Homemaker's Council
tea ai United Protes
tant Church parlors on
May 4.
Malley IHrontieeran
PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
Wasilla Library bene
fit dinner at Commu
nity Hall on May 6
between 6 and 8 p.m.
VOL. THREE—NO. 33
PALMER, ALASKA, FRIDAY. APRIL 28, 1950
PRICE 10c
AHA To Build 25 Houses In Palmer
t
Jonesville Fire
Burns for Six Days
Before Controlled
A fire that burned for six days
before it was controlled, and
which could have destroyed the
Joijesville Mine, was finally ex
tinguished late last Friday, fire
guard C. E. Kendall of Palmer
announced this wreek.
The fire began in the grass and
brush of an old burn, across the
road from Jonesville holdings, on
the morning of April 16. Mr.
Kendall’s office was notified late
that afternoon, after 20 miners
had fought the flames all day.
When the fire could not be im
mediately controlled, 20 soldiers
from Fort Richardson were called
to help as firefighters. V. J. Hen
derson of Anchorage and W.
Jackson of Palmer, in addition to
Mr. Kendall, all of the forestry
division, worked at the scene of
the fire for several days.
It was finally declared out last
Friday, after 80 acres of land had
burned. Cause of the fire was not
definitely determined, but it
* probably resulted from a careless
ly tossed match or cigarette, Mr.
Kendall said.
The fire guard emphasized that
the entire Valley is very dry at
present, and that every precau
tion should be taken to avoid
fires. “ It is dry now, and it will
probably get worse,” Kendall
stated. “Everybody should be
particularly careful now. One
match could burn over the entire
Valley.”
Methodists Decide
, To Seek More Help
For Planned College
A decision on the site of the
proposed Methodist College ir
Alaska has been postponed, il
was announced last week. An an
nouncement of the selected site
was anticipated, following e
meeting of the Methodist board
of education in Cleveland, Ohio
beginning April 17.
The Methodists reported tha1
they found the proiect of a four
year liberal arts college too large
to be undertaken by any single
*” organization. They will seek air
from other church groups, in the
hope of establishing an interde
nominational college.
It is planned that another uele
gation of representatives, made
up of Methodists as well as- o
delegates from other churcl
groups, will visit Alaska in Sep
ternber to make further site
studies.
In' the meantime, it is reportee
that* the Presbyterian board o
missions is assembling materia
to push a plan that would mak
the Sheldon Jackson school a
(Continued on Back Page)
Farmers Advised To Have
Seeds Tested Before Planting
A recent test check of seed lots
1 of oats, wheat and hulless barley
' for several Valley farmers and
merchants has revealed “the vi
ability of the seeds, in most cases,
to be alarmingly low,” according
to Dr. S. C. Litzenberger, agron
omist at the Matanuska Experi
ment Station. Viability is de
fined as the capability of growth,
it was explained.
Dr. Litzenberger said, that on
the basis of the 12 lots of seed
tested, it appears necessary to
test every sample of locally grown
seed, before it is planted. Farm
ers who have this knowledge of
the seed previous to planting,
may increase the rate of seeding,
to avoid total loss.
The station agronomist also
recommends treatment of seed
with New Improved Ceresan or
Ceresan M. This treatment will
not benefit a seed which is dead,
it was cautioned. However it
may strengthen a weak seed to
the point where it will not be de
stroyed by soil and seed disease
organisms.
In six lots of oats on which
germination tests were run, the
percentage of germination ran
from a low of zero to a high of
52 per cent. The average for oats
was 24 per cent.
Four lots of wheat were tested,
with an average of 58 per cent
germination obtained. Low fig
ure for wheat was 35 per cent
and the high was 73 per cent.
Only two lots of barley were
tested. One lot was found to have
a 41 per cent germination and the ,
second 93 per cent.
Farmers desiring more informa- I
tion on the germination tests
should consult either Dr. Litzen- j
berger or Parker Lester, local Ex-1
tension agent.
Mine Carpenter
Falls From Scaffold
I i
George Rupe, a carpenter at the,
Jonesville mine, suffered very (
critical injuries in an accident at j
the mine Tuesday morning. The!
man missed his* footing on a scaf- ]
folding and plunged 18 feet to thej
ground. He sustained serious skull |
and back injuries.
Mr. Rupe was rushed to the
Valley Hospital. Yesterday his
a tending physician, Dr. C. C.
Bailey, said that although the
I “patient’s condition still is seri
ous, he has shown some improve
ment, particularly from a severe
! concussion injury.”
The injured man has a family
here. His son is a pupil at Palmer
School.
As soon as Mr. Rupe is physic
; ally able to make a flight Outside.
1 he will go to Virginia Mason Hos
pital in Seattle for special meclic
i al care under a neuro-surgeon.
PAViNG RESUMED 0 3
ANCHORAGE ROAD
j Paving operations on the An
. chorage-Palmer Highway, halted
I by weather conditions last win
ter, were resumed this week.
. Work began Tuesday on the An
:1 chorage end of the highway and
’ will progress toward Chugiak,
1 extent of last year’s completed
- surfacing.
»! During this paving work, the
i highway will be open, over the
11 area under construction for one
f lane traffic only, it was an
1: nounced.
2 j Preparatory work for paving
t on the Glen Highway already is
j under way.
Only Grites Wants
To Be Fair Manager
Robert W. Crites, physical edu- 1
cation instructor at Palmer High
School, is the sole applicant for
the position of manager of the :
1950 Matanuska Valley Fair, it
was announced at Monday’s board
meeting. Board members had set
Monday as the deadline for re
ceiving written application for
the position.
Mr. Crites’ letter asked for a i
salary of $500 a month, plus a 10
per cent commission on Anchor- ,
age advertising in the premium
book, to be used in lieu of an ex- j
pense account this summer. He
ilso requested permission to rent j
a fair building for living quar
ters, during the summer and
igain following the Labor Day
weekend fair.
The board took no action on the
application Monday night. After
i short discussion of the matter,
it was tabled until next Monday’s
neeting.
Rules for the queen contest for
his year’s fair were worked out
at the Monday meeting. Board
president Clair Stock outlined a
rlan for judging, which will re
nain secret until the queen is
named, that met the unanimous
approval of all members present.
"It’s the fairest way I know of
picking a queen ” Mr. Stock said.
’And it leaves no hard feelings,
once the contest is over.”
Valley organizations will be
asked to select candidates for this
year’s Miss Matanuska. Each en
trant in the contest must be spon
sored by an organization. Candi
dates will be introduced, for the
first time, at the Colony Day
(Continued on Back Page)
4
Typhoid Here, Need
:or Precautions Still
s Urgent, Medic Warns
"Today there is neither an
active nor a suspected case of
typhoid fever in the Matanuska
Valley. And that is because of
the splendid co-operation the
people of this area have given
to the suggested immunization
and precautionary measures."
With that statement Dr. C. C.
Bailey gave the Valley a clean
bill of health for still another
week. However the danger is
far from over, and this is not
the time to forsake preventive
measures, he warned.
Dr. Bailey said that with the
existing flow of traffic between
the Valley and Anchorage,
where the disease may flourish
for the entire summer, cases
may develop here at any time.
He strongly urged that those
residents who have not yet been
immunized, as previously rec
ommended, take steps to get
their shots immediately.
For those who cannot pay a
private physician for the im
munization series, a free clinic
has been set up in the Health
Center. Miss Marjorie Myren,
public health nurse, held the
first adult clinic there last
Wednesday evenina. These
Wednesday clinics will be con
tinued, between 7 and 9 p.m.,
each Wednesday, until all who
desire the series have been im
munized.
Anyone who missed last
Wednesday's clinic may begin
the series next Wednesday,
Miss Myren said.
ENTERS HOSPITAL HERE
Mrs. Robert Alexander -<Lilas)
was admitted to Valley Hospital
for medical treatment last Wed
SITES ARE ALREADY
BEING CONSIDERED
FOR LOCATION
The board of commissioners of
the Alaska Housing Authority
last week voted to build 25 houses
in Palmer, E. Glen Wilder, exec
utive director, reported this week.
A Chamber of Commerce request
nad asked for that many houses
for Palmer.
Mr. Wilder said the board’s ac
tion means that AHA feels pri
vate sponsorship of housing for
Palmer is not available this year,
j and therefore the Authority' wili
i undertake construction of the
! houses, so that they may be com
j pleted this season.
The board action empowers the
| AHA director to proceed with
; plans and specifications, seek
i FHA approval of the construction
; and to call for bids.
“We hope to have all of the
: preliminary work done within 60
days,” Mr. Wilder said. “This is
the first project of its kind we’ve
undertaken, and we’re not just
sure how long it will take to do
the necessary paper work. We
expect to begin construction early
in July, and to complete the
houcpv thic building season.”
Asked what Palmer might do
I to .- peed up the preliminary work,
the director replied that any way
in which the community could
help to secure a site for the
houses, which will be constructed
on one location, would help speed
up the date of beginning con
struction, as well as keep the cost
of the project down.
Site requirements for the proj
ect necessitate four or five acres
of land, located on water and
sewer lines. The cost should be
(Continued on Back Page)
GEOLOGICAL SURVEYS STUDY OF WELLS
WILL HELP FARMERS FIND WATER
Where water is most likely to
be found, how deep it lies, and
the number of gallons per minute
a well is likely to yield, has been
determined for the Matanuska
Valley through a study of wells
made last summer. The survey
was conducted by F. W. Trainer
of the water resources division of
the U. S. Geological Survey.
Mr. Trainer compiled statistics
for 197 wells in the Valley. In
formation obtained on the wells
studied, which is on file in the
Palmer office of the Geological
Survey, includes location of the
well, altitude, depth of well,
depth to water Igvel, and quality
and use of the water it yields.
From the study made by Mr.
Trainer, a Valley farmer can de
termine the water possibilities of
a given area, before digging his
well. He will be able to deter
mine his chances of finding water,
and will have a good knowledge
of how deep his well must go,
before he can hope to strike
water.
The geologist found three types
of deposits in the Valley, two of
them excellent water - bearing
sources. Sands and gravels left
by water from melting glacial ice,
and sands and gravels left by
streams since glacial retreat, are
excellent water - bearing forma
tions, it was found. Hardpan,
known scientifically as gracial
till, is almost impossible to pene
trate.
Mr. Trainer noted that one or
two wells in this area, which pen
etrated bedrock, reached salt
water.
Future plans in the study of
wells include test drilling in cer
tain critical areas, to increase
geologic knowledge, and the
pumping of test wells to estab
lish maximum yields of water
from the different types of de
posits and from the area as a
whole.