PUBLISHED IN THE INTERESTS OF THE MATANUSKA VALLEY
_ _____
VOLUME 8, NUMBER 11
PALMER, ALASKA, THURSDAY, JANUARY 6, 1955
PRICE TEN CENTS
REA URGES IMMEDIATE SIGN-UP FOR MTA
^ _■ .- > . - ■ , - -—---)-----—
I
The 1955 March of Dimes got
under way in Palmer and the ter
ritory on Monday of this week.
Opening the local campaign, of
which Ed Smith is chairman,
were members of the Matanuska
Valley Chamber of Commerce
who filled the first collection can
with “money that didn’t jingle”.
Collection tubes have been
placed in various public places
throughout the city and local or
ganizations are busy planning
fund-raising activities. To date
none of the plans have been an
nounced, however, it is believed
that all service organizations of
Palmer are planning some pub
lic activity.
This year’s campaign motto—
“It’s a BIGGER job now” was ad
opted to bring before the public
the need for more of everything.
In 1955, the March of Dimes will
be doing a double job. Through
its 3,100 chapters it will continue
to work to build n6w lives for the
stricken. As the year opens, the
National Foundation points out,
there will be 70,000 cases already
on chapter rolls who look to the
public for help in the year ahead,
along with the thousands who will
be stricken in 1955.
According to Jean Renfro of the
South Central Alaska Chapter,
over $11,000 was spent this past
year out of March of Dimes funds
for Valley residents who were
polio victims. This sum included
$5,316.05 for hospital and patient
care; $4,354.00 for special nurses;
$34 £.00 for braces, and $300.00 for
doctors. The local hospital stilt
has bills to turn in on polio pa
tient’s care and there are still
Palmer patients hospitalized who
are receiving constant care. Dur
ing the Emergency March of
Dimes conducted early this fall,
valley residents contributed over
$4 ,000. Although this sum was
much higher and beyond expec
tations, the above figures point
out how very much needed is
every dollar that can be spared
at this time. The campaign is
scheduled to run from January
3 to January 31.
Credit Union Plans
Annual Meeting Jan. 11
Members of the Matanuska Val
ley Federal Credit Union will
hold their annual meeting next
Tuesday evening, January 11 in
th Co-Op club room at 8 p.m.
All members are urged to attend.
During the meeting members
will be asked to vote the dividend
for the past year and elect mem
bers to the board of directors, and
to the supervisory and credit
committees.
Since the formation of the lo
cal Credit Union in 1949, assets
of the organization have increased
over $20,000, having gone from
$2,421.17 in 1949 to $22,755.37 in
1954. Membership has increased
from 41 in 1949 to 162 members
in 1954.
Present officers of the Credit
Union are Tom Lepak, president;,
Virgil Ecketrt, vice-president;
(Continued on page 8)
fROOMTlNilEEDED~FOR|
ji VISITING FARMERS
;! Anyone in the valley who;!
;! has room to spare and who is ;!
;! willing to share their extra;!
;j space during the forthcoming j!
Farm Forum is requested to |j
j| leave their names with Mary- ;j
lou Rideout at the Extension jj
l| Service office. J»
I; Rooms for the visiting farm-!;
!; ers will be needed on January 1;
!; 31, February 1, 2, and 3. Any-!;
!; one having space is asked to !;
'; indicate how many persons I;
j; they can accommodate, for !;
j; how long, and whether they !;
|; prefer men, women, or couples. j;
MOBILE X-RAY UNIT
HERE; WORK BEGINS
The mobile X-ray unit of the
Alasak Department of Health set
up in Central School early this
morning and by 10:00 a.m. had
the entire first grade X-rayed.
With the modern equipment in
the unit it is possible to handle
up to 100 individuals per hour, de
pendant upon how long it takes
to register the individuals.
It is not necessary to disrobe
for the X-rays, however, officials
have asked that those planning to
have a chest X-ray taken, give
a little attention to type of cloth
ing worn. Metal, sequins and bone
trim on blouses or underwear
should be kept at a minimum. Of
ficials also cautioned against
wearing synthetic materials.
The unit will remain In Palmer
until Tuesday when they move to
Wasilla. Adults in the Palmer area
may attend on Thursday or Fri
day afternoons between 3:00 and
4:00 p.m. or on Saturday from
2:00 to 5:00 p.m. or Saturday eve
ning from 6:30 p.m. to 9:0Q p-m.
Sometimes the X-rays do not
come out clear enough for proper
reading, officials stated. In this
case, the person is notified and
requested to appear for another
X-ray.
Health unit officials anticipate
that the chest X-raying of all
school children will be complet
ed by tomorrow. Adults may be
gin attending at 1:30 p.m. tomor
row afternoon.
From Wasilla the unit will trav
el to Chugiak where they will be
set up for work on Wednesday
and Thursday of next week, in
stead of the previously announc
ed schedule.
Eighty-two persons were X
rayed in the Sutton area on Wed
j nesday of this week.
Every adult in the Palmer area
is again urged to make every ef
fort to have an X-ray during the
stated hours. There is no set
charge, however, persons will be
permitted to pay one dollar to
help defray the cost of the X-ray
film. Bill Eldridge in the Butte
area and Floyd Perkins in the
Experiment Station Farm area
may be contacted by those living
in those regions for needed trans
portation.
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VVVVVVVVVVVVVWVVVVVVVVVVVVVVWH
Notice
1954 TAXES BECOME DELINQUENT FEBRUARY ji
1, 1955, CITY OF PALMER AND PALMER INDE- ji
PENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT.
REX EHRHART
Tax Assessor
Two Business Men
Issue Challenge
In MTA Campaign
Greatly impressed with the
importance of getting all resi
dents of the Matanuska Valley
signed up immediately for the
new MTA telephone system,
Richard Jones and Jan Koslos
ky this week issued a challenge
to all other teams in a one-day
membership drive to be con
ducted in the valley on Tues*
day of next week.
First to accept the challenge
was the team of A1 Hagen and
A1 DeJulio who will be out in
the field early Tuesday, knock
ing on doors and ringing bells.
Another team that may accept
the challenge is that of Louise
Kellogg and Esther Kirsch, two
of the best women salesmen
the MTA has had.
Lew Hanks, chairman of
MTA, will lay out routes for
the teams so there will be no
overlap of contacts and he
said this week that the teams
will get credits for each new
membership, as well as all
equity stock sales.
What’s the prize? The losing
team foots the bill for a din
ner.
The contest is open to any
team that wants to accept the
challenge offered by the two
Palmer business men. Phil O’
Neill said this week he expects
to have 100 percent sign-up
m the Sutton area by January
10. Areas to be covered are
Palmer, Wasilla, Chugiak, and
points between so get the cof
fee pots on.
MINSfRELTHOW
DATES ANNOUNCED
Palmer Kiwanis Club has set
March 25 and 26 as dates for
their annual minstrel show. Script
is being written and the produc
tion will be directed by Keith
Stanton, James Hurley, and James
Wilson. This same team produced
the fine program of last year.
The program will be built
around a definite theme, with
many popular solo and group
parts woven into the .plot. A call
for acts will be issued shortly.
In the meantime, anyone having
good minstrel jokes or a skit suit
able for a minstrel show is asked
to contact Stanton, Hurley or Wil
son.
Residents of the valley recog
nize the Kiwanis Minstrel Show
as one of the highlights of the
winter. Kiwanians stage the pro
duction and do most of the be
hind-the-scenes work, but they
depend to a great extent upop
the entire community for talent
and acts. Profits from the shows
are used by the Club for com
munity welfare.
Manager of the 1955 show will
be Lloyd Morley, popular Valley
Presbyterian Hospital administra
tor and vice-president of Palmer
Kiwanis. He will be assisted by
several committees.
Chairmen of committees picked
to date are: Emil Ganschow; im
mediate past president, in charge
of staging. Also Brian Cleworth,
lighting; Ed Smith tickets and
house; Robert Pippel, program;
and Hugh Johnson, publicity.
Both general and reserved seats
will be available again this year.
Don L. Irwin, Experiment Sta
tion director and Dr. Allan Mick,
Extension Service director, will
participate in the first Farm In
stitute which is being held in
Homer this week end.
-—i
City Council
Proceedings
The reading of minutes of the
special City Council meeting held
on December 31 disclosed that
three insurance firms had sub
mitted bids for city insurance.
They were the LaBow-Haines
Insurance of Anchorage; Coffey -
Simpson Insurance Co. of Anch
orage; and the Kay Pippel Insur
ance of Palmer. The award was
made to the local firm and a con
firming letter was authorized to
be mailed to the Pippel Insur
ance, as well as notice to unsuc
cessful bidders.
* * *
Public Health Nurse Dolores
Mattila informed council mem
bers by letter of her resignation
effective January 7. The Territor
ial Department of Health has ac
cepted the resignation and will
have a replacement recruited for
February 1, at the end of Miss
Mattila’s earned annual leave.
* * *
A letter from the Matanuska
Valley Bank was read to council
men informing them that the
bank had seriously considered
the City’s application for a loan
of $10,000 and that they regretted
to inform the City that the loan
had been denied.- In explaining
the decision, the letter pointed
out that only under certain con-*
dition may a bank loan funds to a
municipality and one of the bank
ing requirements is that the loan
be unanimously approved by
council members. The letter also
pointed out that the bank is an
xious to offer their service to the
community’s financial needs and
should the City be able to meet
the mentioned requirements, the
bank would cooperate in recon
sidering the loan application.
A lengthy discussion followed
the reading of the letter and was
brought to a head when Council
member Lucille Mick made the
following motion: “In view of an
indefinite hardship to the City’s
creditors due to temporary inabil
ity of the City of Palmer to make
overdue payments on legitimate
bills, I move that the Council re
consider the resolution and cast
a unanimous ballot adopting
same, thereby authorizing the
City to borrow $10,000 from the
Matanuska Valley Bank, pledge
refunds from the Territory and/
or monies received from the sale
of the telephone system for re
payment of the loan”. Council
members Mick, Betty Mears, A1
DeJulio and William Zahradnicek
voted in favor of the- motion.
Councilmembers A1 Hagen and
Robert Peterson voted no. Al
though the motion carried with
a 4-2 vote, it failed in that it was
not a unanimous vote to recon-■
sider.
During the discussion City At
torney John Shaw pointed out
that construction on the new fire
hall has been completed and that
sooner or later the bills will have
to be paid, in one of two ways. If
the money is not borrowed, peo
ple will have to wait for their
money or some of them may file
liens on the fire hall, the latter
which will cost the city more
money by paying costs involved
in such business. Probably the
interest on such a proposed loan
would not amount to as much
money as the costs could.
Councilman Hagen proposed
(Continued on page 8)
Committees Named
For 1955 by New
Kiwanis President
George Crowiners, recently
elected president of the Palmer
Kiwanis Club, appointed new
committee members for the com
ing .year at the January 3 lunch
eon meeting of the club.
Committees and members ap
pointed are as follows: Agricul
ture and Conservation: Charles
Wilson, Mann Leisser, Richard
Andrews. Public and business af
fairs: Glen Persinger, Emil Gan
schow, Roscoe Taylor, John Shaw
Rex Ehrhart. Support of Church
es: Brian Cleworth, ^Vllan Mick,
Lloyd Morley. Youth Services:
Ed Smith, Ray Bula, Cy Fahn-j
stock, Bill Zahradnicek, Cy Brew-,
er. Attendance and Membership:
Emil Ganschow, Cy Brewer, Bob
Plppel, Foster Sims.
Also, Minstrel Show: Jim Wil
son, Hugh Johnson* Pat Murphy,
Lloyd Morley, Jim Hurley. House
Committee: Cy Brewer, John
Shaw. New Club Building: James
Hurley, Ed Smith, Hugh John
son. Inter-Club: Ed Smith, Lloyd
Morley, Jim Wilson. Programs
and Music: Hugh Johnson, Brian
Cleworth, Jack Flint, Pat Mur
phy, John Weisenberger. Public
Relations: A1 DeJulio, Bob Pippel,
Allan Mick. P. A. System: John
Weisenberger, Jim Wilson, Dick
Washburn. Eye Bank Committee:
James Hurley, Cy Fahnstock,
Bill Kelleigh, Harlow Hodgson,
H. P. Gazaway.
Emil Ganschow, Jim Wilson,
and Ray Bula were appointed on
an interim committee to study
plans and make recommendations
for Club consideration for the
purpose of bolstering hospital fi
nances.
VALLEY BEAUTY SHOP
CHANGES OWNERSHIP
Announcement was made this
week that Lavonne Johnson has
taken over the Valley Beauty
Shop in the Co-Op shopping area.
The business has been conducted
by Mrs. Bess Dugas who at pres
ent is Outside for medical treat
ment. Mrs. Johnson extends a
welcome to all previous and new
customers.
First Eklutna Power
Slated to Flow Today
Electric power from the $29,
500,000 Eklutna hydroelectric
plant is scheduled to flow out
over transmission wires to
Palmer and Anchorage today.
This will be the final step to
wards completion of the four
year Bureau of Reclamation
project.
Start of operations at the
Eklutna project will put into
operation one of two 15,000 KW
generators which will supply
a total of 30,000 kilowatts for
power consumers of the Mat
anuska Electric Association,
city of Anchorage, and Chug
ach Electric Association. The
second 15,000 KW generator is
expected to be completely in
stalled around April 1, accord
ing to L. F. Wiley, construction
engineer.
The Eklutna project was
started in October of 1951 and
has provided employment for
several hundred persons, many
of whom have made their
homes in and around Palmer
the past four years.
ASKS COOPERATION
IN SNOW REMOVAL
Members of the Palmer City
Council this week urged all
motorists to cooperate as fully
as possible in keeping parked
cars away from the business
buildings early in the morning,
to facilitate snow removal.
CLIFFORD GETTINGS
STRESSES NEED FDR
IMMEDIATE ACTION
Clifford Gettings, REA official
visiting in Palmer from Washing
ton, D. C. told members of the
Matanuska Valley Chamber of
Commerce that if the Valley is to
have the new Matanuska Tele
phone Association dial system in
stalled this coming work season,
residents will have to sign up im:
mediately.
* Mr. Gettings, along with Ells
worth Johnson, REA engineer, is
in the valley for a short time to
correlate information on the pro
psed telephone system.
Lew Hanks, chairman of MTA,
reported that equity stock sales
now total in the neighborhood of
$8,000. This means, he said, that
we are only about half way to
the necessary $16,500 we must
have before REA will give the go
ahead signal.
Gettings told Chamber mem
bers that they must have a total
number of prospective customers
in order to determine the number
of lines, the location of lines and
phones and other pertinent in
formation. “It is our^iope to get
our bids out, materials purchased
and be ready for the spring con
struction period,” he said. “We
can not do any of this important
work until we know how many
phones, lines, and materials to
plan for. The only way we can
gather this information is for
those planning to have a phone to
purchase their membership in the
MTA and either purchase their
equity stock or make definite ar*,
rangements for its purchase*.
Hanks pointed out that those
who do not sign up for member
ship in the association prior to
construction may not be able to
get a phone for quite some time.
"Each phone user must be ac
counted for now", he said. "This
is the only means we have of de
termining the size, structure and
scope Of the proposed system".
“We could easily pass up the
coming construction season if this
important information is not pro
vided right now,” Gettings point
ed out.
Members of the Chamber of
(Continued on page 5)
ARMORY OPEN HOUSE
WELL ATTENDED
Open house at the U. S. Army
Reserve last night was well at
tended by many interested valley
residents.
The occasion was in observance
of the local unit being designated
as Co. C 180th Combat Engineer
Battalion.
During the evening a display of
general and special equipment
and clothing distributed to the
unit was shown, along with in
teresting film furnished by the
U. S. War Department.
Lt. Col. G. D. Brunner, Senior
Army Advisor of U. S. Army Re
serve in Alaska and his wife, and
Lt. Col Michael Burke, command
ing officer of the 180th Combat
Engineer Battalion were present.
Also in attendance was Captain
James H. Pierce, commanding of
ficer of the local unit, and Lieu
tenant Billy Sims, both of Anch
orage.
Refreshments, served during
the evening, included a beautiful
ly decorated cake—baked by Mrs.
John Dunlap and decorated by
Mrs. Martin Olsen of Wasilla.
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DAFFODILS ](.
!• Are in Bloom at j!
t MATANUSKA VALLEY i
GARDENS
;j Phone 32J11 Palmer j;
Telegraph Delivery Service ;j
Dance £ Rhythm £ Blue Rangers Km T & T Sourdough Bar
YOUR DRINKS BY TERI THOMPSON AND HAL ECKARD
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