Get your "V" lor Voter
on Election Day
Tuesday. April 29
VMiliEy rRONTIERSHIRN
PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
TRY A FRONTIERSMAN
CLASSIFIED AD for that
item you may have for sale,
rent or lease.
VOLUME 5. NUMBER 33
PALMER. ALASKA. THURSDAY. APRIL 24. 1952
PRICE TEN CENTS
Valley Farmers Rally to Support Dr. Graves
World Around Us
IN THE FRONTIERSMAN OF
FICE at 3 p.m. this afternoon an
advertising order for the con
struction of Palmer’s water sup
ply and distribution system was
received from Alaska Public
Works. The first of four adver
tisements of the invitation to
bidders will appear in next
week’s Frontiersman. Bids will
be opened at 5 p.m. PST on June
4. 1952 in Donald R. Wilson’s
APW office in Juneau.
* * *
IN SEWARD last week end
Garret “Heinie” Snider was sel
ected by third Division Repub
licans to represent the divi
sion at the national Repub
lican Convention. He will go
as an “uninstructed” ueiegate
but in Washington, D. C. last
week Taft headquarters claimed
that two Taft delegates had al
re£ been named and that a
third pro-Taft man “is due to be
selected soon.”
The Alaska Central Committee
has already designated Maurice
Johnson of Fairbanks and How
ard Stabler of Juneau as conven
tion delegates.
* * *
IN KODIAK more than 20 bab
ies are already entered in the
annual VFW Auxiliary baby
show to be held May 13. The
show includes youngsters up to
and including three years old.
Mrs. Lars Panamaroff, chair
man. announced that little girls
must wear dresses, not brief sun
suits; and little boys must not
appear in any type of costume,
military or otherwise.
IN WRANGELL reconstruction
of the waterfront area damaged
in the recent million dollar fire
appeared to be assured with an
nouncements that $50,000 had
been allocated from the Pesi
dent’s emergency fund and that
the city had been declared a dis
aster area by RFC, opening the
way for disaster loans to victims
of the fire.
SNOW SLIDE ON PIONEER
A snow slide appeared on
Pioneer Peak sometime after ten
o’clock this morning. According
to Oliver Onkka of the Road
Commission, it does not appear
as though it will reach the high
way. The slide was stopped by
a split about 200 feet from the
road.
STILL IN SEATTLE
MAYOR CARL MEIER
REPORTED IMPROVING
According to word received b.v
Mayor Carl Meier’s family, Pal
er’s mayor, who went Outside a
few weeks ago for a medical
check-up, is getting along “pretty
good.’’
He didn’t have to have an oper
ation, and he has been dismissed
from Seattle’s Virginia Mason
Clinic. However, he has to go
back to the clinic for weekly
check-ups, so he will probably
not return to Palmer for three or
four weeks.
I
FELZIEN FINED FOR
HAULING OVERLOAD
ON CITY TRUCK
The case against the City of
Palmer became a case against the
head of its street department,
Russell Felzien. when it was
brought to trial in U S. Commis
sioner’s Court last Friday morn
ing.
It was explained before the
opening of the trial that a traf
fic citation properly applied to
the operator of the city truck
even though he was carrying out
orders in the performance of his
duty. The charge stemmed from
Section 72 of the Alaska Traffic
Laws which states ‘‘Any Federal
I
SPEED LIMIT
Trucks including their loads
in excess of six tons by weight
are limited to a speed of 35
miles per hour on all high
ways, according to a tempor
ary ARC regulation now in
effect during the period of the
spring break up.
or Territorial road building ag
ency may, after appropriate no
1 tice to the public, temporarily
supend or prohibit traffic upon
roads that are in the process of
construction, or upon completed
roads where for any reason such
traffic might endanger the roads
, or make them impassable."
Before asking that his case be
j held over until he might see his
; attorney and perhaps ask for a
; trial by jury, Felzien stated that
he had had no personal warning
that his truck might be overload
j ed and that a regulation limiting
i one-half their stipulated gross
loads had gone into effect April
i 14. It was pointed out that notice
| of this action by the Alaska Road
Commission had appeared in two
Anchorage papers and had been
given over the radio.
When the trial was resumed
at 10 a.m. this morning, Felzien
appeared with the Palmer City
Clerk and offered no word in his
defense. Herbert Hoff of the
Highway Patrol testified that on
I
(Continued on page 10)
City Streets Start
Rising Above the Mud
Despite the gloom that prevail
ed following the stoppage of
graveling on city streets last
week. Palmer’s streets have
started to rise above the mud this
week—but not without the help
of a temporary enlarged city
street department.
Ordered to cut down the load
ing of gravel on the city truck by
one-half, the former yardage was
increased by fifty percent
through the expedient of hiring
two more men—with their trucks.
Russell Felzien, head of the city
street department, said that he
and the two truckers have been
hauling 22 to 25 loads per day
each—a total of about 70 loads
per day. Starting Monday, they
have been improving the con
ditions on the main artery streets
leading into town, the North Pal
mer extension of Colony Street
that goes out to Max Sherrod’s,
Matanuska Street, and several of
the formerly impassable streets
west of Matanuska Street.
“It will take another week’s
straight hauling to fill up the
holes,” he said, “but it will take
two weeks before the roads dry
out enough to start ‘lifting the
faces’ on the streets.”
Meanwhile Palmer pedestrians
are finding it easier to lift their
feet out of the streets.
Planning Group
Proposes Park Site
For City Recreation
The City Planning Commission
recommended to the City Coun
cil last week the acquisition of
the ARRC wooded tract bounded
by the railroad right-of-way on
the west, Part St. on the north.
Walker St. on the east, and the
Co-Op property near the Stand
ard Oil plant on the south, for a
city park, where there would be
available in the future recreation
al facilities, playground equip
ment, picnic tables, and fire
places.
Acting on this recommendation,
the Council instructed the city
clerk to write to the ARRC, ask
ing if the site could be made
available to the city for this pur
pose.
Talks of C of C
This week the Chamber of
Commerce learned about more of
the functions of the City Plan
ning Commission through a talk
by its chairman, Charles W. Wil
son.
Explaining that it is the duty
of the City Planning Commission
“to make plans of the orderly de
velopment of a city,” Wilson said
that athough the commission is
not an operational group, its
stated duties are dependent on
several operational functions, ex
ecution of which are in turn de
pendent on appropriations from
the City Council.
Among the planning functions
discussed by Wilson were the city
traffic pattern, zoning, and the
location of schools and recrea
tion areas. He demonstrated the
interrelationship between these
functions and citied some of the
present and future problems to
be considered.
“One of Palmer’s first needs,”
he said, “is to acquire owner
ship of city streets.”
Although most of the subdivi
sions within the city made provi
sions for public roads, these have
not been turned over to the
city in the form of a deed. Estab
lishment of street grades was
another project on Wilson’s
“must” list. He also suggested
an early program of controlled
subdivision.
TERRITORY-WIDE
CARPENTERS STRIKE
APPEARS IMMINENT
Territory Wide Carpenter Strike
Unless nev.^ negotiations be
tween the carpenters and the As
sociated General Contractors de
velop within the next three days
a Territory-wide strike of the
carpenters is scheduled to begin
next Monday.
The latest attempt to bring
agreement between the two
groups ended in failure Tueday
afternoon when Federal Mediator
Albin Peterson adjourned the
meetings in Anchorage because of
a deadlock. Negotiations between
the AGC and the carpenters had
begun last week in Fairbanks
along with those between the
contractors and the culinary
workers. Although the latter ef
fected an agreement with AGC
the negotiations between the
carpenters and the contractors
were moved to Anchorage when
attempts to agree in Fairbanks
appeared unlikely.
At the time Peterson adjourn
ed the meetings in Anchorage,
AGC had offered a wage hike of
25 cents and the carpenters had
countered w’ith a demand for 41
cents. Originally the carpenters,
who are now earning $3.14 per
hour, had demanded an increase
to $3.70 plus certain fringe bene
fits. Claiming that the contractors
had turned down the carpenters’
demands for the 41 cent raise,
James Swan, attorney for the
carpenters, declared that the car
penters were now back to their
original demand of $3.70 per
hour.
Peter Kappelle, business agent
for Carpenters Local 1281 and a
member of the negotiating com
mittee, stated that the carpenters
are more than anxious to meet
at any time—even up to Sunday
night—to avert the strike. How
ever, the carpenters turned down
a proposal by Federal Mediator
Peterson that the whole dispute
be submitted to the Wage Stabili
zation Board. Only this week
WSB cut to 20 cents the 25 cent
pay hike agreed upon last Decem
ber by AGC and other unions
connected with the construction
industry.
58 Candidates Seek Nomination for
17 Elective Offices in Tuesday Primary
Qualified electors in and
around Palmer will join with
those of the rest of the Territory
Tuesday, April 29, to nominate
candidates for Territorial offices.
The names of those nominated in
Tuesday’s Territorial Primary
election will appear on the ballot
for the regular Territorial elec
tion next October.
On the Third Division ballot
for the Primary appear names of
58 candidates seeking nomination
for 17 Territorial offices: Dele
gate to Congress. Attorney Gen
eral, Auditor of Alaska. Highway
Engineer- one short term for the
Territorial Senate, two four-year
terms for the Senate, and 10 two
year terms for the Territorial
House of Representatives. Four
Valley people are seeking nomin
ation for House seats.
Two polls are located in the
Palmer Precinct, one at the Eska
Post Office for those in the Jones
ville and Eska mining area and
the other at Recreation Hall in
Palmer for all other residents of
the precinct. Both polls will be
open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on
election day.
Any person is qualified to vote
in the Primary Election who is
over 21 years of age, who is a
citizen of the United States, and
who has lived in the Territory for
one year and in the precinct 30
days preceding such election. It
is not required that voters state
their party affiliations.
Citizens of the Valley will have
a hard time forgetting that next
Tuesday is election day. The
Valley has been well circulated
with letters from individual can
didates and political action com
mittees urging everyone to get
out and vote. A Kiwanis Club
committee consisting of Bill Rem
pel, Jim Hurley, John Reed, and
C. A. Brewer is planning to get
letters to every tax payer in the
Palmer School District urging
them to go to the polls. Stressing
the duty of citizens to vote for
their government representatives
is a special project of Kiwanis
International. The Kiwanis
soundtruck will advertise the
election on city streets the day of
the election.
V \s for voter. By the ribbon
V pinned on each voter at the
Palmer polls, the public will
know that there walks a citizen
who has done his civic duty. The
(Continued on page 16)
91 Dairymen and Poultrymen Refute
i Charges Against Local Veterinarian
About fifty persons, most of
them diarymen. rallied to the
support of Dr. Earl F. Graves,
Territorial veterinarian who has
been located in the Valley for
more than 10 years in a meeting
held at the new Grange Hall
Tuesday evening.
Word had spread quickly thro
ughout Palmer and the entire
countryside that the man who
many times had helped Valley
farmers out of trouble, when
their cows and calves were
stricken in the middle of the
DAIRY MEETING
Commissioner of Agricul-;
!; ture Clyde Sherman has;
!; scheduled a dairy meeting to-;
!; morrow night, Friday, April;
25, at 8 p.m. in the basement;
of the Alaska Experiment;
; Station in Palmer to discuss!
; with the dairymen the veter-!
;! inary problems of the Terri-!
; tory, including the Valley. !
Local Church Members
Attend Annual Meeting
Of Yukon Presbytery
Seven persons rrom the Valley
were in Fairbanks last week to
attend the annual meetings of the
Yukon Presbytery and Presbyter
ial April 16, 17, and 18.
Rev. Harry Gayley and Dr.
Winston Laughlin, elder, repre
sented the United Protestant
Church at the meeting of the
Presbytery. Mrs. Neil Miller at
tended in her elected capacity as
Stated Clerk of the Yukon Pres
bytery. Representing women’s
. groups of the United Protestant
Church in Palmer were Mrs.
Harry Wimmer, Mrs. L. P. Ror
1 rison, and Mrs. Earl Smith. They
attended the meeting of the Yu
kon Presbyterial. Mrs. Henry
Hansen represented the Wasilla
Community Church.
Dr. Laughlin was chosen by the
United Protestant Church con
gregation to ask the Presbytery
to concur in the call of Brian
Cleworth to come to the local
church as missionary pastor, to
submit for approval the revised
constitution of the United Protes
tant Church and to obtain per
mission to raise the total indebt
edness of the church to $5,000, if
necessary, for desirable improve
(Continued on Page 10)
Judges Announced
For April 29 Election
Judges who will serve at Pal
mer precinct polls next Tuesday,
April 29, for the Territorial Pri
mary election were announced
this week.
Serving at the Eska Post Office
for the Jonesville-Eska mining
area will be Mrs. Mary Estep,
Mrs. Rivera Hiber, and Mrs. Ber
nice Kuoppola.
Two sets of judges will preside
at the Recreation Hall poll in
Palmer. Mrs. Kathryn Wilson,
Mrs. Nan Curtis, and Mrs. Kath
leen Moore will serve for the
area included within the incor
porated limits of the city of Pal
mer. Judges for Palmer precinct
electors living outside the city of
Palmer and not included in the
Jonesville- Eska area are Mrs.
Dorothy Graham, Mrs. Esther
Brock, and Mrs. Carol Stephan.
These two groups of electors will
use the same voting booths set up
in Recreation Hall.
The polls will be open from 8
a.m. to 8 p.m.
night. was now in trouble him
self. A long-standing disagree
ment between the veterinarian
and his immediate superior, Com
missioner of Agriculture Clyde
Sherman, had culminated in a
letter dismissing him from his job
on May 15 unless he succeeded in
answering charges contained in
the letter.
Dr. Graves came to the Valley
as Territorial Veterinarian in
December, 1940. At first he was
under the supervision of Loren
T. Oldroyd of the University of
Alaska Extension Service, but a
short time later he was placed
under the direct supervision of
the governor’s office. In 1945 the
Territorial legislature authorized
the setting up of the Alaska De
partment of Agriculture with
George W. Gasser subsequently
appointed as its first commission
er. The position of Territorial
veterinarian was then placed
under the supervision of the De
partment of Agriculture. Al
though there was some feeling
that the department should be
located in Palmer because of its
proximity to the largest concen
tration of agriculture in the Ter
ritory, it was located in Fair
banks-possibly because that was
Gasser’s home and the University
of Alaska was located there.
Clyde Sherman was assistant to
Gasser when he was appointed by
the governor to succeed Gasser
when he retired January 1, 1950.
Three Valley men were also con
sidered for the position: Eugene
Kirsch, Neil Miller, and Dr.
Graves
During the past year Sherman,
in enthusiastic efforts to stimu
late the growth and improvement
of the animal industry in Alaska,
has formulated new regulations
and programs toward that end.
Chief among these are his regu
lations regarding slaughtering
and his new campaign to eradicate
Bang's disease from Alaskan
dairy herds. Sherman explained
his slaughtering regulations in
Palmer at a meeting of the Dairy
men’s committee April 7 and at
a meeting of the Breeders As
sociation the following night.
Charges against Graves includ
ed his failure to co-operate i»i
the Alaska Department of Agri
culture “livestock improvement
program,” his failure to assist in
the preparation of the new
Slaughterhouse and Meat Inspec
tion Regulations and be present
at the meetings where they were
explained, and his failure or un
willingness to co-operate with the
new Bang’s disease eradication
program. Along with these char
ges, which were included under
two headings, went an additional
charge that farmers were forced
to come and get Dr. Graves and
take him home in order to pro
cure his services. The third major
charge involved what might be
a difference of opinion over the
interpretation of Section 33-1-2
AC LA 1949, which provides that
the Commissioner shall promul
gate a uniform schedule of charg
es and credit arrangements for
farmers and others for treatment
of livestock and poultry, such
fees to be collected and transmit
ted to the Territorial Treasurer.
This section is silent as to fees
from small animals and pets.
In a letter to Governor Gruen
ing, which was drafted by the
moderator of the meeting, Ro
land Snodgrass, and approved
with alterations and additions by
those present, this charge was an
swered in part as follows:
“With reference to Charge 3,
such small animal practice as has
come to him has in no way in
(Continued on Page 7)