The Frontiersman
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PALMER. ALASKA. THURSDAY, JULY 17, 1952
PRICE TEN CENTS
VOLUME 45 NO, 44
FWS Fails to Relax Kmk Arm Red Salmon Ban
World Around Us
IN CHICAGO last week Gerrit
“Heinie” Snider was true to his
word and'cast the only Alaska
delegation vote for the winner.
General Dwight Eisenhower had
595 votes, including Heinie's,
when the roll call ended on the
first ballot. Then Minnesota’s
historic switch of 19 votes to
Eisenhower cinched the Republi
can presidential nomination for
Senator Richard Nixon of Cali
tiie general.
fornia. choice of the Eisenhower
backers, was unopposed for the
vice-presidential nomination.
• • *
IN SOUTHEAST ALASKA the
resumption of ferry service be
tween Juneau and Haines recent
ly made it possible once again
to travel by car from Juneau to
almost any spot included in the
Alasxa Higifta;/ system. This
year the former landing craft is
operating under the name of
“Chilkoot.” During the winter it
was renovated at a cost of $30,000.
The ferry leaves Juneau at 8
a.m. each Monday and Thurs
day and returns on the tides. Each
voyage takes eight hours. Charges
are $35 for cars and $10 for pas
sengers. Trucks are charged ac
cording to weight.
* * *
IN ANCHORAGE the City
Council recently voted to restrict
the number of bars in the city
by a limit of two for every 1,500
residents. On the current popu
lation estimate of 14.000 this
would mean only 22 bars wtihin
the city limits.
Anchorage City Manager Rob
ert Sharp resigned his city post
as of August 15. He found the
seven-day week. 24-hours-a-day
job left 'him little time for his
family or recreation.
* * *
IN FAIRBANKS plans are be
ing made for that city’s 50th an
niversary7 celebration on July 22
by a Pioneer committee. The Ital
ian government hak had a bust
made of Felix Pedro, discoverer
of gold in the Fairbanks area. It
is expected to arrive in plenty of
time for the celebration. Pioneers
over 80 years old and distinguish
ed guests will be honored at a
special banquet to be held at the
Country7 Club.
Dedication of the new School
of Mines building at the Univer
sity of Alaska has been scheduled
to coincide with the anniversary.
* * *
IN"CORDOVA the red salmon
season which ended June 20 was
hailed as the biggest season since
1934. A total of 91,814 cases of red
salmon and 9,359 cases of king
salmon (48/Is per case) was re
ported.
* * *
IN GLENALLEN work will
start soon on a new school. L. R.
Durkee was the low bidder for
the building, which also contains
a small apartment for the teacher.
His bid was $109,000, according
to Architect Edwin Crittenden, ir
whose office the bids were open
ed on June 24.
CITY-WIDE PHONE
SURVEY AUTHORIZED
BY CITY COUNCILMEN
Melvin Haugen of Anchorage
was hired by the City Council
last night to conduct an emer
gency telephone survey in the
city of Palmer.
Haugan said this morning that
he is asking for the cooperation
of the people of Palmer during
his three-week survey. He will be
making a canvass, checking con
ditions of existing phones and ob
taining estimates on future phone
installations. Anyone living with
in the city of Palmer or on the
present telephone line who con
templates future need for service
should contact the City Clerk
within the next week in order to
be included in the survey. Al
though the city has 100 new tele
phones, they cannot be installed
because of the now overloaded
system. A proposed revamping of
the present system would make
possible the installation of these
new phones.
Fearing a breakdown of the
present system and cognizant tc
the vital" need for an adequate
communication web within the
local Civil Defense area, the City
Council authorized the survey,
which will include: estimates on
cable and line sizes needed: cost
estimates; evaluation of the pres
ent system—finding out what
part of it is usable and what ad
ditional equipment will be need
ed to put it in full scale operation.
For the past five years, Haugan
has lived in Anchorage, where he
was employed by the AJaska Rail
road as assistant maintenance
supervisor. His background in
cludes experience in all phases of
communication installations.
Meanwhile, the Council’s first
efforts to get supplies and help to
restore the present broken down
telephone system wrere stymied
The Alaska Communications Sys
tem turned down the city’s re
quest for 9,000 feet of telephone
cable from the ACS emergency
i stockpile. The refusal was soften
j ed by a suggestion that the city
■ contact the Alaska Railroad—ar
angle which the Council has beer
exploring for some time. Anchor
age’s City Manager also turned
down the city’s request for the
use of experienced communica
tions personnel on installation
work. The City Manager did offei
to assist on any supplies of which
Anchorage has an excess in con
sideration of its needs.
SPORTSMEN ASK
DELEGATE BARTLETT'S
AID ON SALMON DEAL
Delegate E. L. Bartlett’s aid
in negotiating with the Fish and
Wildlife Service for a belated re
laxation of the complete ban or
red salmon fishing in Knik Arm
! was solicited in a letter draftee
; last night by Matanuska Vallej
Sportsmen officers and committee
members.
The Sportsmen officers anc
committeemen invited Delegate
Bartlett to meet with them anc
j invite FWS Regional Directo:
I Clarence J. Rhode to come also
"From the letters coming t<
| us from the Fish and Wildlife
! Service,” said the letter signed b]
j Sportsmen Secretary E. B. Gra
| ham, ‘‘we are convinced they are
: attempting to confuse the issue
by injecting the idea of killinj
salmon in the streams as the bij
problem, when, in fact, the issue
! is plainly whether the resident
of Alaska shall have equal right
with the canned salmon interest
in fishing in the tidewaters o
Knik Arm with salmon nets fo
our family needs.”
Bartlett, who is reportedly ar
riving in Anchorage today, wa
invited to set a meeting time a
his earliest convenience.
SHIPS SAIL
Six Alaska Steamship Compan;
! ships were scheduled to sail fo
i Alaska this week as the compan;
I reached agreement with th
‘striking SUP.
4 Valley Girls Enter
Fair Queen Contest;
Age Limit Raised
Four Valley girls have already
registered for the Fair Queen
Contest which opened last week.
They are Marilyn Macek,
Wanda Lindsey. Patty Plumley
^nd Ginger Parks.
Fair prize tickets will be dis
tributed to the queen contestants
on July 25. Registrations will con
. tinue for queen contestants until
August 7.
The upper age limit for Fail
queen contestants was remcvec
by action of the Fair Board Iasi
Tuesday evening. It was decidec
then that the starting age limii
would be 15 years of age and tha*
anv single girl over that age
would be eligible to enter the con
. test. All single girls 15 years’ o:
age and over are urged to sign uj:
immediately for the contest sc
that their chances of winning the
queen title will not be jeopardizec
by a late start on ticket sales.
As in past years, the Fail
Board has asked local organiza
tions to refrain from running raf
fles and prize contests during the
Fair. “The Fair is an all-out Val
lev project.” Fair Board Presiden
Ai Hagen observed, “and the helj
of everyone is invited to make i
a tremendous success.”
Fair Fireworks
; A unique feature of the 1951
i Fair will be a huge fire works dis
play. Fair Board action Tuesday
night resulted in an order of dis
play fireworks from the same
suppliers who provide the gigan
tic displays for the Minnesota anc
Vow a State Fairs. The local fire
works ciisplay promises to be the
biggest ever put on in Alaska
Over 125 separate items will be
included, both in the ground dis'
play and the tremendous aeria
displays. The ground displays wil
include “Niagra Falls,” “Cave o:
Jewels,” and silver fountains
Special among the aerial display:
will be “Field of Gold.” sun clus
ters, “Celestial,” “Jewels of the
Night,” and 15-inch star shells.
! The Fair Board is calling fo
bids on construction of some mod
era type sanitary facilities. Nee<
(Continued on page '8)
---
STEWART HAMILTON
IS NEW REA FIELD
MANAGER IN ALASKA
Stewart Hamilton assumed hi
new duties last week as REi
general field manager for th
Alaska area, a new position. Hi
headquarters will be in Palmer.
He and Mrs. Hamilton return
ed last week from Denver wher<
the national conferencje of RE/
administrators and field men wa
held recently. At this meetinj
plans were made for the reorgani
zation of the REA set-up in Alas
ka.
Due to arrive in Palmer abou
• July 23 are Mr. and Mrs. Clarl
, Johnson. Mr. Johnson will be th
i new field engineer for the Alas
J ka area, replacing Don Lowri<
;! who has been reassigned t
r j Texas.
Earl J. Smith returned to Fail
: ] banks this week, after attendin
; the Denver conference. He wii
’ ’ be there at least until the end c
> the month.
• j Meanwhile, Hamilton, the net
; Alaska field manager, left Anch
5 orage Saturday to fly to Annett
^ Island, where he was to met
' Roy Zook, Western area directc
of REA. and John Rixse, Jr., rep
3 resentative of the REA Admini;
t trator’s office. The three men wi
visit all the REA cooperatives i
Alaska. They are scheduled to b
in Palmer July 25-27.
From Palmer they will go o
'r to Anchorage foe the annu.
t meeting of the National Rur;
s Electric Associations of Alask
scheduled for July 28 and 29.
CITY WATER MAY
GOST PALMERITES
EXTRA $25,000
The city of Palmer may have
; to find an additional $25,000— |
i $30,000 within the next year or j
; two if its citizens want a water i
system. This extra levy, discussed J
| at the City Council meeting last j
j night, stems from the discrepancy
between the S405.900 allocated bv j
| APW for construction of the city j
water project and the $591,365
low bid of the Colon Arctic j
\ Plumbing and Heating Company j
j of Fairbanks.
Suggestion of the extra levy j
on the city was made in a long
distance telephone conversation |
with Alaska Public Works of- j
: ficials in Juneau as reported at
last night’s meeting. In the tele
: phone conversation, also, the City
i Clerk was advised of number of
i things the Council must do with
■ in the two weeks remaining of
. the 30 days allowed after the July
3 bid opening for granting of the
• construction contract. Proof of
• ownership of sites for the well
■ and the reservoir and the signing
• of easements by the four property
■ owners along the water line lead
: ing to the city were chief among
) these requirements. Deeds for the
: property are already in the city’s
j possession, but Councilmen re
: ported a little difficulty in getting
!: the easements signed. Property
■; owners wanted to be assured they
'' would suffer no losses or damages
• I to their property through the
! granting of the easements. Pos
• [ sible damage to crops now stand
i I ing on or near the right of way
: would be removed with harvest j
:1 about 30-45 days hence, it was
• believed, if the digging were held ,
:; up until that time. Councilmen
■ j were optimistic in their belief
l j that the easements would be sign
i \ ed within the time still allowed.
:j Eelief that the Alaska Railroad
■ would sign easements for the dis
> j tribution line along its right of
■! way was also Expressed.
: Possibility of cutting down on
some of the specifications of the
t water project with a view of cut
-1 ting down costs was discussed
1: by Councilmen and two APW en
I gineers at last night’s meeting.
. Suggesting possibilities was A. H.
Boberg of Juneau, supervising en
: gineer for APW; and W. J. Tweet
i of Anchorage, resident APW con
1 struction engineer. Mr. Tweet, it
! was explained, will supervise the
; Palmer project for APW. Sugges
tions for reducing the scope of
I the project included elimination
. i of 200 meters at a savings of $8,
• j 200 (contract didn’t call for in
*• | Continued on page 8
LOCAL PEOPLE GET
SUBCONTRACTS FOR
i CITY WATER SYSTEM
t
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Although the Colon Arctic
Plumbing and Heating Company
has not yet been awarded the
contract for construction of the
Palmer water supply and distri
bution system, its officials were
in Palmer this week making
plans for an early start on the
work.
Award of the contract to the
Fairbanks company is almost cer
tain pending the ironing out of
certain specification details with
APW officials.
Already one local company and
a survey engineer have been
granted Subcontracts for work on
the construction project. Richard
Demming has been appointed en
gineer in charge of the project
and has been given full authority
to represent Colon Arctic Plumb
ing and Heating Company in any
engineering matters pertaining to
the project. The J and L Sisley
Company of Palmer has the sub
contract for excavation work on
the reservoir and the water line
eading from the supply site to
the city. Extension of this subcon
tract to include the digging of the
distribution lines within the city
is assured the local company if it
is successful in raising its bond.
DISCRIMINATION AGAINST ALASKA
RESIDENTS CHARGED 8Y SPORTSMEN
i
“Poppycock! said one of the ; r
Matanuska Valley Sportsmen of-: 1
ficers as he finished reading the j i
Fish and Wildlife Service Region- , z
al director’s 1000-word “no” to (
the Sportsmen's restrictive pro-1 ]
posal for personal use salmon | j
fishing in Knik Arm. |
This single word reflected the
more verbose reactions of most |
Sportsmen officers and members j
of the committee appointed to, *
negotiate for a relaxation of the .
stringent ban on red salmon fish- ‘
ing in Knik Arm and all streams ,
tributary' to it. i
The letter from Regional Di- j 1
rector Clarence J. Rhode was in .
answer to a proposal made by the j ;
Sportsmen at a hearing held in <
the Valley Theater last week ,
Tuesday—a hearing on the ban of .
fishing for salmon in Knik Arm i
and its tributaries. The hearing .
was attended by 400 Valley1
people and two FWS officials.
Rhode was not able to attend but
had read a transcript of the meet- j
ing and had discussed it with his i .
officials. The Sportsmen had
agreed with FWS on the need for
undistrubed protection of spawn
ing salmon in fresh water streams
tributary to Knik Arm. Their pro
posal was that personal use fish
ing be permitted in Knik Arm on
the days open to commercial sal
mon fishing in Cook Inlet during
the red season. This would have j
amounted to two 24-hour fishing ■
periods weekly during the season, j
The counter proposal of FWS, i
presented at the meeting, was a j
new interpretation of an FWS j
FINAL RITES FOR
MRS. STACKHOUSE
HELD AT ST. MICHAEL S
A Requiem Mass was held at
St. Michael’s Catholic Church
Wednesday morning for Mrs. j
Bertha Geneva Stackhouse, 44, |
who died Friday, July 11, of com- j
plications following surgery at
Providence Hospital in Anchor
age.
Preceding the Mass by Father
James Snead at 10 a.m., Mrs. j
Harold Chandler played a selec- j
tion of sacred hymns and The j
Rosary was recited by the Altar j
and Rosary Society, led by Mrs.
Ward Harrington. Following the
Mass, Father Snead pronounced j
final absolution.
Mrs. Stackhouse came to Pal- I
mer about six months ago with
her husband, Howard Stackhouse,
who is a Bureau of Reclamation
inspector for the Eklutna Project.
Immediately upon her arrival, she
started taking part in community
activities, adding her well-trained
j alto voice to the chorus of the
I Kiwanis Minstrel Show this year.
| The Stackhouses made their home
S in one of the Bureau houses at
the Eklutna Project site. They
came to Palmer from the Davis!
Dam project in Arizona.
Besides her husband, Mrs. i
Stackhouse is survived by her
mother, Mrs. Mae McGough, who
came from her home in Burns,
Oregon, to attend the funeral;
and a sister, Sister Paula, of San
Rafael, California.
Pallbearers were W. B. Stokes, j
Harold Chandler, Byron Felkner,
Cyrus Woods, Ward ^Harrington,
and Edward Marchello. Burial
' was at the Palmer Cemetery.
NEW HOSPITAL BIDS
BEING OPENED TODAY
Opening of the bids for con
| struction of the new Valley Pres
| byterian Hospital, originally
scheduled for Monday, July 14,
was postponed until today, July
17, at 4 p.m. in the Co-Op Club
Room.
In Palmer specifically for the
bid opening is Dr. T. G. Mo wry,
superintendent of field construc
tion, Presbyterian Board of Na
tional Missions.
egulation, which would lift the
ian on fishing in Knik Arm (but
lot in its tributaries) 48 hours
ifter the close of the red salmon
Commercial season or on August
4. Previously the interpretation
lad extended the ban beyond the
lose of the silver salmon season.
Proposal Misunderstood
Rhode either misunderstood or
gnored the intent of the Sports
nen's proposal in his letter; he
issumed that the Sportsmen
vanted unrestricted personal use
almon fshing in Knik Arm. “As
ve understand it,” he wrote,
‘members of your group and
>ther persons in the area are in
igreement with the Service that
pawning salmon should not be
listurbed in the fresh water
dreams but you believe unrestric
ed personal use fishing by nets
ihould be allowed in upper Knik
\rm.”
In another paragraph he added,
‘Where personal use fishing is
lot of importance to the overall
•uns we have made no curtail
nents. In this area it is of critical
mportance and is growing in im
lortance as the population and
lemand increases. It does not ap
aear there is any real hardship
ieing imposed by this added pro
motion. Obviously, it deprives
some persons of an easy method
if taking fish for personal use.
rhe restrictions on the commer
:ial taking of fish throughout the
Inlet have certainly been a great
er hardship on those persons who
must depend on fishing fbr a live
lihood. We are aware that the
shoe must do some pinching but
tve are determined, too, that the
salmon runs will not be destroy
ed. ... I cannot believe a Sports
man organization or its members
would insist on removing all take
restrictions with no thought of
the future.”
Red Salmon Run Begins
Rhode’s failure to recognize the
restrictions that were implicit in
the Sportsmen’s proposal may
have had some bearing on his
outright “no” to the proposal and
might possibly open the door to
further negotiations. However,
time is short; the red salmon al
ready have been seen making
their way up the streams tribu
tary to Knik Arm.
The position of the Sportsmen
in regard to the FWS counter
proposal was reflected in their
statement issued this week.
‘“The counter proposal offered
by the Fish and Wildlife Service
to the people’s demand for the
privilege of fishing salmon for
home use is not acceptable.
“This proposition to allow fish
ing after August 14 sounds very
good but the catch is, there are
no fish then. At that date only
sick, over-ripe reds, a few hump
ies and very few silvers are avail
able.
“The FWS people by their own
admission seem to be more con
cerned with the welfare of the
canned salmon interests that they
are with the interests of the resi
dent Alaskan. We ask only that
be given the same opportunity
as they in being allowed to fish
in Knik Arm on the open days of
the commercial season.
“Any decrease in the salmon
runs cannot be blamed on the
home use fishing, and we suggest
the Fish and Wildlife Service
look into the big fish killer, the
salmon traps, which catch more
fish in one tide than all the home
use fishing will take in a year.”
“Boot Legging" Feared"
Several of the Sportsmen be
lieve that FWS failure to relax
its complete ban on red salmon
fishing in this area will result
in widespread “bootlegging” in
the crucial tributary streams.
Said Clair Stock, “If FWS had co
operated with Valley fishermen
to the extent of permitting limit
ed personal use fishing in Knik
Arm, the whole Valley would
have been behind them in guard
ing against fishing the creeks.
Now nobody will want to help
than.”