Applicalions for
.SPECIAL PERMIT SHEEP HUNT
must be submitted
to FWS in .Anchorage
PRIOR TO AUGUST 20
The Frontiersman
PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
TRY A FRONTIERSMAN
CLASSIFIED AD for that
ilem you may have for sale,
rent or lease.
•VOLTJME 45. NO. 45
PALMER. ALASKA. THURSDAY. JULY 24, 1952
PRICE TEN CENTS
C of C Sparks Campaign for Valley Roads
World Around Us
IN CHICAGO this week Alaska
gets second place on the Demo
cratic National Convention roll
call as a result of National Demo
cratic Committee approval of a
suggestion made by Stan McCut
cheon, a member of the commit
tee. The Democratic Party plat
form adopted at last night’s ses
sion included a plank calling for
immediate statehood for Alaska
and Hawaii.
* * *
IN FAIRBANKS the search for
more possible victims of the dis
astrous Pioneer Hotel fire still
goes on. Servicemen from Ladd
AFB have been assisting in the
grim task of sifting through the
ashes and debris that are all that
remain of the nearly fifty-year
old structure. The death toll from
the fire now stands at five, but
five men are still unacounted for.
* * *
IN JUNEAN the far-reaching
Hydaburg case was taken under
advisement by Judge George Fol
ta last week. The case evolves
from a challenge made by Libby,
McNeil and Libby Canning Co.
regarding the validity of an In
dian Reservation set up by the
Secretary of Interior in 1950. The
government is seeking to exclude
the canning company from a fish
trap site within the new reserva
tion area. Challenging the author
ity of the Secretary of Interior to
create reservations has broad im
plications; it might affect the val
idity of many land withdrawals
in the Territory.
* * *
IN POINT HOPE last week a
plane crash was responsible for
the death of a recently ordained
Episcopal missionary, Rev. How
ard T. Laycock, and his three pas
sengers.
* * *
IN CORDOVA a total of 965
hair seals were estimated as killed
as a result of a second hunt au
thorized by the Fish and Wildlife
Service and the Bureau of Fisher
ies. Reason for the seal killing
project is that hair seals destroy
many salmon each season and it
is felt that their number should
be controlled.
* * *
IN KODIAK mail distribution
of the “Kodiak Mirror” was held
up for four days because of a
small page 3 item mentioning
that five-year-old Ronnie Miller
won the Plymouth car on July 4.
When a telegram from Washing
ton suggested that the papers
could be mailed at the publisher’s
risk. Last week, three inches of
type were removed from one
column of the mail run. Bold 12
and 18 point type announced
“This section removed from pap
ers mailed because of current
postal laws and regulations. The
Editor.”
MEA TO HONOR
ARECA DELEGATES AT
ALL-ALASKAN DINNER
The Matanuska Electric Asso
ciation will entertain delegates to
the Alaska Rural Electric Cooper
atives Association annual meet
ing at an All-Alaskan buffet din
ner at Alpine Inn Monday night.
The two-day meeting of the
ARECA .which was organized
only last year, will begin Monday
in Anchorage’s Carpenters Hall.
All the members of the REA staff
MEA Manager C. A. Brewer, and
a number of the MEA board mem
bers will attend from Palmer.
Mrs. Justine Parks is secretary of
the Territorial association.
On the tentative program are
Governo^Ernest Gruening; Dele
gate E. L. Bartlett; Joseph Mor
gan and Raynor Severine from
the Bureau of Reclamation; Na
tional RECA President Clyde Sey
bold; University of Alaska Regent
Walter Stewart, who will talk
on a proposed public utilities com
mission for Alaska; Roy Zook
western area director of REA,
John Rixse, Jr., representative of
the REA Administrator’s office;
Gus Helholtz of the REA power
division; Gus Norwood, executive
secretary of the Northwest Public
Power Association; Bill Robers,
editor of “Rural Electrification;”
and Herb Hilscher, drector of
public relations for the Chugach
Electric Association. Anchorage’s
Mayor Maynard Taylor will in
troduce the main speakers for the
opening day session.
HEARING MONDAY ON
NEW POTATO RULES
AND REGULATIONS
George Crowther, Alaska De
partment of Agriculture market
ing specialist and agricultural in
spector for this area has called a
meeting of all potato growers
and regulations. The meeting will
in this area for a hearing of pro
posed new potato marketing rules
be held in the Co-Op Club Room
next Monday night, July 28, at
eight o’clock.
“It is important that all local
growers attend this meeting,”
Crowther said this week, “be
cause the proposed regulations
will affect everyone.” . »
All persons who have copies of
the proposed regulations are re
quested to bring them to the
meeting since there is a short
age of copies.
CHARLIE ROUSSEAU
GETS 20 YEARS FOR
WIFE'S MURDER
Charlie Rosseau, 37, of Matan
uska, must serve 20 years for the
Easter morning murder of his
wife, Gronia.
Judge Anthony J. Dimond pro
nounced sentence July 23 in
Third District Court. Rosseau had
pleaded guilty to a second degree
murder charge, however, it was
the opinion of the jury that he
had probably committed man
slaughter. The sentence handed
down is the maximum for a man
slaughter charge.
REPORTS PROGRESS
ON PHONE SURVEY
At a special City Council meet
ing held Tuesday nigh^, Melvin
Haugan reported progress on the
telephone survey being conduct
ed in Palmer. To date an esti
mated 35 new users have been
listed and maps of the proposed
telephone lines have been start
ed. A more complete report will
be m|de next week after further
ing the survey, Haugan said.
5 Would-Be Queens
Start Fair Prize
Ticket Sale Tomorrow
1952 Fair prize tickets go on
sale this week end.
Tickets for selling will be dis
tributed tomorrow to five Fair
Queen contestants who have al
ready indicated their intentions
to compete for the crown. They
are Marilyn Macek, Ginger Parks,
Wanda Lindsey, Patty Plumley,
and Lorene Uzelac. Lorene enter
ed the contest only this week.
Other unmarried Valley girls
over 15 still have a chance to get
in on the contest. Entries will be
accepted until August 7.
Each queen contestant must sell
250 prize tickets to qualify for
the Fair Queen race. When she
qualifies, she will receive 10 per
cent of her gross sales and a $25
bonus to help with her campaign
expenditures.
The 1952 Fair prizes, which will
be awarded following a public
drawing on the final day of the
Fair, are as follows: 1st prize, a
gold poke valued at $300: 2nd
prize, an ABC automatic wash
machine from the Palmer Drug
Store valued at $335: 3rd prize, a
$325 motor bike from Koslosky’s;
4th prize a $239 electric dish
washer from Bert’s Drug Store;
5th prize, a $127 rifle from Gras
ser’s Hardware; 6th prize, a $100
credit slip good at A1 Brooks’
Feed Store: 7th prize, a $98 Lac
tro electric saw from the Co-Op
Warehouse: 8th prize, a $75 credit
slip good at Teeland’s in Wasilla;
9th prize, a $28.50 Alaska ham
mered gold jewelry set from
Clara’s Variety. Prizes 10 through
14 are $25 credit slips good at
the Palmer Baking Company, Pal
mer Cold Storage, North Palmer
Store, Betty’s and Valley Grocery.
Prizes 15 through 21 are $10 credit
slips good at Tost’s Service Sta
tion, Kirk’s Sales and Service,
Martin’s West Side Service, Hart
ley Brother’s Garage, The Front
iersman, and Ken’s Electric.
ALL BIDS FOR NEW
HOSPITAL REJECTED;
TO RE-OPEN BIDDING
All bids for construction of the
new Valley Presbyterian Hospital
were rejected early this week by
members of the Valley Hospital
Association Board. The bidding
will be re-opened in the very near
future, according to Valley Hos
pital Manager O. K. Kincaid.
Three bids were opened by Kin
caid in the presence of hospital
board members at 4 p.m. last
Thursday. The presence of about
20 other individuals at the bid
opening underlined the unusual
interest the bid figures held for
local people, members of the Yu
kon Presbytery, and contractors’
representatives.
The $643,308 base bid of the
Patti McDonald Construction
Company was low bid. Only about
$500 higher was the Valle Som
mers Construction Company bid
of $643,832. A third bid by the
Hoppert Company was $688,806.
Announcement of these figures
was accompanied by a gradual
sickening of expression on faces
of most of those present. Estimat
ed cost of the long-planned 27
bed hospital had been more than
$150,000 less than the lowest bid.
Bid specifications had called for
no moveable equipment, only that
which had to be installed.
Plans drawn up by Anchorage
Architect Edwin Crittenden had
been approved in their primary
and final stages by Alaska De
partment of Health, U. S. Public
Health Servce, and Dr. T. G.
Mowery, superintendent of con
struction for the Presbyterian
Board of National Missions, who
was present at the bid-opening,
taken place during the past few
Several conferences have taken
place during the past few days to
make plans for the second ad
vertisement for bids. At present
it is unknown whether or not
construction specifications will be
changed for the new bidding.
Personal Use Salmon Fishing Proposal
Reasonable, Officials Agree too Late
At a meeting held Saturday
morning in the Matanuska Valley
Sportsmen’s club rooms Delegate
E. L. Bartlett and Seton H.
Thompson of Washington, D. C.,
chief of the Alaska branch,
Bureau of Fisheries, agreed that
the Sportsmen’s proposal regard
ing personal use fishing in Knik
Arm on the days open to com
mercial fishing on Cook Inlet
was a reasonable one. This agree
ment, however, comes too late to
relax the ban on red salmon fish
ing this year.
Officers and a special commit
tee of the. Sportsmen’s Association
presented the proposal which had
been suggested previously at a
Fish and Wildlife Service hear
ing held at Valley Theater on
July 8, a hearing which was t at
tended by 400 yalley residents
and two FWS agents.
Thompson had not heard the
specific proposal and confessed
that it was entirely different from
what he and his associates had
understood in Washington. He
was under the impression that
the Sportsmen wanted unrestrict
ed salmon fishing in the streams
tributary to the Arm.
Presenting the case for the
Sportsmen and the people of the
Valley was Clair Stock. He told
Thompson and Delegate Bartlett
that the Sportsmen had tried for
three years to get the streams
closed to salmon snagging be
fore FWS acted. He gave other
examples of the Sportsmen’s in
itiative in calling for official
action on conservation measures
to protect this area’s fish, game
birds, and game animals.
“We don’t want unrestricted
fishing in Knik Arm.’’ Stock said.
“We want only to be able to take
fish for home use on the days
when the commercial fishing sea
son is open—only two days a
week allowing a total of about 12
hours of fishing at high tide.”
The amount of fish caught for
home use would be negligible.
Added to the limit of days as pro
posed, Stock observed, is the
limited availibity of nets and
boats. Since these items are neces
sary for taking fish out of Knik
Arm, several families would have
to take turns using those avail
able. There could be no great
mass of people fishing at any one
time. The need for a boat and
net, it was felt, would discourage
the great mass of population in
the Anchorage area. Having the
personal use fishing days coincide
with the open commercial fish
ing days would eliminate the
problem of commercial fishermen
encroaching on personal use fish
ing grounds.
“The main reason for fishing in
this area,” observed Roland Snod
Continued on page 10
Gripe Session Gives Way to Over-All
Plan for Valley Road Development
Bartlett Explains
Congressional Ire
Over Eklutna Project
In spite of less than 24 hours’
notice 28 Valley people turned out
Saturday for a Chamber of Com
merce luncheon meeting to hear
Delegate E. L. Bartlett.
Bartlett was in Palmer Satur
day as a result of an invitation to
meet with Matanuska Valley
Sportsmen to help on their per
sonal use fishing proposal. He was
accompanied by Seton H. Thomp
son, who is in charge of the Alas
ka branch of the Bureau of Fish
eries.
In order to leave* time for a
fruitful question and answer
period, the Alaska Delegate to
Congress limited his talk to the
issues involved in the Congres
sional investigation of the Eklut
na Project. He explained that the
project had been approved by
Congress under a $20 million plus
authorization in line with the
estimate of the Bureau of Recla
mation as presented during the
1950 session. When the Bureau
came back this year to ask for
additional authorization to bring
the total up to $35 million, elec
tion year Congress was aroused.
It was pointed out that the tunnel
contract had been let for $17 mil
lion when the original estimate
called for $11 million. It was also
hinted that the Bureau had al
ready let contracts totalling
amounts in excess of the original
authorization. The controversy
aroused in the House committee
hearing held up for a time the
Senate committee’s approval of a
Continued on page 10
"HEINIE" SNIDER
PROUD OF CHANCE
TO VOTE FOR IKE
I’m proud to have been able to
vote for Eisenhower and help him
win the Republican nomination
for president,” Territorial Dele
gate Gerrit “Heinie” Snider said
last Thursday on his return to
the Valley from the National GOP
Convention in Chicago.
“I’m a foreign born man, my
father was a shoemaker, and I’m
just a worker,” he said, “but I
was able to help nominate the
Republican candidate for the
President of the United States. It
could only happen in America.”
Commenting on his experiences
at the convention, he said that
pressure was put on him by both
the Taft and Eisenhower backers.
Some of the Taft ladies were
giving kisses to the delegates
whom they won over. However,
Snider himself had picked Eisen
hower as a winner .and that was
the only consideration that
prompted his vote—that and the
belief that the majority of the
people he represented wanted
Eisenhower.
Snider said he spent much of
his time meeting people who
could help Alaska become a state.
| Talking to Senator Hugh Butler,
who has always been considered
an arch foe of statehood for Alas
ka, Snider found the Nebraska
Senator favorable to statehood if
Alaska got all the land not al
ready withdrawn by the federal
government.
Snider said that the wording
of the Alaska statehood plank in
the Republican platform reflected
his party’s desire to give Alaska
statehood under a better bill than
ttie one presented at recent ses
sion of Congress.
•
A special Chamber of Com
merce meeting held yesterday in
the Co-Op Club Room spearhead
ed a Valley-wide drive for new
roads and better maintenance of
present ones in this area.
It was agreed by those present
that a complete plan of proposed
new roads and recommended im
provements for present ones
should be the first step in the
drive to get better roads in the
Valley. Also agreed upon was a
priority system for each of the
proposals included in the over
all plan. Unanimous approval
gave the number one priority to
Wasilla Road.
Charles Wilson, Territorial con
servationist, presided at the meet
ing, which was attended by Pat
Carter and Walter Teeland of
Wasilla, Victor Cottini of Little
Susitna Lodge, Ed Smith, Jan
Koslosky, Ray Nelson. Betty
Mears, M. D. Snodgrass, and Bill
Rempel.
The meeting was held in
preparation for a visit from Alas
ka Road Commission District En
gineer E. J. White, who will come
to Palmer soon to discuss road
planning in the Valley at the
suggestion of Delegate Bartlett.
During the discussion at yester
day’s meeting, it was brought out
that there is still good agricultural
land that remains undeveloped
because of lack of access roads.
Tl»e flight of homesteaders who
have settled on sites in anticipa
tion of roads being extended to
them was also discussed. The gen
eral opinion was that the Valley
had been neglected in the Terri
torial road building program in
favor of other areas with less
need. The new Cantwell road was
cited as a case in point. Ire over
this road “built only for the por
cupines up there and the tourists”
became sharp-edged when, ac
cording to Teeland and Carter,
the ARC moved lumber stored in
Wailla for Valley bridges up to
the Cantwell project. Carter
pointed out that the Wasilla
school buses couldn’t operate for
two weeks last year because the
bottom dropped out of the roads
around there. They also spoke
of the need for the extenson of
the Wasilla road from Pittman to
Willow to open up territory that
has been partially settled already
by enterprising Alaskans.
Other needed road develop
ment were discussed, including
that of the road to Goose Bay.
Although it was felt that the
Valley has not received its share
of the Territoral tax revenues
from gasoline sales, it was the
consensus of opinion that people
in this area should not try to bet
ter themselves at the expense of
other communities. Rather, it was
agreed that the Chamber of Com
merce should help ARC in mak
ing a complete and realistic plan
for proposed road development in
the Valley and then have every
organization in the Valley go to
bat for appropriations to make
the plan a reality.
A Chamber of Commerce com
mittee will be appointed to draw
up a plan of proposed road needs.
In making up the plan, members
of the committee will study de
tailed maps made from Soil Con
servation Service surveys and
will make personal studies of the
areas involved. Those present at
the Wednesday meeting hoped
that an orderly progression of im
provements and developments
would come from an over-all plan
instead of a road here and a road
there in answer to individual
pressures.