Thought of the Week:
Money may not buy happi
ness but . with it you can be
unhappy in comfort.
VOLUME 15. NUMBER 25
: 1;' 2 3 5*
JUNEAU A!. *
The Frontiersman
PUBLISHED IN THE INTEREST OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
PALMER. ALASKA. THURSDAY. MARCH 14. 1963
TEN PAGES
v>
.) _ I _ ! I
JM
y
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
LUNCHEON MEETING
MARCH 20 NOON
FRONTIER CAFE
PRICE 15 CENTS
Reporters—
Notebook
Robert C. Erickson, son of
Mr. and Mrs. Arthur C. Erick
son, Star Route, Palmer, re
cently entered the Day Divi
sion of Bentley College, Bos
ton, the leading co-educational,
professional college in the spe
cialized field of accounting and
finance.
He is one of the nearly 4,000
day and evening students cur
rently enrolled at this 46-year
oid institution which now off
ers both associate and bachelor
degrees in accounting.
* * •
Mrs. David DeVries (Cheryl
Leek) and infant daughter,
Barbara Jean, returned to Los
.Angeles last Sunday after a
three-weeks’ stay in Palmer,
introducing Barbara to her
grandparents, Mr. and Mrs.
Lester J. Leek and Mr. and
Mrs. John DeVries.
* * *
Mr. and Mrs. Richard Jones
of Palmer are visiting in the
Pacific Northwest area, and
plan to return this weekend.
* * *
Mrs. M. B. Martin entertain
ed at a dinner party Friday
evening, March 8, in honor of
Mr. and Mrs. Frank McKenzie,
who celebrated their fortieth
wedding anniversary. Guests
were Mr. and Mrs. Virgil Eck
ert, Mr. and Mrs. A. Q. Stine,
Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Graham,
Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Ware, Mrs.
Vera Hayes and Mary and But
chie, Jimmy Fogg, Ann Fowler,
Linda LaRose, Wayne Eckert,
and Butch and Pat McKenzie,
all of Palmer. The Larry Mar
tin family drove from Anch
orage for the party .
* * *
Blaine Hamann of the U. S.
Air Force, son of Mr. and Mrs.
LeRoy Hamann of Palmer, has
been home on leave since
March 1. Blaine is a 1961 grad
uate of Palmer high school.
WILLOW MUSHERS
TO DANCE SATURDAY
The Willow Dog Mushers'
Association plans a St. Pat
.ck’s Day dance at the Willow
Community hall on March 16
at 9 p.m., Mrs. Irene Cronin,
chairman, said this week.
Live music is promised, and
refreshments will be sold,
Mrs. Cronin said. Coffee will
be served at no charge. A
drawing for a door prize will
be held.
The admission charge is $1
per person, with those under
sixteen to be admitted free, al
though a donation will be ac
cepted, according to the chair
man.
RYAN’S LYNES
> By Jack Ryan
Legislators want Alaskans to
organize boroughs. But the
peopleseem to feel that what
they haven’t got can’t tax them.
* * *
If boroughs are going to
cost money, we should
change the spelling to bur
ros. That is a more appropri
ate name, if we are going to
get taken for a ride.
* * •
Boroughs are probably very
important. We need more gov
ernment in areas of Alaska that
don’t have any people.
* * ♦
I don't know anything
about boroughs. But if they're
so important, how are we
getting along without them?
EASTER SPECIAL
2 DRESSES CLEANED & PRESSED
FOR THE PRICE OF I
Also slacks, pants, skirts, sweaters, shirts, certain types
of jackets and suits are cleaned and pressed
as usual 2 for 1.
VALLEY CLEANERS
ACROSS FROM PI6GLY WIGGLY
Mrs. Gladys McMahan. Owner
Borough Bill
Reported Out
House Bill 90 has been re
ported out of the Local Gov
ernment committee and will
undoubtedly be under consid
eration on the floor of the
state house of representatives
late this week, Eugene Reid,
District 7 representative, said
in a telephone call to The Fron
tiersman office yesterday.
The Reid proposal to amend
the Rader bill to combine
Districts 7 and 8 into one large
borough was not considered in
committee after Palmer and
Wasilla residents expressed, by
majority vote in weekend
meetings here and in Wasilla,
a greater interest in small
borough government. Contrary
to newspaper reports, Reid’s
amendment was never official
ly introduced in the legislature.
“I don’t intend to ram any
thing down the throats of Dis
trict 7 voters,” Reid said in a
meeting here Saturday after
ST. PATRICK’S
HOP IS MARCH 16
Wearin’ of the green will be
in order at the St. Patrick’s
Day Hop on Saturday, March
16, at the Elks hall. Doors will
open at 9 p.m. for the annual
Beta Sigma Phi charity ball,
traditionally held on or about
St. Valentine’s Day, but post
poned this year because of a
conflict with another commun
ity affair.
Tickets are now on sale from
sorority members at $1.50 per
couple. Proceeds will go to a
revolving medical aid fund
I administered by the Palmer
Health Center.
The “auld sod” celebrants
will dance to several name
bands (on stereo) and are in
vited to bring their favorite
dance records to add to the
fun. Anyone who has a record
ing of an Irish jig is asked to
call Mrs. Richard Anderson at
PI 5-3878.
A door prize of a gift cer
tificate from Koslosky’s De
partment Store will be award
ed, and a raffle of undisclosed
items (said to be “very inter
esting”) will be held. Refresh
ments will be served.
Of special interest will be a
cake walk and a “Cinderella”
dance.
Bad Check, Public Nuisance
Ordinances Proposed to City
Palmer’s city attorney Bur
ton Biss was instructed by the
Palmer city council to draw
up two ordinances of interest
to local businessmen and resi
dents at the March 12 meeting.
One would deal with the bad
check problem and the other
would be designed to abate
public nuisances on private
property. Both problems were
brought to the attention of the
council by concerned business
men. City manageer Winston
Gilchrist and councilmen Dar
rell Frank and Willard John
son were absent.
Lloyd Severns appeared be
fore the council to question his
assessment for sidewalk con
struction fronting on the Sev
erns building, and was asked
to appear again at a future
meeting when all the figures on
the construction would be
available.
Rosco Taylor, representing
Experiment Station employees,
expressed the fear that the
proposed drag-racing strip at
the Palmer Airport could de
velop into a neighborhood
nuisance. Louis Bencardino,
police chief, who is working
with the local car club, said
that there would probably be
racing activity at the airport
only one day a week, that in
coming traffic for races would
be directed to the drag strip
via Co-op Avenue and Airport
Road, that the Airmen see the
venture as an opportunity to
improve the airport runway,
and that many persons believe
that this will be a good way to
draw business into town. He
also pointed out that this will
be a help in handling our own
juvenile problem. He said that
a meeting is planned on Mon
day, March 18, with the Air
men, but so far no definite
plans have been formulated.
A move to reimburse the
petty cash fund at the Public j
Health Center in the amount of j
$39.80 was approved, also a
move to reimburse the Palmer
Independent School District in
the amount of $6,000 for the
city’s share of tax office ex
penses.
A motion to transfer $14,570
from the property tax fund for
the payment now due for prin
cipal and interest on the water
system was approved, with the
proviso that the city manager
be asked for recommendations
on any change in this action.
A letter was read from Ma
son LaZelle, MEA manager,
saying that the city-owned
generator located at Matanuska
Maid, Inc., may be usable by
MEA for Unalakleet or Tal
keetna, and asking that MEA
be notified if the city is in
terested in selling. The city
clerk was directed to write a
letter to MEA, stating that the
city would be interested in
selling the generator, “as is
where is.”
Minutes of the planning com
mission meeting of Feb. 14 were
read. The council recommend
ed that the planning commis
sion be informed that the mat
ter of 60-foot wide streets has
been discussed with Matanus
ka Maid, Inc., and that the
council has decided to grant a
variance to the farm co-op be
cause of the problems involved
in setting up a subdivision in
the Co-op housing area. The
council also asked that the
zoning may be brought up-to
date in preparation for a final
reading of the proposed zoning
ordinance.
A resolution to support the
Independence Mine Resort de
velopment and to urge that
ARA give favorable considera
tion to a loan application from
the Willow Creek Recreation
Company for that purpose was
approved.
Alter its third reading. Or
dinance No. 105 to repeal Or
dinances 14 and 31 and to es
tablish a business license tax
was approved.
A proposal from the U. S.
Army to use the city’s gravel
pit as a storage area for am
munition was rejected as un
satisfactory, since it would
prohibit access to the gravel
(Continued on page 10)
noon. The purpose of these
meetings have been to get your
feeling on the subject.”
He said that he personally
feels that the district’s great
est needs are schools and
roads, and that these needs
would be more quickly met
with a large tax base than
with a small one.
Substantial changes have
been made in the borough bill
as reported out of committee,
although the provision which
provides for mandatory incor
poration of nine state popula
tion centers by Jan. 1, 1964 re
mains unchanged. Voters of
the districts would still have
the option of incorporating on
their own before Oct. 1, 1963.
Under the terms of the pres
tnt bill, all first or second
class boroughs would be eli
gible for grants of 10 per cent
of state lands within their
boundaries, whether or not
borough organization is volun
tary. A cash grant of $10 for
every voter in last November’s
general election, up to a limit
of $25,000 per borough, would
also be allowed.
Persons and organizations
receiving copies of Senate and
House bills in this area are
Peter Kokes, Betty Mears, the
Matanuska Valley Chamber of
Commerce, Lucy Mick, L. F.
Martin, Gene Coghlan. A1
Brooks, Mrs. Claude Klaver,
Mrs. Eugene Reid, Totem Land
Realty, Paul Carlson, and the
Palmer League of Women Vot
ers, Reid said.
Last weekend’s meetings
with Reid were organized Fri
day afternoon, with word
spread by personal contact and
radio announcements.
TASTEE FREEZE
OFFERS FREE CONE
Would you like a free ice j
cream cone? I
Archie's Four-Corners Tastee I
Freeze is offering just that!
when it reopens on March 15. i
All you have to do is turn
to page 5 of this issue of The |
Frontiersman, clip the Tastee
Freeze ad, and present it at the
Tastee Freeze, where you will
be given either two ten-cent
ice cream cones or one 20-cent
cone. The offer is good March
15 through March 21.
Foundation Program Would
Benefit Palmer Schools
PROCLAMATION
WHEREAS, the heart and blood vessel diseases kill
more residents of this nation than all other causes com
bined, are responsible for widespread suffering, and often
create serious economic hardship in our homes and busi
nesses; and
WHEREAS, Heart Fund dollars make possible to cam
paign of research, education and community service to
fight heart attack, stroke, rheumatic fever, hardening of
the arteries, high blood pressure, inborn heart defects and
many other forms of heart and blood vessel diseases; and
WHEREAS, the Alaska Heart Association, a chapter
of the American Heart Association, will conduct its Heart
Fund campaign during the week of March 4 to 10, 1963, to
make this health crusade possible:
NOW, THEREFORE, I WILLIAM A. EGAN, Governor
of the State of Alaska, proclaim March to be
HEART MONTH
in this state, and urge our citizens to support this impor
tant drive with their contributions and voluntary services.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my
hand and caused the Seal of Alaska to be affixed, this fifth
day of March in the year of Our Lord nineteen hundred
and sixty three.
/s/ WILLIAM A. EGAN
Governor
ATTEST: /s/ HUGH J. WADE
Secretary of State
Concert Capers
To Be March 15
Music can be fun, is the pre
mise the Palmer higlj school
band, under the leadership of
director Lee Plumblev, will
prove at their midwinter con
cert this Friday, March 15, in
Central school auditorium at 8
p.m.
The lighthearted “Concert
Capers” will include tradition
al band selections and a gay
series of dances, performed by
members of Miss Miller’s phy
sical education classes and
members of the band.
Band numbers will be “Them
Basses,” “Overture Belgique,”
"Parade of the Charioteers,”
"Theme and Variations,”
“Trumpeter’s Lullaby,” "Sol
vieg's Song,” and “Little
Giant.”
Miss Miller’s square dancers
will perform to “Huskin’ Bee,’
and a group will waltz to “Al
legheny Moon”, “Tennessee
Waltz,” and “On Top of Old
Smoky.” Other P. E dancers
will do the Mexican Hat Dance
and Irish jig.
Members of tne hand will
dance to “Charleston." “Ostrich
Walk." "Ballin' the Jack."
“Rock Around the Clock,”
“That's A Plenty,” and "Maple
Leaf Rag."
Band selections in the popu
lar vein will be "Bill Board.”
"He.” “My Wild Irish Rose."
“Clarinet Marmalade," and "B
flat Blues."
The finale will be the Cun
Can, played and danced by
members of the band.
Big Borough Would
Have ’403,084 Deficit
With a local effort of four i t
mills, the Palmer Independ-' a
ent School District would stand v
to gain over $70,000 in school \ p
funds for the 1963-64 year un- ! 5
der the Foundation Formula | I
law passed in 1962, William T. i r
Zahradnicek, superintendent of 1 t
Palmer schools and newly ap- ; c
pointed state director of edu- a
cation, said this week. a
Other figures presented by a
the superintendent show that
under the formula a Captain j f
Cook borough would have a ! 1
deficit of $403,084 which would I r
have to be met by borough I
residents, and a Palmer-Wasilla ; t
borough would face a deficit of j f
$204,206. I r
The estimated total budget1 c
for the Palmer district is $929,-1
051.62, Zahradnicek said. Total
revenue other than property
taxes would amount to $732,
138.41 under the foundation
formula. The total to be raised
through local property taxes is j
$196,913.21, which would re
quire only a 10.25 mill tax
levy, including lour mills of lo
cal effort.
If property taxes remained
j at their present level in the
Palmer school district, therej
would be sufficient funds to!
carry out the proposed schoolj
construction program, the sup-:
erintendent said. A bonding is- j
sue for this purpose failed in j
last November's election.
There has been some discus
| sion in the community of form
! ing u small borough within the j
boundaries of the Palmer In
I dependent School District, with;
he idea of adding adjacent
reas as population growth
/arrants. The question was
osed by Bill Hermann at the
Saturday meeting with Eugene
Leid in Palmer, with Bob Vro
lan, who was testifying at the
ime, stating that it is diffi
ult to use man-made bound
ries to separate people who
re tied together economically
nd geographically.
Zahradnicek, who has de
ended a three and a half mill
svy as opposed to the four
nill levy in Juneau, said that
'aimer is one of the few for
unate areas that will benefit
rom the formula, and that nu
nerous areas will face a budget
leficit.
Junior Mushers To
Compete in Races
Junior mushers will compete
n the Aurora Dog Mushers'
31ub championship races for
me, three, and five dog teams
an March 16 and 17 on the
Echo Lake trail near Big Lake,
it was announced this week.
Although there are twelve
inches of new snow in the Big
Lake area, mushers are warn
ed that the races could be can
celled if the weather doesn’t
hold. ‘
Total elapsed time event
trophies will be donated by
the Matanuska Valley Bank.
Aurora championship races
for adult mushers were can
celled last weekend because of
poor trail conditions.
New Industries Are
ARA (ommitlee Goal
At least one successful new
industry each year in District
7 is the goal of the Seventh Dis
trict Area Redevelopment
Committee, as expressed at
the first annual meeting of the
group held March 10 at the
American Legion hall in Pal
mer.
Thirty-two persons were el
ected to an executive commit
tee, which in turn elected
James Hurley chairman. Max
Clements vice-chairman, and
Rose Palmquist secretary.
Resource committee mem
ber appointments, as announc
ed by chairman Hurley, are as
follows: agriculture, Stewart
Durrant. chairman, R. J. Hed
dles, Sig Restad, Max Sher
rod. and Daryl Bowman; roads,
power, and sites, Betty Mears.
chairman, Phil O’Neill, Mason
Laelle, and Max Clements;
mining, Jim Frey, chairman
Phil O’Neill, Julius Moor, Hugh
Matheson, and V. E. Sleeper;
human resources. Myrtle Bang,
chairman. A. Q. Stine, and Bet
ty Mears; tourism and recrea
tion, Laura Barnes, chairman.
Muriel Reed, and Rose Palm
quist.
It was pointed out that one
need not be a member of the
executive committee to serve
on a resource committee. Any
one interested is asked to con
tact either the temporary com
mittee chairman or James
Hurley.
Resource committees will
meet within the next two
weeks, and a full committee
meeting will be held each
month on the second Tuesday
at 8 p.m. in the Palmer Exten
sion Service office. Hurley
said.
BETA SIGMA PHI
ST. PATRICK’S
DAY HOP
DOOR PRIZE
RAFFLE
$1.50 per Couple
ELKS HALL
March 16 9 p.m.
ROAD HOGS
DANCE
Friday, March 15,7:30 p.m. ’til Midnight
REFRESHMENTS AVAILABLE
Admission: Drag $1.00 Stag 75c
MOOSE!
SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 7:30 P.M. ST. PATRICK’S DAY
Special Enrollment DANCE & FEED
MOOSE MENDERS
WIVES t 6UESTS