Evening star., 1947-05-15
By Malcolm Lamborne, n.

Of livestock were corralled awaiting distribution
to settlers, once. they had made their homes
Farmer Pipple made arrangements for trans
portation Of manure to his place. It was the
flrst fertilizer used In the valley, and 1t paid
dividends.
BY the end Of the second summer Mr. Pipple
crossed 5000 for his seed plants and fresh
vegetables. In few years, he had doubled his
income and "Pipple products" was becoming
by-word In the valley He and his family re-
turned to Minnesota in 1910, but remained only
q year. They didn't like the old place anymore
and longed for Alaska. He is now operating
large produce and hog farm outside Of An
chorage.
'sMatanuska Maid Grows Up.
Meanwhile, the Alaska Rural Rehabilitation
Corp, which had furnished the colonists
funds, materials. equipment and livestock,
Incorporated the Valley Farmers Cooperating
Association. It is owned and controlled by
bona fide valley settlers. In q short time the
co-ops trade mark "Matanuska Maid" was
showing up In markets Of Anchorage, the Willow
Greek minipg areas and trains Of the Alaska
Railroad
In the spring Of 1s4o all equipment and
facilities for RAINING what was soon to become
d big business were purchased by the coop
from the Alaska Rural Rehabilitation Corp.
That year the coop crossed $390027.
With the advent of the war and influx Of
troops, Matanuska doomed. The gross income
III
in 1914. The co-opts income last year dropped
to $1,0s1 ,439, as one Of its biggest customers,
the Army, started going home.
The cooperative is now operating garage,
machine shop. blacksmith shop, power plant
woodworking shop, slaughter house, ware
house. creamery. trading post, dormitory. res
taurant, cold storage and vegetable storage
plants, hospital, dental Office, barber shop and
"a sure sign of progress beauty shop.
One OF the most interesting developments
has been the growth OF dairy farms Com
missioner Of Agriculture G. w. Gasser esti-
mated in report last year that "a farms
were producing grade "A" milk and 43 pro-
ducing grade "B" milk During the war, farm
ers were receiving $500 a hundred pounds for
their milk, which retailed In Anchorage for
80 cents quart.
II 1too.4acNIstanuskaa Was worth While.
Alaskans will tell you that when the Japa-
nese landed In the Aleutians and threatened
to isolate them from the rest Of the continent
many anxious eyes turned toward Matanuska
Valley.
1--WE were awfully happy to have the valley"
one Of them commented recently here. Then
he added: 1--WE could have held out"
Looking back over the past 10 years. Gov.
Gruening declares that Matanuska has more
than paid for itself. It proves that Alaska
has the soil and climate to some day become
self-sunacient in food as opposed to the present
condition, which finds that territory importing
roughly 80 per cent OF its foodstuffs.
But Alaska cannot do the job alone, Gov.
Gruening points out. It needs funds from
Congress to carry on an aggressive program of
agricultural research and extension work.
I'VE have two undernourished stats working
on agriculture" he declares. "Only 54 miles
across the Bering Strait in East Siberia, Russia
is spending large sums on developing new
strains of grain, pushing her agriculture further
north and tying all this in with program Of
industrial development"