Northland Pioneer
Grange card parly ai
Grange Hall at 8:00
o'clock Thursday.
Halley Mrontiergman
PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
Matanuska Valley
Sportsmen's annual
fish fry will be held
on July 16.
VOL. THREE—NO. 41
PALMER. ALASKA. FRIDAY, JUNE 23. 1950
PRICE 10c
Group Organizes To Promote Lake George Pool
-DAD1
iC
Nome-ite Suggests
Palmer Take Steps
To Relocate Railroad
Antonio Polet, the Mr. Nome of
Alaska, who visited briefly in the
Valley last week, prescribed a j
remedy for Palmer’s transporta- j
tion ills, which he recommended I
should be administered immedi- i
ately. ‘'Why don’t you get the
main line of the Alaska Railroad
re-located through Palmer?” he ;
queried over his shoulder’ as he
boarded a bus en route to An- ;
chorage and thence home to
Nfee.
The Alaska Development Board
member said he thought the sug
gestion would find merit in the
eyes of prominent Alaskans. “Ask
the Development Board to help
you,” he directed. “Don’t try to j
do it alone. And when you’ve
found, the help you need, then
carry your fight clear to Congress. ;
People will listen to you if you
have something to say, if you say
it often and well enough.”
The Nome visitor pointed out
the economies that could be i
achieved, if the plan were carried
through. With Palmer on the:
main line of the Alaska Railroad, ;
special daily runs to Jonesville
^ould be eliminated.
He sees the plan as one way of ,
securing daily train service the
length of the Railbelt, with the j
Jonesville coal cars carried on the j
regular train and switched at
Palmer for the short haul to
Jonesville.
The Development Board mem
ber said he felt the plan would
push Palmer from the village to
city class, in a short span of time,
and that the added transportation
service along the Railbelt would
(Continued on Editorial Page)
LIFE STAFFERS PHOTO
VALLEY FARM LIFE
Life has come to Alaska, and
more recently to the Matanuska
Galley. Last week reporter Ruth
Adams and photographer Tom
McAvoy, long-time member of
Life’s staff, arrived here to do a
picture story of the Valley.
The pair have been in Alaska
for most of the spring, and al
ready have jaunted from Attu to
Nome and Point Barrow. Follow
ing the completion of their work
in the Valley and in Anchorage,
they'll see Kodiak, Valdez and
Fan-banks and then will return
to Juneau and the southeastern
area before returning to their
home office.
Their over-all purpose in Alas
ka is to do a picture story from
the defense angle, Miss Adams
explained. “‘We came to find out
what is going on here now. in the
way of defense,” she said, “and
to learn what the military has
done for Alaska, as well as what
Alaska has done for the military.”
In the Valley the photographer
and reporter have been working
on a story which will compare the
life of a new homesteader with
that on an established dairy farm,
which has been in existence for
a number of years. For their sub
jects, the team chose the family
of R. H. Pettit on Lazy Mountain,
as the homesteaders. Their life
will be compared to that on the
I (Victor Falk dairy farm, in the
* picture story.
The story is expected to appear
in the mid August issue of Life.
Butte Folks Protest
Water Pollution
A strong protest was lodged
with the Maianuska Valley
Health Council last week, re
garding the pollution of drink
ing water in the Butte area. In
ell. 34 residents of the area
signed a petition requesting
that the Health Council take
steps to stop the alleged pollu
tion, which is said to be con
taminating the drinking water
of approximately 100 persons.
The petition asks that "ac
tion be taken in the very near
future to remedy the situation
of the dumping of garbage and
refuse such as moose hides, tin
cans, clams and live clams into
the Bodenburg Creek, which is
east of Palmer."
The petition states that the
dumping occurs just 100 feet
above a site where water is
hauled from the creek for
drinking purposes.
Members of the Health
Council discussed the petition
and referred it to Lloyd Mor
ley, territorial sanitarian, and
Lucius Ross, chairman of the
Valley's board of health, for
further action.
Results of the Health Coun
cil referral were not known at
press-time today.
Jonesville Miners
Gel 10-Cenl Raise
The highest paid coal miners in
the United States and Alaska,
members of the Evans Jones local
of the United Mine Workers, will
get a 10-cent-an-hour pay raise
when they go back to work on
July 5. Mine head Harry Rill
said a contract was negotiated
this week, which appears accept
able to miners and owners.
It had not been signed, at press
time, because three members oi
the union committee were on va
cation. The Evans Jones mine
closed last Saturday, for its an
nual shutdown. It will not reopen
until July 5.
The new wage scale brings the
miner’s pay rate to S3.10 an hour
Semi-skilled and unskilled un
derground workers will get $2.4C
(Continued on Ediiorial Page)
Alaska Road Commission crewmen labor to clear away the snow
slide which blocked the Palmer-Anchorage Highway on Monday
of this week. Traffic was stopped for nearly seven hours, while
the 20-foot wide and 35-foot high snow block was scooped from
the highway and dumped into Knik River. More than 100 cars
were held waiting at the slide area. Interesting to note was the
fact that of the estimated 40 cars waiting for passage to Anchorage,
workmen counted only five Alaskan license plates. Shovel oper
ator in the picture above is Harry Duff. ARC foreman Oliver
Onkka is shown examining the size of the shovel's bite into the
slide. Three slides have tumbled down from Pioneer Peak and
across the highway this year. Mr. Onkka hopes there won't be
more, but he's prepared for five—that's the record for any one year,
thus far.—(Photo by Palmer Studios.)
PALMER COLD STORAGE BEGINS
CONSTRUCTION OF NEW ADDITION
-«
Carpenters' Head Issues
Work-Call for Sunday
President Ray Lancaster of the
Valley local of the carpenters'
union has issued an all-out call
for work for next Sunday morn
ing, when the carpenters tackle
the job of building a library for
Palmer. The union hopes to be
able to show the Valley a library
well on the way to completion
when the work day ends Sunday
evening.
The library board met last
Wednesday evening, to make fi
nal plans for the building and to
list their supplies and materials
needs. At that time, it was de
cided to make the building slight
ly larger than it was originally
planned. The structure will be
(Continued on Editorial Page)
► A building program which
probably will take several sum
mers to complete got under way
on the lot to the rear of Palmer
Cold Storage and Locker Service
this week. Harry Ryan, a partner
in the business, said this summer
would see one wing of the locker
plant moved into a new location
as an extension of the main build
ing. A meat kitchen also is to be
constructed, to go up to the rear
of the moved wing.
At present, this portion of the
rental lockers and the freezing
unit are located in a temporary
building connected to the main
plant as a wing, behind the groc
ery store section.
It is this wing that will be
moved and permanently located
over a cement basement. It will
be an elongation of the present
(Continued on Editorial Page)
Wasilla Invites Valley People
To Join In Fourth Celebration
WASILLA—This community’s
annual Fourth of July celebration,
sponsored by the Veterans of For
eign Wars, Susitna Post No. 9365,
will be bigger and better than
ever this year, commander James
Nelson averred this week. A full
four hours of fun and entertain
ment is scheduled to take place at
the softball diamond, beginning
at noon with a flag-raising cere
mony.
“Heinie” Snider will make the
day’s principal address, to open
the day’s long list of events. There
will follow a program of races,
contests, Bingo and softball.
Several Wasilla organizations,
among them the Library Associa
tion, Community Club, Wasilla
Grange and the VFW Auxiliary,
are planning booths which will
provide both food and entertain
ment on the grounds. For the
children who come, there will be
! 50 gallons of free ice cream.
Mr. Nelson issued a general in
; vitation to all Valley residents to
join with Wasilla in the Fourth
celebration. A softball team from
Palmer’s American Legion has
been invited to meet the VFW
squad from Wasilla.
Members of the Wasilla orga
nization worked on the diamond
last Sunday morning, in prepara
tion for the games and entertain
ment. Booth frames were built
I and the softball field was dragged
and levelled.
The day will culminate with a
dance at Wasilla’s Community
Hall, beginning at nine p.m. A
five-piece orchestra will play.
Mr. Nelson announced the hour
ly schedule of the day’s events as
follows:
Noon—Flag raising ceremony.
12:02—Dedicatory address by
"Heinie" Snider.
12:17—Children's races.
1:00—First drawing.
2:00—Softball game.
3:15—Second drawing.
3:17—Bingo.
4:00—Third drawing.
9:00—Dance.
9:00—Dance.
i till i vi rnvukbHtf
WILL GO TO BUILD
COMMUNITY HALL
A small group of Valley resi
dents, determined that a commu
nity recreation building is a
‘‘must” for the Valley, met this
week to organize the Lake George
Benefit Association. The plan of
the group is to utilize self-dump
ing Lake George in a gigantic
guessing contest, somewhat sim
ilar to the Tanana break-up in
the spring.
The group plans to organize
legally and to begin immediately
to plan the mechanism of the
project. It is expected that the
contest will be Alaska-wide, when
plans are complete. However the
Association hopes to run a trial
contest for Valley residents this
year, to test the practicality of
the plan and the efficiency of
time-measuring instruments to be
installed at Lake George.
The Association’s incorporators
expect to make up a log of
guesses, as does Nenana at the
Tanana break-up. In the future,
slips must be purchased on which
to. record the guesses. This year,
when no purchase is necessary,
the day, hour and minute guess
will be recorded on the coupon,
printed elsewhere in this issue.
The coupon must be clipped and
deposited in a container which
(Continued on Editorial Page!
Youth Drowns
In Hecker Lake
Antone Nudlash, 16-year-old
youth living at the Lazy Moun
tain Children’s Home, drowned in
the shallow waters of Hecker
Lake last Wednesday afternoon.
He met death in a spot where
he might have walked ashore, had
he stood up.
The boy, in company with Paul
and Walter Pederson, Wendall
Wilson, Mickey Nickoli. Burt
Shaginoff and Macar GaleskofL
left the home about 12:30 V/er
nesday to go swimming in
lake, located about a quarter
a mile from the junction of tr
Wolverine and Lazy Mountain
roads.
The six disturbed a flock of
ducklings with their splashing,
and the boys scattered in pur
| suit of the ducks. Antone fol
lowed one which swam away
from the group, and became sep
arated from his companions.
The other five failed to notice
that he was missing, for a time.
When they found him gone, they
became frightened and returned
to the Lazy Mountain Home to
get help. A group of searchers
returned and combed the lake,
locating the body about five
o’clock Wednesday evening. It
was estimated that the youth
had been in the water for about
three and a half hours. The body
was found by Walter Phillips and
Sidney Lindeke.
An inquest was held Wednes
j day evening, at which a coroner’s
i jury returned a verdict of acci
■ dental drowning. Jurors included
Paul Beechick, Mr. Phillips, Mr.
! Lindeke, Stanley Laird, Kenneth
; Hughes and Eaton Hubbard.
Antone is believed to be sur
vived by a sister in Anchorage
and a mother at Clark’s Point. At
press-time, the identity of neither
was known.