New Buildings and New Businesses
Spring Up in Palmer Since Last Fair
1950 Fair visitors will find many
changes in Palmer, trading cen
ter of the Matanuska Valley, in
the year that has passed since the
last Fair. Five large new build
ings have sprouted up in the
Palmer area proper, several of
the town’s existing structures are
adding wings to take care of their
enlarging business needs, and
many new homes and several
apartment houses have been
built since Fair-time last year.
First new building to strike
the eye of Palmer visitors is the
large service station, garage and
bulk oil plant located at the cor.
ner of the Palmer Highway and
Valley Street. Kirk’s Sales and
Service, a branch of Alaska Sales
and Service, is the newest and
one of the largest service stations
in the Valley. It is managed by
L. W. Bixby of Palmer.
Travelling down Valley Street,
visitors will drive past the par
tially completed building that
houses the Palmer chapter of the
American Legion. Now only a
basement, the Legion has plans
in the making that will add an
other story before Fair-time of
1951.
A block farther down Valley \
Street is the newer of Palmer’s
two drug stores, Palmer Drug, i
This ultra modern structure, j
which houses a drug store, men’s
clothing store, fountain and a
basement photography shop,
opened its doors in Palmer late
last November. Irwin Plitt and
Bill Rempel are managers of the
new enterprise.
Still another block down Val
ley Street, the basement dwell
ing of what was formerly Alaska
Seed, snuggles next door to the
Steve Ward Building. Recently
sold, the building’s new owner,
Howard Estelle, says he hasn’t
made definite plans for a busi
ness there yet.
Turning toward Wasilla at the
junction of Valley Street and the
Wasilla Highway, visitors will
find one of Palmer’s newest
buildings still under construction.
This 50x40 concrete structure
with full basement is the new
home of Severn’s Cabinet Shop,
owned by Lloyd Severns. Mr.
Severns has been doing cabinet
making and carpentry in Palmer j
for the past three years, and has j
recently outgrown the small shop i
in which he established his busi- j
ness.
Completion date on the Cabinet
Shop will be sometime this win- ;
ter. Mr. Severns has some ten- 1
tative plans for the building, that
may call for the construction of •
second-story apartments. 1
Circling through Palmer, ve- i
hides continuing down Matanus- j
ka Street will pass the new Pal
mer Library, also still under con
struction. This building, which
stands alone on a lot almost two
blocks down-street from the Cab
inet Shop, is being built by vol
unteer labor of the Valley local
of the carpenter’s union. It is
nearing completion and should
be ready for occupancy early this
fall.
Not so visible to the visiting
eye, but still high on the list of
Palmer improvements in the past
year, are the extensions added to
the Palmer Cold Storage operated
by Harry Ryan, and the north
wing addition to the North Pal
mer Store, owned by Ed Johns.
Mr. Ryan’s improvements were
completed recently. They give '
added space for lockers and for '
meat-handling.
Mr. John’s improvements are I
still under way. The new wing at j
North Palmer Store will house a j
cold storage and cool room serv- |
ice for the store, and will give j
added warehouse space to the j
store. The new' wing is 20x36 in j
size.
Also new to Palmer visitors. !
although under construction at I
Fair-time last year, is the office J
and laboratory building of the
Agricultural Research Adminis- j
4-H CLUBS CONTINUE
FAIR TRADITION
DURING WAR YEARS
When the war years forced tem
porary suspension of the annual
Matanuska Valley Fair, from 1941
to 1947, the Valley’s 4-H Club
members put their shoulders to
the Fair wheel, and planned three
annual shows as a substitute for
the regular Fair, until the Asso
ciation activities could be re
sumed in 1947.
The first 4-H Club show was
presented in 1944. On Sept. 2 and
3 of that year, 4-H Club members
prepared 235 exhibits for display
in the Fair buildings. In addition
to the individual exhibits, the
Valley’s clubs prepared six booths,
and gave nine demonstrations for
Fair visitors.
Members of the Homemaker’s
Council backed up the efforts of
their juniors by staging a flower
show and a reception and tea for
Palmer’s new teachers. Both
were held in the basement of
Palmer School.
More than 300 visitors from An
chorage, the Valley and Eklutna
watched the demonstrations and
inspected the club and individual
exhibits.
In 1945, the 4-H Clubs of the
Matanuska Valley again prepared
a substitute Fair. There were 12
club booths and 184 exhibits at
this 4-H Fair. Of the 110 4-H Club
members in the Valley that year,
60 brought individual exhibits
for display.
In 1945, 400 visitors came from
Anchorage and the Valley to see
the 4-H Club show.
Fair funds were curtailed in
1946, and there was no money
available for even a 4-H Club
Fair at the Fairgrounds. But Val
ley 4-H Club members had a plan
to meet that emergency, too—
they ran a progressive Fair in
their own quarters, bringing in
Club booths, one or two at a time,
and setting them up in the crafts
room at the Extension Service of
fice.
The 1946 Fair took three weeks
to complete, but it did its part in
carrying on the tradition of an
annual Fair in the Matanuska
valley.
tration. This is Palmer’s most
nodern office building. Its three
stories house headquarters for all
experimental work in agriculture
:or Alaska. It is headed by Don
-*• Irwin. This building lies three
alocks northeast of the Fair
grounds, directly beyond the
-.utheran Church.
!
CONGRATULATIONS
to the
Palmer Airport Association
BOB TOTTEN'S
Palmer Air Service
FLOATS WHEELS SKIS
At Your Service Any Time
■>" 11 T
Queen Candidates
Must Check in Tickets
At 7 O'clock Tonight
All queen contestants in the
Matanuska Valley Fair titular
race must check in their tick
ets with Fair manager Robert
Crites at seven o’clock this
evening, it was announced to
day. The Fair manager will
meet with the contestants and
their sponsors in the Fair of
fice at seven.
Entrants who have not yet
sold their qualifying 300 tickets
by seven p.m. tonight, or
even those who have but who
wish to continue to sell tickets
on a percentage basis, will be
re-issued books at the conclu
sion of the meeting. They then
may continue to boost their
ticket sales totals until four
p.m. Saturday, when all tick
ets will be checked in to man
ager Crites in the Fair office.
MILK CONTRACT—
(Continued from Page 1)
expected to be effected so
smoothly, that there will be no
appreciable increase in personnel
at the plant here. Only payroll
additions expected to be neces
sary are one or two truckdrivers.
The Army milk will be trucked
to Fort Richardson, and will be
re-distributed there to the Whit
tier post.
The Co-Op’s bid on the milk
contract was accepted over that
of the International Milk Com
pany, Outside firm headquartered
at Oakland, Calif. Two other I
Alaskan dairies also submitted :
bids.
Donkey Race Scheduled
For Fair; Baby Donkey
To Be Monday Gate Prize
As an added attraction at Sun
day’s scheduled horseraces at the
Fair, there will be a donkey race,
with donkeys of the Moore Soft
ball Show being ridden by Pal
mer businessmen. There will be
a suitable merchandise prize for
the winner.
Also as an added attraction at
the donkey softball games, a baby
donkey will be given as a gate
prize on the last day of the Fair,
rhe winner must be in the bleach
es, in order to claim his prize.
However ticket stubs from all
:hree days will count in the draw
ng.
Moores' Have Baby Girl
A six-pound, 11-ounce baby
?irl was born to Mr. and Mrs
Harold W. Moore of Palmer on
ruesday, August 29.
THREE DANCES IN PALMER GYM
HIGHLIGHT WEEKEND FAIR FUN
Three special dances are plan
ned for the Fair weekend in Pal
mer, Fair board president Clair
Stock announced this week. The
tenth annual Matanuska Valley
Fair will be launched officially at
a calico and jeans dance, to begin
in the Palmer Gym at 10 o’clock
tonight. Polkas, schottisches and
other gay steps will spice the mu
sical menu for this opening event
on the 1950 Fair calendar.
Tomorrow evening at 10 o’clock,
the coronation ball opens in the
Gymnasium. At 10:30, the queen
of the Matanuska Valley Fair will
be introduced to her subjects, and
will receive her royal robe and
crown at a special coronation
ceremony. Her tokens of office,
the robe and crown, are now on
display in the window at
“Betty’s.” Formal dress will be
optional at the coronation ball.
There will be no Fair dance on
I
Sunday evening. On Monday, the
three-day celebration will" con
clude with a Labor Day ball. At
midnight, the drawing for the
Fair’s many merchandise gifts
will be held.
Schaeffer’s Orchestra will play
for all of the Fair dances. All
dances will begin at 10 p.m. and
will conclude at two a.m.
Dance tickets will cost $1.50 a
couple on Friday night, with tick
ets for extra women costing an
added 50c. For the coronation
ball and the Labor Day ball,
tickets will cost $2.00 a couple,
plus 50c for extra women.
Daughter Born to Lincolns
A daughter, Barbara Ann, was
born to Mr. and Mrs. Robert Lin
coln of Palmer on Saturday, Au
gust 26. Barbara Ann weighed in
at seven pounds two ounces.
We want to let you know that
Wolfes has lots of children's needs
AT THE RIGHT PRICES!
CORDS—
LE VIS
T-SHIRTS—
SCCKS—
SWEATERS —
h k i t s —
LARGEST SELECTION OF
YARDGOODS IN ALASKA
the HUNTER
We Have a Large Supply of
Ammunition
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