PEEK AT THE PAST: Aug. 28, 1954

Here’s what made news in the Mat-Su 56 years ago, from the Aug. 28, 1954, issue of The Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman:

Four qualify for queen contest

The front page of the Aug. 28, 1954, Frontiersman is dominated by a story about four local young women who qualified for the Matanuska Valley Fair Queen competition.

The candidates met at an informal get-together at the home of a local resident. At the event, a representative of the Theta Chapter, Beta Sigma Phi sorority “offered suggestions to the girls to aid them during their round of activities, including radio and television appearances.”

The candidates are also preparing for a panel-type television appearance on KTVA.

To qualify for the competition, candidates had to sell 250 tickets, after which they were given a $25 bonus. Other bonus payments could be achieved by selling additional lots of 250 tickets.

New grocery to open

Finishing work is being done on the new Palmer Piggly Wiggly store on Colony Street. A new addition to the former Palmer Cold storage location will add about 7,200 square feet of space. The store is expected to be a full-service grocery, including two fast checkstands. Also included is a new bakery in the basement of the store.

Sanitation can help prevent polio

A public health officer for the Southcentral region is not recommending the Matanuska Valley Fair be canceled because of polio fears.

At a meeting with local medical professionals, the state doctor said, “We do not feel it is fair to say that the fair should not be held. We cannot say it would be saving anyone from contracting polio. Such a thing would be hard to prove.”

That doesn’t mean the fair cannot take extra precautions, like maintaining proper sewage disposal. Also, he said provisions must be made to prevent flies from reaching disposal areas and barns to prevent any possible food contamination.

It cost what?

According to advertisements, in August 1954 you could:

• Get buttered beef steaks or top round beef for $1 a pound.

• Enjoy SPAM for 53 cents a can.

• Pay 65 cents for two pounds of margarine.

• Catch Abbott and Costello in “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” at Valley Theater. Or, if that’s not your style, watch Tony Curtis in “The All American.”