THANKSGIVING WILL BE
OBSERVED BY SPECIAL
VALLEY CHURCH SERVICES
The Frontiersman
PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
; TRY A FRONTIERSMAN
CLASSIFIED AD for that
,; item you may hare lor tala.
; renl or lease.
VOLUME 6, NUMBER 10
PALMER. ALASKA. WEDNESDAY, NOV. 26, 1952
PRICE TEN CENTS
Merchants’ Annual
Christmas Party
Set for December 24
The annual Merchants’ Christ
mas Party for Valley children
will be held Saturday, afternoon,
December 24 in the Valley Thea
ter, it was announced this week.
A recent canvass of local mer
chants brought forth that all were j
in favor of continuing the annual
program, and as in the past, the
party will be financed by the
merchants. A varied program of
comedies has been planned and j
each child attending the party
will receive a bag of ‘‘goodies’
from Santa Claus who will ap- ,
pear in person, on that date.
Two hundred pounds of candy,
150 pounds of Christmas nuts and
100 pounds of peanuts have been!
ordered in addition to apples and
oranges. Women of the Moose i
have again agreed to tackle the
job of bagging 650 bags for the
party. Moose members will act
as ushers and Santa’s helpers
during the program.
A1 Hagen said that over 600
children attended the party last
year and that that many or pos
sibly more were expected this
year. Total costs of the operation
last year was approximately $515;
this included 10 reels of comedies.
As in past years, Hagen will do
nate the use of the Valley Theatre
for the party.
Hospital Announces
New Payment Policy
Effective this past Monday, No
vember 24, the financial situation
of the Valley Hospital required
the Board of Directors to estab
lish a new policy. In the future
all hospital patients must pay an
advance deposit of at least $25
within 24 hours after admittance.
This new regulation will apply to
*11 persons not covered by insur
ance or compensation, O. K. Kin
caid, hospital manager said in
making the announcement.
Also, all persons who will be
personally responsible for bills
will receive regular billings after
each week of hospitalization and
it will be expected, Kincaid ad
ded, that payments will be made
on account each time.
The announcement has brought
forth the information that abso
lute debts, owed the hospital, total
some $28,000. The monthly ex
penses at Valley Hospital run in
«xcess of $7,000 each month, $5.
000 of which goes out on the pay
roll.
Kincaid said that the new plan
was established in a way the di
rectors believe will cause the
least hardships on the public.
THOMPSON PASS ICY
Thompson Pass, 30 miles north
•of Valdez, is presently impassable
without chains due to icy con
ditions, the Alaska Road Com
mission announced yesterday.
Motorists are urged to travel the
road with caution.
T
1
UNION RELEASES
ANOTHER SHIP
According to a wire received
in the Anchorage office of
Alaska Steamship Company
yesterday their ship the M. V.
Susitna was released to sail
from Seattle at 7 a.m. yester
day with a capacity load. The
Union also released the S. S.
Diamna to sail Friday, Novem
ber 28. The latter ship to clean
up about 17 tons of cargo now
on hand at Pier 42 which the
Susitna was unable to load.
All cargo on the Iliamna will
be for Seward and Valdez dis
charge, he wire stated. No
other cargo other than what
is now on Pier 42 will be load
ed to the Iliamna and no other
cargo will be received for the
Iliamna. These restrictions
were put on by the union, the
wire informed officials.
i
CIVIL DEFENSE
COMMITTEE NAMED
Palmer Civil Defense is gradu
ally coming into shape, according
to * CD Director Edward Imme.
But. he added, a great deal re
mains to be done before we are
ready to meet an actual emer
gency with real efficiency and
before a full scale Civil Defense
exercise can be attempted in Pal
mer. Such a full scale exercise,
including a full blackout, will be
run in the near future.
At the present time the Palmer
Civil Defense committee consists
of the following persons: Direc
tor Edward Imme; Tom Reiss,
deputy director; William Bou
wens and Lew Hanks, assistant
directors; Hugh Johnson, person
nel; Dr. C. C. Bailey, health ser
vices; Lucille Mick, emergency
welfare: Max Sherrod, first aid;
Bernie Bouweens. law enforce
ment; Ray Lancaster, fire service; |
Chet Sandvik, shelter; Richard;
Demming, engineering; Oliver1
Onkka, rescue service and evacu-1
ation; and John Weisenberger,!
communications. June Liebing re- j
presents the Nurses’ Association
and reports their organization
ready to go into action. Dr. Curtis
Dearborn represents the Agricul-'
ture Station. Palmer Boy Scouts ;
are prepared to offer courier ser- j
vice, Scoutmaster Harry Wimmer
has reported to the director.
Plans for the evacuation of
school children to safe areas in
ne event of an emergency have
oeen made by William Zahrad
nicek and the American Legion
post has offered its full coopera
tion.
All service organizations are
urged to appoint a representa
tive to meet with the Civil De
fense committee.
During its last meeting, the
committee accepted the o5ter*of
the Carpenters’ Hall as a head
quarters building. Hereafter
meetings will be held there and
the Civil Defense headquarters
will operate from there in any
drill or emergencies.
Air raid warnings, or the Red
Alert, will be sounded by the
Co-Op whistle with a three min
ute series of short blasts, togeth
er with the fire siren. The all
clear signal is a one minute blast
followed by two minutes of si
lence, a second one minute blast
followed by a second period of
silence, and a third one minute
blast.
At the sound of the Red Alert,
Civil Defense workers are to pro
ceed immediatly to their stations
unless planes are overhead, in
which case they must find shelter
until able to proceed. The popu
lace are to remain calm and find'
shelter until the all clear is sound
ed and to follow the directions of
wardens and police officers, Im
me stated.
The Red Alert last Friday eve
ning, November 21, was not in
tended to be a blackout, but was
to test the time involved in get
ting an alert from Anchorage to
our station and have the alert
signals sounded in Palmer, he ex
plained.
Another preliminary test will
be held this week, in which a
Navy bomber will fly over with
out warning and drop leaflets
urging all out participation in our
Civil Defense effort. .In connec
tion with this simulated attack we
will attempt to pick up the "ag
gressor” plane and sound the Red
Alert, Imme said. At this time
Civil Defense workers will re
port to stations and an evacuation
drill will be held at the school
No blackout or full scale ex
ercises will be in effect at this
time.
This will be followed at an an
nounced dates in the near future,
with a full scale blackout test
and a full test of our Civil De
fense organization. Plans for this
test will be completed at the next
Civil Defense meeting to be held
December 1 in the Carpenters’
Hall. The basement of the Agri
culture Building will be used as
an emergency treatment center
for casualties.
WE GIVE THANKS
Thanksgiving Day was primarily established as a religious
holiday. Originated by the pilgrims as their way of expres
sing to God their appreciation for his many blessings, it
has become a tradition and a symbol to the American people.
The festivities and feasting on the holiday are minor parts
. . . . our own individual and collective humility and deep
gratitude are most important. Thanksgiving Day is family
holiday, a time for fellowship and feasting on the good
things from a bounteous harvest. As we sit down to our
own heavily laden tables, may we offer a prayer of thanks
giving for the many blessings which come to us from day to
day.
“PITCHFORK COMMITTEE” FORMED BY
MATANUSKA VALLEY BUSINESSMEN
A group of local business men
met Monday afternoon to hear.a
report by Fred M. Zieke, Co-Op
general manager, on a recent
discussion held in Seattle per
taining to the full shipping tie
up in that port.
As a result of the meeting, the
Matanuska Valley Farmers and
Merchants Pitchfork Committee
was formed. A letter is being
drafted and copies will be sent
to all suppliers in Seattle, the
Alaska Steamship Company,
Mayor Pomeroy of Seattle, Del.
Bob Bartlett and Governor Ernest
Gruening, setting forth the seri
ousnes of continued strikes in
the port of Seattle.
The letter refers specifically to
their concern over continual Seat
tle shipping strikes, dating back
to 1934. The Valley’s need for
steady, continuous service; and
emphasized we are not an in
dustrial community; we are sole
ly a farming community, de
pendent upon vital supplies to
sustain the small merchants^ the
farmers and their livestock.
As was pointed out, this group
has no quarrel with labor—nor
the suppliers—their interest is to j
try and correct a situation that
will assure the Valley of reason
able security.
This morning Manager Zieke
sent a wire to Maxie Weisbarth
of the ILA asking if and when
there will be another ship re
leased for Alaska sailing.
The entire Seattle waterfront
has been threatened with com
plete closure over a dispute in
hiring of longshore foremen. The
AFL group said they would at
tempt to bring influence to bear
upon military shipping. If that
plans succeeds, the entire port
will be tied up.
Pumping to Start
At Eklutna Tunnel
Work at the Eklutna hydro
electric site is progressing at a
normal rate, Acting Engineer
Charles Inman announced this
week. Water in the tunnel flood
ed two weeks ago has receded a
little, he said, and the contractor
is installing two, 22 inch pipes
for draining. Pumps, capable of
handling the . situation, are en
route from the states and will
be put into immediate use upon
arrival.
Meanwhile, excavating work
at the other end of the tunnel
has been started by the contrac
tor, Palmer Constructors, and will
continue until the flooding at the
other end is under control.
Hydraulic dredging by the Ben
C. Gerwick Company is progress
ing to the point where crews are
nearly ready to start placing pre
cast concrete piping for the in
take in the lake bottom, Inmann
said. Work at the lake will con
tinue as long as possible. How
ever, Inmann said, once the lake
is frozen, work will have to be
curtailed until spring.
MANY ATTEND
SPORTSMEN'S SHOW
An estimated 2,000 persons
visited the Anchorage Sports
men's Show held in Elks Hall,
Anchorage on November 24. The
many exhibits .including game
trophies, sporting goods and
equipment plus several reels of
sports film, proved interesting to
the spectators.
TRAFFIC COUNTER
STOLEN FROM HIGHWAY
Oliver Onkka of the Alaska
Road Commission reported the
theft of an ARC traffic counter
sometime between 4 p.m. Novem
ber 24 and the morning of No
vember 25. It was stolen from a
spot about one mile north of town
on the Glen Highway and wasn’t
easy to remove, Onkka reported.
Padlocked to a post, all that re
mained of the counter was a
small one inch hasp that had been
cut through.
What anyone would want with
a traffic counter was beyond the
speculation of Onkka. “It isn’t
good for a thing except what it
was intended for”, he said.
Appropriating government pro
perty is punishable by fine or im
prisonment or both, according to
Territorial and Federal laws.
LEGISLATORS TO
CONFER WITH DAIRYMEN
Valley dairymen will have a
chance to present their problems
to the men who will represent
them in the next legislature.
Senator Snider and representa
tives elect, M. D. Snodgrass and
Dr. Lee McKinley have been in
vited to meet with members of
the Matanuska Valley Breeders
Association at their next regular
meeting.
This meeting will be held at
the Harold Thuma ranch at 8 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 9th. All Associa
tion members and their wives
are invited to attend- •
CITY APPROVES 11
LIQUOR LICENSES
A total of eleven liquor li
ense applications were approved
by the city council last night
when they met in regular session
in the Co-Op Club room. Of the
11 licenses, five wrere for bars;
two for clubs and four for pack
age stores. They included: Pal-!
mer Bar. T & T Sourdough Bar,
Shamrock Lounge, Frontier Bar
and the Matanuska Hotel Bar.
Club licenses to the Elks Lodge
and Moose Club and package j
store licenses to Bert’s Drug,
Koslosky’s, Frontier Liquor store
and Comperski Liquor store.
These applications were accepted |
by the council subject to approval i
by the District Court and subject i
to approval of applications being
bona fide and in accord with the
law.
In granting their approval, it
was stated that all clubs are j
subject to the sales tax and that
any club operating within the
city limits must collect sales
tax on their sales. Any who have
not done so in the past will be
requested to bring their returns
up to date.
Resolution No. 31 was adopted
as read and the official title des
ignated for the telephone system, j
It is to be the City of Palmer
Telephone System and all future
payments should be made out to
the City of Palmer. Confusion
has resulted from many telephone
users continuing to send their,
payments to the Matanuska Val
ley Telephone Company.
New contracts with government
users and others will be drawn
up in the near future and will
be retroactive to the 15th of Sep
tember when the city took over
the telephone business. All con
tracts will be subject to the ap
proval of the council. Monthly
rates established for telephone
users are as follows: Residential
lines: 5-line, $6.00 2-line, $6.50
and 1-line, $7.50. Rural residential
phones will be 10-line, $6.00 —
5-line, $7.00 — 2-line, $10.00 and
1-line $12.50. Installation charges
will be $10 as will the deposit re
quired of new users. A toll rate
of 20 cents for three minutes has
been established from Palmer to
Jonesville, Eska and Alpine.
Icy Roads Cause
Week-End Accidents
Icy road conditions were blam
ed for a series of accidents in the
surrounding areas this past week
end.
An accident involving two ve
hicles early Friday evening
caused approximately an hours
traffic delay on the Glenn High
Highway about 600 feet west of
the Matanuska Bridge and in
directly caused damage to a third
vehicle.
Around 7:30 p.m. a 1952 Chev
rolet pickup truck driven by Ir
ving T. Sawby of Wasilla struck
a Nash sedan owned and driven
by Jack Leek of Palmer. Damage
to both vehicles was estimated
around $500. The two drivers re
ceived small cuts about the face
while Cheryl Ann Leek, riding
with her father, received bruises
on her chin and chest.
The accident was investigated
by the Alaska Highway Patrol
who supervised the removal of
both vehicles. During the removal
process, a 1951 Chevrolet sedan
driven by Alva D. Saxton of Pal
mer was stopped by road flares
when a 1951 Chevrolet pickup
truck driven by J. L. Dougherty
of Anchorage struck the Saxton
vehicle from the rear, causing
damage to the fender and bump
er.
Dougherty was charged with
driving under the influence of in
toxicating liquor and was to ap
pear before U. S. Commissioner
Rose Walsh in Anchorage this
week .
Several reports of vehicles
sliding off the road in various
spots were known but not re
ported. In this respect, Sgt. Stan
(Continued on page 6)
Col. Robert Fulton
Speech Highlight of
Kiwanis Dinner
Speaking before a large attend
ance at the annual Kiwanis din
ner November 20, Colonel Robert
F. Fulton, Base Commander of
Elmendorf Air Force Base, un
equivocally impressed his listen
ers with his comparative remarks
about citizenship in America and
the workers life in Russia.
Basing his presentation on facts
brouglit out of Russia, Col. Fulton
:old of an education system pres
ently in vogue in that country. Its
beginning starts when a couple
decide to marry. Without any
; ceremony they go to one of the
People’s Commissars and ask for
living quarters. They are then
provided a single 75 to 100 square
foot room, Col. Fulton described,
; and set up the only married life
j they are to know. Eventually a
1 child is born and when he reaches
his fifth or sixth birthday, a solu
tion to offset the cramped living
quarters must be found by his
parents.
The worker’s pay is no solution,
he went on, for there is only
! enough money to buy their food,
j their rent and possibly one pair of
' shoes a month. At this period
; their benevolent state offers a
solution. “We will take your
child, provide living quarters and
educate him for you,” is their
proposal. Children who are given
up to the State, Fulton went on,
are put in a government board
ing school and commence the
Russian education, continuing un
| til he reaches a grade equivalent
i to our eighth grade. Following
this completion, they are destri
buted in three categories: army,
i additional education and top
I quality students selected for sci
| entific work. Many are later fun
j neled into the airforce or put out'
i on farms. By the time they reach
S their twentieth birthday, they are
i ready to marry and the cycle
j starts over.
] ine workers know no other
i life, Col. Fulton pointed out. The
j entire Russian education system
is under the control of the state,
even the books are written by the
state. The problem of revolution
is no where near as acute as
many democratic countries be
lieve, for the workers only educa
tion and therefore his only
thoughts, are those of the state,
Col. Fulton pointed out.
! Comparing our system of edu
cation and resulting citizenship,
Col. Fulton reminded listeners of
our privileges of freedom of
speech—our ability to answer de
sires as expressed—build homes
—eliminate disease and develop
our communities
Col. Fulton was introduced to
the gathering by Lt. Governor
James Hurley of the Alaska-Yu
kon Division, Kiwanis Interna
tional, following the dinner.
Previous to the dinner Rev. Ed
ward Imme, board member, clev
erly took the part of the master
of-ceremonies and with the help
of Cy Brewer led the group in
favorite songs. Others who added
to the fun of the evening were:
(Continued on page 6)
CITY OFFICE IN
NEW QUARTERS
The office of the Palmer
City Clerk has completed the
move to their new quarters in
the Neal Wright Building and
have established regular of
fice hours. The office will be
open from 9 a.m. to noon and
from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
L. K. Mooers, city clerk, will
be in the office during these
hours to receive utility pay
ments and other city business.
Mooers has asked that all
J telephone bills be made pay
able to the City of Palmer,
rather than the Matanuska
Valley Telephone Co. This re
quest includes all accounts
dating back to September 16,
the date the city acquired the
telephone system.