Ktuua y&uA, Vttw&iAitif,
Probably the most “titled” man
in the Territory of Alaska is Dr.
Basil M. Bensin, agronomist and
researcher with the Alaska Ag
riculture Experiment Station at
the University of Alaska.
Besides being an agronomist,
Dr. Bensin can be called ecologist,
plant breeder,
photogrammet -
.rist, lecturer,
educator and
author. He is
not just an or
dinary author,
however. H i s
articles and pa
pers have been
published i n
Russian, Ger
Dr. Bensin man, Czech,
French and English, and he also
speaks all five languages. He is
a member of seven or eight na
tional scientific societies.
While he was collecting his
“titles,” Dr. Bensin also was ac
quiring University degrees. He
holds bachelor of science and
master of science degrees from
the University of Minnesota, and
a Doctor’s degree from the Czech
ish Plytechnic Agricultural School
in Prague. He also holds a theo
logical degree in the Russian Or
thodox church.
Basil M. (short for Mitrophano
vich) Bensin was born in Russia,
but his work has taken him to
many parts of the world. His fa
ther was a priest in the Russian
Orthodox Church, and Basil at
tended the Moscow Theological
Seminary, graduating with a B.D.
degree. Shortly after graduation
he came to the United States as
instructor and secretary of the
faculty at the Minneapolis Rus
sian Theological Seminary.
Young Basil’s interest lay in ag
riculture, however, and, concur
rently with his theological work,
he studied at the Agricultural
College of the University of Min
nesota. When he returned to Rus
sia he became a specialist in cer
eal grains with the Tsar’s Imper
ial Department of Agriculture.
Bensin’s first assignment was to
organize a special expedition into
the isolated heart of Central Asia 5
for the collection of drought-re-:
sistant cereals and other native1
plants. His most important dis
covery on the trip was a drought- j
resistant rye, found in arid east-!
ern Turkistan. This rye, which
now bears his name, was rare be
cause it was self-pollinating. !
Bensin gathered two tons of
seed, transported it by camel car
avan to the nearest railroad and
sent it to Petrograd. However,
during the Russian Revolution of
1919 starving peasants ate all the
seed, and Bensin does not know
whether or not the rye has been
rediscovered.
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There is hardly a part of cen
tral and eastern Russia that Ben
sin has not roamed and studied in
the interests of better agriculture.
He was also sent to Berlin to
study laboratory methods for
grain and flour analysis.
During World War I, Bensin
served as an officer in the Tsar’s
Imperial Army. After the war,
his importance in Russian agri
culture grew rapidly and he was
sent to Czechoslovakia to nego
tiate for the importation of Rus
sian agricultural commodities to
that country. Because he was not
in sympathy with the current
Communist regime in Russia,
Bensin remained in Czechoslo
vakia. In 1930 he came to the
United States, and, in 1935, “in
the proudest moment of my life,”
he became an American citizen.
Dr. Bensin taught Russian lan
guage and literature at St. Vladi
mir’s Seminary in New York City,
did lecture work at agricultural
colleges throughout the country,
and made a survey of vast areas
in Texas and Mexico for the pur
pose of greater land utilization.
During World War II. Dr. Ben
sin, because of his intimate
knowledge of things Russian, was
with the Office of Strategic Serv
ices and with the Foreign Eco
nomic Administration.
After the war he returned to
his first love—plant breeding and
the broad field of ecology, the re
lationship between climate and
agriculture. In 1945 Bensin was
called to the Experiment Station
at the University of Alaska, and
has been engaged in numerous
agriculture experiments since that
time. Coming to Alaska with
Bensin were 17 packets of seeds
from Yakutsk, brought to the
United States by Vice President
Henry Wallace. Bensin planted
every seed by hand, and discov
ered those species most beneficial
to Alaska.
Agronomists across the country
have followed Dr. Bensin’s exper
iments with great interest. He
Workshop Meetings
Will Kot Be Held During
First Port of November
There will be no workshop
meetings conducted at Palmer
during the last half of November,
Miss Marylou Lashbrook, home
demonstration agent for the Uni
versity of Alaska Extension Serv
ice announced here this week.
There will be a workshop ses
sions during the first part of the
month, Miss Lashbrook said,
which are to be held as follows:
November 3, Friday, an all-day
workshop meeting will be held.
November 8, Wednesday, a
workshop session will be held in
the evening.
November 10, Friday, an all
day session will again be held.
Miss Lashbrook urged all those
who would like to complete ar
ticles started for Christmas to at
tend either one or all of the meet
ings listed as they will be the
only work shops conducted dur
ing the entire month of Novem
ber.
The home demonstration agent
explained that she will be absent
from Palmer during the last half
of November. She will conduct a
workshop in crafts and the mak
ing of Christmas gifts for the
newly formed Copper Valley
Homemakers’ Club.
The club, which is the most re
cent of the Homemakers’ groups
to be organized in this area, has
a membership of ladies from
Glenn Allen and the Gulkana
CAA station.
Officers elected at the first
meeting of the club, which was
held Octobfer 17, are Mrs. Dorothy
Sargent, president; Mrs. Frances
Cameron, vice-president, and Mrs.
Virginia Carney, secretary-treas
urer.
has shortened the growing season
for wheat for sub-Arctic regions,
and has developed the fastest
growing barley in the world. His
numerous other experiments —
still not completed—may help to
revolutionize agriculture in the
northern climes.
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Fried Chicken, Frog Legs and Steaks.
KIWANIS CLUB HEARS HOSPITAL HEEDS;
VOTES FOR PURCHASE OF P-A SYSTEM
Valley hospital needs and prob
lems that might be taken over a:
a project of the local Kiwani:
Club were discussed at the regu
lar luncheon meeting Monday.
Jack Newcomb, president, anc
the Rev. Victor Alfsen, treasurer
of the Valley Hospital Board
were special guests of the Ki
wanis Monday. The club had ex
tended the invitation so that the
board members might preseni
needs or problems of the hospital
Particular emphasis was placec
on a garbage disposal system foi
the hospital to comply with Alas
ka Department of Health regula
tions, which the board members
suggested as a possible project foi
the club.
The Kiwanis executive board
will give the subject furthei
study this week at its meeting
scheduled for today.
A brand new public address
; system will enhance future pub
> lie functions of the Kiwanis Club,
• President James Hurley an
nounced here this week.
[ A portable system, it will be
used at such Kiwanis events as
’ the popular Easter egg hunt spon
sored yearly by the club, its min
strel shows and other events held
by the club.
Purchase of the public address
system was voted at the regular
luncheon meeting of the Kiwanis
Club held Monday noon at the
former library.
Miss Ruth Cameron of the De
partment of Public Welfare with
offices at Anchorage spent sev
eral days here on business this
week. Miss Cameron was a guest
at the Matanuska Hotel while on
her visit here.
RUSSIANS APPEAR NOT TO BE ON BIG DIOMEDE
The Russians appear to have
left Big Diomede Island in the
Bering Sea, according to a report
last week by the Mukluk Tele
graph, newspaper published in
Nome for Alaska’s Eskimo com
munities.
Quoting John Kiminock, man
f
ager of the ANS store on Little
Diomede Island, three miles dis
tant from the Russian possession,
the newspaper said that accord
ing to Mr. Kiminock the Russians
havent been seen on Big Diomede
since last spring.
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