On your mark, boys!
Tomorrow it
LEAP YEAR DAY
VRIiliEy rRONTliRSHIRN
PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
THY A FRONTIERSMAN
CLASSIFIED AD for that
ittm you may hava for tala,
rant or laaac.
L
VOLUME S NUMBER IS
PALMER. ALASKA THURSDAY FEB. 21. 1«2
PRICE TEN CENTS
World Around Us
IN ANCHORAGE this week the
1952 Fur Rendezvous is in full
swing. Dog races, ski events,
folk dance demonstrations. Eski
mo dances, art and photo exhi
bits, and a thrilling Parade of In
dustry are among the many treats
offered to visitors in the carnival |
spirit ‘‘Fun for all and all for
fun”.
♦ ♦ t*
IN NEW YORK the common]
belief that marriages increase in ;
leap year which begins tomorrow
for 1952—has been exploded as ]
a myth. Since the Civil War i
period only twice, in 1896 and in
1920, has the marriage rate in a 1
leap year been higher than the
year immediately preceding or
following it, reports Dr. Louis I.
Dublin, chief of statisticians of
Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.
Despite woman’s traditional priv
ilege to propose, prospects of an
increase in marriage frequency
this year are unfavorable. Dr.
Doublin continues, because the
supply of available unmarried
persons has been depleted by the
spurt in marriages following
World War II.
IN NOME, for the second time
in history, the Navy’s ice breaker
USS Burton Island pushed her
way into the harbor during the
winter. The recent performance
of the 6500 ton vessel was a re
peat performance on its 1949 his
toric feat. Nome gave the crew
' one of their most unusual liber
ties- For two days officers and
men from the Burton Island
streamed ashore. They went by
dogteam, weasel or walked over,
shelf ice.
* * *
IN FAIRBANKS the City
Council has decided that the one
percent sales tax may not be col
lected by the city on money paid
for rents. Refunds were author
ized for all sales tax payments al
ready made on rents. The city
attorney, Julien Hurley, ruled
that rent is not defined as either
a sale or a service and therefore
cannot be considered as such for
sales tax purposes.
IN KODIAK canneries are
planning to consolidate their sal
mon canning operations this year
because of high costs and the re
duced seasons- The Parks Can
nery of Uyak Bay will do the
Kodiak area salmon canning for
Halferty Canneries Inc.
* * »
IN COLLEGE eleven pastel
paintings typifying Alaskan Na
tives went on exhibit last week.
The paintings, by Nina Crumrine,
were purchased with the first
$1,000 of a special fund being
raised for the betterment of the
University of Alaska by Dr. Ter
ris Moore, president.
* • •
IN CORDOVA, Boy Scouts took
over the reins of the city govern
Continued on page 5
Alaska's Statehood
Hopes for '52 Dashed
By 4544 Senate Vote
Bv the narrow margin of one
vote Alaska’s statehood bid was
frustrated again when the Senate
voted yesterday 45 to 44 to send
the bill back to committee. That
the statehood bill is dead as far
as the present election-year ses
sion of Congress is concerned is
a foregone conclusion.
The move to send the statehood
bill back to committee was origin
ated by Senator Smathers (D-Fla.)
last week when he moved that the
bill be recommitted to allow con
sideration for possible “dominion
status" for Alaska. This sugges
tion, which would require a con
stitutional amendment to become
effective, would give the Terri
tory the right to elect its own
governor and local officials, par
ticipate in the presidential elec
tions, and have a voting delega
tion in the House and non-voting
delegate to the Senate.
Supporters of the statehood
measure insist that Alaska is en
titled to statehood, that when
Congress set up Alaska as an In
corporated Territory, Alaskans
were virtually assured eventual
statehood. The Secretary of In
terior during the 1950 hearings
said, “In view of the historical
precedents for admission to the
Union of incorporated Territories,
I would say that we have an obli
gation to admit Alaska, and that
if we are to say ‘no’ to the request,
of the people of Alaska, we must
have very good reasons to justify
our action not only to them and
to ourselves, but to the world . • .
The United States has spoken out
loudly and firmly against colon
ialism in world councils, but sure
ly to require a people qualified
for the ultimate in self-govern
ment to continue in a dependent
status is to foster colonialism.’’
One of these “reasons”, as old
as the Constitution itself, was ad
vanced by Senator Stennis (D
Miss.) who has spearheaded the
fight against Alaskan statehood
in this session of Congress. Fear
ful of the effect of four additional
votes on the South’s present abil
ity to block closure on debate,
that senator cried out against Sen
ate representation of the few
people in Alaska on an equal basis
with states of larger population.
Said he in a recent, lengthy
speech against the statehood bill.
“This is the most important bill
that will be before the Congress
at this session, because it sets a
precedent of such tremendous sig
nificance. It involves a matter of
disconnected areas coming into
the Union and passing upon far
reaching policies concerning our
foreign and domestic affairs.
When we undertake a program
of allowing disconnected areas in
other parts of the world to help
us pass upon our own military
policy or upon the far-reaching
(Please turn to page 5)
Potato Growers Urged
To Attend Certified
Seed Growers Meeting
A general meeting of the mem
bers of the Alaska Certified Seed
Growers Association and other
interested growers of potato seed
stocks will be held at the Co-Op
Club Room Saturday, March 1 at
2 p- m.
This meeting is of great impor
tance to potato growers, and Irv
ing Abbott, secretary of the as
sociation, asks that everyone in
terested be sure to attend.
Ekiutna Payrolls to
Total $60,000 Weekly
Inman Tells C of G
By a .■'Inn majority of only on-*
vote a bare quorum o! the Cham
her of Commerce voted yesterday
to raise the yearly dues to SI.*
for single memberships and
for business memberships in
which the cost could be deducted
from income taxes.
The change followed a recom
mendation of the board of direct
ors in order to finance one of the
jrganization’s biggest activities,
the Colony Day celebration, with
i out having to canvass the mer
' chants for special assessments.
, The proposition was not voted on
at last week's regular meeting
because no quorum was present.
A special meeting was called foi
this week for the express pur
j pose of voting on the proposition
and another which would have
(substituted weekly meetings for
the present by-monthly ones. The
latter proposition was not voted
on yesterday because of time lim
j itation.
Some opposition was heard tc
the raising of dues from business
es which would not profit finan
cially from the Colony Day busi
ness. It was pointed out that ever
if some of the members do drop
out because of the raise in dues
the raise itself would compensate
j for even a one-third loss of mem
beii .ip. Jim Hurley told the
members that from past exper
ience, the Chamber needs a min
imum of $1,500 to carry on its
activities even on the present
scale
The Four Ps and Palmer
Charles Inman, office engineer
of the Ekiutna Project gave the
talk scheduled for Byron Felk
ner on “The Impact of the Eklut
Continued on page 5
NEW MANAGER OF
LOCAL BANK IS
EXPECTED THIS WEEK
The new manager of (lie Mat
nuska Valley Bank is expected to
arrive here sometime late this
week, according to Jan Koslosky.
president of the hank's board of
directors.
The new bank manager's name
is Richard M. Jones, and he
comes from Linden. Washington,
where he has been associated for
i several years with the People’s
State Bank of that city as cashier.
Mr. Jones visited Palmer a
month ago to “look the place
over.” Apparently he was well
satisfied since he made immediate
plans to terminate his position at
the Linden bank and accept the
j appointment here. Mr. Jones'
' wife and three children will fol
low him shortly after his arrival
here. Arrangements have been
. made for him to purchase one oi
'the remaining AHA houses upon
his arrival in Palmer
Jan Koslosky said today that he
will be glad to relinquish his
duties as manager of the bank—
duties which he took over during
the rehabilitation period follow
ing the former manager’s resigna
tion last December 7. He will con
tinue to be associated with the
bank in his capacity as president
of the board of directors.
U. S. Marshals Huntley
And Bouwens Fly East
U. S Marshal Walter Huntley
' U. S. Marshal Walter Huntley
i accompanied by Mrs. Huntley and
Deputy U. S. Marshal Wil
liam Bouwens left Alaska by
plane Tuesday to go to Washing
ton D. C. and New York.
It is believed that they go to
pick up a woman who is an im
portant figure in a narcotics case.
Annual U, of Alaska Extension
Service Conference Here Next Week
About forty agricultural am
; home demonstration agents fron
| all over the Territory will gathe
; in Palmer next week Monda;
through Thursday for the annua
| University of Alaska Extensioi
j Service Conference.
Morning and afternoon session
| for each of four days have beej
scheduled to take place in the Co
Op Club Room. General topic
will be discussed in the mornini
sessions and separate sessions wil
oe held in the afternoons for th
agricultural agents and the horn'
demonstration agents. The latte
will gather in the Extensioi
Craft Room for their discussions
Special guests include Willian
O’Neill, member of the Universit:
Board of Regents, who will opei
the conference Monday with ;
welcoming address; Dr. and Mrs
Terris Moore; and C. A. Svinth
state Extension Agent. Washing
ton State College, who will b
the main speaker at the confer
ence.
On the opening session Monda:
morning Don L Irwin, Directo
of the Alaska Experiment Statioi
will talk on Alaska’s researcl
program and its relation to th<
Extension Service. Mr. Smith wil
follow him with the subject: “De
veloping Effective Lines of Com
munications.”
During the afternoon sessior
both the home demonstratior
agents and the agricultural agent:
will hear Major Hales, Air Forc<
Intelligence Officer of Elmendor
,AFB talk on current world af
1 fairs. Later in the afternoon Hug!
1 Johnson will talk to the agricul
r tural agents on marketing prob
lems of isolated agricultural com
1 munities and William J. Sweet
l man will talk on research de
velopments in dairy husbandry,
s At the same time, the home dem
i onstration agents will have group
- discussion on family relations
3 and community activities.
I Lynn Hollist, Director of the
i Alaska Extension Service, will
3 lead off the Tuesday session with
; a discussion of ‘‘Extension Plans
3 for ’52.” Mr. Smith, whose talks
1 are scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on
• each of the four mornings, will
1 conduct group discussion prog
r rams on ‘‘Planning a Program
1 with People”—Tuesday, “Laws of
1 Learning in Relation to Extension
• Methods”—W ednesday, and
» “Evaluating the Results of our
• Program”—Thursday.
; Norman Wingutoff, marketing
specialist from the Fishery Pro
ducts Laboratory, Bureau of
' Fisheries, will address the group
during the Wednesday morning
t session- Other speakers during
1 the four-day session include Edith
■ Hablutzel, Irving W. Abbott, Mrs.
I Lydia Fohn Hansen, and Miss
■ Kathleen Richard—all of the Ex
• tension Service; Professor Arthur
Buswell of the University of
1 Alaska; Drs. M. F. Baab, C. H.
i Dearborn. Donald Coe, Richard
1 Washburn, and Allen Mick and
; H, J. Hodgson, R. L. Taylor and
- Ivan Branton—all of the Alaska
Experiment Station.
I
MVTC OFFERS OPTION WITH 90 DAY
TRIAL PERIOD BEGINNING MARCH 1
I
City's Oldest
Privately-Owned
Garage Changes Hands
Announcement was made this
week regarding the sale of Bruce j
Graham’s Garage to Harry and
1 Bertram Duff father and son and
well known local ‘‘old timers."
The Duffs will take over opera
tion of the garage next Monday,
March 3. It will henceforth be
I known as “Motor In Service.”
! This sale marks the first change \
in one of Palmer's oldest business
establishments. Graham’s garage
opened for business in 1936. and
it was the first independent gar- 1
age in the city. The ARRC at'
that time maintained a small gar
age where the Co-Op Garage is
now. It was taken over by the Co
Op a few years later.
Graham’s plans for the future
are undecided at present except
for the fact that he is definitely
going to stay in the Valley.
Harry and Karla Duff started
homesteading out near King’s
j Lake in 1930. In recent years they
i moved into town where they live
j just a few feet behind the garage
! just purchased Harry Duff has
been employed by the Alaska
Road Commission for 21 years i
as a maintenance <?„an for this |
area. His son. Bertram, was also
j employed by the ARC in main
tenance work both before and
after his service in the army dur
ing World War II. For the past
two years he has worked for the
Anchorage Motor Service.
One Hospitalized;
Two Gars Wrecked
In City Collision
On Tuesday morning, at the
peak of the city’s eight o’clock
get-to-work traffic rush, the
chairman of the City Planning
Commission proved the hard v.ay
his point about the need for stop
signs to control Palmer’s traffic.
One young woman is still in
Valley Hospital recovering from
a concussion received in the early
morning collision Tuesday be-;
tween Ray Hommon's ’49 Ford
and Charles W. Wilson’s ’39 Chev
rolet at the intersection of Spring
er Road with Fairview Avenue.
Mrs. Billie Smith Lacey, sec
j retary at the Alaska Experiment
Station, suffered the only serious
injury. She had been walking to
work from her trailer-house home
on Jack Cope’s farm when Mr.
and Mrs. Hommon offered her a
“lift” about a block from the in
tersection where the accident oc
curred. Usually the Hommons
would have turned left at Fair
view Avenue as they proceeded
toward the Eklutna Project head
quarters. Apparently Mrs. Lacey
didn’t tell the Hommons that she
worked at the Experiment Sta
tion until they had reached the
intersection, when it was too late
to turn right. Apparently Hom
mon decided quickly to go
straight across Fairview Avenue
and circle the block. He crashed
straight into the left front of the
Wilson car which was traveling
toward the railroad tracks on
Fairview Avenue. Although neith
er car was traveling more than
20 miles per hour, the impact
swung the Ford around so that it
hit Wilson’s car another glancing
blow at its rear. The rear door
Continued on page 5
Two emergency meetings of the
City Council during the past
week climaxed several months of
serious thinking concerning tele
phone service in the Valley with
the decision to take over the op
eration of the Matanuska Valley
Telephone Company on a 90-day
trial period, beginning March 1.
with option to purchase.
The situation is described in a
statement issued by Mayor Car!
Meier after the lates meeting yes
terday afternoon. According to
the mayor, the Matanuska Valley
Telephone Company is on the
verge of discontinuing all tele
phone service because govern
ment and private creditors of the
company refuse to extend further
credit. The imminent failure of
the MVTC creates a serious em
ergency. Not only would all tele
phone communications in the Val
ley be cut off, but outside con
nection would be reduced to the
single station in the ACS office
Police and fire protection and
normal business would operate
under a severe handicap. In order
to prevent such a chaotic break
down. the Council yesterday
adopted an emergency resolution
based on an offer by the MVTC
of an option to purchase the exist
ing system.
The resolution states: .
“The Matanuska Valley Tele
phone Company has offered to
the City of Palmer by and
through its Common Council an
opportunity to purchase the Mat
anuska Valley Telephone Com
pany and together with all its
stock outstanding and together
with its equipment, installations,
poles, and lines, switchboards,
etc., subject to a satisfactory
compromise settlement of all old
obligations, financial and other
wise due and owing to govern
ment agencies and private parties.
"After a thorough investiga
tion and study of said proposition
by members of the Common
Council for and on behalf of the
City of Palmer it has been deem
ed in the interests of the City of
Palmer to acquire the Matanuska
Valley Telephone Company to
gether with all its physical prop
irties.
“WHEREFORE BE IT RE
SOLVED that the City of Palmer
enter into an interim working
agreement for ninety days com
mencing with March 1, 1952, with
the Matanuska Valley Telephone
Company to operate the tele
phone exchange and the business
of the company together with its
other facilities, pending consum
mation of a final purchase agree
ment and settlement of all out
standing claims by compromise
or otherwise.
“In the event satisfactory ar
rangements cannot be made with
creditors of said company and a
clear and unencumbered bill of
sale to all personal property own
(Please turn to page 5)
Bulletin
Palmer had its streets sand
ed today in what was perhaps
the most amazing of recent
contributions to the improve
ment of city street manage
ment.
Mayor Carl Meier was at the
truck wheel while Street Su
pervisor Russ Felzien shoveled
off the sand on the many slip
pery spots that have made
driving a hazardous adventure
in the past few days.