PEEK AT THE PAST: Dec. 14, 1967

Here’s what made the news 44 years ago, from the Dec. 14, 1967, edition of the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman:

Dairymen ask filled milk be colored

Members of the local dairy industry formulated several recommendations to be presented at the Division of Agriculture public hearing on proposed amendments to the Alaska state dairy product regulations.

The dairymen have discussed the proposed new regulations regarding the labeling and sanitation of non-dairy products resembling milk.

The non-dairy products commonly referred to in the industry as “filled” or “imitation” milk, resemble milk and are made mainly from nonfat milk solids and vegetable fats.

The proposed regulation would provide that the filled milk products be handled in the same sanitary manner as whole milk products, and would require that the label on such products make it clear that they are not made of whole milk.

Weather wild,

wet and warm

If you don’t like Alaska’s weather, wait a few minutes and you’ll have something different. After a long, open fall, a heavy snowfall Thanksgiving eve and day was followed by sub-zero temperatures and more dry, fluffy snow.

Then last Tuesday, a warm Knik wind started to blow, and by that evening it was raining. This, on top of 6.8 inches of snow, created runoff headaches for homeowners and driving conditions best described as impossible.

The balmy temperatures reached a high of 42, as reported by the Alaska Agricultural Experiment Station.

Ways sought to help farmers

A meeting will be held to seek the advice of small farmers on programs they feel they need to help them stay on the land — to keep economic pressure from forcing them into the cities. The USDA has developed about 30 tentative program ideas to improve small farm income, including financial and technical help in improving farm enterprises, aid in acquiring needed resources, training in the organization and management of farm cooperatives, and assistance in making more effective use of forest resources.

It cost what?

According to advertisements, in 1967 you could:

• Purchase 10 pounds of potatoes for 75 cents.

• Buy a dozen eggs for 49 cents.