The Frontiersman
PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
TRY A FRONTIERSMAN
CLASSIFIED AD lor that
ilom you may hare for tala,
rent or leas*.
VOL. V. NO. 38
PALMER. ALASKA. THURSDAY. MAY 29. 1952
PRICE TEN CENTS
Disageement Over
Building Code Sparks
City Resignation
Tempers flared and voices rose
at the City Council meeting Mon
day night over the question of en
forcing the city’s building code.
As a result of the disagreement
between two City Councilmen and
the City Clerk, Mayor Carl Meier
may have to look for a new City
Clerk next Monday.
N^t-very-veiled criticism of
the way he had been handling
* enforcement of the building code
led Bill Head to protest that he
was trying to do a job which his
critics should have been doing
themselves, a job for which they
had given him no guidance and
for which they had made no pro
vision outside the bare ordinance.
Then he told the councilmen that
henceforth they should take care
of their own business, that he
1 had had enough, and that he
would terminate his position as
City Clerk on June 1.
The blow-up had been a-build
ing for some time. The part-time
City Clerk had frequently pro
tested that more and more of the
business of running the city had
been piled on his shoulders—be
cause somebody had to do it—
until city affairs was taking up
about nine hours of each day. It
is no secret that the two council
men who were yCTpoJiffibV* <for
drawing up the builoing code
are builders themselves and have
personal interests in its enforce
ment., Obviously, enforcement by
them could be pmba’-rassing and
might be open to criticism. The
code calls for a building inspec
tor, which the city cannot afford.
Head repeatedly has asserted
that he feels himself not quafified
to consider requests for build.ng
permits; yet these have been re
ferred to him for action.
Questions needing immediate
and specific decisions regarding
the code include; Who’s going
around town to find out whether
there’s a permit for all building
going on? What happens about a
building permit when a burd
is built outside of town and the i
dragged in—does it have to co i
form? Who’s going to inspect the
buildings for compliance with the
code and fair estimates regarding
cost? Some of these items will be
referred to City Attorney Harold
Butcher for advice.
ALL VETERANS
INVITED TO HEAR
LEGION FIELD MAN
On Sunday and Monday, Junel
and 2, J. H. Chillington, national
field representative of the Ameri
can Legion will be in Palmer. He
will be accompanied by the Alas
/ ka Department service officer,
i Alfred L. Zenger, Sr.
Commander "Stanley Laird of
the Matanuska Valley Post Num
ber 15 has called a special meet
ing Monday evening, June 2, at
7 p.m. in Carpenters Hall for all
veterans of the Valley. This spec
ial meeting is not for American
Legion members only, it was em
phasized; all veterans will be in
terested in these two qualified
representatives of the Legion talk
and answer questions regarding
k benefits and rights provided by
law for veterans.
THANK YOU NOTICE
We wish to thank the Palmer
Volunteer Fire Depaitment, our
neighbors and friends for their
thoughtful assistance during the
fire on our farm May 24.
Mr. and Mrs. Atteklliitac t
CAPITAL ITEMS
ACCOUNT FOR OVER
HALF CITY’S INCOME
The financial report given to
the City Council last Monday
night by City Clerk William
Head revealed that the city had
received gross income totalling
$45,964.07 over the period October
1, 1951 through April 30, 1952.
This report includes all income
received by the city up to May 1.
Although the city sales tax went
into effect September 1, returns
on the month of September were
not due until October 10. Like
wise, sales taxes collected during
the month of April were not re
flected in the report, since they
were not due until May 10. Of
the total income received dur
ing the seven-month period,
$36,903.41 had come from the
sales tax. Territorial license re
funds accounted for $5,092; busi
ness licenses, for $1,7(|7; amuse
ment machine licenses, $1,165;
card table licenses, $150, taxi li
censes, $480; dog licenses, $170;
and Magistrate fines, $200. Build
ing permits, sales tax penalties
and a freight refund brought in
a total of $36.68.
Half Goes for Capital Items
The report on expenditures re
flect a departmentalized book
keeping system, which revealed
at a glance the amount expended
for each city department, gl'ifctl
expenditures for the seven-irWKn
period were $42,793, of which $8,
117 went for police, street, fire,
and clerical, salaries. Department
Continued on page 7
100 BABY CHICKS
SAVED IN BROODER
FIRE ON SPRINGER RD.
Prompt action by the Palmer
Fire Department saved the home
of Mr. and Mrs. Nick Uzelac
Saturday afternoon even though
the well house, where the fke
started, was a complete lossf x
The Uzelac home, ov' f oy
Jack Woods, is located /. two
and one-half mile? ' Si town
on Springer
Only sS 16-year-old
daughtei - ne, was at home
when the i- . broke out in the
; well house. Del De Priest heard
her shout and turned in the
alarm. Mrs. Uzelac was just get
ting off duty at Valley Hospital
when she heard the fire siren and
noticed the fire trucks and traf
fic heading out toward her home.
The well house was being used
as a brooder, with 150 chicks In
side. Ray DePriest, who just re
turned from the University of
Alaska last week, dropped his
work in the fields and rushed into
the burning building to save the
chicks. He singed his eyelashes
and eyebrows, but 100 of the
chicks were saved.
Three of the city’s fire trucks
were used on the fire. Four
tanks full of water were sprayed
on the fire and the house, with
one fire truck returning to town
for a refill on water. Everyone
was afraid that the house would
ignite. Volunteer firemen worked
doggedly dragging all the furni
ture out of the house, while
others sprayed the exterior with
water. Firefighters and onlookers
were agreed that it*Was only the
fast action of the fire department
that saved the house; two or
three minutes of delay would
have been disasterous.
Fire Chief O. R. Mitchel said
the fire probably started from
an overheated brooder stove.
Besides the loss of the well
house, $1,500 worth of personal
effects stored inside went up in
he fixe
Welcome Settle*,!
BY M. D. SNODGRASS
We make this Settlers’ Day
For those who first claimed this land;
A wilderness of trees, lakes, and streams
Bounded by great mountains, north, east and west;
The Knik Arm from the ocean
To temper the freezing blast of winter,
To keep cool the summer days.
We stop our work to play and feast
And get acquainted with old settlers
Who first dared attempt to build homes,
Clear the land for farming,
And build roads for settlement.
Some twenty souls are here today
Of those eight score and twelve
Who stayed to patent their lands.
We bring you greeting!
And to the thirty-six families that preceded the Colony;
And to the eight and forty Colonist families of ’35,
Who helped to make the Matanuska Valley
A land of farms and homes and villages.
We greet also the sixty-five replacement families,
Who purchased abandoned Colony tracts
Which have increased in size
To eighty and one hundred acres.
We welcome the hundred or more GI Veterans
And families who have settled among us;
And the tradespeople and business men and women.
With the help of all, we are building a new country—
New towns, new enterprises.
And our silent partner, Uncle Sam,
Builder of our roads and highways,
Of great power plants and defense projects,
We greet you!
Thousands are coming to join
In the development of Alaska.
We have with us the soil experts,
Chemists, engineers, technical agriculturists,
Experiment farms and research laboratories.
With the development of cheap power,
We shall irrigate many acres of land
_ Too thirsty now for full production.
Our valleys, intensively farmed,
Can feed several million people.
Our schools and churches are building
Rapidly to meet our needs.
This is our homeland today;
Tomorrow thousands will call it home.
Let us build it for our children
And for those who follow after.
We welcome those who come today
To honor those who came before.
This is their country and ours;
So, also, is this Settlers’ Day.
Merchant Patrol
May be Reactivated
In City About June I
Joe Mazy of Wasilla appeared
before the City Council Monday
night to get an'official okay on
his plans to reactivate the mer
chant patrol in Palmer on or
about June 1.
A merchant patrol was in force
for several years in Palmer under
“Cap” W. C. Allen, who dropped
the service last fall when the
Palmer Police Department was
organized. Shortly thereafter he
went to Valdez to be chief of po
lice there. Juan P. Miller carried
on the service until a few months
ago for a few businessmen who
were interested in retaining the
service.
Mazy said he had contacted
many of the businessmen in Pal
mer during the past few weeks
and had succeeded-in ining up 11
who were definitely interested in
having their businesses protected
through the nightly service of hxs
merchant patrol. The businesses
named were Bert’s Drug Store,
Betty’s Club 49, Palmer Cold
Storage, White Spot Cafe, the
railroad depot, Palmer Baking
Company. Koslosky’s the Mata
nuska Hotel, Ken& Electric, and
the Valley Grocery. Other busi
nesses which had expressed in
terest in the merchant patrol, ac
cording to Mazy, were MEA, A1
King's Garage, Kirk's Saljes and
Service, the Pearl White Laundry
and the Matanuska Valley Bank.
Continued on page 4
CITY INVOKES
REMEDY FOR
SALESMAN EPIDEMIC
A threatened epidemic of door
to-door salesmen was quickly
brought under control in Palmer
last Friday through the enforce
ment of the city’s licensing or
dinance which requires the pur
chase of a $25 license for each
month of such activity by any
individual.
According to reports a whole
team oF “working our way
through college” magazine sub
scription salesmen and sales
women descended on Palmer
Friday when their operations
were stymied in Anchorage
through the functioning of an or
dinance similar to Palmer’s.
Police Chief Bernie Bouwens was
kept busy most of the day try
ing to get them out of town, but
a few subscriptions were sold in
spite of his efforts. One persist
ent lady was marched into the
arms of the law by a public
spirited citizen who knew her
ordinances and the nuisance for
which this particular one was de
signed.
The most amusing of these it
inerant salesman episodes con
cerned a deaf mute who was
selling first aid supplies for a
slightly exorbitant price. The
City Magistrate treated the man
very sympathetically, writing out
notes in long hand and conscient
iously digging out a copy of the
ordinance for him to read.
Very carefully the deaf-mute
read the section applicable. Then
he said in disgruntled tone of
voice, “Well, IH be D—ned!”
43rd Army Band Concert Saturday and
Final Barbecue are Big Attractions
GRANT KENSER,
ORIGINAL COLONIST,
' DIES IN MINNESOTA
Word was received today by
Mrs. Grant Kenser of the death
of her husband at Minneapolis,
Minnesota where he recently un
derwent medical care at the Uni
versity of Minnesota Hospital.
Mr. Kenser, age 53, was a long
time Valley resident, having been
one of the original Colonists who
came here in 1935 from Pine
River, Minnesota. His farm was
located on the site now owned
by Pat Hemmer. He had been
employed as watchman by the
Matanuska Valley Cooperating
Association, various construction
companies and the Bureau of Rec
lamation. Ill health had prevent
ed his working during the past
year.
Mrs. Kenser left by plane this
noon for Minneapolis. Funeral
arrangements are incomplete.
FAIR ASSOCIATION
ELECTS FIVE NEW
BOARD MEMBERS
Five new board members were
elected at the annual, meeting of
the Matanuska Valley Fair As
sociation Tuesday night in, the
Co-Op Club Room.
Sixteen members were present
when President Clair Stock called
the meeting to order. After the
reading of the minutes of the
last board meeting and the last
annual meeting by A1 Hagen,
Tom Lepak was called upon for
the treasurer’s report. His report
showed receipts for the 1951 Fair
totalling slightly over $15,000. Ex
penses listed and necessary re
pairs to the Fair building left
only a small balance from the
1951 Fair operation.
Clair Stock pointed out that
$1,100 of the Fair receipts had to
be paid to the federal treasury
for taxes on gate admissions. He
said that this amount could be
saved this year if the new by
laws of the Fair Association are
filed before the 1952 Fair. The
new by-laws would permit the
Matanuska Valley Fair Assn, to
qualify as a non-profit organiza
tion under the provisions of the
new federal law that excludes
such organizations from paying
federal admissions taxes. Secre
tary A1 Hagen stated that all
preferred stockholders had been
notified that their interest- bear
ing stock was being called in.
Letters were sent to the last
known address in each case, but
only one-third of these had re
plied and cashed in their stocks.
Names of the preferred stock
holders were read aloud, and ad
dresses for all but a few were
furnished by members present
New letters will be sent to the
preferred stockholders; then the
Fair Association will advertise
five times. A special contingency
fund will be set aside to take
care of the claims of those pre
ferred stockholders who do not
respond; this will be carried on
the books until the statute of
limitations nullifies the claims.
New board members were elec
ted for the three terms that ex
pired this year and for unexpired
terms of Mads Johanson and
Merle Anderson, who have left
the Territory, Of the old board
members, only A1 Hagen and
riair Stock remained on the new
board. Their terms have one more
year to run. Retiring board mem
bers were M. D. Snodgrass. Mrs.
Continued on page 10
To the lilting tunes of the
merry-go-round and the full
circle swing of the ferris wheel,
the three-day Settlers’ Celebra
tion will open tomorrow on
Memorial Day at the Fair
Grounds.
This year the annual celebra
tion, in which Valley people re
call with pride their early strug
gles to settle this growing and
progressive community, honors
all the settlers, in name as well
as in fact. It honors the early
pioneers, the homesteaders of the
’20s, the Colonists of 1935 and
those who took up abandoned
Colony tracts, the enterprising
J businessmen and women, and the
more recent GI homesteaders.
Formerly known as Colony
Day, the celebration annually
sponsored by the Chamber of
Commerce, draws hundreds of
people to the Matanuska Valley
Fair Grounds. The free barbecue
has become a feature of the cele
bration eagerly anticipated by
visitors and Valley folk alike.
Military Joins In
This year C of C President O.
K. Kincaid has succeeded in in
teresting the Alaska Command
in joining in the celebration with
several outstanding military at
tractions. The Air Force is dis
playing pictures of the now fam
ous “Ice Island” settlement near
the geographic North Pole. There
will also be an air rescue dis
play and there’s a bare posibil
ity that a jet engine will be in
cluded.
On Saturday afternoon about
hree o’clock the 43rd Army Band
will give a military band concert
at the Fair Grounds. On Satur
day, also, a platoon of Infantry
men will bring some of the latest
in light military equipment for
inspection. On Saturday and Sun
day an Army amateur “ham”
radio unit will be set up on the
Fair Grounds. Messages will be
sent to any place in the world on
request.
On Sunday General William
Kepner, commander-in-chief of
the Alaska Command, hopes to be
present at the barbecue.
Big Program Sunday
The big barbecue will be the
climax of a full program of races,
contests and fun planned by
Eugene Kirsch for Sunday after
noon. A special train arrives from
Anchorage at 12:30 p.m., giving
the visitors plenty of > time to
fill up on good Matanuska Valley
food before the first boys’ bicycle
race begins at 1:30 p.m. This race
is for boys over 12 years old.
Girls’ and Boys’ bicycle and foot
races continue until shortly after
2 p.m. Fun for everyone under 18
are the three-legged race and the
sack race that follow at 2:15 p.m.
and 2:25 p.m. At 2:40 p.m. the
adult contests start with the
men’s tug of war. The wheel
barrow race and the men’s sack
race are followed at 3:15 by the
perennially popular pie eating
contest. Then comes the famous
rolling pin throw. Who will be
rolling pen queen of 1952? Who
will hit her husband with a
smachkeroo? ■>
While the “old” settlers are
having their fun, the Little Leag
uers will be playing a six-inning
game in the ball park—if all goes
well. Jack Leek, coach for the*
Moose-sponsored Little Leaguer
said his “men” would try to^
on a game in spite of very/'
notice. The game will sta'
3 p.m.
Barbecue C
By four o’clock
noon it is exper'
Continued