Time goes you soy? Ah,
no! Alas, time stays; we
go! —Selected
UniiiiEy FROKTiERsmnN
PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
------u
TRY A FRONTIERSMAN
CLASSIFIED AD (or thai
item you may hirt (or tal*.
rani or Imu,
VOLUME 5. NUMBER IS.
PALMER. ALASKA THURSDAY. DEC. 27. 19S1
PRICE TEN CENTS
Palmer-Area Growth Revealed in 1951 Building Record
Only a Few Minor Accidents Mar
Valley's Four-Day Christmas Holiday
The four-day Christmas holi- j
day was a safe and sane one in
the Valley area, according to the
Highway Patrol; and despite the
fact that the weatherman stirred
up a potent Matanuska blow ear
ly Christmas morning, the roads
m the Valley were reported rela
tively clear by the Alaska Road
Commission.
A very few minor accidents
were reported, but Stan Laird
and Tommy Roberts of the local
Highway Patrol were able to
spend most of their Christmas at
home.
c One conscientious driver tele
phoned Laird to report a collision
with a moose.
“Any damage to your car"?
asked Laird.
“Nope."’
“What happened to the j
moose”? '
“Why, he got up and walked
away.”
“Good”, said Laird. “Guess my j
new Christmas tie won’t get spot
ted this time.”
Car Wheels Spin
On ARR Tracks As
Diesel Approaches
Ernest Zehm, house custo- \
dian for the local lodas ;•
narrowly escaped serious in- >
■jury to himself and possible ;
destruction of his car yester- !;
day afternoon about 3:30 p.m. ;
when he was unable to heed
the warning whistle of an ARR !
diesel to get off the tracks at;!
the Fairview Ave. crossing. ;j
When he heard the whistle, j>
Zehm apparently tried to give h
his car the gas, but the car ;
responded only with the spin-/
ning of the wheels on the icy ;
tracks. From the Frontiersman j;
office it looked as if the diesel
was actually upon the stricken ;
vehicle before it could be;
brought to a stop. Investiga-;
tion revealed, however, that!
only one hub cap was touched.!
Elsewhere, however, the Valley
record of no serious accidents and
no fatalities did not hold. By
midnight December 25, the Na
tional Safety Council reported
758 people had died in accidents
throughout the nation during the
four-day holiday, 516 of them in
traffic accidents.
The Highway Patrol warned
local people to drive with due
caution on New Year’s Eve. The
two local men will be patrolling
all night that night, and they
want no fatalities to start off the
the New Year.
DATES ANNOUNCED
FOR ANNUAL FWS
GAME HEARINGS
Dates for the forthcoming FWS
annual game hearings were an
lounced today by Bob Burkhold
er, local FWS agent.
These hearings are held to take
recommendations from local citi
zens for possible changes or addi
tions to the present game regula
tions.
Hearings will be held in the
following places on dates as
given:
Talkeetna, at the Fairview Ho
tel, January 2 at 7:30 p.m.
Wasilla, at Community Hall,
Ja -jary 3 at 7:30 p.m.
Anchorage, at the high school
auditorium. January 4 at 7.10
p.m. ,
Palmer, in the Sportsmen s
room at Recreation Hall. January
5 at 7:30 p.m.
Local Support Asked
In Reporting Liquor,
Narcotics Violations
Local law enforcement officials
reported this week that regard
less of reports circulating thru
out Palmer area, no complaints
pertaining to narcotics violations
have been received by the local
U. S. Commissioner, U. S. Deputy
Marshal, or the Highway Patrol
through any Palmer source.
In an appeal to local citizens,
these officials, who are charged
with the enforcement of laws re
garding alcoholic beverages and
narcotics in this area, asked that
any parent or person knowing if
any violation report such know
ledge to U. S. Commissioner Do
rothy Saxton, Deputy Marshall
William Bouwens, or the High
way Patrol. In cases dealing with
narcotics, these officials will im
mediately contact federal nar
cotics agents. Immediate report
is recommended because any de
lay in reporting these violations
would hamper the necessarily
swift processes of the law.
No Funds for Patrolling
Stressing the importance o1
these pertinent bits of informa
tion given by conscientious citi
zer* Bill Bouwens added. “The
Department of Justice has nc
ways or means of reimbursing its
deputy marshals for use of then
personal cars in patrolling. The
cost of operation must be paid ou1
of the deputy’s own pocket ex
cept in transportation needed foi
investigation of complaints where
papers are issued.
“There has never been a com
plaint, either verbal or written
coming through these offices
which have not been investigat
ed’’, Bouwens said. “These com
plaints will continue to be inves
tigated, but we must have the
cooperation of people who claim
to know of violations.”
Bouwens added that informa
tion from the Anchorage office
of the U. . Marshal has been sen!
to Ralmer and has been acted on
but none of this information has
pertained to recent references re
garding sale of intoxicating bev
erages or narcotics in the Palmer
area.
Minors Barred from Bars
Regarding the sale of liquor +c
(Continued 0:1 Page 4)
WHO WILL BE THE NUMBER
ONE VALLEY BABY IN 1952?
Whose baby will be born first?
There’s a wonderful list of gifts,
generously provided by leading
merchants of our community, for
the first baby born in the Valley
in 1952. Some newcomer is going
to win a wonderful start in life
by being NUMBER ONE in ’52.
Some little shaver is going to
know* that he’s come to a mighty
good community that’s glad to
have him here.
The rules and mechanics of the
contest are simple. The NUMBER
ONE baby will be the first one
born at Valley Hospital after the
stroke of midnight that marks
the beginning of January 1, 1952,
and whose parents reside in the
Valley from the Eklutna Project
area on the Anchorage Highway,
up through Jonesville, Sutton,
and Eska on the Glenn Highway,
and west through the Wasilla and
Knik areas. O. K. Kincaid, man
ager of the Valley Hospital, will
announce the winner of the 1952
baby contest according to the
above rules and residence limi
tations.
The following gifts have been
donated for the first Valley baby
of 1952 and the parents:
From Bert’s Drug Store, six
Even-flo bottles; from Betty’s, a
Cool Foam baby pillow; from the
Valley Barbershop, a haircut for
the father; from Kut ’n Kurl, a
shampoo and set for the mother;
from A1 King’s taxi service, a
ride home from the hospital for
mother and baby; from Clara’s
Variety, a baby night lamp; from
Koslosky’s, a Carry Me sanitary
bag and a turkish towel set; from
Guyriak’s Palmer Studio, an 8x10
photograph of the baby; from
Grasser’s Hardware, a baby’s
training seat; from the Valley
Cleaners,#$5 in cleaning; from the
Snow White Laundry, $5 in laun
dry; from the Valley Frontiers
man, a one-year subscription;
from the Trading Post, a baby
blanket; from John’s North Pal
mer Store, a case of baby food
(assorted); from the Palmer Drug
Store, a King Edward Silver set;
from the Valley Theater, a box
of cigars for the father; from
Tost’s Service, a corsage for the
mother and a baby bouquet
YOUTH SENTENCED;
LOCAL BARS WARNED
At the trial of a local 20-year
old youth held in City Magis
trate’s Court Friday, it was re
vealed that he had been getting
drinks at one of the local bars,
possibly through alteration of his
. birthdate on an identification
| card.
The youth was picked up by
Police Chief Bernie Bouwens last
| Thursday night on charges of dis
| turbing the peace. He was en
| gaged in a fist fight which he had
i provoked in front of one of the
local bars. He admitted that he
had been drinking but refused to
reveal where he got the liquor.
Investigation showed that he had
altered his birthdate on an iden
tification card, thus enabling him
to convince the bartenders that
he ^as over 21.
Because the youth had been
previously warned by the police
officer and had ignored the war
nings. he was given a jail sen
tence of 30 days and a fine of $50
by the City Magistrate. However,
judgement was suspended on the
express condition that he must be
out of the corporate limits of Pal
mer by 9 p.m. each night for the
next six months. The youth was
warned specifically that failure
(Continued on Page 4)
New Hospital Fund
Nears $10,098 Mark
The hospital fund this week
had reached a net total of $8,721.
98. according to the fund drive
treasurer Hugh Johnson’s De
cember 26 account, and indica
tions were strong that the total
might reach $10,000 in the few
days remaining in 1951.
New checks were received this
week from the Glenn Carrington
Company, Ken’s Electric Supply,
John Bugge. Mrs. Minnie Clark,
the Alaska Steamship Company,
Mr. and Mrs. H. J. Hodgson, the
Homemakers Council from their
bake sale, the Sourdough Home
makers, Virginia Carle, the Unit
ed Protestant Ladies Aid, Auto
motive Parts and Equipment, the
Joseph Sheahan Agency, the
United Protestant Church from
their Sunday morning collection,
and the Glacier View Homemak
ers.
Other monies have been raised
from several sources which should
raise the total when they are
added to the central fund.
In a breakdown of amounts re
ceived to date, Hugh Johnson
showed how the $8,722 total had
been accrued. From Stateside
sources $1,065 in contributions
have been received to date. An
(Continued on Page 4)
Individual Homes Built in 1951
Reflect Healthy Community Growth
Power Problems
To Be Discussed At
Chamber Meet Jan. 2
O. K. Kincaid president-elect
of the Chamber of Commerce an
nounced today that Herb Hilscher
of the Alaska Development Board
and Glen Wilder of the Alaska
Housing Authority will be pres
ent at the first Chamber meeting
of 1952, Wednesday, January 2, to
talk about the T al power situa
tion.
In addition t a discussion of
the present pow- • shortage an 1
the projected plans for hydro
electric projects m this area, spe
cial reference will be made to the
effect on future development in
the community—business, indus
trial and residential.
Happy Xmas for MEA
Meanwhile, in Palmer, there
was at least one person this week
who was happy about the local
power situation. That person was
C. A. Brewer, the MEA manager
who has been harrassed by power
shortages ever since he arrived
here last September. But by “lo
cal power situation”, he wasn’t
referring this week to shortages;
he was referring to the splendid
co-operation of local citizens in
trying to conserve power through
the voluntary “brownout”. Even
on Christmas day, they kept the
power shortage in their minds;
and their though’fulness that day
was registered at the Eklutna
Power Plant with the astounding
low of 750 kih watts maximum
consumption, ti lowest in many
weeks.
Only once in the past 8 days
has the local power demand risen
over 1,000 Kw’s and that was last
night, December 26, when the
maximum demand was registered
at 1090 KW’s. Other maximum
demands through December were
cited by Brewer to show that the
“brownout” really is working in
this area. On the following De
cember dates, the maximum con
sumption in kilowatts was as fol
lows: 9th, 1020: 10th, 1090; 11th,
1120; 12th. 1130; 13th (day the
merchants jumped the gun), 1040;
14th, (first day of “brownout”),
1070; 15th, 1010; 16th, 1020; 17th,
1130; 18th. 1040; 19th, 980; 20th,
980; 21st, 950: 22nd, 875; 23rd,
(Continued on Page 8)
Visible proof of growth in the
Palmer area was evidenced in
the number of residences and
buildings which were started and
completed during the year 1951.
Unofficial estimates run as high
as 200 separate units added to
the community in that time.
Most evident, of course, are the
25 AHA houses, the majority of
which have already been sold or
rented with options to buy. The
Bureau of Reclamation housing
project added 10 new residential
units in the immediate Palmer
area and 32 more at the Eklutna
Project camp on the Anchorage
Highway.
Big Building Projects
The American Legion building,
used as the Eklutna Project
Headquarters, was completed at
an estimated cost of $30,000. The
local Loyal Order of Moose start
ed and completed a fine new hall
on Valley St. Construction m
the two-store extension of the
Neal right building was halted
only by cold weather. A1 Hagen
finished off his basement and
Mayor Carl Meier
Extends Best Wishes
For a Happy New Year
In a holiday ret *sage to the
citizens of Palmer, Mayor Carl
H. Meier extended his best
wishes for a happy New Year
to one and all.
“May the New Year find us
ready and waiting for what
ever is in store for us, may we
face our problems ably, and
may we truly find peace on
earth.
“There are world conflicts
that no one individual may
hope to settle; but by working
together with hope uppermost
in our hearts, we may find en
couragement in the New
Year.’
thus filled up a gaping hole just
east of Valley Theater. Russell
and Gertrude Felzien started con
struction on Palmer’s first mod
ern motor court, with two units
completely finished and two oth
ers all done except for interior
finishing. Contractors Sandvik <&
Roark completed a large ware
house south of town. The North
land Pioneer Grange completed
a new basement where regular
meetings have been held for the
past three months. The Alaska
Experiment Station greenhouses
were completed, and there is a
new garage and threshing shed
at the Matanuska Station.
Individual Residences
All these above were projects
with some capital behind them.
Perhaps an even greater evidence
of the growing stability of the
community is evidenced in the
large number of individual homes
built by local residents. In the
true pioneer manner, many of the
residents have done much of the
actual construction on these
homes. Notable among these are
the Larry Bixby home just off
the Anchorage Highway, the Jas.
Herman home on Snodgrass Ave.,
the Rolland Snodgrass home in
'.he subdivision which bears his
name, the Hap Elmore home on
Fishhook Road, and the Russell
Asay home on the same road.
Others completed this year in
clude the farm residence of Har
old Thuma, George Small’s new
house, the Stan Laird home on
Valley Street, the Lee Hartley
residence in North Palmer, and
Ray Ferrin’s attractive home near
(Continued on Page 4)