The Frontiersman
PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
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VOLUME 5 NO. 44
PALMER. ALASKA, THURSDAY, JULY 10, 1952
PRICE TEN CENTS
1952 ANNUAL FAIR
QUEEN CONTEST
OPENS THIS WEEK
The 1952 Fair Queen Contest
opened this week with the Fair
Board’s announcement of the
rules and the honors to be be
stowed on the selected queen and
her qualifying ladies-in-waiting.
Any single girl between the
ages of 15 and 20 years who has
been a resident of the Valley
since July 1, 1952, is eligible to
enter the contest.
The deadline for ^queen en
tries is Thursday noon, August 7.
As soon as each queen candidate
enters the contest, she may im
mediately start selling Fair prize
tickets to sell the needed 250 to
qualify. Registrations may be
made with A1 Hagen. Fair Board
president, or at the Frontiersman
office. Proof of age should be
submitted at time of registration.
Only contestants who qualify
by selling 250 Fair prize tickets
at one dollar each will take part
in the final judging. Those who
qualify for the contest will re
ceive ten percent of all the money
they have collected for- tickets
plus a $25 cash award to help pay
for her contest expenses. All tick
ets must be turned in by noon of
Thursday, August 28—the Thurs
day preceding the Fair. This is
the deadine for qualifying. All
those who qualify will take part
in the final^judging. Names of
the judges will be announced
later.
Any queen contestant may seek
or accept the support of any
group or organization she wishes.
Announcement of the winner of
the Fair Queen Contest will be
made at the Coronation Ball dur
ing the Fair. From that time on
the queen and her ladies-in wait
ing will reign over the 1952 Fair.
The queen will receive as a speci
al award a $200 wardrobe at the
store of her choice.
Two dances will be held dur
ing the Fair. The first will be
the Coronation Ball and high
light of the last will be the draw
ing of Fair prizes. This year a
“poke of gold” valued at approxi
mately $400 will be the main
prize. Other prizes will include a
wash machine, a motor bike, and
a rifle. Other prizes and numerous
credit slips will bring the prize
total to 20 with an approximate
total value of $1,500.
%
I
I Palmer to Be
Evacuation Center In
Test Drill Saturday
Lt. Col. C. A. Lee and Ma
jors K. E. Vangene and James
M. Vandever were in Palmer
Tuesday to make plans for a
Saturday morning test drill in
volving evacuation of civilian
personnel and military de
pendents from Elmendorf AFB
and Fort Richardson to Pal
mer.
Evacuation will be by pri
vate cars, with departures of
an estimated 125-200 cars
scheduled from 8 a.m. until 11
a.m. Saturday. It is expected
that the first cars will be pro
cessed through Palmer about
9 a.m. Others will follow until
shortly after noon.
Main processing station will
be the Valley theater, and that
block will be roped off Satur
day by the Highway Patrol
until the drill is completed.
Cars participating in the drill
will enter Palmer by Colony
Street, continuing along its
length to Fairview Avenue,
where the railroad crossing
will be made. After processing,
the cars will leave Palmer by
Valley Street.
2nd City Water Bid
Opening Mystifies
Mayor, Councilmen
Still unexplained today was a
discrepancy between radio ac
counts of the low bidder for the
Palmer water supply and distri
bution system and the telegraph
ed message sent by Alaska Public
Work’s Don Wilson to Mayor Car]
Meier.
Bids on the construction of the
city’s new water system were
opened for the second time Iasi
Wednesday in the APW head
quarters at Juneau. According tc
radio acounts of the bid opening
on the following day, the Johnson
Construction and Maintenance
Company, the previous low-bid
der, was low again with the same
bid he had offered for the June
4 opening—$352,147. This bid was
then $200,000 lower than the next
low bid.
However, in a telegram received
by Mayor Carl Meier last Friday,
The Johnson company of Anchor
age wasn’t even mentioned. APW
listed the low bidder as the Colon
i Arctic Plumbing and Heating
Company of Fairbanks at $591,
365. The second low bidder was
Stock and Grove of Anchorage
for $668,273. Only $405,900. has
been set aside for construction of
the project. A cryptic addition to
the telegram suggested that a
$574,257 bid by “Wilson and Phil
lips—Jack—Lewis Palmer” had
been thrown out because no bid
bond had been included.
The Mayor and City Council
men are mystified by the discrep
ancy between the radio and tele
graph reports. They are still wait
ing for written clarification from
Juneau.
$13 Million Eklntna
Appropriation Okay;
President Signs Bill
The 1953 fiscal year Interior
Department appropriation bill
signed yesterday by President
Truman included $13 million for
the Eklutna Project.
This $13 million was included
in the original $20 million author
ized for the project at the time it
was approved in 1*949.
There has been no further word
of progress on the requested auth
orization for additional funds to
bring the total Eklutna authoriza
ton up to $35 million. The House
sub-committee is still investigat
ing the difference between the
original cost figures and the re
vised figures on which the addi
tional authorization was based.
Meanwhile, the low bidder on
the last big Eklutna Project con
tract—that of constructing the
power house—is already at work
this week. The Rue Contracting
Company of Fargo, North Dakota
is proceeding with the job on its
own without awaiting for the of
ficial order from the Bureau. The
first part of the contract job is the
construction of 2400 feet of road
for a re-routing of the Anchorage
Palmer highway past the project
site. The road will be routed
closer to Knik Arm. Subcontrac
tor for this job is the Munter
Construction Company.
In a report on progress made
with the other contractors this
week, it was revealed that the
Ben Gerwick Company has al
ready completed approximately
half of the dredging work neces
sary for the intake structure.
I
INSTALLATION RITES
SUNDAY EVENING FOR
REV, GLEWORTH
Installation of Rev. Brian Cle
worth as missionary pastor of the
United Protestant Church will
take place at eight o’clock Sunday
evening, July 13, at the church.
The new minister arrived in the
Valley last Thursday on schedule
and delivered his first local ser
mon last Sunday.
In charge of the installation
ceremonies will be Rev. Fred J.
Telecky, pastor of the Faith
Presbyterian Church of Anchor
age. He will be assisted by in
stalling officers selected by the
Yukon Presbytery. They are Rev.
Frank,J. Walkup, pastor of the
First Presbyterian Church of An
chorage; Rev. J*. Hackett Johnson,
pastor of the Woodland Park
Presbyterian Church of Spenard;
Rev. Harry K. Gayley, who has
been assigned to work with Ser
vice personnel in the Anchorage
area; Rev. B. J. Bingle, mission
ary for the Alaska Highway; and
Rev. R. Rolland Armstrong, field
representative of the Presbyterian
Board of National Missions.
The installation of Rev. Cle
worth as a missionary pastor
shows, the relationship between
the local church and the pastor,
according to Rev. Armstrong. Rev.
Cleworth has been assigned to
the local parish by the Board of
National Missions for a five-year
appointment. As the new pastor
of the United Presbyterian
Church he automatically becomes
a member of the Valley Hospital
Board.
The local assignment is the
first one for the young minister
since he was ordained by the
Minneapolis Presbytery in ser
vices held at the Highland Park
Presbyterian Church in Minnea
polis on June 24. He has held two
previous appointments as student
pastor, while studying at the
Continued on page 4
Benefits of UMW Welfare, Retirement
Fund Extended to Jonesville Miners
jonesvnie miners ol JL.ocal 7901,
United Mine Workers of America
started participating this month
in the benefits of the UMW Wel
fare and Retirement Fund. They
thus become the first labor group
in Alaska to be granted such
lenefits which include pensions,
widows’ assistance, disability
benefits, and medical care for
those receiving them; hospital
and medical care benefits, for
workers, their wives, and depend
ents; rehibilitation for the dis
abled; and death benefits.
The management of the Evans
Jones Coal Company agreed last
March 26 to grant members of the
union the benefits of this fund
which was set up by the UMW
following the National Bitumi/
inous Coal Wage agreement 01
1950. The management’s contri
bution of a 30 cent royalty on
every ton of coal produced at the
mine was the most important
feature of the Jonesville miners
1952 contract, which also auth
orized a 25 cent hourly wage hike
for the miners. The final agree
ment for participating in the
UMW fund was signed by man
agement and officers of the union.
The local coal royalties are
paid into a special trust fund
maintained in Washington, D. C.
The fund receives a government
audit at regular intervals and is
administered by a physician and
a board of trustees, according to
the local union officials. Applica
tions for assistance under the
fund are made directly to several
Local High School
Funds Included in
Bill Signed Yesterday
A. wire received by Mayor Carl
Meier from Delegate E. L. Bart
lett last week revealed news that
may turn the long projected
plans for the Palmer School Dis
trict’s new high school into real
ity within the current fiscal year.
It stated that $1,114,700 for the
; Palmer school project was in
cluded in an Alaska Public Works
appropriation agreed upon by
House and Senate conferees.
The House and Senate con
ferees meeting last week on the
Interior Department appropria
tion bill for the 1953 fiscal year
approved the appropriation of
$13,208,200 for the APW program,
sustaining the Senate action
which had granted almost twice
the amount of the $7 million
earlier earmarked by the House.
The appropriation bill was
signed by the president yesterday,
thus permitting allocation
of funds for 15 projects in the
Territory, to be restricted, accord
ing to the Senate committee re
port, to “projects for which elec
tions have been held approving
local participation, and for which
plans have been completed or are
in the final stages of develop
ment.”
Electors of the Palmer School
District approved a $2 million
bond authorization for school
construction in a school election
held last October. Although the
local participation will amount to
only half the allocation for the
project as approved, additional
bond authorization was granted
pending the day when the district
will have a school plant complete
with gymnasium and auditorium
as originally designed by the
architects. Only classroom space
was included in the limited
structure approved by APW a
year ago. Final plans for the ap
Continued on page 4
district ottices. The local union
belongs to the Denver district.
Although the Jonesville miners
are naturally interested in the
$100 monthly retirement benefits,
they are mainly interested in
those benefits which bring Secur
ity to their families, freeing them
from the ever-recurring worries
about hospital bills and needed
treatment that is beyond their
financial reach, about destitution
following death or disablement of
the breadwinner.
When the coal miner goes into
the pit, he is fully aware that
his chances of being killed or
maimed are greater than in any
other industry. There are 59 dis
abling accidents per million man
hours worked in mining as com
pared with 39.8 in construction
industries and 15 in manufactur
ing industries. The provisions of
the UMW Welfare and Retire
ment Fund, according to local
union officials, compensate some
what for the extra hazards of the
miner’s occupation. Through the
medical and hospital service of
the UMW fund, disabled and
severely handicapped miners are
now able to receive in full mea
sure all the skill that modern
medicine and surgery provide
plus occupational and vocational
training that may accompany and
follow the period of physical res
toration. The remaining vocation
al capabilities are developed to
the utmost so that he who might
have fretted out his life as a help
Continued on page 4
wu Atrena nearing, ask unik Arm
Opening On Commercial Fishing Days
In spite of sound arguments
presented by Fish and Wildlife
officials Holger Larson and Tom
Costello, more than 400 Valley
residents who packed the Valley
Theater Tuesday night definitely
indicated that they had not
changed their minds regarding
the Knik Arm salmon fishing
ban.
“Why should we go without
salmon so the non-resident com
mercial fisherman can make his
haul?” wras the most recurring
question advanced by those pres
ent.
Numerous reasons for closure of
this area were offered by Larson,
FWS enforcement agent. “Person
al use” fish often find their way
into commercial channels. Check
ing stations are impractical, he in
sisted, both from .the standpoint
of terrain and the lack of money
for adequate enforcement. Last
year’s permit system to control
personal use fishing by commer
cial fishermen was a “flop.” Lar
son cited the case of a single man
who requested 200 fish for his
personal use. He couldn’t be re
fused under the system, he said.
Two Men Drown,
One Saved in Mishap
On Matanuska River
What started to be a week’s j
prospecting trip ended at it’s start
when two Anchorage men lost:
their lives and a third was saved j
in the swift, muddy waters of
the Matanuska River, July 4.
The body of Otto Lyle Lessen
ger, 45, was recovered by the
10th Air Rescue from a spot ap
proximately three miles down
stream from the mishap. How
ever, the body of Gus George, 70,
has not been recovered.
The third man, James W. Urbin,
was able to save himself by
swimming to a sand bar isle,
where he was removed by the
10th Air Rescue’s new Aoqua
Copter. His story of the tragedy
is as follows:
“We were nearing the opposite;
bank when suddenly Gus got ex-1
cited when some water came in
the end of the boat where he was
sitting. He jumped up and started
moving about. I told him to sit
down and then he sat right in
front of me. I couldn’t use the
oars because he was in the way.
The boat started to swing around
and suddenly swamped and tip
ped over, hurling all of us into
the water.”
From then on Urbin’s story told
of his struggle to keep himself
above water.
Charles Scott of Mile 77 saw
the men struggling in the water
but was too far away to help.
Driving to Alpine Inn, he notified
the Highway Patrol who imme
diately alerted the 10th Air Res
cue.
Conflicting reports from other
witnesses believed to have seen
the accident, do not establish
whether Lessenger was able to
stay above water a short time
or whether he was unconscious
while his body was carried down
stream. His body was recovered
at a point below where Urbin was
able to get out of the water.
George is survived by a son
living in Greece and a brother,
James George of Anchorage
with whom he made his home.
Lessinger is thought to have
been in the Territory around fif
teen years. He is survived by his
mother who lives in Utah and a
sister in California.
In making recommendations for
changes in regulations hardships
are often created in certain areas,
Larson admitted. The small group
is often overlooked through slip
ups and misunderstandings. If
errors are made, he said, they
should be in favor of the fish. All
regulations are viewed from the
commercial fishing standpoint, he
added, insisting that commercial
canneries are the mainstay of the
fishing income. “Fisheries are of
prime importance to the economic
structure of Alaska. They are still
the top tax donors.”
Costello enlarged upon the need
for stringent regulations to con
trol personal use fishing, which,
he said, was being used more
and more as a guise to get
illegal fish. In the Anchor
age area, particularly, the
personal use fshing problem has
become acute. He cited figures on
escapement of red salmon in Fish
Creek to illustrate the growing
danger of salmon depletion in the
Knik Arm watershed: 1938 es
capement, 182.463 reds; 1940, one
of the best years. 300,000 escaped:
1950, a very low year, only 29,659;
1951, 34,704. According to Costello
Fish Creek should have at least a
100,000 escapement for the maxi
mum yield in the watershed. The
local creeks will not stand fishing,
Costello por,eluded. He said that
on the Kenai Peninsula, where a
similar ban was lifted by amend
ment, the waters are deeper, the
area immense. Fishing can be
done there only with a hook and
line.
Season Opens Aug. 14
The FWS officials Tuesday
night offered a more libral inter
pretation of the disputed “per
sonal use” amendment to section
102.51 of the commercial fishing
regulations than had been given
over the radio 10 days earlier.
According to the newer interpre
tation waters open to commercial
fishing ,#re open for personal use
fishing for the periods before May
26 or after August 14. which mark
the beginning and closing of the
48-hour period preceding and fol
lowing the commercial fishing
season of May 28-August 12. Kriik
Arm and Goose Bay are open to
personal use fishermen during
Continued on page 8
Political Pressures
Block Transfer of
Fisheries Control
The Bartlett bill to transfer
administrative control of the
Alaska fishery from the feder
al to the Territorial govern
ment failed two weeks ago to
win approval of the House
Interior and Insular Affairs
Committee. Previously it had
been unanimously endorsed by
the subcommittee before
which hearings were held. In
stead, a motion was adopted
that further consideration
should be postponed until
“adequate hearings” have been
held.
The vote was strictly on party
lines.
There was a solid Republi
can vote against postponement
and a solid Democratic vote to
put the bill over. Rumors were
heard that strong political pres
sures had been exerted. In
a statement made before the
committee, Delegate Bartlett
charged the Department of the
Interior with “betraying the
people of Alaska.” He pointed
cfat he had introduced the bill
only after being assured by
Secretary Chapman of a favor
able report.