The frontiersman., 1956-02-09
COMMITTEES NAMED
IN LOCAL CHAMBER

Ed Smith, manager OF Ketchi-
kan Spurce Mills Palmer branch,
and new president of the Ma
tanuska Valley Chamber of Com
merce, announced appointments
at the February 8 meeting of the
local Chamber.
John Weisenberger was named
rhamber director to fill the va
cancy of Everett Adams who re-
Gently resigned. A steering COM
mittee consisting of James Hur-
ley, Don Irwin, Charles Wilson,
James Wilson, DR.. C. c. Bailey,
DR.. Foster Sims, Leo Lucas and
Al Hagen, was announced. Mem
bership and finance committee
will consist of Richard Jones, AL
Hagen, James Hurley, John Weis-
enberger, and Jan Koslosky.
Tourists and aviation commit
tee members are Ralph Farms
worth, Tiny Shields, DR.. Foster
Sims, Betty Mears, v. Louise
Kellogg, John Gore, and Neal
+ Wright. The program committee
members We're named as Glen
Persinger, James Wilson, and
Virginia Gallant.
Members of the industrial, de-
velopment, and roads committee
are H. P. Gazaway, Charles Will
son, Cy Brewer, and Roland
Snodgrass. Stewart Durrant, Don
| Irwin, Lew Hanks, Eugene Reed,
George crowthers, and Lloyd
Watts were named to the agrieul-
ture committee. Other commit
tees will be named from time to
time as thesoccasions arise, Smith
announced.
Speakers at the luncheon meet
ing was Stewart Durrant, gem
eral manager of the Matanuska
Valley Farmers Cooperating As
i ISOLATION who briefed members
on the coming merger of the To-
cal Coop and members of the
Tanana Valley Farmers Associa-
ton. The Fairbanks producers
will become full members of the
local Coop, according to a re-
cent vote of the local member
ship. Durrant pointed out the
many advantages, to both areas,
| Of this coming merger. TT will
assure us of a coordinated pro-
gram between the two valleys"
he pointed out. He speculated
that in time to come the Tanana
area may be able to produce
grain to the amount where a mill
can be built and much of the
feed, now shipped in at high cost
from the States. could be pro-
| duced right in Alaska.
Following Durrant's talk Don
Irwin, director of the Alaska
Agriculture Experiment Station,
told Chamber members that last
fall the Experiment Station had
made an attempt to purchase two
carloads of grain IN the Tanana
! Valley. I'VE were unable to buy
even part of a load. Had there
been such an organization as this
| Coop at the time, we could have
gone to them and offered them
a market for their grain, he
pointed out. Irwin said that he is
looking forward to the time when
the dairy industry has a good
hold in the Tanana Valley. This
is giving them a good start, ne
said. The experiment director
stated that tests have shown that
cereals grown in the Tanana val
ley have protein content equal to
and better than cereals grown in
the northern states. They tested
at from two to four percent high
er in the Tanana Valley than
here in the MatanlIska Valley.
"The time may come when cereal
crops can be grown in Alaska for
local use. I'm glad to see this
merger. It will be an incentive
TO the farmers Of the Tanana
Valley to get into production ,
he concluded.
A meeting of the Chambers
board of directors will be held
sometime before the next regular
meeting, which is slated for Feb
ruary Is, at which time recon-
mendations for annual dues rates
will be presented, Smith said.
A program is planned for the
meeting of the 18th.