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"' ROOM )iorthwestern University Library THE WOP.KS OCT 2 8 1936 No. 4 -- 1350 PF.OGP.AM -- Works Pro,=;ress Administration For P.elease in Morning Newspapers of Monday, October 26, 1936 One hundred and fifty-nine colonists from Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin, who two years ago were on direct relief in their home States, are facing their second winter in the Matanuska Valley, Alaska, with a high degree of optimism, accordins to Col. Otto F. Ohlson, general manager of the Alaska P.ailway and presid.ent of the Alaska P.ural P.ehabili tat ion Corporation, who is now in Washington. After having provided for their own needs, the colonists as of October 1 had deposited in the community warehouse 55,000 pounds of vegetables and by the time delivery ends this total is expected to re~ch approximately +00,000 pounds. Potato e s, cabbages, cauliflower, onions, etc., are among the produce raised in excess of home needs. In addition, milk, cream, eggs, butter, poultry, hogs and beef have been deliver ,3d for marketing. The colonists are given credit at the community corr.missary for all produce delivered, the price being determined by the daily quotA.tions on the SeP.ttle marl-::et, plus the freight rate to PA.lmer, which is the center of the farming community established by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration and the Territory of Alaska in Mny, 1935. All of the colonists A.re living in their own homes, each with a forty acre tract of land to clear and cultivate. individual farms wero cleared this year. Approxim~tely 650 acres of land on At tho community center in Palmer a modern hospitAl of 22 beds, a centrnl school house, t eachers' quarters, creamery, Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 4-1350 - 2 - cannery, power plant and wari::ihouses have been completed and are in operation. A radio station, houses for the administrative staff and an a dditi onal warehouse are now under construction. School attendance is 304, of which 2c,c are in grade school, 45 in junior high and 59 in senior high school. A teaching staff of 15 is employed. The health of the community, according to Ross L. Sheely, general manager cf the project, is comparable to that of any community of its size in the country. No contagi~us diseases have been reported. A dental clinic is maintained at the hospital. In the winter many of the colonists are finding additional revenue in cutting timber for mine props and cord wood is being sold in Anchorage and ~ther nearby communities. The Alaska Road Commission has cnmpleted a new highway from FaJ.mer t-, .Anchorage, which brings the farm community center within two hours I automobile ride of the headquarters city of the .Alaslr..a Railway. 11 - Ohlson. The morale cf the Matanuska community is excellent," says Colonel "The farmers have ha d a good year. They have be en industrious and, in my judgment, they will make good on their oblif;ations to the government. All of their excess products are sold to buyers in the rail belt and the prices obtained compare favorably with prices for similar products imrorted from the States. Cne of the older settlers brought 30C h ead of cattle into the valley this year to fatten for tho market. Each colonist has 0!1e or more cows and the ready demand for dairy products at all seasons insures a steady cash income. "Housing conditio!'ls are splendid and the colonists as a whole are looking forward to next spring with a high degree of optimism. The results of their first full year• s efforts have demonstrated that the Matanuska Valley is r eal farming country and that men who are not afraid to work can make ID!"'lre than Digitized by Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 4-1350 - 3 - a bare living. Alaska can and will consume all the excess foodstuffs which the Matanuska colonists can produce and consumer demand will increase with the certain increase in p opulation •11 A total of 864 persons, rei;resenting approximat e ly 200 famiJ.ies 1 who had lost their all as a result of the depression, volunteered to resettle in the MatA.nuska Valley, when the Federal Emergency Relief Administration included this project in its n1ral rehabilitation ~rogram in 1935. The first contingent of colonists, numbering 29t1 1 all from Minnesota, reached the valley on May 8 and the second contingent, numbering 570 from Michigan and Wisconsin, arrived at the site of their new homes on May 24. Before winter set in approximately 25 percent of the settlers, for one cause or another, were returned to their native States. In the past year nine new colonists, who paid their own way to Alaska, were admitted to the colony. . Because of this influx of new settlers, old homesteaders int he valley have prospered. The Alaska Rural Rehabilitation Corporation set aside $125,000 for loans to the old settlers, with a limit of $2500 to each, for the purchase of farm implements and live stock. These loans are p rotected by chattel mort- g8,ge in favor of the corporation. In a year the lush bot tom lands of the Matanuska Valley have been converted into a thriving farming community stretching for miles in all directions from the comrrn.rnity center at Palmer. Palmer itself has grown from a railroad station a nd a one-room general store to a modern town with well ·built public buildings, business structures and homes. In the opinion of Colonel Ohlson the community is an established and going concern vvhich will add to the wealth of Alaska and act as a magnet for thry~sands of other farm families who are seeking a place for a fresh start. Digitized by NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY --00000000000-- Original from NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
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