FLOWER SHOW
Sunday. AugrutJ 12
F air Building
Balley IFrontiemman
PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
4Z PAGES
10 TOMY
VOL. 4. NUMBER 47
PALMER. ALASKA FRIDAY. AUGUST 3. 1951
PRICE. 10c
APW Yields More
*
Mayor Meier Appoints
Standing Committees
For City Services
Emergency issues were still
popping up this week, but the
City Council at last found time
to tackle the important problem
of city administration.
In order to organize city ser
vices as quickly as possible, it
was decided in last week’s meet
ing that standing committees
* should be named to deal with ser
vices or control ordinances. Last
night Mayor Carl Meier appoint
ed the following standing com
mittees:
Police and safety, Frank Brown
and Lloyd Severns; fire, A1 Ha
gen and Steve Ward; streets. Carl
Meier and Ward; taxes. Allan
Mick, Brown and Hagen; build
ing code, Chet Sandvik and Sev
erns; water, Mick and Hagen; ad
ministration. Brown and Sand
"vik.
Water Taxed Now
One amendment followed the
third reading of the sales tax or
dinance last night. It was decided
that water should be taxed the
same as any other utility. Ac
(Continued on Page 4)
Lettuce for Defense
Starts Co-Op Produce
Contract Deliveries
The Co-Op started delivery on
head lettuce to the army this
week under its contract to fur
> nish 7.200 pounds at 15c a pound.
Harold Stephan, produce man
ager at the Co-Op reported this
week that the potato crop looks
good.
“We’ve had ideal weather for
potatoes’’, he said. “There should
be a bumper crop in the Valley.”
He reported that Ashley Egtvet
was starting to dig new potatoes
this week. He has the earliest po
tatoes in the Valley. Last year he
dug them on August 10. These
new potatoes will be sold on the
local market because potato de
liveries to the army do not start i
until September 1. :
2300 Tons of Potatoes
Mr. Stephan said the Co-Op
will be shipping two car loads of
potatoes weekly to the military
after September 1. Except for the i
months of July and August, the
Co-Op furnishes potatoes to the
Alaska military the year ’round.
Contracts for potatoes this year
call for delivery of 2300 tons for
a total $198,841.50. The military
reserves the right to increase
their monthly contracts for pota
toes by 50 percent. The average
contract price on potatoes this
^pear is $5.79.
More Produce August 5
On August 15, Stephan said,
the Co-Op will start delivery on
celery, cabbage, and broccoli.
Carrots and turnips will be ready
for beginning shipments about
September 1.
f •
)
TO INCLUDE TEA, BAZAAR AND FLOWERS
FLOWER SHOW SUNDAY, AUGUST 12
The 1951 Flower Show spon
sored by the Northland Pioneer
Grange will feature a tea and a
bazaar as extra attractions Sun
day, August 12. from 1-8 p.m..
according to Mrs. Emma King,
chairman of the Flower Show.
The annual event will take place
in the administration building at
the Fair Grounds.
Six women from the Anchorage
Garden Club will come to Palmer
Sunday morning to act as judges
for Flowrer Show entries.
All persons interested in en
tries for the show should get a
copy of the Flower Show sched
ule, available at the Extension
office, or from Mrs. Margaret
Snodgrass. The Frontiersman of
fice also has a few copies on
hand. The Flower Show commit
tee is anxious to have as many
entries as possible. Awards will
be made for almost 200 varieties
listed under the special classifi
cations of potted plants, cactii
and succulents, annuals, perenni
als, shrubs, flower arrangements,
and corsages.
Hints for Exhibits
Exhibits should be brought in
Saturday afternoon or evening,
Mrs. King warned, because judg
ing will begin about nine o’clock
Sunday morning. She offered the
following suggestions for cutting
and hardening plant material for
exhibit entries:
“If plant material is to hold up
through the exhibition period, it
must be cut the day before it is
exhibited. Cutting should be done
early in the morning or after the
sun goes down. Cut stems at an
angle with sharp knife or prun
ers and place at once in deep wa
ter. It is a good idea to carry a
Construction Begins
On Modern Building
Replacing Ron-Oa-Voo
Footings were completed this I
week for the news 50x50 foot
concrete structure which will
>oon replace the old Ron-Da-Voo.
The new building is planned as
in extension of the Wright build
ng, although there will be separ
ite entrances to it, according to
Itlyde King, Jr. who is supervis
ng the construction. Mr. King
and Neal Wright are putting up
the building.
Only a basement and first floor
are planned for this year, but fu
ture plans call for a second floor
which will be available for office
space. The structure will be of
concrete block reinforced with
pillar and beam construction.
Basement and ground floors will
be of poured concrete. The build
ing will be completely fireproof
Mr. King asserted.
The first floor is planned for
two business establishments, the
one near “Betty’s” is being de
signed for use as a restaurant.
bucket of water to the flower bed
and place each specimen in it as
it is cut.
“After cutting, plant material
should be placed in a dark, cool
place in deep water over night or
for an equal period of time. This
is called ‘hardening’. Plant mate
rial prepared in this way holds
freshness for some time.”
Her suggestions for arranging
flowers were mostly negative
ones like—Don’t cross the stems.
Don’t “sandwich” colors or sizes.
Don’t use too many flowers or
too many different kinds of flow
ers; five or six kinds should be
the limit. Don’t have flowers
partly under water. Don’t let the
frog or chicken wire show; cover
them with flowers, foliage, or
stones. And above all, do not be
lieve that working with flowers
is “sissy”; many great artists are
men.
No Admission Charge
There will be no admission
charge to the Flower Show this
year. There will be a silver col
lection at the tea, and it is hoped
that many Flower Show visitors
will also patronize the bazaar.
Valley women serving on the
various Flower Show committees
include Karla Duff, Jean Kyger,
Esther Kirsch, and Nora Bentti
for entries; Marjorie Hoskins, Lil
lian Eckert, Lila Newville, and
Viola Thuma for staging; Mar
garet Snodgrass and Harriet Bell
for the schedule; and Maud Hos
ier for publicity.
Valley Frontiersman
1*0 Come Out Thursdays
Starting next week the Front
iersman will come out on Thurs
days.
Advancement of the publication
date is being made in order to ac
commodate rural subscribers who
often fail to get their papers until
Monday. At this late date, they
are unable to take advantage of
week-end specials offered regu
larly by local advertisers.
Under the new publication
date, it will be necessary for lo
cal organizations to get their news
in by Tuesday evening. The dead
line for advertisers will be Wed
nesday morning.
Two Palmer Girls
Enter Fair Queen Race
Two Palmer girls are the first
to register for the annual Mat
anuska Valley Fair Queen con
test.
First to make her intentions
known was a comparitive new
comer to the Valley. Miss Agnes
Bolokken, 19, registered as a con
testant July 30. Employed at
Brown’s Shop. Miss Bolokken is
making her home with cousins,
Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Brattan of
Palmer. Her former home was in
Gubransdalen, Norway and as
one might assume, she is a pret
ty blue-eyed blonde.
Second to register wras popu
lar high school student, Billie
Jean Roark, 16, daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. William Roark, Palmer.
Miss Roark has lived in the Val
ley the past four and a half years
and is employed by the Palmer
Drug Store.
The contest is open to all
single girls between the ages of
15 and 21 who have lived in the
Valley since July 1, 1951. Con
testants may register for the
Queen contest at the Valley Fron
tiersman office. Tickets are ready
for distribution and may be ob
tained from Clair Stock at the
Palmer Fountain.
Publicity expenses involved in
pictures, posters and incidental
items will be given each Queen
contestant following her quali
fication. As in past years, con
testants must sell 200 tickets to
qualify for the race. Ten percent
of each ticket sold will also be
given each girl.
With but a month left before
the Fair, board members urge
any and all Valley girls who
meet the contestant requirements
to get their applications in early.
SCHOOL BOARD HINTS
RE-EVALUATION OF
DISTRICT PROPERTY
The possibility of re-evaluating
all property in the Palmer School
District was discussed at the
meeting of the School Board
Wednesday night.
Meanwhile, the board, acting in
its capacity as a board of equali
zation, plans to check all assessed
valuations for the year 1951 for
the purpose of determining any
inequalities.
School district assessor Wiliam
Head is now preparing the tax
roll. All persons who have not
filed their assessment returns
should do so immediately. Terri
torial law says these returns
should be sent in by July 1.
Ross Resigns
Lucius Ross tendered his resig
nation as member of the School
Board. The board accepted the
resignation as of August, 15, when
Ross is expected to leave. The ap
pointment of a new School Board
member to serve until the elec
tion next spring was tabled.
New School Grows
To 37,000 Square Feet
In Juneau Conference
Palmer’s projected new high
school grew from 22.000 to 37,000
square feet last week end as a re
sult of a trip to Juneau made by
School Board member James
Hurley and Superintendent Wil
liam T. Zahradnicek. it was re
ported Wednesday evening at the
regular meeting of the School
Board.
The school architect. William
Arild Johnson, joined the Palm
er twosome in Juneau, and the
three of them sot about convinc
ing Donald Wilson, Alaska dir
ector of the Public Works pro
gram that more school room was
needed. According to the report
Hurley made to other School
Board members, a few misunder
standings led to the original APW
recommendation for a $660,000
structure of 22.000 square feet. In
the first place, the recommenda
tion was made on APW's limited
estimate of the school district’s
ability to pay its share of 50 per
cent. It v.as APW’s contention
that the $28,000 the Palmer dist
rict could expect yearly from the
tobacco tax was the sole amount
which would go toward the amor
tization of its $330,000 share.
Moreover, APW was under the
impression that the Palmer school
system already owned a gymnas
ium. It also appeared that origi
nal estimates about the cost of
the high school were far too low'.
After many hours of confer
ence, Hurley, Zahritdnicek, and
Johnson convinced APW that all
the classroom space included in
the original sketch should be in
cluded. That boosted the square
footage to 37,000 feet and the to
tal estimated cost of the struc
ture to $1,111,000. This amount
includes equipment, architect’s
fee, federal administrative costs,
and 10 percent for contingencies.
The local share would be
$550,000.
In gaining this addition, which
Superintendent Zahradnicek was
confident would take care of all
(Continued on Page 13)
School Opens Sept. 4;
First Grade, Newcomers
Register Next Week
Just one more month of vaca
tion! The Palmer Public School
opens Tuesday, September 4.
That’s the official word from the
School Board.
Next week registration begins
for new first graders and other
new students in the elementary
grades. New high school students
will register later.
Students entering the first
grade this year must have passed
their sixth birthdays by Novemb
er 1, 1951. Parents are requested
to bring birth certificates or bap
tismal records to establish their
children’s eligibility to enter the
first grade this year.