SPRING IS HERE?
Tin nun reached its vernal equ
inox at »vartlx « 14 a m. today,
AST
^ s
UllliliES FRONTIERSmRN
PUBLISHED IN i*HE INTEREST? Or THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
TRY A FRONTILRSM A \
CLASSIFIED AD for that
itom you may hav* for tala,
rant or laata
VOL. S No 21
PALMER. ALASKA THURSDAY. MARCH 20 1952
PRICE TEN CERT*
KEEP CHIIiDREII OFF R.R. TRRCKS, PRREOTS UJRRNED
World Around Us
IN POINT BARROW this week
preliminary phases of the Navy’s
Ski Jump Two w'ere being at
tempted before 33 men and one
woman take off for an ice island
the size of Guam 70 miles from
the North Pole. These prelimin
ary phases are the very necessary
precautions of establishing gaso
line caches along the 1120-mile
stretch between Point Barrow
and the North Pole. A year ago
last Monday the Navy launched
its plan to establish a base near
the North pole with 10 men in
a twin engine ski plane. That'was
Ski Jump One.
• • *
IN NOME Councilman Mclvor
of the health committee reported
that he was contacting trained
nurses in town to see if one of
them would carry on the duties
of public health nurse, inasmuch
as the community has been un
, able to get any a* ion from the
Territorial Health Commissioner
at Juneau, and such a nurse is
badly needed in the school and
community in general.
• • 6
IN KOTZEBUE Lola Albright.
Alan Hale, Jr., and cameramen
have arrived on location for
shooting of the movie “Arctic
Flight.” Earlier arrivals were
Wayne Morris, the star, and Di
rector Ewing Scott. A polar bear
hunt with closeups of the kill,
and wolf packs have already been
filmed.
IN FAIRBANKS the district;
court denied the petition of a
group of citizens of South Fair
banks that the area be incorpor
ated as North Pole, Alaska, be
cause there were not enough pro
per signatures. Simultaneously
the Fairbanks City Council con
sidered favorably a petition from
other South Fairbanksans for an
nexation.
AN OLD PALMER FRIEND
C. W. Peters, former ARRC
manager and now Territorial
Price Executive for OPS, was in
Palmer Wednesday to see old
friends and take a trial price sur
vey to find out whether or not
merchants here are following
OPS regulations.
SOCIAL SECURITY
REPRESENTATIVE HERE
Joseph W. Finnell of Anchor
age office Social Security Admin
istration is in Palmer this week
to settle claims and talk to any
one interested on social security
problems.
He may be reached at the Ma
tanuska Hotel for the rest of this
week.
Settlers' Celebration
Will Renlace Colony
“Day" May 30-June I
The Chamber of Commerce •
Colony Day committee reported
a change of name for the annual
end-of-May commemoration fes
tivities at the regular Chamber
meeting yesterday. Henceforth
Palmer will have a "Settlers’
Celebration,” and this year Mat
anuska Valley settlers will cele
brate Friday through Sunday.
May 30 through June 1.
Committee Chairman Don Ir
win explained that the change j
that had been decided on at a
committee meeting Tuesday
night. Implicit in the name "Col
ony Day” is the honoring of the
202 Colonist families who arrived
in the Valley in 1935. Although
attempts have been made year
after year to honor the earlier
pioneers and the later homestead
ers and cheechakos as well, the
feeling persisted in many quart- j
ers that "Colony Day” was pure
ly a commemoration of the Mat
anuska Valley Colony. In an
earlier Chamber discussion ii
was suggested that "Colony Day'
might have a much broader im
plication this year in view of the
charges of "colonialism” hurled
at the U. S. Senate for refusing to
change Alaska’s present status to
that of a state.
The Settlers’ Celebration will
begin on Memorial Day and con
tinue for two more days this year.
Irwin announced that there will
Continued from page 1
again be a barbecue, but because
there is no bakery in town this
year, the baked Matanuska
grown potatoes enjoyed so much
last year will not be featured.
There will be ample room for
concessions, and Irwin believed
there would be little change in
charges except for an adjustment
in line wdth the addition of one
dav to the former two-day cele
\ s al ertain that
tne is and B Alaska Shows will
furnish the usual carnival attrac
(Continued on Page 8)
FINAL RITES FRIDAY
FOR MOTHER OF
MRS. ETHEL KING
Mrs. Ollie May McKown, age
76 and formerly of Astoria, Ore
gon, died at the home of her
daughter, Mrs. Ethel King, here
in Palmer early Tuesday Morning,
March 18.
Mrs. King brought her mother
to Alaska last November 4 so
that she could care for her in her
last illness. Mrs. McKown died of
cancer. She was born in Bates
County, Missouri in 1875.
Besides her daughter, Mrs. Mc
Kown is survived by two sons:
Y. B. McKown, also of Astoria,
Oregon, who has been in Palmer
for the past 12 days helping with
the care of his mother: and H. C.
McKown of Ketchikan.
Funeral arrangements are be
ing made through the Anchorage
Funeral Chapel. The funeral will
be held in Palmer Friday, March
21, 2 p.m., at the Church of Goa.
Rev. George Geiwitz will officiate
at the final rites. Burial will be
in the Palmer Cemetery. Pall
bearers will be Bill Curtis, Don
Irwin, Bruce Graham, Bill Gul
branson, Jim Felton, and Art
Stacey.
BOB REEVE SPEAKS
TUESDAY TO LOCAL
REPUBLICAN CLUBS
Bob Reeve, Republican candi
date for Delegate to Congress,
will be guest speaker at the Ma
*•''n,ipki Valley Republican Club
meeting March 25, next Tuesday
•vening, at 8 p.m. in the Valley
Theater.
The public is cordially invited
to come and hear this veteran of
nearly 30 years' flying through- <
out the Territory. In campaign
speeches all over Alaska til's ,
year. Reeve has been a fiery critic i
of what he calls “neglect of Alas- j
ka” under the present administra-:
tion.
Other Republican candidates
will also be heard at this meeting.
Co-sponsor of the meeting is
the newly organized Republican
Women’s Club of the Matanusku
Valley.
Grangerettes To Give
Repeat Performances
Friday and Saturday
By popular demand the Wasil-1
la Grangerettes will give two re-1
peat performances of last week’s
hilarious success, the ‘‘Granger
ette Follies,” tomorrow night and
Saturday night. March 21 and 22,
at Wasilla’s community Hall.
Last week some ticket holders
had to be turned away because of
lack of room. These tickets will
be honored at this week’s perfor
mances. Others may be purchased
at the door.
Two Cars Plunge Over
Bank of Matanuska*
Wasiila head Sunday
Two "over-the-bank” accidents
>n the Matanuska Wasilla Road
Sunday resulted in injuries to
hree servicemen and caused es
imated damages of $2,000-$2,500
o the vehicles involved, accord
ng to the Highway Patrol.
The first accident occured
ibout noon Sunday when a 1951
Cadillac sedan skidded on Matan
iska Hilland went over the bank
it the foot of the hill after the
iriver had lost control. The car i
.vas owned by Omer LaBarge and j
•.as driven bv John L. Muchand.1
rhe driver was alone in the car {
ind was uninjured in the acci- I
lent. Damages to the top of the j
:av and the fenders were esti- j
nated at SI,000 to $1-500.
The second accident occurred j
ibout 8:30 p in. near the first !
sharp curve in the road around
Echo Lake. A 1948 five-passeng
er Dodge coupe went over the
lank, plunging down approxi
mately 30 yards before coming to 1
a stand still at the brink of the
ce-covered lake. The driver. Sgt.
lackson Schreiber did not suffer
serious injuries, but three other
servicemen were taken to Base
Hospital in an ambulance. One
af them was believed to have
suffered severe head injuries; an
other, broken ribs; and another,
a possible fractured leg.
Damages to the top, side, doors, j
seat, and sides of the vehicle j
were estimated at $1,000, at least.
New Co-Op Milk Rates Start April 1,
Aimed At Stabilized Production
Over half of the 42 Co-Op dairy
men gathered in the Co-Op Club
Room last night to hear members
of the MVFCA Board of Directors
explain the new rates of payment
for Grade A milk that will go into
effect April 1. These dairymen
were paid close to $310,000 for
milk produced during the fiscal
year ended last May 31.
The new rates are based on a
five-month base period from Oc
tober 1 to March 1, the period
which is usually low for milk pro
duction. As explained by the
board president, Rex Kibbe, the
rate of payment goes up for these
five months to $11 per hundred
weight as compared with the
present $10.40 received the year
around. For the remaining seven
months of the year—this year it
will be six months, from April 1
to October 1—each Co-Op dairy
nan will receive $11 for his
“base” production, which is figur
ed as an average of his produc
tion over the base period preced
ing. For milk produced in excess
of the base amount, he will re
ceive $9.50 for poundage up to 25
percent of the base; for anything
over that amount he will receive
only the factory price of $6.50
per hundredweight.
Base Changes Yearly
Rates are based on average
butterfat count of four percent,
a higher percentage of butterfat
As before there is a premium for
and a decrease for a lower per
centage. As further explained by
Harold Winegardner and Pat
Hemmer, the base amount will
change every year in accordance I
with each producer’s production j
during the base period. The 23 i
percent figure to ’’cushion” extra
production is purely an arbitrary :
figure. It may be changed to 30
or 33 percent as experience war
rants. At present it is estimated
that the Co-Op dairy can get rid
of an extra 25 percent increase
during the summer months be
cause of increased consumption
during those months. If exper
ience finds that the dairy can sell
40 percent additional milk at
Grade A prices during these
months, the figure may be rais
ed accordingly so that dairymen
would get $9.50 for 40 percent of
their base amount over and above
the $11 they receive for the base
amount itself.
Clarence Bell explained the
dairy’s difficulties which led to
the adoption of the new plan. The
trouble has been too big a spread
between summer and winter and
the difficulty of establishing a
market for a short period. Bell
pointed to the average of 17,000
pounds daily during the months
of June and July of 1951 as com
pared with the average 6,500-7000
pounds receded during last year’s
October and November. When
production starts slumping late
in September, customers have to
be cut off and there’s a milk
shortage. When it skyrockets in
the summer months, part of the
extra can be absorbed by the in
creased seasonal demand, but
the rest of it has to go into ice
cream instead of the powdered
(Continued on page 8)
ARR Safety Inspector Cites Abuses
Creating Grave Accident Potential
Pointing at a problem that has
long existed in Palmer, Robert
h Hartu.cH. Alaska Railroa 1
Safety Inspector, while address
mu the P-TA meeting March 18,
vehemently stressed the impor- ;
tance of keeping children off the j
railroad tracks and parked trains,j
Mr. Hartwell was not original
ly scheduled to speak at the
Nickalosky Death
Caused By Vehicle
Or Vehicles Unknown
In U. S. Commissioner Court
March 19. a coroner's jury of si*;
Palmer men found that David S
Nickalosky who was killed March
5 on the Anchorage Highway met
his death by “severe impact by a !
vehicle or vehicles unknown.”
No conclusive evidence was
presented at the hearing that
could place the blame for the
man's death on any one person or
vehicle.
Witnesses told of discovering
the body early on the morning of
March 5 and the subsequent in
vestigations that eventually led
to a truck spattered with blood
and tissue matter.
Harold Scott, driver of this
truck stated he had no knowledge
of having hit the man with his I
vehicle. There was no evidence
found by authorities that would
indicate the front of the vehicle
had struck any object.
The possibility the body may
have been laying in the road and
drawn up into the under part of
the truck where the majority of
the matter was found on the
transmission and tort bar. was
offered.
Jurymen included Vernon
Fridley, forman, Oliver Onnka,
A1 Huebner, Ray McKechnie,
Philip McRae and Wilbert Trud
ell. These men, chosen for the
jury had visited the accident
scene on the morning of March
5 and were familiar with condi
tions existing at that time.
Decision of the jury will now
go with all evidences to the dis
trict attorney in Anchorage. If
any further action is forth com
ing it will come out of that office.
PREPARATIONS BEGUN
FOR UNDERWATER WORK
AT EKLUTNA LAKE
The underwater work at Eklut
na Lake is expected to start soon.
According to Byron G. Felkner,
Eklutna Project construction en
gineer, the contractor. Ben Ger
wick, already is getting equip
ment lined up. The project man
ager, William J. Talbot, has not
yet arrived in the Territory, but
he has an assistant, a former
Marine jet pilot back from Korea,
who is checking in the equipment
at the project headquarters.
RECKLESS DRIVER FINED
Jack M. Corbett of Fairbanks
was fined $125 and had his
iriver’s license suspended for
:hree months in U. S. Commis
sioner's Court here Monday.
He pleaded guilty to the High
way Patrol charge of driving his
:ar in a careless and heedless
manner on March 13 near Mile
aost 42 on the Anchorage-Palmer
highway.
iniftinii but l)ir,iu.\« itf ini
mediate necessity he was asked
to present the problem to the
parents of the children with
whom he had talked during the
school period Tuesday.
' I spoke to each child, from the
first grade on up—pointed out
the extreme dangers in crossing
the tracks and particularly going
over or under trains when park
ed in the city area." he stated
And yet. he went on. “immedi
ately after school I saw three
little tots walking up the tracks,
on the way home.”
Parents must be educated to
the extreme dangers existing in
permitting this practice, or, as in
many cases, not knowing their
children are doing such a thing
he added.
Numerous reports by trainmen,
school officials and many others,
of occasions that could have been
tragic accidents have been made
to the Railroad Safety Engineer,
stationed in Anchorage.
"We can take extreme mea
sures,” Hartwell pointed out, “hut
we don’t want to do this. We
want to prevent a tragedy, not
investigate one.” This is a par
ent problem not only in the
school age group but even much
younger.
He went on to relate an inci
dent that occured Monday night
at the railroad crossing near Hart
ley’s. A girl and boy between the
ages of 4 and 5 were seen by the
train engineer as he approached
the crossing. The little girl was
on the track and wa-^pulled off
by the boy when he saw the ap
proaching train only to dart back
on the track again. The boy pul
led her off the second time only
seconds before the train passed.
“You can imagine how that en
gineer felt,” Hartwell emphasiz
ed. “And where were the parents
of these children?"
Citing another instance, Hart
well told of two school children
returning home who crawled un
der a parked train. The younger
child, a fourth grader, v. as caught
on a wheel chain when the train
started to move. Only quick
thinking on the part of a train
man prevented a horrible ex
ample of what can happen.
“Crawling over or under the
train has got to stop before we do
have an example,” he stated.
“Children once taught won’t
forget,” he went on. “The Palmer
school is cooperating 100% in its
part to educate the school child
on safety problems—now the par
ents must take their share of re
sponsibility.”
Safety films, suggestions and
the willingness to return to Pal
mer at any time were all offered
by Mr. Hartwell as he concluded
his talk.
Mrs. Eileen Branton. acting P
(Continued on page 8)
CITY COUNCIL
MEETS TONIGHT
The City Council will meet
tonight at Severns’ Cabinet Shop
at 7:30 p.m., it was announced to
day.
Last night’s regularly schedul
ed meeting was postponed until
tonight when it was learned
shortly before five o’clock that a
quorum of the councilmen would
not be present last night.
Repeal
Performance
Fri., Sat., March 21 & 22
Admission $1.00—50c
Wasilla Com. Hall, 8 p.m.
ALL TICKETS HONORED