THURSDAY. OCT. 4. 1951.
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PRICE. 10c
PNH Extends Inaugural flight tu Palmer
MEA Gets $1,040,000 Loan for
New Building, Extended Services
According to a wire received
from Alaska Delegate E. L. Bart
lett yesterday an REA loan of
$1.040,000 for increased power and
a new building has been ap
proved.
This was welcome news to
MEA President Mrs. Justine
Parks and C. A. Brewer, the new
MEA manager. Approval for this
loan gives the go-ahead signal for
the $100,000 new MEA building,
with warehouse and office facili
ties, across from the Fairgrounds.
Approximately half of the $1,
040,000 will be spent on the ex
tension of MEA lines to give pow
er service to 285 applicants al
ready on the waiting list. System
fwide improvements in control of
outages due to line faults and
making three-phase power avail
able in areas where it is econom
ically feasible will necessitate a
large share of the remainder of
the loan, Brewer stated.
5,000 KW's in '54
Good news to present and po
tential MEA power consumers is
a tentative contract between
MEA and the Bureau of Recla
mation under which MEA is slat
ed to receive, when the Eklutna
project is completed, a 20 percent
increase in KWs of power over
the previously planned allowance
of 4.000 Kws. MEA consumers
-v may thus look forward to the
relative abundance of 5,000 KWs
with the completion of the Eklut
na project in 1954. MEA is now
receiving about 1,097 KWs from
the present Eklutna power plant.
Mrs. Parks and Brewer pointed
out that the Matanuska Electric
Ass’n. and the Chugach Electric
Ass’n. will have the priority on
electric power from the new
Eklutna power facilities in ac
cordance with the contract pro
posed by the Bureau of Reclama
- tion, “providing electric service
available to the ultimate con
sumers at the lowest possible
(Continued on Page 2)
DRIVE SLOWLY—
We Love Our Children
Police Chief Bernie Bouwens
announced this week that 10
mile speed limit notices will
be posted on all four comers
bounding the school safety
zone within the next week.
“The public should realize
that the school zone is a re
* stricted area limited to the
speed of 10 miles per hour. The
safety zone extends east from
the railroad along Co-Op Ave.
and Airport Way to Federal
St., which bounds the school
playground on the east.7 ,
BERNARD H. BOUWENS.
$ Chief of Police.
District Decides It
Wants a School; Bond
Issue Approved by 86%
Voters of the Palmer Indepen
dent School District revealed on
Tuesday that they do very defin
itely want a new high school in
Palmer when an 86 percent ma
jority of them approved authority
for issuing $1,000,000 in bonds, if
needed, to pay for the district’s
one-half share of the new school’s
construction costs.
Qualified electors numbering
197 voted in the election; 170
voted yes for school indebted
ness, and 27 voted no. The law re
quires a 65 percent majority for
approval of a bond issue. The dis
trict “fors” far exceeded this per
centage . requirement. The total
voting was just a few less than
voted in the sales tax election,
i but was far less than 842 names
on the tax roll.
No Skulduggery
j For a time it looked, as if the
ballots might all have to be cast
out because the judges, Mrs. Wil
liam Curtis, Mrs. Emil Larsh and
Mrs. Charles Wilson, in their
initial tally of ballots cast, added
up 10 more than had registered.
For several black moments while
separate stacks were counted and
recounted the suspicion grew that I
| some scoundrel had stuffed the
ballot box. A re-check on addi
(Continued on Page 13)
FIRE PREVENTION
WEEK, OCT. 7-13
Mayor's Proclamation
“WHEREAS, the week of Oc
tober 7 through October 13 is
nationally regarded as Fire
Prevention Week, and
“WHEREAS, it behooves all
citizens of the City to safe
guard private and community
property against the dangers
and destructiveness of fire, now
“THEREFORE, I. Carl H.
Meier, Mayor of Palmer, do
hereby proclaim the week of
. October 7 through October 13
as Fire Prevention Week as a
reminder to all residents that
fire precautions should at all
times be observed, thereby de
minishing the hazards of fire."
(Signed) CARL H. MEIER,
Mayor.
FIRST ALASKAN VET
HOME FROM KOREA
^ Pvt. Perry Smith, son of Tex
Smith of Trapper’s Den, was the
first Territorial soldier routed
home from the war in Korea. He
received special recognition when
the transport with 1,492 combat
veterans docked. First off the
ship, troops and welcomers
cheeked as he ran off the gang
way, smiling.
He was scheduled to fly to An
chorage, Wednesday morning,
and from there he planned to go
immediately to his home on the
Gienn Highway, where his father
runs a trapline, out of Trapper’s
Den.
School Band Greets Anchorage Day
Guests of Local C of C at Airport
Local Health Council
Submits Code for
City’s Consideration
| Miss Louise Kellogg, president
j of the Matanuska Valley Health
Council presented -to the City
Council for its consideration a
suggested health and safety or
dinance for the city of Palmer.
The long ordinance, which in
corporates health regulations a
dopted by the Territorial Depart
ment of Health, was drawn up by
Miss Florence Eby, R. N. who has
had several years of experience in
public health administration
throughout the Territory. In a
letter of transmittal read at the
council meeting, Miss Eby sug
gested the city consider the for
mation of a health district similar
to the school district for raising
the funds necessary for carrying
out the functions of a public
health program. The public health
nurse, it was pointed out, serves '
not only the city of Palmer but
also the surrounding Matanuska
Valley. The ordinance was refer
red by Mayor Carl Meier to the
committee on health, Lloyd Sev
erns and Frank Brown.
At present the local share of j
the public health program cost is
raised by the Community Chest.1
It is included in the Chest budget I
for 1952.
Asks Reconsideration
In a letter to the council, Jan
Continued on page 2
Catholic Dignitaries Visit Matanuska Valley Today
Following Consecration of Bishop O'Flanagan
Age-old ceremonies marked the
historic consecration of the Most
Reverand Dermot O’Flanagan as
first Bishop of the new Diocese of
Juneau in a pontificial solemn
| High Mass at Anchorage’s Holy
j Family Catholic Church yester
day.
Father James P. Snead of Pal
mer led the procession of church
dignitaries thru the church to the
altar and, as sub-deacon of the
Mass, assisted the Most Rev. Fran
cis D. Gleeson, S. J., Vicar Apos
tolic of Alaska, in the perfor
mance of the consecration rites.
Co-consecrators were the Most.
Rev. Chas. D. White, Bishop of
Spokane, and the Most Rev.
James P. Dougherty, Bishop of
Yakima.
The sermon was delivered by
the Most Rev. Thomas Conolly,
Archbishop of Seattle. Archbishop
Connolly was enthroned as Met
ropolitan of the new ecclesiastic
al province of Seattle at St.
James Cathedral, Seattle, Sept
ember 26th. Bishop Dougherty
was consecrated as first Bishop
of Yakima in ceremonies conduc
ted the same day.
Many Church Dignitaries
Yeterdays ceremonies consecra
ting the 52-year-old Bishop O’
Flanagan, who came to Anchor
age 18 years ago, were the most
elaborate and colorful ever seen
in the Territory. Over forty Cath
olic Church dignitaries from the
States and priests from the Ter
ritory took part in the colorful
ceremonies. The Most Rev. Edwin
V. O’Hara, Bishop of Kansas City
and the Right Rev. Raphael Hei
der, OSB, abbot of St. Martin’s
Olmpia were there.
Following the three-hour cere
monies, the clergy attended a
breakfast given in their honor at
the Idle Hour Country Club. A
public reception by the Holy
Family Catholic Church parish
ioners was held last evening at
the Elk Home.
, No Host Dinner
Nearly 30 of the church digni
taries who participated in yester
day’s rites arrived in Palmer this
morning for a tour of the Mata
nuska Valley. They had been in-;
i vited by Mr. and Mrs. William
Bouwens to an Alaskan game
dinner. Unfortunately, Deputy
Marshal Bouwens had to leave
for Seattle Monday to take a
group of prisoners there. With
Mrs. Bouwens in the hospital, all
the arrangements for the djnner
were inherited by the Bouwens’
four daughters, Mrs. John Linne
bur, Mrs. Oliver Onkka, Mrs.
Jack Flint, Mrs. Frederick Mar
tin and Mrs. Bernard Bouwens.
Mrs. James Hyland Smith acted
as hostess in Mrs. William Boa
wens’ absence. Mrs. James Smith
also assisted.
The dinner was advanced to the
hour of 11:30 a. m. so that the
Archbishop and Bishops return
ing to the States could enplane
about 3:30 this afternoon.
Pacific Northern Airlines ex
tended the inaugural flight link
: ;ng the Pacific Northwest with
Anchorage to the city of Palmer
yesterday, carrying most of the
visiting dignitaries and a number
of Anchorage Chamber of Com
merce members to the Palmer
chamber’s Anchorage Day lunch
' eon.
Other Anchorage C of C mem
bers,# including four insurance
men, chose to make the trip by
highway after cautious consider
ation of yesterday’s brisk breezes.
Band Plays
Palmer rose nobly to the his
toric occasion. On a bare two
i hour s notice, Palmer school’s new
bantf leader, John Zawalnicki had
his band in uniforms, hastily re
trieved from their mothball stor
age, and down at the airport to
beat a lusty welcome.
The Co-Op club room was ar4
fully turned into an exhibit -7.
vegetable still life with tall stalks
of green celery, huge balls of
green cabbage, giant-sized Arctic
Seedling potatoes, squash-like
watermelons and the new yellow
turnips decorating all the tables
and the piano. Accenting the veg
etables were cartons of Matanus
ka Valley dairy products. Cartons
of milk and buttermilk were at
each table.
President Jim Hurley wel
comed the group, adding the
luncheon was “on Palmer because
the Palmer chamber was going to
talk business. Jack Anderson, new
president of the Anchorage C of
C was called upon to introduce
the visitors from Anchorage and
the Pacific Northwest. He intro
duced:
Anchorage Guests
Dr. Lee McKinley, Ben Culver,
realtor; Robert Atwood, publish
(Continued on Page 13)
TAXES DUE
ON SEPTEMBER RENTS
Palmer’s landlords and ten
ants are reminded that the 2
percent service tax on Septem
ber rents is due in the city
clerk’s office by October 10.
Ordinarily the landlord is
expected to collect this tax and
turn it in to the tax office,
shared with the Pioneer Insur
ance company in the Neal
Wright building. In the case
of absentee landlords, the ten
ant may turn in the tax him
self and send the receipt to his
landlord. Government agencies
acting as landlords are expect
ed to collect the tax for the
city, together with a fair tax
on any services or fuel that
might be purchased by the fed
eral agency and resold to its
tenants.