s3,000 Community Chest Goal for Six Agencies
Alaska's Unfortunate
Children Get Help
Through ACCA FUNDS
The Alaska Crippled Children's
Association was recently adopted
by the Cheechako Homemakers
as their special project, with Mrs.
Ida Stadler in charge of all busi
ness activities connected with the
association w’ork in Palmer.
Public Health Nurse Marjorie
Myren does most of the profes
sional work in making home calls,
arranging for clinic visits and
hospitalization, and following up
with the gear needed to correct
or ameliorate each given condi
tion. Currently six Valley chil
dren are receiving hospitalization
under this program. 20 are at
tending orthopedic clinics, and "0
are attending the eye-ear, nose
and throat clinic, also maintained
through this program.
The Territorial Department of
Health has an excellent program
for crippled children in Alaska,
so the ACCA, rather than try to
duplicate these services, turns
f (Continued on Page 6)
United Defense Fund
Is Our Contribution
To National Emergency
The quota of the United De
fense Fund, $214.55 for Palmer,
has been included as part of this
year’s $3,000 goal for the Com
munity Chest “Red Feather” cam- ,
paign.
This decision of the Community
Chest board was based on a rec
ognition of national defense needs
and the belief that the people of
Palmer and the Valley want to
contribute to the essential health
'''and welfare programs of United
Service Organizations, American
Community Defense Services, Na
tional Recreation Assn., American
Social Hygiene Assn., United
Relief for Korea (Clothing for
Koreans), but want the number
of appeals controlled through fed
erated giving.
The board of the Community
Chest believes that this communi
ty would never consider evading
its responsibility to the men and
women of the armed forces from
Palrfier. or any city, since they
are safeguarding the security of
all of us. Although they wear
their country’s uniform, they are
our sons and daughters and we
want to be with them in spirit
wherever they are.
When need for emergency
steps became certain last Janu
ary, the United Defense Fund was
formed under the auspices of the ,
Community Chests of the whole j
country and the National Social
Welfare Assembly. $16,511,854 is j
being sought this fall through
Community Chest Red Feather
Campaigns. Most of this will go
Jto USO operations.
The United Defense Fund quo
ta from Palmer represents only
seven percent of this community’s
total goal. It isn’t much, but in a
small way it represents the grati
tude of the people of Palmer for
the sacrifices made by service
men the world over, and also
^their sympathy for the cruel or
deal of suffering Koreans.
Girl Scouts of Troop 26 practice first aid for badge requirements.
Left to right are Dorothy Lentz. Leanne Westgale, and Sally
Reed. Mrs. Russ Asay and Mrs. Fred Stassel are troop leaders.
A Good Girl Scout Program is
Dependent on Trained Leadership
As the school year opened this'
year there were 88 Girl Scout
members in the Palmer area di
vided into one senior Scout troop,
two intermediate troops, and two
Brownie troops. Two new Brow
nie troops which will take in the
girls of the third grade are now
in the process of being organized.
Most of the fifth grade Brownies
are ready to “fly up” to interme
diate Girl Scout status.
The phenomenal growth of Girl
Scouting in Palmer, since the or
ganization in the spring of 1949
of the first troop, has been the
product of three co-ordinating
factors: (1) the enthusiasm of the
girls themselves, who, above all
things, want to become Girl
Scouts: (2) the local leadership of
mothers and other interested wo
men who are determined to give
the girls of the Matanuska Valley
the same opportunities girls of
more developed communities get
—to participate in the national
Girl Scout program: and (3) the
professional Girl Scout leader
ship necessary to train local lead
ers so the girls themselves will
get the most possible out of their
Girl Scouting experience.
The Girl Scouts of Palmer are
fortunate in being affiliated with
the Susitna Girl Scout Council,
which also takes in Anchorage
and the surrounding territory.
The Susitna Council has a budget
this year of $11,000, of which the
Matanuska Valley is asked to con
tribute $350 through the Commu
nity Chest. Part of the $11,000 is
raised by the Girl Scouts them
selves, through their annual sale
of cookies. Last year $2345.32 was
raised from this source in the
Susitna Council area. Girls in
Palmer retained five cents for
each box of cookies sold to help
finance their troop programs. The
large part of the Susitna Council
budget is raised from the annual
drive in Anchorage, which began
last week. Palmer does not par
ticipate in this drive, but derives
its very small share of the budget
total from the Community Chest.
Where does the money go? The
annual Girl Scout Camp at King’s
Lake is allocated $2,200 of the
budget, for only by subsidizing
the cost of camp is the weekly
fee kept within the reach of the
majority of girls. Last summer
24 Girl Scout and Brownies from
Palmer troops attended one of the
three weekly camp sessions spon
sored by the Susitna Council. To
ward the expense of the senior
Scout chosen to attend the Inter
national Girl Scout Camp, $200
is allocated. The qualifications for
the girl attending this camp are
very high, but Mrs. Charles W.
Wilson, who is the Palmer dis
trict chairman on the Susitna
Girl Scout Council, hopes that a
Matanuska Valley girl will be in
line for the honor soon. The re
mainder of the budget is devoted
(Continued on Page 10)
Health Council Share Helps Support
The Valley's Public Health Program
More than a third of the totaJ
Community Chest budget this
year will go to the Health Coun
cil.
The Matanuska Valley Health
Council is made up of representa
tives from all organizations of the
Valley, their most important
function being to lend support to
the public health nursing program
in the Valley.
Funds received from the Com- |
munity Chest by the Health
Council are the largest in the
chest budget, but they represent
only a token fraction of the total
expended here in the Valley
health services. A SCOO contribu- j
tion toward the public health
nurse’s salary and $300 in yearly
rent for the Health Center come
out of the Community Chest. This
year, the Chest board recom
mended a total of $1,280 for the
Health Council. Part of these
funds will go toward the purchase
of supplies used daily by Miss
Marjorie Myren in her work.
It is hard to give an adequate
picture of the benefits received
in the Valley through Miss My
ren’s work. Literally hundreds
have attended the special clinics
she has organized for typhoid
vaccinations and BCG vaccina
tions. With so many of these
clinics, little attention is given the
necessary routine that goes into
a good public health program.
Perhaps the best way to get
m idea about our public health
nurse at work, is to follow her
around for a week. It would be
difficult to find an ordinary week
without something special to de
mand her time. For the past two
weeks. Miss Myren has been busy
with school physical examina
tions. The following record is for
the second week in September.
From the Nurse's Record
MONDAY; Regular school clinic
9-10 a.m. Gave penicillin to boy
who had car infection, on order
of the doctor. Went to Lazy Mt.
Home and gave 12 tetanus shots,
saw a possible TB case. Referred
a little g>il to ENT (eye-ear,
nose, throat) clinic in Ar.cnorage.
Saw homesteader’s baby and
started immunizations. Saw child
sent home sick from school. Vis
ited a prenatal case. Called on a
little girl who is a TB contact.
Checked up on a boy who is be
ing treated for TB in his home.
Spent some time in office.
TUESDAY: Regular school cli
nic, 9-10 a.m. Two trips to Eklut
na, once to give postnatal assist
apes to a mother who “didn’t
make it to the hospital” and again
to get silver nitrate for the
baby’s eyes. Saw a new patient
with strabismus (cross-eyes) and
referred him to the ENT Clinic
for treatment. Visited crippled
boy to make appointment for new
braces; gave him a shot of peni
cillin. Made home calls to bring
new pair of glasses to child with
strabismus. Well Baby Clinic at
the health center. Checked up on
(Continued on Page 6)
REQUESTS FOR ASSISTANCE
SHOULD BE REFERRED TO
WELFARE COUNCIL
The Welfare and Disaster
Council of the Community Chest
; is the Valley’s own welfare or
ganization.
Organized a year ago last June
I to help with immediate emer
gency needs and to bridge the
gap between the time when a def
i inite need arises and the Terri
torial Welfare Department steps
in, the nine-member council has
been called upon about 25 times
for immediate assistance and
stepped in unasked with emer
gency help when four families
were burned out.
In most cases the council has
worked closely with the public
; health nurse who is in a position
to know (1) when help is really
needed and (2) whether or not
some other agency could or
would help. At her request peni
cillin was purchased for a patient
unable to purchase his own;
transportation was arranged for
three patients for treatments and
examinations in Anchorage; a
telegram was sent to the only
known relative of a patient
gravely ill in Valley Hospital;
four pairs of glasses were pur
chased and one repaired for chil
dren badly in need and unable
to buy; clothing was purchased
for two children being sent out
for treatment, for a homeless boy
(home also obtained), and for
four children deserted by their
parents; and hospital expenses
(Continued on Page 10)
LIBRARY ASSN.
NEEDS CHEST FUNDS
FOR UPKEEP, BOOKS
Last January the Palmer Li
brary Association opened its new
library to the people of Palmer,
the Matanuska Valley and Jones
ville.
With more than 100 persons
listed as members, the actual
work in the library is carried on
entirely by volunteer librarians
and members of the board. In the
past year special attention has
been given to development of an
excellent children’s section, with
as many of the finest selections
of modern and classic juvenile
fiction that the budget will allow.
Still the supply does not keep up
with the voracious reading appe
tites of the Valley’s younger set.
The library’s only sources of
income are: (1) membership fees,
(2) up to $150 in book matching
funds from the Territory of Al
aska. (3) private, unsolicited do
nations, and (4) the Community
Chest.
In the past two years most of
the unsolicited donations have
gone toward the cost of building
the new library. All but about
$600 in bills still outstanding
have been paid for by contribu
tions of groups and individuals
and bake sales held by the board
and the membership. Community
Chest funds cannot be used for
the building cost.
Territorial assistance goes to
ward books only—and that on a
(Continued on Page 10)