Benefit dance for hotel
basketball team, gym,
Saturday night at 9
o'clock.
Halley Mkontiergman
PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
7A PAGES
XU TODAY
VOL. 4. NO. 15
PALMER, ALASKA, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22. 1950
PRICE 10c
ARC Trailer Court to
Alleviate Shortage
Of Housing for Staff
The housing shortage in Pal
mer is to be alleviated here for
engineers and their families of
the Alaska Road Commission with
the installation of a trailer court.
Six new Kit trailers recently ar
rived here from the states for
the ARC court and should be
ready for occupancy before too
long. The trailers were shipped
from the states by boat to Valdez
and were transported on here
over the Richardson highway.
Blasting at the court, located
near the fairgrounds, got under
way this week. Excavations are
being made for sewer and water
lines and the installation of elec
tricity.
OYER 600 CHILDREN
TO ATTEND BIG XMAS
PARTY HERE SUNDAY
More than 600 Valley children
are expected to attend the fourth
big annual Christmas party here
that will start promptly at 2
o’clock Sunday afternoon. The
party, which is co-sponsored here
annually by the Palmer mer
cants, will be held at the Valley
theatre. Santa Claus will arrive
down the chimney of a candy
house, a beautiful twenty - foot
Christmas tree will add to the
scene and there will be gifts for
all the children attending. Spe
cial gifts will also be presented
to children whose letters to
. Santa Claus are judged the best.
The big Christmas party will
start with an all-comedy show
for children only up to and in
cluding the seventh grade. Par
ents are requested not to accom
pany their children inside the
theatre as, with the large attend
ance expected, there will not be
enough room to accommodate
both children and pai*ents. At
4 p.m. an extra showing will be
held for other children and any
parents who might wish to at
tend.
The Christmas tree was fur
nished by Loren Smith. The
candy house was designed by
Dee-Jay and approximately 62
Palmer merchants made cash con
tributions to make the party pos
'Sunshine* Vitamin to
Be Added to Milk Here
Housewives and mothers here
who have often fretted about the
lack of sunshine and the lack of
vitamins during Alaskan winters
will be interested in the addition
of the Sunshine vitamin D to
milk here. Addition of the vita
min, famous for its health qual
ities, will start about January 1,
' in the milk produced here in the
i Valley. The Matanuska Valley
Farmers Cooperating Association
creamery will start adding the
“sunshine” at the same time that
packaging of the milk is to be
started in the new Pure-Pak ma
chine that is now being installed
at the creamery, Clarence Bell,
said this week.
YULE NOTE FAILS
TO WARM DRAFT
BUFFALO — Selective Service
officials ignored the message
scribbled on an envelope con
r taining a filled-in draft question
naire. tl read, “Do not open until
Christmas.”
V
&£■
J0OVIAL SANTA CLAUS is the Valley Frontiersman's nomination
U for the "Man of the Year." The Frontiersman also joins Santa
Claus in wishing for the Valley the Happiest of Holidays, Peace on
Earth and Good Will Toward Men.
IRWIN FAMILY AMONG
FIRST TO CELEBRATE
CHRISTMAS IN VALLEY
The Don L. Irwin family, one
of the first families here to cele
brate Christmas in the Valley,
did not find it very different from
their own Wyoming Yuletide fes
tivities. The Irwins, who came to
the Valley from the Big Horn
Basin country in Wyoming a year
before the Colonists, celebrated
their first Christmas here in 1934.
They lived at the Matanuska Ex
periment station and it was no
trouble to choose a beautiful
Christmas tree from the many
that dotted the countryside in
those days. There was company
for Christmas dinner, including
teen-age boys who attended high
school at the log school with the
Irwin daughters, Stella and Ina
belle. Don Jr. was four years old
and it was a joyous occasion for
him.
That was in the days when
Palmer was not Palmer but was
known as Worton. There were
about four log cabins here with
J. W. Felton acting as postmaster
in the little log cabin that still
stands behind his present Felton
House. The M. D. Snodgrass fam
ily lived here and occupied the
log cabin home that is still on
their farm.
The next year saw a big change
(Continued on Classified Page)
Christmas Message to the People of Alaska
From LT. GEN. W. E. KEPNER,
Commander-in-Chief, Alaskan Command
When the first Christmas dawned the world
held out new hope for peace on earth. This
Christmas, almost two thousand years later, men
of good will everywhere are hoping, working and
dying for the same ideal.
To most of the children of the world, this part
of the globe is closely identified with the Christ
mas season. A jolly old man named Santa Claus,
Kris Kringle, or Father Christmas, lives at the
North Pole. The realms of snow are his home,
the reindeer are his means of bringing joy to
everyone.
Surely the spirit that brought this happy Yule
tide fable into being is precious to adults and
children alike. It is the same spirit that we, as
Americans, feel from the bottom of our hearts—
the spirit of love and friendship, of liberty and
tolerance, of "good-will" that is not merely a word
in our language.
On behalf of myself and the members of my
Command, I wish to extend to all the people of
Alaska my heartiest wishes for a very Merry
Christmas and a Happy New Year.
James Hurley Is
Elected President
Of Valley Chamber
James Hurley was named presi
dent of the Valley Chamber of
Commerce at an annual election
of officers held at the regular
Chamber meeting Wednesday of
this week. Matt Perkins was
elected to serve as 1951 vice presi
dent, and D. T, McMahon as cor
responding secretary. Mrs. Betty
Mears was unanimously reelected
as recording secretary. Two di
rectors, elected to serve for two
year terms, were Clair Stock and
Jack Maze.
The elections were held follow
ing a discussion from the floor on
the continuation of the Chamber
here. Clair Stock, retiring presi
dent, brought up the question of
continuing the Chamber here, at
the December 6 meeting, pointing
out that on many occasions the
Chamber was unable to transact
business because of the lack of a
quorum. At the meeting Wednes
day, Mr. Stock said that the Val
ley Chamber of Commerce plays
a vital part in promoting the
town and should not be discon
tinued. Other members who spoke
for the continuance of the Cham
ber included Carl Rasmussen,
who suggested that stickers be
given to indicate membership in
the Chamber that could be placed
on cars or in the windows of busi
ness establishments. M. D. Snod
grass also said that “we cannot
afford the loss of the Chamber
of Commerce here.” Mr. Hurley
added that “it would be a mis
take to ever abandon the Cham
ber.” Following the discussion,
members voted unanimously to
continue the Chamber here.
Other business discussed in
cluded a proposed pamphlet to
cover comprehensive information
including pictures on the activi
ties of the Valley. The pamphlet
is now in the preparatory stage.
A committee appointed at the*
meeting Wednesday to arrange
for pictures and a pamphlet cover
was comprised of Miss Louise
Kellogg, Carl Rasmussen afn
Matt Perkins.
Community Chest Board
Announces $2340.03 Is
Collected in Drive Here
Funds for the Palmer Commun
ity Chest for 1951 which were
collected in a drive held here this
fall amounted to $2,340.03, it was
announced by the board of direc
tors of the Community Chest this
week.
Allocation of the funds are as
follows: Health Council, $1100;
Boy Scouts, $200; Girl Scouti,
$200; Alaska Crippled Children's
Association, $300; Welfare and
Disaster Fund Council, supple
mental, $248; Library, $192; Ad
ministration, $100, totaling
$2340.03.
The Board of Directors also
stated that appreciationJ and
thanks were extended by them on
behalf of the Communitj'Cl.es
to all solicitors and contriWitnre ^
Marvin Slaughter was chairmim
of the drive.
RELEASED FROM HOSPITAL
Gottfried Stevahn, sixth and
seventh grade teacher at Palmer
school who has been ill for the
past ten days, was released from
the Valley hospital Thursday. Mr.
Stevahn will return to his classes
after the Christmas holidays.