Peek at the Past: A look back in Mat-Su's history

As it appeared in the Oct. 26, 1967 Frontiersman

House OKs conversion

An appropriation of $1.98 million to convert power plants at Fort Richardson and Elmendorf Air Force Base from coal to gas was approved Tuesday by the U.S. House of Representatives.

Both Alaska senators in Congress, E. L. "Bob" Bartlett and Ernest Gruening, have fought hard for the preservation of the coal industry in past sessions.

In the five years the House-Senate conference committee has been studying the conversion question, the price of coal has risen steadily.

Appraisal program indicates 15-percent parcel increase

The number of parcels appraised to date as related to the area covered thus far in the appraisal of real property in the Mat-Su Borough indicates about a 15-percent increase in the borough tax base.

Appraisers Simmons and Wakeland report appraisal of 1,900 vacant parcels and 1,100 improved parcels, including properties from Talkeetna to Goose Bay.

For Halloween, the Center Theatre in Palmer hosted a double feature with Edgar Allen Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death," starring Vincent Price, along with "Godzilla versus The Thing."

The new 1968 Chevy II Nova Coupe was billed as a luxury car at a reasonable price.

"The day of the plane Jane economy car has come and gone. Chevrolet has something far finer to offer," read the ad for the Nova.

The cost for a new coupe was $2,261 -- and it is probably worth well more than that today.

Of the nine trooper reports, five were for "excessive noise" in Palmer.

In the "Shirt Tales" section of the Frontiersman, the editor at the time quipped that "it is a trend of the times that Clemson University allows coeds to wear miniskirts but slacks have been banned."

In the television listings, Gomer Pyle, the Dick Van Dyke Show and Red Skelton were favorites.

The news was brought to you by Walter Cronkite, and according to many, it has never been the same since he retired.