Thought of the Week.
Maybe we would have less
politics if office-holders could
only serve one term.
PUBLISHED IN THE INTEREST OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
9
MTA ANNUAL MEETING
CENTRAL SCHOOL
AUG. 3
8 P.M.
VOLUME 15, NUMBER 45
PALMER. ALASKA. THURSDAY, AUGUST 1. 1963
TEN PAGES
PRICE 15 CENTS
Suit Against Matanuska Maid Finally Settled
Reporters—
Notzloak
Jack Harris, victim of a seri
ous kidney ailment, has been
chosen as one of the patients to
benefit from the nationally re
nowned kidney machine locat
ed in a Seattle clinic. The ma
chine. publicized in a Life
magazine article some time
ago, has enabled a number of
persons in the Seattle area who
are suffering from the disease
to lead normal lives. The young
man's parents, Mr. and Mrs.
Duke Harris, have moved to
Washington state to give Jack
access to the benefits of the
machine. He is reported to be
getting along well.
* * *
Mrs. Harold Anderson (Kar
en McCartney) of Sunnyvale,
California, and her two chil
dren, Bonnie and Brenda, are
making a short visit in Palmer.
Mr. Anderson, an employee of
the Philco Corporation, is at!
present working on a project
in Mombasa, East Africa. Mrs.
Anderson is the daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. Ray McCartney
of Palmer and the granddaugh
ter of Mr. and Mrs. M. D. Snod
grass. Matanuska Valley pion
eers.
* * *
Mr. and Mrs. C. L. Ward of
Lepwai, Idaho, are visiting
their son, Walter Ward, and
his family. Mr. and Mrs. Ward
plan to extend their stay
through the Alaska State Fair
on Labor Day weekend.
Recent visitors in the Ward
home were Mr. and Mrs. Peck
Ward, also from Idaho.
* * *
Ed Ueeck. Alaskan pioneer
and member of the Matanuska
Valley Historical Society,
agrees that it’s a small world.
Ed dropped into the museum
the other afternoon and met
three touring nurses from j
Green Bay, Wise., which was
the home town of the late Mrs.
Ueeck. One of the group asked
him if he were familiar with
Whitney Park in Green Bay.
Bay. Ed’s answer was “Yes—
quite! It was named for my
father-in-law.” Mrs. Ueeck’s i
father, as a sergeant in the Un. ;
ion army, had been a Civil War
hero.
The names of 55 students
who earned positions on the
University of Alaska’s spring
semester honor roll for 1962-63
were announced yesterday by
Dr. Howard Culter, academic
vice-president of the Univer
sity. In announcing the honor
roll students, Dr. Cutler point
ed out that students must be
carrying at least 12 credit
hours of classes with a grade
point average of at least 3.5 j
(B plus) to qualify ,for the!
honor roll. Local students nam
ed to the honor roll are Judy
Bagley and Carolyn Wallace
of Palmer and Allayne Dinkel
of Wasilla.
* * *
A1 Hagen of Playland an
nounces plans this week for a
California state picnic at the
Lake Wasilla resort on Sunday,
Aug. 4. Registration will begin
at 12 noon, with a small gate
charge per car to help defray
the cost of ice cream and cof
fee.( to be served from 1 to
3 p.m. to all gate ticket hold
ers. An added attraction will
be a parachute jump to a small
target located in the lake near
Playland Pavillion.
—
GARDEN CLUB TO
MEET TUESDAY
The Matanuska Valley Gar
den Club will meet Tuesday,
Aug., 6, at 8 p.m. in the crafts
room at the Extension office.
Anyone interested in garden
ing and yard beautification is
invited to attgnd. A program is
being planned.
MTA Winner Will
Get Dishwasher
One door prize winner will
take an electric dishwasher
home from the Matanuska
Telephone Association annual
membership meeting next Sat
urday evening, and another
will receive six months of free
local residential telephone ser
vice.
Registration for the meeting
will begin 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 3
at Central school auditorium,
with the business session to
open at 8 p.m.
Several color telephones will
also be offered as door prizes.
If the winner already has a
color phone, he may choose ex
tension service as an alternate.
Two directors are to be elect
ed to the five-man board. Four
names have been submitted by
the nominating committee, and
other nominations may be
made from the floor at the
meeting. The nominees are K.
D. Bohman of Palmer, Kenneth
Gillow of Wasilla. Vernon L.
Moore, Chugiak, and Dr James
Pazaruski, Palmer.
The terms of Russell Oberg
(two years) and Charles Shav
er (three years) are expiring.
NO BREAKUP
THIS YEAR
Lake George has definitely
cancelled its performance this
year according to Marvin Slau
ghter of the Geological Survey
office here. There will be no
breakup.
Alaska Railroad records,
w'hich date back to 1918. have
listed breakups for every year
since then, Slaughter said. The
Geological Survey office has
kept records since 1948. There
is no information available on
whether or not there have
been non-breakup years be
fore 1918.
The spectacular annual phe
nomenon is caused by a seven
mile wide expanse of glacial
ice which forms against the
Chugach mountain cliffs and
plugs up the outlet to Lake
George. The glacial dam backs
up the water, forming a 16
mile lake, the pressures of
which begin to tunnel escape
channels through the ice, re
sulting in the destruction of
the great walls of ice.
This year the water tunnel
ed under the glacier and drain
ed away instead of backing up
to form the lake.
The three-year post will be
filled by the candidate recei
ving the highest number of
votes, with the two-year job
going to the one who polls the
second highest number of
votes.
Reports of the officers and
the manager. Max Clements,
will be heard.
At the close of the business
meeting, refreshments will be
served by the Valley Hospital
Auxiliary, and MTA's candi
date in the Miss Alaska State
Fair contest. Miss Carol Wil
son, will be on hand to meet
the members of the association.
TWO MORE CANDIDATES SQUEEZE IN
UNDER WIRE IN FAIR QUEEN CONTEST
Entries in the Alaska state
Fair, Inc. queen contest reach
ed ten instead of the eight re
ported iast week when two
more young women were ad
mitted to the contest after the
Frontiersman deadline.
They are Bonita Louise Ber
nath and Lorraine Dunne, both
Anchorage residents.
Bonita, the 18-year old dau
ghter of Mr. and Mrs. John
Bernath of Anchorage, is well
known in the Palmer area, hav
ing lived here for some years.
She was born in Ogden, Utah,
on April 12, 1945.
After having been away for
several years, she returned
here last winter and graduat
ed with the 1963 Palmer high
school senior class.
A brown-eyed brunette with
a fair complexion. Bonita is
five feet, three inches tall and
weighs 112 pounds. Her vital
statistics are 35-24-36. She lists
dancing as her hobby.
She plans to attend business
college, specializing in IBM
training.
Bonita has not yet disclosed
her plans for the talent portion
of the contest. Her sponsor is
Bert's Drug, Inc. of Anchorage.
Field Trials
To Be Sunday
An opportunity not often
available to Alaskans—watch
ing a good retriever in action—
is promised for Sunday, Aug. 4,
when field trials will be held
at Rainbow Lake Resort. The
lake is located six miles from
Wasilla on the Big Lake road.
The AKC-sanctioned derby
trials will begin at 9 a.m. Fam
ily groups are urged to turn
out to watch the exhibition of
trained dogs and skilled hand
lers, a show that will please
grownups and youngsters alike.
Information concerning Miss
Dunne is not yet available.
Other entrants in the contest
are Carol Wilson, sponsored by
MTA; Suzi Moffitt. Kirk’s
Sales and Service and Walt
Briggs Fuel: Caralee Kammer.
meyer, Bert’s Drug in Palmer:
Leslie Whitt, Johnson’s Fuel
Service; Terri Granger. B & H
Supply; Melody Toomev, Tee
land’s Country Store and Cot
tle’s Trucking and Fuel Ser
vice; Mary Boothby. Mruk
Coal Co. and Evan Jones Coal
Co.; and Linda Bozinoff. Ben
son’s Department Store and
Matanuska Maid, Inc.
The girls made their first of
ficial appearance last Saturday
evening at the “Miss Big Lake
Regatta of 1963” ceremony at
Big Lake Lodge. Each contest
ant must sell 350 raffle tickets
in order to qualify for the fin
i als, which will be climaxed
; with the 1963 Queen Pageant
' (patterned after the Miss Am
erica pageant) on Saturday.
Aug. 31.
The raffle drawing will be
held on Labor Day, the last day
of the fair. The prize is a Ra
ven Apache camper, sleeps
four comfortably and has lots
of storage space; also direc
tional, stop and taillights. 29
square feet of floor space, and
two panoramic windows. When
erected, the camper is 11 feet,
seven inches wide, six feet,
three inches deep, and seven
feet high at the peak. Optional
equipment which the queen
committee has purchased in
cludes two polyfoam mattress
es.
COMMERCIAL PEA
CROP TO BE
VIEWEO AUG. 12
AH persons interested in
viewing peas on the vine and
ready for harvest which are
suitable for canning and freez
ing are invited to join a tour
scheduled for Monday, Aug.
12, Dr. Curtis H. Dearborn of
the Alaska Agricultural Ex
periment Station staff said yes
terday.
Preceding the tour, a discus
sion of the work in progress
will begin at 1:30 p.m. at the
Matanuska Farm, where 21
varieties of peas are being
tested.
At. 3:30 p.m., the group will i
be conducted through the test
plots of seven varieties, locat- '
ed on the Ralph DeVilbiss
farm on Wolverine Creek
Road.
If time permits, several !
other farms may be visited to
view peas in other stages of
growth. Dr. Dearborn said. He
added that the schedule may
be modified if weather condi
tions hasten maturity beyond
the expected rate.
Two Anchorage business
men, Gerald Earp and Jim
Booky, have shown consider
able interest in starting a
vegetable-processing plant in
the Matanuska Valley, the first
unit of which would process
peas for canning.
ATTORNEYS FILE PETITIONERS’ APPEAL
COMPLAINT PREPARED FOR INJUNCTION
An appeal has been filed
from the determination of the
Local Boundary Commission in
extending the boundaries of
the proposed Captain Cook
borough, Wendell Kay and
Burton Biss, attorneys for the
Matanuska-Susitna petitioners,
said this week.
A complaint has also been
prepared (but has not yet been
filed) to ask for an injunction
against the proposed election
of the Captain Cook petition
and to require Ronald Cease of
the Local Affairs Agency and
the Boundary Commission to
process the Matanuska-Susitna
petition, Biss said yesterday.
The suit is being financed
by voluntary contributions,
the Matanuska-Susitna peti
tioners said. Residents of the
western portion of District 7
are reported to have contribu
ted over a third of the estima
ted cost of the suit, and a num
ber of sizeable contributions
from Palmer businessmen and
individuals have been made.
No concerted campaign for
funds has yet been made in
the area covered by the Palm
er Independent School District.
Palmer business places that
have volunteered to receive
contributions are D & A Gro
cery, Hartley Motors, Automo
tive Parts and Equipment Co.,
Betty’s Dress Shop, and Thrif
ty Variety.
Secretary of State Hugh
Wade said in a telephone con
versation yesterday that from
a practical standpoint of tim
ing, he thinks it would be al
most impossible to process the
Matanuska-Susitna petition be
fore the Oct. 1 deadline, even
if the court handles the in
junction suit immediately.
He added, however, that
there is a possibility that the
referendum petitioners, who
are asking the repeal of the
mandatory portion of the bor
ough law, may request a re
straining order to stop any ac
tion taken under the provisions
of HB 90. This would lift the
Oct. 1 deadline and leave the
petitioners free to process their
local option petition, if the in
junction suit is successful.
LOCAL YOUNG
PEOPLE GO TO
CONFERENCE
Student council, 4-H and
FFA representatives from the
Matanuska Valley will attend
the Leadership Conference at
the University of Alaska Aug.
4-9, their advisors announced
this week.
Representing the Palmer
high school student council will
be Andy DeVries, president;
Mick Pettit, vice-president; Liz
Schreiber, secretary; and Mary
Lou Johnson, treasurer. Mrs.
Mabel Wallace will attend the
conference as advisor for the
Palmer group. Palmer high
school principal Walter Ward ]
will also take part in the con
ference program, as will Lew
Hanks, Palmer district exten
sion agent.
Cynthia Blissard and Henry
Hill will enter the 4-H public
speaking contest, and Kathy
Hulbert and Mary Weisenber
ger will take part in the dress
revue. Both these events will
take place on Monday after
noon.
Morton Blissard will present
his demonstration on prepar
ing a window for stuccoing.
Other 4-H members who will
attend the conference are
Wayne Eckert. Bonnie Bush.
Janie Hanks, Roger Lincoln.
David Martin. Dick Walling,
and Richard Washburn. Stan
Smith will represent the Pal
mer chapter of Future Farm
ers of America. Janie Hanks
and David Martin will conduct
workshops.
COUPLE DRIVE
MODEL T OVER
ALASKA HIGHWAY
Waves of nostalgia swept
over Palmer residents who
happened to be on downtown
Palmer streets today, when a
touring couple from Portland
Oregon, stopped at the Fron
tier Cafe for lunch. They
were driv ing an "approximate
ly 11123" Model T Ford touring
car. which had brought them
all the way up the Alaska
highway with only minor mis
haps!
The couple, Mr. and Mrs.
Warren LaBarre. left Portland
last July 7 and have visited
Fairbanks. Circle City, and Mc
Kinley Park. They were en
route today to Anchorage, and
will return in a few days on
their way back down the high
way, with a side trip to Val
dez planned.
When LaBarre was asked \
what he does in Portland, he
laughed. "I own a machine
shop,” he said. Packed in a ’
cab built on the back of the
Ford is every conceivable
spare part that might be need
ed. Thus far the only mishaps
have been a broken axle and a
broken tie rod.
LaBarre said he has been
working on the car. which he
assembled himself “of parts
and pieces”, for two and a half
years, and the idea of the Al
aska trip occurred to them
about a year ago.
They make about 150 miles a i
day—“15 miles an hour on
gravel and hills, about 35 on
good highway,” Mrs. LaBarre
said.
The couple have two chil
dren, a son in the Air Force
and a daughter in college.
What do they think of their
parents’ escapade?
“They think we’re pretty ad
venturous. And it’s all been
one big adventure. When we
get up in the morning, we don’t
know' w'hat’s going to happen
before the day is over.”
And the little car chugged
away, leaving a crowd of ad
miring—and envious—onlook
ers.
Co-Op To Go Ahead
With Creamery Plans
Settlement this week of a
long-standing suit brought
against Matanuska Maid, Inc. j
by the U. S. Army has cleared 1
the way for construction of the '
new Matanuska Maid cream-1
ery building, Stewart A. Dur
rant, manager for the local
farm coperative, said this
week.
During the past week, t h e
legal staff and the board of
directors and management of
Matanuska Maid, Inc. worked
out a compromise settlement
of $150,000, $42,000 of which
was paid some three years ago.
Durrant said. $50,000 of the
$108,000 balance is to be paid
within 60 days, with the re
maining S58.000 to be paid over i
a five-year period without in
terest. The amount asked in
the army suit was at one tirrfe ]
as high as $676,333.
On May 4. in 1959, Durrant j
said, the contracting officer for
the Army decided that the co
operative had received an ov
erpayment of $548,148 for the
first four years of a contract
which commenced in February,
1954, and ran through June.
1959, and later in 1960 made
the decision that a further ov
erpayment of $128,125 had
been made for the past 13
months. The total allegedly
due by the Co-op was set at
the $676,333 figure.
The coperative appealed the
decision to the U. S. Arm y
Alaska Board of Contract Ap
peals. where the figure was re
duced to $365,817. The Co-op
then further appealed the con
tract to the Armed Services
Board of Contract Appeals in
San Francisco, where the de
termination was that the co
operative owed the govern
ment $433,697.
After many attempts to
reach a compromise figure,
last week's settlement was
reached.
“Even though this may ap
pear to be an expensive set
tlement, we feel that it is fair
and equitable." Durrant stated.
“The Cooperative will now feel
free to go ahead with the con
struction of the creamery
without the contingency of an
FIVE-DAY OUTLOOK
The weather outlook for Aug
1-5 in the Cook Inlet area is
mostly cloudy for the five-day
period. with precipitation
moderate—the heaviest to be
over the weekend.
unsettled litigation hanging
over our heads. Our thanks go
to all the government officials
and agencies who cooperated
with us in reaching this final
agreement.”
Bids for construction of the
creamery were opened Tues
day and are now being studied,
the manager said. Final deter
mination of the contract award
is expected to be made in a
few days, he added.
Title Insurance
Office to Open
To open next Wednesday
August 7. in Palmer is the new
branch office of the Alaska
Title Guarantee Co., president
Harold O. Lightle announced
this week.
The office will be located on
the ground floor of the Mrak
building, with the entrance
opening on Wasilla Street.
Manager of the Paimer office
will be Bill Butler, and Elsie
Dixon of Palmer has been em
ployed as secretary. The office
will handle title insurance and
escrows.
Alaska Title Guarantee Co.
has had offices in Anchorage
for the past three and a half
years, and also has a Juneau
office.
The opening of this office is
part of a plan to extend title
insurance service to all of Alas
ka as well as to Anchorage and
Juneau, Lightle said.
ROAD RUNNERS
TO SPONSOR RACE
The Road Runners, Palmer
car club, will sponsor the sec
ond Palmer Grand Prix to be
run on city streets here on
Aug. 24 and 25, with the Alas
ka Sports Car Club the partici
pating organization. Skip
Schroeder. member of the lo
cal club, said today.
Trophies will be donated by
Anchorage and Palmer busi
nessmen, and a percentage of
the net profits of the races will
go into purses for the winners.
Schroeder said.
Admission tickets for t h e
race will be available short
ly. The Road Runners
race committee will meet with
William Woodward of the
Alaska Sports Car Club and a
committee from the Palmer
City Council on Saturday to
discuss plans for the races.
Cantwell Plant
Construction Slated
Construction of a cement
plant will begin in early 1964
at a site near Cantwell in Mc
Kinley National Park, com
mission Henry Roloff, depart
ment of economic development
and planning, announced yes
terday.
The commissioner said that
Alaska Portland Cement Ltd.,,
a California corporation, has
been granted a ten-year indus
trial tax exemption.
The firm was granted the
exemption on industrial de
velopment income, including
excise or other taxes levied by |
the state or any other political
subdivision. In addition, the
corporation received a seven
year exemption on its real and
personal property.
Large limestone deposits are :
known to exist in the area of
the chosen site. James Combs,
president of Alaska Portland
Cement Ltd., told Roloff at a
recent meeting that the firm
expects to produce 500 barrels
of cement in the first year of
operation, uriginai piani in
vestment will approximate
$5,000,000. According to Combs,
the plant will move into a 1,
000,000 barrel capacity as soon
as conditions warrant. The
president said that 50 men will
be employed initially, with an
increase to 100 men when the
plant reaches the million-bar
rel capacity.
Officers of the firm indicate
that the plant will produce, in
addition to cement, rock wool,
expanded shale for insulation
purposes, and large quantities
of limestone to be used for
agricultural purposes.
Emil Usibelli of Fairbanks is
a vice-president of the firm.
In announcing the develop
ment, Roloff said, “The estab
lishment of a cement produc
tion plant in Alaska will mark
a major step in our industrial
development ... it will bring
Alaska the economic benefits
not only of additional employ
ment, but will give us the ad
vantage of home-produced ce
ment, and other by-products.”
FIELD TRIALS ■*■*■**'AWL** RdinbOW Lake Resort Refreshments0-Live^Music
ribHH ■■■■■■■■Ip AKC Sanctioned Mile 6-Wasilla-Big Lake Road Derby Trials Start 9:C!2 A.M.