}
King's Lake camping
season opens on June
10 and ends August 21.
VOL. THREE—NO. 39
Knlley IHrontiergman
Fire Association dance
al Palmer Gymnasium
on Saturday, July 1.
PRICE 10c
PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
PALMER. ALASKA. FRIDAY. JUNE 9. 1950
$40,000 School Addition Planned This Summer
Hospital Board,
Presbyterians Sign
Contract on June 6
A contract was signed this week
between the National Board of
Missions of the Presbyterian
Church and the Valley Hospital
Association, board president Jack
Newcomb announced today. The
contract was dated June 6.
Provisions of the instrument,
drawn up by the legal department
of the Presbyterian Church, were
a allows:
1. The name of the hospital
shall be Valley Hospital, oper
ated by the Valley Hospital
Association and the Presbyteri
an Church in the United States
of America. (All concerned
will settle for Valley Hospital,
except in the case of legal in
struments and official business
papers.)
2. The present board is to re
main as representatives of the
community, and new board
members shall be elected, in
the manner provided for by the i
Association’s by-laws.
3. The national mission board
‘‘is to have the power to appoint
at least two members to the
local hospital board. These rep
resentatives are to be the Pres
byterian field representative for
Alaska (Rev. R. R. Armstrong
of Juneau) and the Presbyteri
an minister of the Valley (Rev.
Victor Alfsen).
4. The hospital is to be open
to all, regardless of race, creed
or color, and it shall be open to
all ministers of all faiths. The
position of chaplain is to be
filled by the local Presbyterian
minister.
5. The hospital is to be open
’ staffed (that is, any licensed
physician is to be allowed to
use its facilities).
6. Regular staff meetings are
to be held, in accordance with
existing requirements for an
accredited hospital.
7. During the year of 1950
the national board of missions
will contribute $3,000 toward
the operating costs of the hos
pital. It is understood, however,
that if there is any surplus from
the year’s operation, the excess
funds will be used to purchase
capital equipment. The nature
*of this equipment is to be es
tablished in a written agree
ment, signed by both parties
to the contract.
(With reference to the money
appropriated, Mr. Newcomb
pointed out that the $3,000 is
for 1950 operation alone, and is
not necessarily the amount of
money the national board will
allot to the Valley Hospital in
future years).
3. A monthly statement of
accounts must be presented to
the local board, and then for
warded to the department of
* education and medical work of
the national board.
9. Both the national Pres
(Continued on Back Page)
Harry Campbell, Jr.,
Starts for Valley Forge
Scout Jamboree on Tues.
Harry Campbell, Jr., who was
born in the Matanuska Valley,
will board a train next Tuesday
to begin the
first steps of a
voyage Outside
that will end at
Valley Forge.
Harry is Pal
mer’s Jamboree
Boy Scout, and
he will join an
all - A la s k a
troop, which
will be escorted
to the national
Jamboree at Valley Forge by
Palmer’s Scoutmaster Victor
Alfsen.
Harry, who will be 14 years
old next Sept. 10, has never been
Outside. He is the oldest son of
Mr. and Mrs. Harry Campbell,
who were original colonists, ar
riving here in May, 1935.
Harry’s trip will take him to
many national parks, to Chicago
and New York, to Washington,
D. C., and to many historic spots
in the United States before he
returns to Alaska late next
month.
He isn’t particularly excited
about any one part of the trip—
“just about the whole Outside,
in general,” his father reports.
Harry’s been spending many long
minutes lately trying to imagine
what a tall building will look
like and how it will feel to ride
on a streetcar. Harry has never
seen the one, nor done the other.
And while the Valley Scout is
away, he’ll keep in touch with
Valley folks through the columns
of the Valley Frontiersman. Har
ry has promised to act as spe
cial correspondent for the Fron
tiersman on the trip, and he’ll
recount for its readers his impres
sions of the myriad strange sights
and sounds of the great Outside.
VIRGINIA BOULTER
WINS TOP AWARD FOR
AMERICANISM ESSAY
Virginia Boulter of Palmer, who
won the unit prize offered by the
American Legion Auxiliary for
her essay on Americanism, also
has won the department prize.
Mrs. Vicky Swidelsky, American
ism chairman, announced this
week. This is the first time a
Palmer winner has ever taken de
partment honors as well.
Virginia’s essay now will be
forwarded for judging in com
petition with other department
winners.
The announcement of the de
partment award was made at the
last meeting of the Legion Aux
iliary, which was attended by a
number of guests from the An
chorage chapter. Mrs. Charles
Davis of Anchorage, chairman of
the department’s Americanism
committee, made the announce
(Continued on Back Page)
Wash-Your-Own Laundry Will Open
In Valley Grocery Annex July 1
The Valley’s first wash-your
own laundry, the Valley Wash
eteria, is expected to open in the
Valley Grocery Annex by July 1,
owner Alva Saxton announced
this week. Mr. Saxton was com
pleting the floor and preparing
to install washers, at press-time
this week.
The laundry will be equipped
with six fully automatic Bendix
washers, an automatic Bendix
drier and mangles.
The Washeteria will offer three
types of service to its customers,
Mr. Saxton said. The housewife
may take her laundry home as
wet wash, rough dry, or as fin
New Company to Give |
Water to North Palmer |
Pipes for laying water lines to
North Palmer and water to run
through those pipes—that’s the
obligation that has been assumed
by seven members of the Smith
Addition Water Company. And
they’re so sure they’re equipped
to cope with the problem, that
they’re promising water to their
membership in another month.
The seven, Ken Foster, Parker
Lester, Bud Lacher, Merle Puddi
combe, James Kercherry, Everett
Yohn and Seth Cook, have pur
chased 30,000 feet of four-inch
and two-inch wood stave pipe.
They plan to lay 2,000 feet of the
pipe to take care of their own
immediate water needs, and will
sell the additional 28,000 feet at
a reduced cost, according to Mr.
Lester, who is secretary-treasurer
of the association.
Their plans include the exten
sion of the present water line
with a four-inch main and 2,000
feet of new line. They expect to
lay line enough only to service
members’ homes and businesses
' at present. However, they say
they’ll be in a position to sell
water to other users, who wish
to buy pipe and hook on to their
main.
Paltrier Drug Handles
New Line of Dow Cards
Rusty Dow’s new line of postal
cards now are on display on the
card racks of Palmer Drug Store.
Lithographed on pastel vellum
like paper, the cards feature four
typical Alaskan subjects. They
include etchings of Alaskan na
tives as well as typical Alaskan
cache and trapline scenes. The
cards are true postal cards on the
reverse side, offering a greeting
space besides the address blank.
Hospitalized For Observation
Mrs. Aaron Combs entered Val
ley Hospital for observation and
medical treatment this week. She
is now at home again.
ished laundry.
The Washeteria will accommo
date six workers at once. It is
estimated that the average wash
ing will take about an hour tc
finish. There will be no appoint
ments or space reservations, Mr
Saxton said—“We’ll operate on e
policy of first come, first served,’
he promised.
The Washeteria will run on e
self-service plan. In the begin
ning of its operation, it will op
erate as a wash-your-own laun
dry only. Later, Mr. Saxton said
he planned to include some regu
lar laundry service for customers
who do not wish to do their own
washing. .
***********************-5i
Daughter of the Valley
Parties With Trumans
The Maianuska Valley got a
plug with the country's iop
hand recently, when a daugh
ter of the Valley, Mrs. Don
Smith (nee Barbara Falk) met
President Harry Truman and
his wife at a Washington. D. C.,
cocktail party. Mrs. Smith's
husband. Lt. Col. Don Smith,
is co-pilot of the presidential
plane, and second in command
of the national airport at Wash
ington. D. C.
The meeting look place at a
cocktail party staged by aides
of the White House. Mrs.
Smith's outline of the guest list
reads like a copy of a Wash
ington Who's Who — "the Nor
slaads, the Vinsons, the Van
denbergs and the Barkleys", to
name just a few.
Mrs. Smith was greatly im
pressed with the "just folks"
people the Trumans were, she
said. She describes Mrs. Tru
man as the "motherly type" and
the president as "cute, with
laugh lines all over his face."
Fair Board Picks
10 Gift - Prizes
For Fair Week
Prizes to be given away at th€
coming Matanuska Valley Fail
were the chief subject of discus
sion at two fair board gatherings
this week. It was the board’s de
cision to give away 10 prizes,
rather than one major one, this
year. Total cost of the items tc
be given away reaches $1,350
board president Clair Stock an
nounced.
Items named on the board’s
prize list include:
1. A suite of living room furni
ture, valued at $450, which will
include a daveno, chair, two end
tables, two lamps, and a hassock
The furniture, upholstered ir
foam rubber, will be purchasec
(Continued on Back Page)
4 HtW ULAoonUUmo
TO BE BUILT
IN SOUTH WING
A three-classroom addition to
Palmer School is planned for con
struction this summer, it was an
nounced this week by school
superintendent William T. Zah
radnicek. The addition will cost
$40,000. It will go up at the south
end of the present plant and will
be attached to it by a covered
entryway, similar to that between
the school and the gymnasium on
the north side of the building.
Mr. Zahradnicek said the con
sulting architects, Taylor and
Kilpatrick of Anchorage, have
promised plans within 10 days.
As soon as plans and specifica
tions are completed, the district
will issue a call for bids for the
construction.
It is the hope of Mr. Zahrad
nicek and the school board that
the addition will be finished in
time for use during the fall term
of school.
The structure will be an above
ground addition. It will house
two lavatories and a janitor’s
supply closet, in addition to three
24x32 classrooms.
Preliminary plans have been
drawn in such a way, that a fu
ture expansion of two additional
classrooms will be possible, the
superintendent said.
The $40,000 construction cost
will be covered by a $28,000
building, appropriation passed by
the recent legislature, and by
$14,000 in tobacco funds. No bond
issue will be necessary to erect
the addition.
The increased classroom space
will necessitate the addition of
two extra teachers to the Palmer
School staff, Mr. Zahradnicek
said. One teacher will be add*' '
at the high school level, to t: k _■
care of the jumbo-size freshman
class that will enter Palmer High
School in the fall.
NEW GARAGE OPENS
IN NORTH PALMER
A new garage has opened in
North Palmer for the summer
months, it was announced this
week. To be known as the Chris
tensen Garage, the business will
be located in the school bus ga
rage there. Claude Want is the
mechanic on duty.
Mr. Want says he is prepared to
handle general repair work on
any make of automobile.
CHAMBER HAS NO QUORUM
Since only six members at
tended last Wednesday’s meeting
of the Valley Chamber of Com
merce, no business was conduct
ed. The next regular meeting of
the Chamber is scheduled for
June 21. All members are urged
to be present, for there is much
important business to settle.