Community Cheit
membership meeting
at former library at t
p.m. next Friday.
i
Malley Mkontiergnmn
Grange pinochle parly
at Grange Hall at 8
p.m. next Wednesday.
PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
VOL. THREE— NO. 28
PALMER, ALASKA. FRIDAY. MARCH 24. 1950
PRICE 10c
Dairymen, Co-Op Agree To Quit Feuding
No Bid Award Yet
On Palmer Air|iort
No bid award on the work of
improving the Palmer airport has
been made yet, Tony Schwamm,
territorial commissioner of avia
tion, said this week. Mr.
Schwamm stated that “apparent
ly the bid of Palmer Construction
Company is suitable, as far as the
territorial commission of aviation
is concerned,” but said that it
would take another three weeks
to process CAA approval.
The aviation commissioner said
actual ground work on the Pal
met port could not begin now
before April 15, at the earliest.
He added, however, that the in
tervening time will be utilized in
getting easements for tree-top
ping and slashing, necessary on
the approaches to the relocated
airstrip.
Mr. Schwamm, in company
with Stanley McCutcheon, will be
in Palmer early next week to
undertake personally the matter
of these easements. At the time
of his visit, he promised full and
complete explanation of right-of
way needs and of CAA regula
tions governing construction on
th^ airstrips.
He emphasized that the ease
ments to be requested will cause
no hardship to any property hold
er. “The most serious thing that
could happen,” he stated, “is that
we might have to ask a property
owner to move back the location
of a proposed building a few feet
on his lot. We do have some reg
ulations which must be enforced
with reference to the height of
buildings erected on the edge of
the airstrip, but they will cause
no hardship to anyone owning
property at the Palmer airport.”
The aviation commissioner said
at’ refusal to grant an easement
could not halt the progress of Pal
mer’s port. The required right
of-way can be condemned, he
pointed out. " ’ 4
BERNICE JOHNSON'S ILL
Illness confined Mrs. Bernice
Johnson of the Extension Office
to her home this week.
KING, SR., RESIGNS
POST AS HEAD
OF FAIR HOARD
A president’s resignation and
department superintendents’ rec
ommendations for an improved
fair were the two most important
items of business to come before
the meeting of fair board and
superintendents on Wednesday
evening.
Clyde King, Sr., sent word that
press of other duties would make
it impossible for him to serve as
! president of the fair board this
year. No action was taken in the
matter of electing a replacement
for Mr. King.
[ Only a limited number of de
partment heads was in attendance
I at the Wednesday meeting, but
those present offered many sug
gestions for an improved opera
tion of the fair this year. Most of
their plans and ideas centered
about the need for a betler or
ganization of the fair and for im
provement of existing construc
tion.
Essential changes and improve
ments they suggested included:
1. Establishment of a central
j office on the fair grounds, to
which superintendents could
go. in the week prior to fair
time, to check out necessary
supplies and equipment.
2. Thorough briefing of su-/
perintendents and department
heads, so that a clearer under
standing of department man
agement would result.
j 3. Issuance of passes to all
fair judges.
| 4. Installation of a loud
speaker on the Midway, to pub
licize special events and attrac
tions in the various fair build
ings.
5. Posting of large attractive
signs along the Midway, point
ing the way to each depart
mental exhibit.
6. Establishing sweepstakes
prizes for each department,
i possibly to be furnished
through advertisers specifically
interested in each department.
7. Posting of bulletin boards
(Continued on Page 8)
School District Seeks GSA Funds
For $800,000 High School Building
Palmer School District’s $800,
000 application for General Serv
ices Administration funds for a
high school building cannot be
considered this year, the school
board has been informed. Since
the board submitted no plans to
GSA with their application, they
could not qualify.for a part of
the money appropriated this year,
all of which is earmarked for
projects on which construction
can begin this spring.
^However the board has been as
sured of GSA’s favorable attitude
toward Palmer’s need for a
school, An architect is making
preliminary sketches for the
planned building. The structure
will be of Class B concrete con
struction, and of a size to accom
modate 250 pupils. Plans call for
both an auditorium and a gym
nasium.
Under the GSA plan of lending
money to Alaskan communities,
the Palmer district must provide
50 per cent of the cost of the
building. Mr. Hurley said that
Palmer’s share of the present to
bacco tax, which is earmarked for
school construction, will take care
of the interest and amortization
of a necessary bond issue.
He explained that GSA will not
accept a promise of future tobac
co tax money as their assurance
of repayment, but that bonds
could be floated on the basis of
the tobacco tax money allocated
to schools.
DANIELS—In The Lion’s Den
The Valley Frontiersman feels there's some un
finished business that needs to be wrapped up and
disposed of, following last week's Chamber of Com
merce meeting. We refer to the incorporation study
report, the third such project undertaken by the
Chamber of Commerce, that we can remember in our
three-year sojourn here.
That report was read and accepted by the Cham
ber membership, which promptly turned its back on
the matter, then, saying that it was not a Chambei
function to take any further action.
Maybe so, but we don't think so. We think that
by that action all the Chamber did was to leave the
door open for a new and different "incorporation
study" in about another year. Frankly, we're getting
a little weary of all this studying. We think it's time
we grew up, graduated, and began to do some work.
But since the Chamber feels its work is done,
we'd like to announce that we'll pick up the job where
jj- was dropped. The Valley Frontiersman intends to
see that the incorporation petition is circulated in
Palmer and that the Palmer residents in the proposed
area get the opportunity to accept or reject the matter.
We, of course, are in favor of the plan. We think
it% the only means by which Palmer can grow. But
elen more thau4#£jfavor the incorporation plan, do
vfe favor the idea of getting the matter settled, one
way or another.
Therefore we*ve hired a man who will commence
circulation of the petition next week. First, we need
a surveyor's legal description of the territory to be en
compassed by the proposed incorporation.
Once we get that, we'll draw up the petition.
Then we've been asked, by an Anchorage lawyer, to
(Continued on Paee 5>
Red Cross Drive
Still Not Ended
Returns for the Valley’s Red
Cross drive still were not all in
at preijs-time, Mrs. Vicky Swidel
sky, drive chairman, said this
week. Solicitors still are comb
ing the business district, and do
not expect to complete their can
vass until tomorrow, she said.
Proceeds from the Boy Scout
drive in the rural areas were
“surprisingly high,” Mrs. Swidel
sky reported.
LIBRARY TOBE CLOSED
ON TUES. AFTEROON
One day was lopped from the
Palmer Library’s open hours this
week, when two volunteer librari
ans asked to be excused from
their duties. Effective this week,
the Palmer Library will no longer
be open on Tuesday afternoon, it
was announced by Mrs. Don In
galls of the library board.
The library is now open be
tween the hours of 2 and 4 p.m.
on Monday, Wednesday, Thurs
day and Friday of each week.
However, anyone seeking to re
leave them with Mrs. A1 King of
Palmer Automotive Service,
turn books after that hour may
The library board expressed re
gret at the need for further cur
tailment of hours, but said it was
impossible to maintain a fuller
schedule without additional vol
unteeer help.
! LINDSEY WINS WASILLA
STAR ROUTE BID
Mail contract awards between
Palmer and Anchorage and Pal
mer and Wasilla were announced
by the Post Office Department
at Washington, D. C., this week.
Morton Shaw of Mountain
View^on the Palmer-Anchorage
Star route bid with a price of
$20.75 for a daily round trip.
Gilman Lindsey of Palmer was
awarded the Palmer-Wasilla Star
route on a round - trip bid of
$26.32. This trip will be made
three times weekly.
Service on the new Star routes
will not be introduced until after
July 1 of this year.
Another Report on
Alaskan Farm Problems
Is Ready for Release
Another new booklet, “Repox-t
on Exploratory Investigations of
Agricultural Problems of Alaska,” ‘
is ready for distribution from
Alaskan Extension Service of
fices, it was announced this week, j
The booklet is the work of a crew j
of agricultural technicians who
surveyed Alaskan agricultural
problems in the summer of 1946.
The group was headed by O. S.
Aamodt, agronomist.
The booklet, publication No.
700 of the Agricultural Research
Administration, is a 185-page re
port of the technicians’ findings.
It discusses problems needing
further research, Alaskan soils,
(Continued on Page 5)
SIX PAY PENALTIES,
OBTAIN RELEASE
FROM MEMBERSHIP
The ‘‘milk war” of the past
winter months has waned with
the lengthening spring days, and
is now nothing more than a mat
ter of record on the account books
of various Valley dairymen and
the Matanuska Valley Farmers’
Co-Operating Association. The
Co-Op and the dairymen settled
their differences out of court this
week and parted to walk their
separate ways.
At press-time, the injunction
which restrained six Valley
dairymen from selling milk
through any marketing agent
other than the Co-Op to whom
they were contracted either had
been lifted or was to be lifted
within the next few hours. The
dairymen’s petition for the lift
ing of that injunction, which
reached Third District Court last
Monday, had been denied by
Judge Anthony Dimond.
Six dairymen, A. A. Rempel,
Richard McAllister, Art Hol
brook, Ernest Harrington, Arvid
Johnson, Leonard Moffitt and
Archie Moffitt won their freedom
from their Co-Op contract by
paying prescribed penalties and
court costs.
The six, early last winter, elect
ed to overlook their MVFCA con
tract, which they contended was
not binding, and began selling
milk to Alaska Dairy. The Co
Op hauled the bolting milkmen
into court and secured a court
order forcing them to sell to no
one else until such time as the
men could take proper steps to
free themselves jfrom the Co-Op
contract.
renames paid by the six in
clude a 10 per cent assessment on
payments for all milk sold to
Alaska Dairy, mileage costs, court
costs and half the lawyer’s fees.
A spokesman estimated that it
cost the dairymen from a little
more than $100 up to as much as
$000 to win their release, depend
ing upon individual circum
stances.
Four additional dairymen also
were 'released from the Co-Op
this week, although under differ
ent circumstances, according to
James Wilson, MVFCA manager.
The four, L. M. DeF’riest, Ed
Hartner, Joe Lentz and Victor
Falk, Sr., petitioned for with
drawal from membership and
were released.
Discussing the release agree
ment signed between the dairy
(Continued on Page Seven)
Wonted—Candidates
For School Board Jobs
No one has yet filed a dec
laration of intent to run for
school board member at the
April 4 election, school super*
intendeni William T. Zahrad
nicek said late Wednesday af
ternoon- Filing deadline is
noon April 3 at the school of
fice.
There are two boerd vacan
cies which must be filled at
this election.