Public meeting for
civil defense planning
at Gym Monday night.
Malley Mrontiergman
PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
Carpenter's benefit
dance in gymnasium
on Aug. 5.
VOL. 3, NO. 45
PALMER. ALASKA. FRIDAY. JULY 21. 1950
PRICE 10c
Monday Public Meeting Will Plan Civil Defense
Tom Minton Heads
Palmer Platoon
Of National Guard
Tom Murton of Palmer has
been named commander of the
National Guard platoon to be or
ganized here, Lt. Arthur E. Ash
ley announced this week. Mr.
Murton will sign up volunteers
for the Palmer platoon during of
fice hours at the American Legion
Hall, between one and three p.m.
on Sunday, July 23 and Sunday,
July 30. He also can be contacted
at his quarters, Room 11 of the
Matanuska Valley Lodge, at other
* hours of the day.
To stimulate interest in the
work of the National Guard, it is
planned to show documentary
films and combat bulletins at the
Legion Hall at 7:30 p.m. on Aug.
1, Mr. Murton announced. At that
time, Lieutenant Ashley and Sgt.
Lewis Sessions, instructor for the
Palmer Guard unit, will be pres
ent to turtner explain tne worK
of the National Guard.
Mr. Murton emphasized the
point that enlistment in the Na
tional Guard gives a man a better
opportunity of remaining in the
Territory than if he waits to take
his chances with the draft.
“The draft age has been raised
to include men from the ages of
19 to 35,” Mr. Murton stated.
“The authorities have found that
step necessary in order to draw on
the seasoned combat veterans
they feel they must have. And the
man who is drafted is certain to
be sent out of Alaska to the states
for training, and probably from
there will be shipped on for over
> (Continued on Back Page)
INTERIOR, AGRICULTURE HEADS DISCUSS AGAIN
WHOSE JOB IT IS TO MAKE ALASKA GROW
A sort of “which came first—
the chicken or the egg” discussion
characterized last week’s joint
meeting of the Department of the
Interior’s field committee and de
partment of agriculture officials.
The Department of the Interior’s
point of view, expressed through
Kenneth Kadow, committee
chairman, is that development of
agriculture is Alaska’s greatest
need, and that until that develop
ment is accomplished there can
be no great strides forward in the
territory.
Agriculture officials argue that
there can be no widespread ex
pansion here until the Depart
ment of the Interior can bring
about the industrial development
that will provide the markets
for it.
As one means of providing the
agricultural impetus the Interior
Department thinks Alaska needs,
officials are urging a group set
tlement project, probably to be
located in the Kenai area. Agri
cultural officials are steadfastly
opposing the plan. “Where are
your markets for the produce the
colony will raise?” they ask. To
date, the agricultural men say
they haven’t had a definite an
swer to that question.
One member of last week’s
committee said he believed it
would be possible to reduce boat
freight tariffs and airline freight
rates between central Alaska and
southeastern Alaska to the point
where produce from Alaska could
compete in southeastern markets
with produce shipped from Se
attle.
Other possible markets were
listed as points to the westward,
along the Chain and in the Kus
kokwim country.
Agriculture’s answer to that is
that those markets can as easily
be served with produce from the
Anchorage area and from the
Matanuska Valley. Particularly
now that the Valley’s airport will
make possible the landing of
freight-carrying planes here, mar
kets for Matanuska Valley pro
duce can be greatly expanded, it
is pointed out.
Don L. Irwin, head of Alaska’s
experiment stations and of the
Agricultural Research Adminis
tration, feels that the answer to
Alaska’s agricultural problem is
to further assist the development
of farms already established here,
rather than to locate new settle
(Continued on Back Page)
BENEFIT DANCE WILL
ASSIST JOE PUHL
The Valley local of the Car
penter’s Union is sponsoring a
benefit dance for the evening
of Aug. 5, union head Ray Lan
caster announced today. The
dance is planned to assist Joe
Puhl, union member, who is
winning a three - year battle
against illness.
Dance tickets are being
placed in the hands of several
of the original colonists, fellow
travellers of Mr. Puhl, when
they arrived in Alaska 15 years
ago.
Barley Expert Arrives
In Valley This Week
Dr. G. A. Wiebe, barley special
ist from the bureau of plant in
dustry, division of cereal crop
investigations, of Washington,
D. C., is expected to arrive in the
Valley late this week.
Dr. Wiebe supplied the world
collection of barley which includes
5,000 varieties that was planted
at the Matanuska station this
spring. He is here to study prog
ress of the plantings. He will be
in the Vallley for at least a week.
North Palmer Promised
Water in Month,
Fittings for the planned new
water line in the North Pal
mer area, to be constructed by
the Smith Addition Water
Company, have arrived in Pal
mer, Parker Lester, company
spokesman, said this week.
The water company is now
seeking easements, preliminary
to installing the new line. Mr.
Parker estimates that water
will reach North Palmer con
sumers in another month.
‘WALTER HUNTLEY
APPOINTED HEAD
OF PALMER PRODRAM
Walter Huntley, the Valley’s
‘territorial senator, has been ap
pointed to head Palmer’s civilian
defense program, Col. J. D. Alex
ander, territorial director of civil
defense, announced this week.
Mr. Huntley has called a public
meeting for next Monday eve
ning, to begin the necessary plan
ning for the town. The meeting
will be held in the Palmer Gym
nasium at eight o’clock.
Col. Alexander, in his letter of
appointment, explained that ci
vilian defense is the responsibility
of the people of each town. They
are expected to organize them
selves for “self aid,” to counter
act the possible results of disaster
which may strike a community in
time of war, he said.
The defense director pointed
out that specialists who examined
Hiroshima and Nagasaki after the
atom bomb attacks reported that
thousands of lives might have
been saved, had organized aid
been available to the people.
At Monday’s planning meeting,
which everyone is urged to at
tend, representatives of the Na
tional Guard will be present to
help organize the community
planning. The Palmer plan, once
evolved, will be submitted to
Colonel Alexander in order that
he may correlate it with plans of
other communities.
Matters for which the defense
director asks the local community
(Continued on Editorial Page)
Livinq Together Is King s Lake s Chief Lesson
MARINER Scouts try one of the new canoes given to King's Lake
camp this season. The Girl Scouts initialed the new watercraft
with an overnight camping trip to adjacent Anderson Lake. They
portaged their craft across the land which separates King's Lake
from Anderson's Lake.—(Photo by Palmer Studios.)
Aside from all of the fun Girl
Scouts have been having during
the camping sessions at King’s
Lake for the past three weeks,
they’ve been getting some inval
uable experience in domestic re
lations, diplomacy and even in
everyday housekeeping. In short
it would seem that several sum
mers of camping at King’s Lake
ought to be excellent background
for a Girl Scout who plans to en
ter into an adult career in the
diplomatic service.
Take this summer’s session, for
example—in addition to all of the
girls who might have been next
door neighbors in any little town,
anywhere, the camp roster in
cluded Helen, a girl of mixed
Spanish and Eskimo parentage,
who spoke only a limited amount
of English, and Ruth, a full
blooded Eskimo Scout. Girls
came from Anchorage, from Pal
mer, from Fort Richardson, and
from far-away towns in the Inte
rior and even on the Arctic coast.
Zona came all the way from
Kotzebue to the King’s Lake
camp. She took full advantage of
every possible trip to Palmer,
since it would be her only oppor
tunity to shop in stores until she
comes to Girl Scout camp again
next summer.
Since girls live together in
groups in outdoor tents, they
learned a good many practical
ways of living in enjoyable har
mony with those whose back
ground differs from their own.
As far as housekeeping went,
the girls learned a good deal in
that department, too. The girls in
each tent-unit were responsible
for the upkeep of their home, and
they were rated daily by the camp
nurse, either Mrs. Howard Car
ter or Mrs. R. E. McFarland.
The nurses had a three-placard
system of rating, by means of
colored crosses posted beside the
entrance of tents and cabins. A
white cross meant “this unit met
all standards of housekeeping and
safety today.” A red cross signi
fied “this tent could look better.’'
A black cross—well, the less said
the better.
Tent units worked earnestly
for the coveted white crosses and
published the news through the
grounds when one was posted be
side their doorstep, following the
daily inspection.
Work at the Girl Scout camp is
directed by 10 adult counsellors
and by eight program aides-in
training. This latter group is
made up of teen-age girls who
help in the camp program, and
assist in the direction of activities
of the newer Girl Scouts. They
live in the Fitzsimmons Memorial
Cabin, but are subject to camp
rules and regulations, just as are
counsellors and Scouts alike.
Adult members of the camp
staff include Mrs. L. W. Brown
ing, camp director; Miss Eunice
Arendsee, program director; Mis;
Edith Betts, waterfront director;
nurses Mrs. Howard Carter and
Mrs. R. E. McFarland; the camp
counsellors, who include Mrs. C.
O. Brown, Mrs. James Clark, Mrs.
Carlos Driggers, Mrs. Harold
Laurie, Mrs. James Medama, Miss
Jean Rybka, Mrs. Charles Walker
and Mrs. Barney White; and the
aides-in-training, who are Janet
Bolam, Corinne Chadwick, Pa
tricia Rae Clements, Helen Con
over, Jane Lloyd, Pat Merchant,
Donna June Nelson and Cherie
Shepherd.
Of particular interest in the
camping program, was the daily
swimming session. The week’s
camp period is often the only op
portunity the Scouts have for
swimming during the whole year.
Waterfront rules are strict.
Their close adherence has brought
the Girl Scouts through their
camping seasons without a single
unpleasant incident.
Girls may not enter the water
until they turn their name tags,
posted on the bulletin board at
the waterfront. The waterfront
director has a unique system of
keeping an eye on her many
charges in the various stages of
water know-how. All girls who
can’t swim must wear red bath
ing caps. The accomplished
swimmers are permitted to wear
(Continued on Back Page)