«
Sale* Tax Start*
Sept, 1
Halley Jrontiergman
PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
4 0 PAGES
■ O T8BAY
Vol. 4. No. 49
PALMER. ALASKA THURSDAY. AUGUST 16. 1SSI
PRICE. 10c
CITY OFFERED FOUR ACRES OF LAND BY ARRC
Co-Op Members Vole
To Permit Sale of
Gym to Palmer School
On a motion of Harold Thuma,
members of the Matanuska Val
ley Farmers Cooperating Associa
tion assembled at the gymnasium
for their annual meeting yester
day voted to permit negotiation
•Nvith the Palmer School District
Board for the sale of the Co-Op
owned gymnasium and the ad
jacent property.
Fifty-four members of the Co
Op were present for the tradi
tional luncheon of assorted cold
meats, rolls, pickles, olives, milk,
coffee, ice cream and cookies.
After the meeting, board mem
bers and managers of the several
Co-Op departments made their
reports and the financial report
was explained.
The financial report, as pre
sented by Clayton Esslinger,
showed total sales for the fiscal
year ending May 31. 1951,
amounting to $2,167,445.53. Total
assets were listed as $1,024,253.93;
total liabilities amounted to $779,
207.76.
New Manager
In his report to the members,
Acting Manager Carl Rasmussen
announced that the Board of Di
* rectors is and has been looking
for a new manager. He said that
a good manager who was capa
ble and had the experience need
ed to handle the work would
^>robobly come for no less than
$1,000 a month. Negotiations
have begun with one applicant
who seems to fit the need, Ras
(Continued o:i Page 4)
FAIR QUEEN LIST
STILL GROWING
Joyce E. Hardage. 18. daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. Glen Hardage,
Palmer is the latest Fair Queen
registrant to enter the contest.
Miss Hardage is a Palmer high
school graduate, class of ’51 and
is employed at the Valley Hospi
tal. She has made her home in
Palmer for the past two years,
coming here from San Francisco.
The Queen list now boasts six
contestants. The girl who will be
chosen queen will be the one who
sells the most tickets as the de
termining factor in choice of
Queen is the number of tickets
sold. Although only 200 tickets
are needed to qualify for the con
test. the selection of the Queen
will rest on the number of tickets
sold in excess of the minimum.
Other Valley girls participating
in the contest are: Agnes Bolok
ken, Billie Jean Roark, Hazel
Barnhardt, Patricia Kirsch, and
Joan McNeese. It is rumored that
two of the girls have sold the re
quired amount of tickets to quali
fy but as yet have not turned
them in to the committee.
A Cosmopolitan Town
Checking up on the 265
names and addresses written
in the Northland Pioneer
Grange guest book during the
seven hours of the Flower
Show Sunday, Mrs. M. D.
Snodgrass learned that visit
ors from 34 states and from
Sweden had been guests of
Palmer and the Flower Show.
Mrs. Marjorie Hoskins Wins Grand
Sweepstakes at Flower Show Sunday
Nearly 300 persons came to ad
mire the flowers and plants enter
ed by 30 local women and one
brave man at the Northland Pio
neer Grange’s Flower Show Sun
day.
When the traffic got thick many
of the visitors passed by the
guest book without signing. Nev
ertheless, Mrs. M. D. Snodgrass
counted up 265 signatures when
the doors closed at 8 p. m.
Winner of the Grand Sweep
stakes gold ribbon award and
$5.00 was Mrs. Marjorie Hoskins,
who also won the Horticultural
Sweepstakes award of purple and
gold ribbon and $2.50. The Grand
Stoveepstakes award was for the
person credited with the most
prizes. Mrs. Hoskins received
four blue ribbons and five red
ones from the Horticultural sec
tion alone. Mrs. Esther Kirsch
and Mrs. Lillian Eckert each won
as many blue ribbons, but they
were low on the second prize rib
bons.
Mrs. Hazel Litzenberger and
Mrs. Vesta Ernst each had two
blue ribbons for arrangements,
but Mrs. Ernst’s one white rib
bon broke the tie and gave her
the sweepstakes in that class. The
award was a purple and gold
ribbon and $2.50. All three sweep
stakes prizes were given by Mrs.
Maud Hosier, local florist.
Other blue ribbon winners
were June Liebing for her dining
room arrangement and corsage;
Blanche Ryan for her plate gar
den, Mary Steelman for her ar
rangement in glass; Mrs. C. F.
Liebing for her vegetable arrange
ment and Delphinium; Jean Ky
ger for her Geranium and Wand
ering Jew; Olava Roetman for
her Kenilworth Ivy in donkey
basket. Fuschia, and Begonia;
Rose Kirsch for her Begonia and
Ivy Miniature; Dorothy McKen
zie for her Rose Begonia; Lila
Newville for her Strawberry Be
gonia; Mary Poison for her Youth
(Continued on Page 4)
QUEEN FLASH
Fair Manager Parker Lester
announces that one queen can
didate qualified this afternoon
for the queen race, v.ith 200
tickets sold already. She is
Hazel Barnhart, third candi
date to enter the cotest and an
date to enter the contest and an
an employee of the Soil Con
servation Service.
All But 3 Positions
Filled for School
Staff of 26 Teachers
With the opening day of school
less than three weeks away, the
26-member staff needed to handle
an expected enrollment approach
ing 600 is still short three men,
Superintendent William T. Zah
radnicek announced this week.
The position of school band dir
ector has been offered to a man
from Barlow, Kentucky; but in
stead of wiring acceptance this
week, he wired for complete in
formation on housing. The other
two men are needed for the sev
enth and eighth grades. One of
these should be able to assist in
physical education instruction
for boys. The other should have
a background in speech-training.
Zahradnicek has applications to
fill both needs, and the final
choices were to be made this
week.
Already hired for the school
staff are: First grade, Mrs. Agnes
H. Rich, Mrs. M. Pearl Moyer,
and Betty Kreutz; second grade,
Mrs. Barbara Smart and Margaret
E. Conway; third grade, Barbara
Rumball and Evelyn Heinrich;
fourth grade, Mrs. Alma J.
Blunck and Lois E. Thompson;
fifth grade, Virginia Carle and
Fred L. Stassel; and sixth grade,
Mrs. Grace M. Heath and Betty
Jo Riddle.
Miss Riddle and Miss Thomp
son are art and music majors res
pectively. It is planned that they
will assist teachers of the other
grades in the instruction of these
subjects.
In the Junior high and high
school grades, Nettie D. Smith
will teach 8th grade and instruct
in physical education; William
W. Elliott will again serve as
grade school principal as well as
8th grade instructor. Dorothy
Ann Lorscheter will teach Eng
lish, Mildred Schneider will have
charge of the library, Mrs. Mar
garet Cope will teach commercial
subjects, and Mrs. Nancy Wade
will have classes in home econ
omics and history. Harry Wim
mer will be back to take over
math classes, and Gottfried Stev
ahn will teach science this year.
With John DeVries teaching shop
and Robert Crites continuing as
coach and biology instructor, the
1951-52 staff list ends with a fam
iliar ring.
HIGH SCHOOL PUPILS
REGISTER AUG. 27-28
Registration of all students en
tering Palmer High School this
year will take place August 27
and 28 at the school office, Super
intendent William T. Zahradnicek
announced today. All students
! entering grades nine through 12
should register at this time.
Only 38 first-graders were re
gistered last week according to
school secretary Alice McCann.
Previous estimates of first grade
enrollment ran to 65 or more.
Parents who did not get in during
the week set aside for first grade
registration should do so with
out delay, Miss McCann urged.
A great deal of confusion and
overcrowding can be avoided if
school administrators know' how
to plan for it.
Twenty-three new pupils enter
ing grades tw'o through eight
were signed up in last week’s re
gistration.
4 More Rooms This Year
Meanwhile, construction on two
additional rooms in the basement
of the school annex was progress
ing in a very satisfactory manner.
With only a few doors yet to be
hung and a little more painting,
it was apparent this week that
the rooms would be ready for
opening day. These two rooms
and the two rooms above them,
which were completed late in the
last school year, make a total of
four more classrooms available
when school opens this year as
compared with last year’s open
ing.
$28,000 Unfrozen
Word that $28,000 in Territorial
funds appropriated for the school
building addition by the 1949
legislature was recently "unfroz
en” brought sighs of relief from
School Board members. They
have been pressed for repayment
of loans made in anticipation of
earlier receipt of these funds. As
yet, however, no check covering
the two-year-old appropriation
has been received.
Council Considers
Offers, Requests,
Complaints, Reports
Announcement was made by
Lloyd Severns at the special
meeting of the City Council last
night that approximately four
acres of land would be made
available by the ARRC to the
city of Palmer for a city adminis
tration building. ,
No formal agreement had been
reached between the Council and
the ARRC, but in conversation
wit)'* Manager Jim Hurley. Sev
erns, reported, it was learned that
property directly north of the
Fair grounds could be made
available to the city.
The city’s housing need for ad
ministrative offices, a jail, and
fire equipment garages is a press
ing one, and search for temporary
quarters has been fruitless so far.
Would Open Night Club
James Sumpter, former operat
or of the Village Bar in Anchor
age, and Harold Koslosky appear
ed in person before the City
Council last night with an appli
cation for a liquor license and a
night club to be located in the
building recently vacated by the
Dee-Jay Shop. The application
was taken under advisement by
Council members, until they can
inspect the premises. The decision
will be made known at next
week’s regular Council meeting.
COUNCIL COMPATABILITY
This week members of the
City Council reached their
50th successive unanimous de
cision without a single dissent
ing vote.
The police department, misde
meanor, and prostitution ordi
nances will be adopted as an em
ergency measure at the next
meeting, it was decided after re
ports by Police and Safety com
mitteeman Lloyd Severns and
Frank Brown. The decision was
(Continued on Page 4)
Knik Indians File Claims to
Matanuska Valley and Nearby Areas
Local residents remained calm
this week in the face of Knik In
dian claims to the entire Matanu
ska Valley and the shorelands of
Knik Arm, as announced this
week. The claim has been filed
with the Indian Court of Claims
in Washington.
Jim Hurley was heard mutter
ing something about a quit
claim deed to his property short
ly before leaving for Anchorage
yesterday, and members present
at yesterday’s Chamber of Com
merce luncheon discussed the
possibility of a three-way split
of local taxes between the City,
the School District, and Grandma
Ezi. Byron K. Felkner, Construc
tion Engineer in charge of the Ek
lutna Project refused to be wor
ried about any jeopardy placed
on the Bureau of Reclamation’s
projected power installations. He
said Indian claims had cropped
up on the last three projects he
worked with.
The claim was made by Wil
liam Ezi, who lives at various
places throughout the Valley and
Eklutna. As filed by Ezi’s attor
ney, Wililam Olson of Anchorage,
the claim states that Ezi and his
countrymen have been forced out
of their lands in the old Knik In
(Continued on Page 15)