Thought of the Week:
you get an idea, every
once in a while,
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you are not
The Frontiersman
PUBLISHED IN THE INTEREST OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
ADVISORY BOARD
GAME DEPARTMENT
HEARING
GRANGE HALL
MARCH 4 8 P.M.
VOLUME 15. NUMBER 23
PALMER. ALASKA, THURSDAY, FEB. 28. 1963
TEN PAGES
PRICE 15 CENTS
Local Man Appointed to State Education Post
Reporters—
Notebook
Verne L. Stout and his 13
year old son, Richard, left
Palmer last Saturday for a ten
v-eeks trip to Europe, where
they plan to attend the Baha’i
world Congress in London the
latter part of April.
They flew direct to Chicago,
where they visited the Baha’i
Temple in Wilmette, and from
there went to New York, for
a visit with Mr, Stout’s rela
tives in Rochester and Mrs.
Stout’s sister in New York City.
From the East Coast they
will fly to Europe for a trip
through Germany, Holland,
Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria,
Italy, Switzerland, France,
England and Denmark. They
will return early in May via
the polar route.
• * *
Another European traveler is
Mrs. Marie Guffey, who left
yesterday morning via Scan
dinavian Airlines for Oslo.
After an overnight stop there
with Sally Clark, she will go on
to Haifa, Israel, where she
will spend nine days before re
turning to the continent. Her
tour will take her to Rome and
Frankfort, then to London in
mid-April.
* * *
Walter Ward, fencing in
structor at the Palmer com
munity college, walked off writh
top honors in the sabering con
test held during the Fur Ren
dezvous in Anchorage.
Ward, besides teaching his
college class of 12 students, also I
works with a number of high
school students every Tuesday
afternoon after school.
Matches in both foil and sab
ering may become an annual
Rendezvous event.
Mrs. Alva Saxton of Palmer
has received a letter from Paul
Lazos, former Palmer barber
now living in Kolonaki, Ath- j
ens, Greece. Lazos, who was :
hospitalized from Oct. 3 to,
Jan. 25, is now living with a '
nephew. He reports that he is.
getting along well and sends |
greetings to his friends in the
Palmer area.
* * *
Jim Wilson returned to work
Monday on a part time basis
after his recent illness.
JENKINS TO SPEAK
AT CHAMBER MEETING
Roy Jenkins of the State
Department of Highways will
be guest speaker at the
luncheon meeting of the
Matanuska Valley Chamber
of Commerce next Wednes
day, March 6, in the Fron
tier Cafe at 12 noon.
Jenkins will discuss fu
ture plans of the highway
department and their rela
tion to Palmer and the Mat
anuska Valley area.
COLLEEN KENDALL
IS MISS ALASKA
Over twenty Palmerites
journeyed to Anchorage last
Saturday evening to witness
the Miss Alaska pageant, from
which Miss Alaska State Fair,
Colleen Sharon Kendall, emer
ged as the new Miss Alaska.
Miss Kendall, the daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. Sherrod Ken
dall of Anchorage, won the
coveted title from a field of
ten talented contestants repre
senting communities through
out Alaska.
The blonde, brown-eyed Al
aska Methodist University co
ed, repeated her interpretation
of the musical comedy number
from “Oklahoma” which help
ed win her the Alaska State
Fair title here last September.
Colleen, an all-A student at
AMU where she is a sopho
more, will now represent the
State of Alaska at the Miss
America pageant in Atlantic
City next September.
Local residents who W'atched
Colleen’s performance com
mented on her remarkable
poise, particularly in the ques
tion-and-answer period.
Other contestants were Sus
an Koslosky (Miss Fur Rendez
vous), Katherine Williams of
Fairbanks, Roberta Gordioff,
Cordova, Linda Kilcher, Hom
er, Lari Lowe, Nome, Beverly
Peterson, Seward, Patricia Mc
Gill, Valdez, Katherine Schi
manski. Juneau, and Carole Ol
son, Soldotna.
FIVE TEAMS TO
PARTICIPATE
IN ROUND ROBIN
The second annual Matan- j
uska Valley Gold Medal bas
ketball tournament will be j
played in Palmer next week,
according to Keith Smith, Pal
mer high school principal. [
Games are scheduled for
March 4, 6, 7, 8, and 9 in Cen-,
tral School gymnasium, with
game times to be 6:15 and 7:45
p.m.
The tournament is open to j
boys who have not yet reach- 1
ed their 17th birthday, Smith
said. Teams from Palmer, Ken
ai. Anchorage, Wasilla, and the
Youth Camp will participate.
The youths taking part will be
members of next year’s varsity
teams.
Admission charge will be $1
for adults and 50c for students.
Individuals and team trophies
will be awarded.
The tournament will be set
up on a round-robin basis, with
each of the five participating
teams playing four games. The
winner will be the team that
wins all four games, the prin
cipal said, adding that under
the round-robin system it is
possible that two teams could
each win three. In this eventu
ality, the first to win a game
will be declared tournament
winner.
Conversion to Gas
Not Now Considered
Conversion of heating plants
at Fort Richardson and Elmen
dorf Air Force Base from coal
to gas is unlikely this year, ac
cording to copies of two letters
sent to William Hermann of
Palmer by George Sundborg,
administrative assistant to U S.
Senator Ernest Gruening. The
letters, addressed to the Sena
tor, were written by the dep
uty director of the Bureau of
the Budget and the deputy
assistant Secretary of Defense.
The letter from the Bureau
of the Budget says, in part,
. . concerning the conversion
of power plants at Fort Rich
ardson and Elmendorf Air
Force Base . . . There are no
projects for this purpose in the
Military Construction Authori
zation Bill which has been sub
mitted to us by the Department
of Defense, and it is our under
standing that the Department
has no plans at this time for
action which would further
such conversion.”
The message from the De
partment of Defense read, ‘ As
you know, the necessary funds
for the conversion projects
being considered must be au- !
thorized by the Congress as
part of a military construction
program, and the Department
of Defense has not included ;
this project in the FY 1964
construction program. In ac- ;
cordance with your request,
this office will take no action ]
which would further the con
version projects until the cur
rent session of the Congress
has had the opportunity to con
sider your bill, S. 572.”
The letter closed with a
promise to keep the Alaska
delegation informed of any
future action on conversion.
Gruening’s bill, S. 572, would
give coal equality with natural
gas in government utility con
tracts by providing for ten
year contracts for coal and oil.
a privilege already enjoyed by
the gas industry.
MVCCA OPENS EASTER SEAL DRIVE
WITN ROX SOCIAL DANCE MARCH 9
Boxes brought to the Matan
uska Valley Crippled Child
ren’s Association box social and
dance on Saturday, March 9,
will be eligible for a series of
very attractive prizes contri
buted by Palmer merchants,
Mrs. Lowell Simpson, president
of the association, said this
week. The affair will begin at
9 p.m. at the Elks hall in Pal
mer.
The clever woman who
brings the most beautiful box
will win a dual-control electric
blanket contributed by Koslos
ky’s Department Store, while
the one whose box is judged
most unique will receive a spe
cial coordinated gift from
Betty's and Mary K Sales.
The prize for the box most
symbolic of ACCA will be a
Corning Ware sauce pan with
cradle and handle contributed
by Bert's Drug. The most hum
orous box will win a $10 gift
certificate from Lea’s Dress
Shop.
In addition there will be two
door prizes, a long distance
phone call to any place in con
tinental United States, the gift
of MTA, and a small electrical
appliance, donated by MEA.
Music for dancing will be
supplied by two bands, Tom
Moffitt’s western-style orches
tra and another new to the Pal
mer area. Local entertainers
will display their talents dur
ing intermission.
Boxes will be auctioned by
Jim Rutt, and prizes will be
awarded at midnight. Dancing
will follow the midnight lunch.
Ladies with a box will be
admitted free, and ladies with
, out a box will be charged $1 j
for admittance. Men will be;
charged $1.50, and couples $2.
This affair is not to be con
fused with a similar MVCCA j
benefit to be held in Wasills
on April 20 at the close of the
Easter Seal campaign.
McFeeley Rites
Held Today
Funeral services for George
McFeeley, Alaska resident
since 1908. were held this
morning at 10 a.m. at Ever- 1
green Memorial Chapel in An
chorage. with the Rev. Father
Francis Nugent of St. Michael's
Catholic Church of Palmer offi
ciating. Burial was in the An
chorage Cemetery.
McFeeley died at Valley Hos
pital here on Feb. 19. Born in
County Dary, Ireland, on Oct.
7, 1893, he was 69 years old.
After coming to Alaska, Mc
Feeley was a miner and a con
struction worker.
He is survived by two bro
thers, William and Michael, of
Trenton, New Jersey.
Celebrate 86th Birthday
Alfred Gregerson. former Pal
mer resident now living at the
Alaska Pioneers’ Home in Sit
ka. will celebrate his 86th
birthday on March 21, accord
ing to the monthly list issued
by the Pioneer Women of Al
aska. Palmer friends are asked
to send cards, letters, or small
gifts to help him commemor
ate the day.
Local Bank Now
Among 1800 Largest
The Matanuska Valley Bank
of Palmer, which reported de
posits of $17,059,915 on Dec. 31,
gained 698 places in its stand
ing among the 1800 largest
commercial banks in the Unit
ed States during 1962, accord
ing to Willard C. Rappleve. Jr ,
editor of the American Banker.
The Palmer bank now ranks as
1704th largest in size, compar
ed with the 2402 spot it held at
the end of 1961.
Deposits of bank totaled $11,- :
380.230 a year ago.
The figures were revealed in
the 1963 Annual Roll Call of
the 1800 Largest Banks in the
United States, published by the
daily American Banker of New
York, which is the trade news
paper of the banking business.
There are 13,450 banks in the
United States.
Public Hearing
To Discuss
Game Problems
Possibility of another cow
moose or “either sex" season
will be discussed at a public
hearing of the Matanuska Val
ley advisory board to the state
board of fish and game. George
Crowther, chairman, announ
ced this week.
The hearing will be held
Monday, March 4. in the
Grange hall in Palmer at 8
p.m.
The purpose of the meeting
is to give interested persons
an opportunity to present their
views on changes for the game
and guiding regulations to be
issued for the 1963 season.
Other subjects for discussion
will be the possibility of open
ing the caribou season at an
earlier date, the taking of ewe
sheep in some areas, and moose
tag requirements.
Rader Bill Hearings
To Be March 6,7
Rep. John Rader’s bill for the
incorporation of first-class or
ganized boroughs was brought
to the attention of District 7
residents this week in a letter
to the Frontiersman from Rep.
Eugene Reid.
Public hearings on Rader’s
bill and on HB 62, another
piece of borough legislation
(suggested by the state board
of education) will be held in
the court room of the Capital
Building in Juneau at 7:30
p.m. on March 6 and 7, Reid
said, adding that persons wish
ing to attend these hearings
can arrive in Juneau in plenty
of time for the hearings by tak
ing the Wednesday, March 6
plane.
Rader’s bill, HB90, would
provide for mandatory creation !
of first class boroughs in major j
population election districts t
unless first or second class
boroughs are created by local
option before next Jan. 1.
Areas Rader wants incorpor
ated as first class boroughs
under provisions of the bill are
Anchorage. Lynn Canal, Icy
Straits, Ketchikan, Kodiak,
Palmer-Wasilla-Talkeetna, Sit
ka. Fairbanks-Ft. Yukon, Jun
eau, and Kenai-Cook Inlet.
Rader’s bill includes an am
endment to the present boro
ugh law which would provide J
that 10 per cent of the state- '
owned land within the borough
boundaries would go to the I
borough, with the land to be
chosen by the borough.
“I personally feel that Mr.
Rader has done a good job in |
presenting the case in support
of this legislation, and I wish \
to receive the public's opinion
on this matter as soon as pos
sible,” the local representative
said.
Under present law, all pub
lic service districts, including
school districts and public util
ity districts, will go out of ex
istence next July 1. Unless
further legislation is enacted
during this session of the legis
lature, the property of these
districts will revert to the state
and the legislature will become
the governing agent for all un
organized local areas as one
unorganized borough.
Police Chief Suggests New Schedule
With the return of Mayor
Ralph Moore, all councilmen
were present at the Keb. 26
meeting of the Palmer City
Council.
Police chief Louis Bencar
dino presented a schedule for
the police department which
would eliminate the services of
a half-time patrolman and thus
would allow for an increase in
pay for police department per
sonnel. Under the plan, the
two patrolmen of the depart
ment and the police chief
would be on call for four hours
in addition to the regular eight
hour shift, and patrolmen’s
starting salaries would be rais
ed from $625 to $650 monthly,
with the chiefs salary going
from $725 to $775 per month.
City manager Winston Gil
christ recommended that any
change in salary in the police
department should also take in
to consideration other city de
partments, pointing out that
some employee^ did not receive
an increase at the beginning of
this fiscal year.
A motion was passed asking
the city manager to draw up a
tentative pay scale for all de
partments of the city for con
sideration by the council at the
next meeting.
* * *
A bill from Corbin and Sons
in the amount of $8,087.47 for
remodeling of the city hall
basement was approved by the
council.
* * *
The city manager reported
that Don Marshall of Marshall
and Meyers, a bonding firm,
had telephoned from Anchor
age asking for an appointment
to meet with the city council.
Manager Gilchrist was asked to
make arrangements to set up
such a meeting.
* * *
Although copies of the pre
liminary engineering report
had been distributed to the city
council members on Tuesday,
it was felt that there had been
insufficient time to review it,
and discussion was postponed.
Various points of interest in
the report were pointed out by
Gilchrist.
* * *
Visitors at the council were
Bob Pippel of Pippel Insurance,
Agency who informed the
council on liability insurance
costs to the city and the Matan
uska Valley Airmen to cover
the Palmer airport. Also at the
meeting were Dick Hamilton,
Buddy Woods, and Clyde King
of the Airmen, who reported
that incorporation plans are
progressing and that the for
mal agreement will be ready to
present to the council soon.
I *
Councilmen Maze and Her
mann reported on their investi
gation of the city-owned rock
crusher, recommending that
the council dispose of it. Coun
cil authorized the city manager
to negotiate with Hemmer and
Hayes for purchase of the rock
crusher, indicating that in place
of cash the council would be
willing to accept 1500 yards of
three-quarter minus crushed
rock.
* * *
Other business included a re
port from councilman Johnson
on an investigation he had
made of the generator at Mat
anuska Maid, Inc., a second
(Continued on page 7)
Zahradmcek to rill
Commission Vacancy
William T. Zahradnicek. Pal- i
mer Independent School Dis- j
trict superintendent of schools. 1
was appointed state commis
sioner of education Feb. 22 by
Gov. William A. Egan.
The appointment, subject to
legislative confirmation, fills an
eight months' vacancy in the
post vacated by Dr. Theo Nor
by, who resigned last June.
Zahradnicek will be given an
appropriate length of time to
prepare for his assumption of ■
statewide duties, Governor Eg
an said, with an opportunity to !
make an orderly transfer of his |
obligations to the Palmer pub
lic school system.
The Palmer superintendent ;
is one of the most able and res- '
pected school administrators in !
Alaska, the governor said. He ■
has served in the Palmer post
for a total of 13 years, and
taught one year in the Anchor
age school system. He was also
superintendent of the on-base
schools at Fort Richardson for
one year.
Zahradnicek received his AB
degree in 1934 from Wayne j
State Teachers college where
his majors are English, history,
and science. He received his
Master of Arts degree in 1947
at the University of Nebraska,
where his major was in school
administration.
His educational background
before coming to Alaska in 1947
included 25 years' experience
as a teacher, high school prin
cipal, and superintendent of
scnools in Nebraska and Color
ado
He is married and has one
son who lives in Cordova.
Governor Egan said that the
state is fortunate in being as
sured of the services of Zah
radnicek to direct the highly
important programs of the state
department of education.
George Ed Smith, president
of the Palmer school board and
a member of the state board of
education, said this week that
while the local board regrets
losing a good administrator, its
members feel that “Mr. Z” is
the best man for the Juneau
post.
Zahradnicek is in Juneau
this week, where he is support
ing a 3.5 millage assessment
rate for taxes under the Pub
lic School Foundation Program,
rather than the suggested 4
mill levy base.
TEN NOMINATED
FOR THREE MEA
BOARD POSITIONS
Ten persons have been nom
inated to run for three vacan
cies on the Matanuska Electric
Association board of directors,
it was announced at the gen
eral meeting of the association
on Feb. 27.
Those named are Phil O'
Neill of Sutton, incumbent; C.
Ivan Branton of Wasilla, in
cumbent; Henry L. Corbin,
Butte; James D. Frey, Butte;
Lew E. Hanks, Palmer; L. F.
(Joe) Martin. Wasilla; Richard
J. Miller, Jr„ Palmer; Clair
Johnson. Big Lake; James Car
son. Wasilla; and James Ek
| stedt, Eagle River. Elections
will be held at the annual
meeting on April 13.
The third incumbent, who
refused renomination, is Virgil
Flint of Eagle River, who since
last May has filled the vacancy
created by the resignation of
v’if-tor Falk, Jr.
Members of the committee,
who met Feb. 21. were James
D. Frey, chairman. Mrs. Beulah
Hobson, secretary. Paul Swan
son. Mrs. Mary Bergman, Mrs.
Edna Johnson, and Chester
Dee. Absent but turning in
their nominations were Ted
Schmidtke and Ray White.
“Heart” to Serve
Coffee at Betty's
Have a "Heart" cup of coffee
at jetty s Dress Shop on Sate
urday, March 9. is the invita
tion of the iocal Heart Fund
Drive committee. Coffee will
be served all day long, with
voluntary donations to go to
the Heart Fund.
Making arrangements for
the day-long "coffee hour" are
Mrs. Herbert Dundas and Mrs.
Herbert Steele.
Requests for donations to
the Heart Fund have been
mailed to residents throughout
the Valley area.
The motto of the organiza
tion is “The More You Give,
the More Will Live,” Mrs. Dun
das said.
Overall chairman for the
area drive is Mrs. Ben Hudgins.
RYAN’S LYNES
By Jack Ryan
I experienced Asian flu dur
ing the 1957 epidemic. Man, do
you ever get sick If you don't
die, you are disappointed.
—o——
There is a test you can give
at home to determine whe
ther an ill person has Asian
flu. If an egg will fry on his
forehead, he’s got it.
If you feel the flu attacking
you, load up on 100 proof spir
its. This won't cure you, but it
will make having the flu more
pleasant.
To avoid the flu, stay out
of drafts. By all means, keep
away from windy bartenders.
Theatre
Guild
Presents
"SPEAKING OF MURDER
FRI. and SAT.
MARCH I and 2
Central School Aud.
8 p.m.