' OUTSTANDING EXHIBITS Of HUMEMAKtlfo
AND 4-H CLUBS COMPENSATE FOR PAUCITY
OF AGRICULTURAL ENTRIES IN ’52 FAIR
Exhibits
An honest comment on the pre
mium exhibits at the Matanuska
Valley Fair for 1952 would have
to take note of the general lack
ot adult entries, but the excel
lence of those entries that were
exhibited and the enthusiasm
portrayed in exhibits of Home
makers’ Clubs and 4-H Clubs suc
ceeded in making the 1952 Pre
mium exhibits outstanding.
Vegetables and Grasses
In the vegetables and grasses
division the empty space was con
spicuous and prevalence of prize
ribbons was mute evidence of un
interesting competition. Superin
tendent George Crowther, al
though disappointed because
there weren’t many exhibits,
blamed the lack of them on Fri
day’s rainy weather. He said there
were many favorable comments
on Valley potatoes, which were
exhibited in quantity, and on the
outsize vegetables, although in
many cases only one of a kind
was on display. Max Sherrod’s
entries, he said, were consistently
outstanding. Dr. Curtis Dearborn
and Roscoe Taylor, horticulturist
and agronomist from the Alaska
Experiment Station, were judges.
Individual Farm Displays
Considering the prize incentive
($100, $75, $50. $25) the three in
dividual farm displays were dis
appointing from a competition
standpoint, but those exhibited
measured up well writh the best
of previous years when competi
tion was more keen. The first
prize was won by Earl and Mary
Combs of Wasiila. Mrs. Combs
also won the first prize last year
for her individual farm display.
The Combs’ exhibit of meticul
ously prepared farm products and
home crafts was set off this year
by a unique sampler, mural in
size, and its farm scene design ex
ecuted entirely in petals of flow
ers, miniature vegetables, stems
of grain, and bits of evergreen.
Displays by Mr. and Mrs. Har
old Dinkel and Mr. and Mrs.
Robert Lincoln—also of the Was
iila area—were outstanding as
second and third prize winners.
Wasiila pride in the Matanuska
Valley Fair was further demon
strated by Wasiila Grange farm
display.
Livestock Exhibits
Paucity of livestock exhibits
was probably the biggest disap
pointment of the entire Fair. Not
a single cow was exhibited. Only
eight calves were present to rep
resent the heart of Alaska s grow
ing dairy industry. Outside of two
horses and a pig procured for the
greased pig contest, there were no
other animal exhibits. .Superin
tendent Pat Hemmer was deject
ed.
Poultry and Rabbits
Veteran poultry exhibitor Alba
Brooks, superintendent of the
poultry and rabbit division re
ported about the same number of
;xhibits as last year. Again, how- j
>ver, lack of interest on the part
of adult exhibitors was apparent; ;
about 90 percent of the entries
were by children, many of them
for 4-H work. Brooks paid special j
tribute to Emil LaWalters as be
ing one of the very few adults to
exhibit year after year for the
past several years and to L. F.
Fetrow of Chugiak, the other
adult exhibitor who has shown
entries for two years in a row.
NORTHERN
NEON
~ CORP.
SIGNS
Trucks, Cars Lettered
Manufacturers of
Neon Signs, Marquees,
Store Fronts and Tube
Lighting
540 Barrow - Dial 43734
ANCHORAGE. ALASKA
Unusually attractive awards for
the scheduled Chicken Style
Show failed to produce any en
tries for the Sunday show and
only one pair was shown on Mon
day.
Handwork
Handwork exhibits from the
Valley made a wonderful display
of individual skills, but again the
prevalence of prize ribbons—
mostly blue—revealed an un
healthy state of competition.
Superintendent Eloise Hudgins
of the Handicraft department had
many unusual items to display,
out the variety didn’t begin to
exhaust the possibilities outlined
in the premium book. Superin
:endent Karla Duff of the needle
work department thought the ex
cellence and variety of the en
tries exhibited outweighed the
poverty in numbers. She called
particular attention to fine ex
amples of crocheting, embrodered
table linens, and cut work. Mrs.
Justine Parks’ handsome banquet
cloth was outstanding in the lat
ter category. In the dressmaking
department, of which Mrs. Carl
Mielke was superintendent, every'
entry got a prize ribbon and most
of them were blues. The examples
were excellent, but in many cases
there was only one to a class.
Thrift department entries were
also few. but there was a sur
prising number of sewing and
cooking entries exhibited by Val
ley moppets ten-years of age and
under. Mrs. John McDonald was
superintendent for these classes
Judges for depattments and
classes in the handwork division
were Mrs. Lydia Fohn-Hansen, in
charge of Home Demonstration
work for the University of Alaska
Extension Service and a Valley
visitor named Mrs. Charles Stick
ney, who has had considerable
experience in judging at fairs in
Minnesota. These two women also
judged the culinary exhibits, 4-H
Club exhibits and the Homemak
ers Clubs club exhibits.
, Culinary Exhibits
Mrs. Neil Miller, attendant for
the culinary division exhibits, ob
served that the interest displayed
in the baked goods was ample
proof that the women of today
are letting their men down. She
said the men fairly drooled as
they looked yearningly at the
yummy goodies behind the wire
screen. Although the entries were
few, the exhibits drew crowds of
men who seemed loath to go and
leave it all behind. Mrs. Lila
Newville was superintendent of
this division.
Home Canning
Mrs. Fannie Werner, superin
tendent of the home canning divi
sion expressed satisfaction both
with the number of entries and
the quality. She was particularly
pleased with the new quarters for
Motor - in - Service
GENERAL REPAIRS -- WELDING
GAS & OIL
Harry Duff
Phone 65J11
Bert Duff
Moore's Garage
General Automotive Repair
Crankshaft Grinding
Rebore Service
Post Office Box 789
Palmer, Alaska
her division, more spacious quart
ers which permitted the best pos
sible display of canning artistry.
Flower Exhibit
The flower exhibit in the Fair
Administration building served
as the reception center for the
entire Fair. Over 1800 signed the
guest book and it was estimated
that six or seven times that hur
ried on past the book in their en
thusiasm to see the lov^y flow
ers beyond. People from every
single state in the union and
Hawaii signed the guest book;
there were also signatures of
people from at least a dozen
foreign countries. Helping Super
intendent Maud Hosier during the
three days of the Fair were Mrs.
M. D. Snodgrass, Mrs. Marjorie
Hoskins, Mrs. Barbara Caruthers,
Mrs. Margaret McCartney, Mrs.
Loretta Talcott, Mrs. Gertrude
Felzien, Mrs. Dorothy Getsgo, and
Mrs. Edith Benson.
Judges were Mrs. Earl Curtis.
Mrs. Harold Simmons, and Mrs.
Gerald Kempton—ail of Anchor
age. U. S. Commissioner Rose
Walsh of Anchorage hunted them
up to have them report for duty.
Superintendent Hosier said that
the judges from Anchorage and
even one of the judges for the
recent Anchorage Flower Show
were most lavish in their praise
of the entries exhibited at this
year’s Fair. Although there were
not nearly as many entries as in j
previous years, the rain was'
blamed rather than the lack of
exceptional blooms in the Val
ley. Blue ribbons were very much
in evidence. Outstanding were
Mrs. Neil Miller’s ararngement of
Rhugosa roses, Mrs. I. M. Sand
vik’s sweet peas, Mrs. Loren Mc
Kechnie’s stock, Mrs. Max Sher-;
rod’s snapdragons, Mrs. Don Ir- j
win’s perennial monkehood and
Carpathian harebells, and the
rock gardens by Gary and Kristie
Farrel. Many Anchorage blooms
were exhibited, including the first
prize dahlia.. Perennials exhibited
such as columbine, Iceland pop
pies, shasta daisies, violas and
lady-in-white were objects of
much wide-eyed amazement on
the part of Outside visitors who
found it difficult to believe that
such beautiful flowers could
bloom year after year in Alaska.
Several fine entries were dis
qualified for prize consideration
either because they were not re
cived in time or because the ex
hibitors did not read their Fair
Premium Book carefully. Some
exhibited five or seven blooms
where six were specified or failed
otherwise to observe the stipula
tions. All entries were judged ac
cording to the Handbook for
Flower Shows put out by the Na
tional Council of State Garden
Clubs.
Art Exhibits
Superintendent Rusty Dow re
Carpenters, Remember!
Carpenters Local 2251
Meets 2nd and 4th Wednesday
Each Month
ported a tremendous interest in
children’s art displayed by visit
ors and exhibitors alike. So great
was the unsolicited response
from youthful Valley artists, that
Rusty is determined to have a
special class for children’s art
next year. She says there’s un
believable talent in the Valley,
talent that must be encouraged.
Outstanding exhibits of the art
show were the water colors by
Fred Machetanz, which were not
entered in competition. These, the
ceramics exhibit, and the many
excellent entries in oil, water
color, pastel, and black and white
stirred up much interest in art
this year; indications are that
many more entries will be ex
hibited next year. Ruth Trues
dale and Mrs. Earl Graves were
judges for this year’s entries.
4-H Exhibits
4-H Club exhibits were the
backbone of the Fair this year.
Garden, poultry, livestock, cloth
ing and culinary entries exhibited
side by side with adult entries in
the same categories lent added
credit to the youthful exhibitors
and said much for the develop
ment of skills and pride of accom
plishment in the Valley. 4-H
clothing and baking exhibits
were judged by Audrey Davies,
home demonstration agent from
Anchorage, and Mrs. Frances Hol
brook, who was formerly a home
demonstration agent.
Mrs. Marylou Rideout, 4-H
club worker expressed satisfac
tion with this year’s exhibits.
Clothing entries, the first year
items in particular,, were unusual
ly good this year. Vegetable en
tries were outstanding in quan
tity -and quality. There were also
many. 4-H canning entires, al
though Joyce Dinkel made the
only individual canning display.
Ingenuity displayed in all of
the many 4-H Club booths this
year made it difficult to choose
between them, but Mrs. Rideout
thought the Fairview Farmers’
safety exhibit was the most start
ling and thought provoking.
Homemakers' Booths
Competition among the Home
makers Clubs in their booth ex
hibits was particularly keen this
year, with nearly all of them out
for the $50 first prize. It went
to the Riverbend Club for “Our
Homemakers’ Calendar,” where
in individual tableaux depicted
the main point of interest for all
meetings of the year. Second
prize went to the Sourdough Club,
the oldest Homemaker Club in
the Valley, for its “Progress of
Valley Homemakers from 1930
1952.” Third Prize went to the
Former Palmer Couple
Wed in Fairbanks
In an afternoon ceremony held
in the Base Chapel at Eilsen
Field, Fairbanks, Miss Patricia
Josephine Kirsch, daughter of
Eugene Kirsch of Palmer became
the bride of PFC Lynn Sandvik,
son of Mr. and Mrs. I. M. Sand
vik of Palmer, August 31.
The couple were attended by
Miss Mary Morin and Cpl. Archie
Buchannan, both of Fairbanks
Base Chaplain, Major Myer per
formed the double ring ceremony.
The bride came to the Territory
in 1946 with her father and set
tled in Fairbanks, moving to Pal
mer in 1950 when Mr. Kirsch ac
cepted employment as instructor
to on-farm trainees.
Mrs. Sandvik attended the Pal
mer High School and was a can
didate in the queen contest spon
Wasilla Homemakers for their in
genious and educational display
of Alaskan berries.
The Cheechako Club, the 12:30
Club, the Anchorage Homemakers
Council, the new Gold Dusters
Club, the Butte Homemakers, the
Homesteaders, the Glacier View
Club, the Nugget Club, and the
Palmasilla Club all had excep
tionally fine exhibits.
Many Fair visitors expressed
the opinion that the Homemakers’
and 4-H Club booths were the
biggest attractions of the Fair.
sored during the 1951 Matanuska
Valley Fair.
The bridegroom was born in
Moose Lake, Minnesota and came
to the Valley with his parents in
1935 when, as 'original colonists,
they settled in the Butte area. In
1947 he was chosen as the 4-H
representative and attended the
4-H Congress in Chicago. Again in
1949 he attended the Congress
when he accompanied his brother
Kent who was winner that year.
! Educated in the Palmer schools,
he graduated in 1949 and went on
to the Walla Walla College for
a short course. He entered the
service in October, 1951 and has
been stationed at Eilsen Air Force
Base. The couple will make their
home in Fairbanks after Septem
ber 8.
An informal open-house will be
held in honor of the couple Satur
| day evening, September 6 at the
home of Mr. and Mrs. I. M. Sand
vik. All friends and neighbors are
invited to attend the gathering,
scheduled for eight o’clock.
FAIRBANKS FAMILY
MOVES TO PALMER
I
Mr. and Mrs. L. K. Mooers and
son Carlyle and daughter Wanda
arrived in Palmer August 22 and
are making plans to make their
'home here in the Valley.
The Mooers’ previously made
their home in Fairbanks where
Mr. Mooers was employed by The
Nevada Kid. He is now employed
by Koslosky’s Department Store.
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE LECTURE
Friday, September 5, 1952 at 8:00 P.M.
ANCHORAGE HLGH SCHOOL
Frank C. Ayers, C. S. of Indianapolis, Indiana
will speak. His subject: "Christian Science: The
Revelation of True Safety."
Test it where tractors of like power have
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Model "MC” Tractor.
For where fields are level and traction is no
problem almost any tractor will give a good
account of itself. It's in hilly country that de
mands stability ... in difficult traction condi
tions that require sure-footed flotation, where
you’ll really appreciate the Model "MC.”
This “little giant” of the track-types handles
such loads as three-bottom plows and 8-foot
double-action disk harrows with outstanding
economy. It’s a compact, easy-to-handle tractor
that “turns on a dime” . . . that offers many
comfort and operating conveniences. Make a
date for a demonstration on your farm . , 9
soon!
Northern Commercial Co.
MACHINERY DIVISION
Box 1500
Phone 35051
Anchorage,
Sales and Service in Anchorage
Anchorage, Alaska
733 Fifth Avenue
MACHINERY BRANCHES:
Fairbanks Juneau. Ketchikan, Nome,Whitehorse, Dawson