Matanuska Valley Colony   May 1935   IRONWOOD DAILY GLOBE IRONWOOD, MICHIGAN May 2, 1935  page 3 Start Migration Soon Iron River--Departure of the five Iron county families who will participate in Uncle Sam's epoch-making farm migration to Alaska has been set for approximately May 10. Miss Eleanor Savolainen, district rural rehabilitation supervisor, reports that the families have signed their contracts and are now getting ready for the trip.  They will, according to tentative arrangements, be routed to Seattle, via St. Paul.  They will board a ship at Seattle May 15.  In Matanuska valley they will join 200 other Michigan families, and many from other mid-western states. According to the contracts, the families must remain in Alaska for 30 years, with the rehabilitation corporation paying all initial expenses.  The selectees promise to pay back the money when their farms are on a paying basis.  The land in the Matanuska valley is fertile, and requires very little cultivation.       IRONWOOD DAILY GLOBE IRONWOOD, MICHIGAN May 3, 1935  page 8 Off to Alaska Pioneer Honeymoon Fired by hope of a new start in a land of plenty, these happy couples are off on a pioneer's honeymoon in far-away Alaska, quitting their homes in northern Minnesota to become members of the federal colony being established in the Matanuska valley.  George Lemmon and his wife, left, were married three months ago and Guilford Lemmon and his bride, right, just before the start of their 3500-mile journey to their 40-acre farms in the northland.     IRONWOOD DAILY GLOBE IRONWOOD, MICHIGAN May 4, 1935  page 3 67 Wisconsin Families Will Move on to Alaska Madison, Wis., May 4--(AP)--Sixty-seven Wisconsin farm families Friday were notified of their selection as members of the Wisconsin contingent which this month moves on to Alaska in search of a better life from the soil of the Matanuska valley. One of the families to make the long trek to Uncle Sam's most northerly possession has 12 members while others are only two.  The average family is four in number.  They were selected from hundreds of applicants. There will be 183 children and 134 adults in the Wisconsin group, making a total of 317.  Seventy-five of the children are under five years of age, 73 are between 5 and 12, and 36 are 12 or more years old. The Wisconsin farm families are part of a group of 200 being sent to Alaska in the FERA Rural Rehabilitation division's plan to remove worthy families from the relief rolls or land which offers a precarious livelihood at best to the relatively fertile soil of the Matanuska valley. All Eager to Leave The families were selected on their ability to farm, their physical condition, dependability and willingness to engage in cooperative enterprises.  Mrs. Winifred Ferguson, field representative of the Wisconsin Emergency Relief administration, selected the families after a long survey throughout the state. "They are all very eager and exceptionally enthusiastic over the prospect of carving out new and better homes in Alaska," she said.  "I tried to discourage every applicant to determine whether he was half-hearted about the matter.  I painted a not too bright picture of Alaska to many, but virtually all were ready and eager to gamble hard work and hardships against a chance to become independent." Tomorrow the prospective Alaska settlers will load their choicest belongings on freight trains.  They are limited to 2,000 pounds so most are expected to leave behind inexpensive furniture, machinery, etc., and to take musical instruments, and any other articles having a monetary or sentimental value. The families will be picked up by two trains and conveyed to Seattle where they are scheduled to embark on the army transport St. Mihiel which left San Francisco carrying a group of settlers from Minnesota. Big Group from Oneida Wisconsin's representatives in the government's "colonization" program come from 20 counties.  The largest county group is that from Oneida which is sending nine families. Food and tools will be provided by the FERA and livestock furnished to stock the pioneers' farms.  Each family is to be allotted 40 acres of farm land and a farm home and other buildings all with a total value of $3,000.  The initial cash outlay will be repaid to the government over a 30-year period. Wisconsin families selected for the project follow: Ashland county--George Novak, Butternut; Runar Mattson, Ashland, Route 4. Bayfield county--Albert Covert, Cable; Walter Ferguson, Iron River. Burnett county--Scottie Runyan, Hertel. Douglas county--George Connors, Henry Keonen, both of South Range; Carl Ellison, John Lake and Bernard Reitan, all of Superior; William Smith, Bennett; August Rascke, Wentworth; and Joseph Ubert, Town of Dairyland. Barron county--Oscar Beylund and Joe Dragseth, both of Rice Lake, Route 3; Joseph Puhl and Clarence Sorenson, both of Rice Lake. Mercer Man to Go Forest county--Lester Monroe, Hiles; Frank Hess, Cavour; Lawrence Arndt, Nelma. Iron county--Eugene Juvette, Mercer. Lincoln county--Joe Lentz, and William Lentz, both of Route 4, Merrill; William Schultz and Victor Yohn, both of Route 1, tomahawk. Marinette county--Joseph Ring and Einer Huseby, Pembine. Oconto county--Ferber Bailey, Route 5, Lena; John E. Church and Paul Nelson, both of Route 1, Mountain; Harry Campbell, Abrams; Earl Barry, Oconto; Cecil Kurtz, Suring. Oneida county--Carl Erickson and William Boens, both of Rhinelander; Victor Johnson, Harshaw; Martin Soyk, Route 1, Minocqua; Henry Roughan, Monico; Frank Worden, Route 1, Three Lakes; Otis Brown, Route 2, Pelican Lake; Raymond Greise, Starks; Allen Sexton, Route 1, Pelican Lake. Polk county--Harry Nichols, Luck; Perle Archer, Cumberland. Price county--Henry Larose, Jr., Philips. Sheboygan county--Edgar Carman, Route 2, Elkhart Lake; Berton Gessler, Sheboygan Falls; John Herman, Plymouth. From Other Countries (sic; likely should be 'counties') Sawyer county--Archie Larson, Round Lake; Howard McKenzie and Edgar Deland, both of Winter; Paul Walport, Stone Lake, and Clarence Anderson, Draper. Taylor county--Nicholas Weiler, Star route, Medford; Bernard Gulberg, Route 3, Medford. Trempealeau county--Neil Miller, Blair; Leonard Herreid, Trempealeau. Florence county--Robert Biller, and Ballard Dean, Fence; Neil Taylor and Harry Jensen, Tipler. Dunn county--Leroy Hamann, Downing. Washburn county--Walter Clayton, Star route, Spooner; James Johnston, Chris Anderson, Claire Lafram and Arthur Nelson, all of Shell Lake.       IRONWOOD DAILY GLOBE IRONWOOD, MICHIGAN May 6, 1935  page 5 Families Pack Up For Alaska Alaskan Colonists Leave This Week for Seattle to Begin Sea Voyage. Rhinelander, May 6--(AP)--Fired with the zeal of early American colonists, some with adventure, others with independence as their goal, 67 families from the wastelands of Wisconsin today were packing for their journey to the fertile fields of Alaska's Matanuska valley. The 317 men, women and children of the Badger branch of the government's new FERA colony will leave from here, Green Bay, Superior and St. Paul by train this weekend for Seattle where they will embark on the sea leg of the trip. Grimly, they have prepared for the hardships that were predicted.  The Alaskan picture was not painted too bright, lest some fancy a new paradise after harrowing years here. Demands Are Small Those who have felt the sting of Wisconsin's bitter blizzards or the blaze of the summer sun on parched scrublands wonder if Alaska with all its rough climate and unsettled frontiers can make earning a livelihood more difficult than it has been here. The Martin Soyks of Minocqua, for instance.  Their demands of a paradise are small after their years here. "We're going to Alaska," said Mrs. Soyk with an inflection of thrilled awe in her voice.  Typical of the women of the group is this mere strip of a girl whose countenance worry has marked with the lines that to most others come with age. "We're going through with it, all the way, we're enthusiastic about it.  I think I'll have a better opportunity to make a living.  Here our place isn't big enough." The "place" was a shack that Soyk had piled together after one of the misfortunes in a long series befell them.  It stood on the clearing Soyk bought after their marriage. Once it had a fine long cottage, built by Soyk, a natural born carpenter.  There the young mother cared for her first born, Sonny.  When the second lad, Jimmie, was born not long after Sonny, the mother grew seriously ill.  Sonny became ill and died. Cottage in Ashes One day the three were out in the surrounding section and saw smoke from what they believed a haystack near their home.  They returned to find their log cottage and all their belongings in ashes. "All we had left," Mrs. Soyk said, "was the clothes on our backs.  This place here is just a shack that Martin threw together so we'd have something." Living in Alaska, she said, is "going to be hard work," but she said she felt cheered by the knowledge that some of their neighbors envy them. With slight variations, Mrs. Soyk's story tells that of most others of the group.  Some ask only adventure, but the Soyks and others will take thrills as garnish for the fruits of toil they found unproductive here.     Seward, Alaska.  May 6--(AP)--Everything was ready for the government's Matanuska colonists today except the Matanuska valley. The 76 mid-west farm families are scheduled to disembark here when the army transport St. Mihiel arrives this evening.  When they step down the gang plank, the newcomers will find bands playing, flags waving, harbor craft whistles screaming and the entire population of this picturesque town turned out to greet them. And the first thing they'll view will be "depression's end."  Seward has a labor shortage on its docks.  Nine winchmen's jobs alone went begging for men Saturday, all because eight gold finds in recent weeks have drawn most of the jobless out prospecting. Plans to speed the colonists to the valley were disrupted, however, because the St. Mihiel is arriving too closely on the heels of the North Star which docked here only Saturday night.  The latter brought a contingent of CCC men who were dispatched to the valley to start building shelter for the families. The colonists must wait here and at Anchorage for several days until the tent homes and other necessary structures are erected. Not only is there a lack of housing in the Matanuska valley, but reports at Anchorage yesterday were that surveying of farms for allotment to the colonists is not completed.  The weather in the Matanuska however is mild.  The snow is all gone and pioneer farmers of the district are preparing their fields for spring work. Colony managers are confident the movement will swing along splendidly after a few days.  All available cars were sent here from Anchorage Saturday to speed the CCC men and their lumber and other supplies over the Alaska railroad to Palmer, selected as the community center for the new settlers.     IRONWOOD DAILY GLOBE IRONWOOD, MICHIGAN May 9, 1935  page 2 Matanuska is Land of Giant Cabbages, Bagas Palmer, Alaska.  May 9--(AP)--A land of giant cabbages and rutabagas nourished by soil the intense cold of winter rids of parasites-- such is the Matanuska Valley where 67 Wisconsin families will take up new homes within a month. The valley, surrounded by snow-capped mountains, today was buzzing with activity as CCC workers prepared to receive tomorrow 67 Minnesota families, the first of the colonists under a new FERA project. Within a few hours a city of tents rose up and temporary homes were expected to be completed by tonight.  Tractors and trucks hauled materials from freight cars to the site of the temporary city.   IRONWOOD DAILY GLOBE IRONWOOD, MICHIGAN May 13, 1935  page 1 State Families Off To Alaska 29 Others Will Entrain at Manistique to Make Trip With Badger Group St. Ignace, Mich., May 13--(AP)--One hundred and fifty-nine members of 36 Michigan families will leave here at 3 o-clock this afternoon for Alaska.  Twenty-nine other Michigan families will entrain at Manistique to make the trip with the Wisconsin contingent.  Two other Michigan families will leave with the group going from Rhinelander. Four baggage cars were packed with provisions and personal belongings of pioneers in the train here.  Dogs, cats and one canary were brought to the train and put in a baggage car. The colonists were happy and enthusiastic as the departure hour neared.  The youngest is Hamich Dreghorn, Cheboygan, ten-day-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Dreghore.  Mr. and Mrs. Milan Spencer, of Sherman, have a 13-day-old son. The St. Ignace train will go via the Duluth South Shore and Atlantic to Duluth before moving on to Seattle. ------------- LEAVE TONIGHT The Eino Nutilla and Russell Pakonen families of Gogebic county leave Ironwood tonight for Rhinelander, where they will join other Upper Peninsula families for the long trip to the Matanuska valley in Alaska. --------------- Rhinelander, May 13--(AP)--High enthusiasm prevailed today as the hour approached for the departure from here of a contingent of Alaskan colonists. No last minute withdrawals were reported by authorities in charge of the expedition.  Baggage was being packed in cars to be attached to the special train which will leave here at 2 a.m. tomorrow.  Seventy-four persons will board the train here. The Rhinelander American Legion will entertain the colonists tonight with a party.  The Rhinelander train will go to St. Paul where (Continued on page five.) (Continued from page one.) all Wisconsin colonists congregate before leaving for the west coast. Palmer, Alaska, May 13--(AP)--They have Uncle Sam back of them and 500 CCC "hired hands" to help, but these transplanted Minnesotans face two or three years of toil before their Matanuska farms will bear them an adequate living. Don Irwin, manager of the Alaska Rural Rehabilitation Corp., and project construction director, explained today that all is not going to be wild strawberries and cream for the Matanuska pioneers. The colonists worshipped on yesterday's Sabbath as their forebearers (sic) might--out in an open field. Today they start their first workaday week. Only 15 per cent of the lands will be cleared this year for planting next season.  It will take two or three years to clear the remainder of the 40-acre tracts allotted each family. But the settlers are satisfied, for they are homeseekers (sic) and home builders and the work the colony directors plan is home building. First, log homes and roads to reach them, so that none will be farther than 10 miles from Palmer.  And then a school here--to house 400 children--with a large gymnasium and a community center building.  It will have facilities for motion pictures and other entertainment. Then a creamery, a warehouse and a cannery, all to be erected through the rural rehabilitation corporation. To finance their homes, each family is given a credit loan, now estimated at $3,000, home supplies and equipment to be charged against each householder and goods to be furnished at the colony commissary here. It is expected the colonists will start repaying their advances in the fifth year.     IRONWOOD DAILY GLOBE IRONWOOD, MICHIGAN May 13, 1935  page 3 Badger Pioneers Begin Trek to Alaska Tonight Green Bay, May 13--(AP)--Nine of the 67 Wisconsin farm families chosen by Uncle Sam for an Alaska colonization project today began arriving here to start on the first leg of their 4,000 [mile] land and water journey to new homelands in the Matanuska valley. They follow a like number of Minnesota families already starting to settle in a tent city rising up in the wilderness. They assume the roles of pioneers under the federal rural rehabilitation program, with the prospect of fulfilling in some measure the quarter-century old prophecy of the first President Roosevelt: "I predict that Alaska, within the next century will support as large a population as does the entire Scandinavian peninsula of Europe.  I predict that you will see Alaska with her enormous resources of minerals, her fisheries and her possibilities that almost exceed belief, produce as hardy and vigorous a race as any part of America." All Are Willing Their hardiness has been tested in the scrubby wastelands of northern Wisconsin where lean years, drought and individual misfortunes have eked out unhappy lots. Their vigor has made them endure the trials of blizzard marked winters in fragile shacks and cabins far from the beaten highways. All have expressed enthusiastic willingness to combine these qualifications in leaving the lands of their fathers for the new colony of the northwest, there to start anew with the aid and blessing of Uncle Sam. The nine families of about 80 men, women and children from the northeastern section of the state will entrain tonight at 8:45 o'clock (central standard time) for St. Paul.  Meanwhile, another train starting from Sault Ste. Marie with emigrants from Michigan, the third state participating in the project, will be speeding westward to Superior, Wis. Another train will leave with colonists from north central Wisconsin from Rhinelander at 2 a.m. tomorrow.  The Sault train will pick up others from northwestern Wisconsin at Superior at 8 a.m., and all trains will meet at St. Paul from where the group will travel on to Seattle. Each Gets 40 Acres On reaching the coast, the party will sail on the army transport, St. Mihiel, for Seward, Alaska.  Another rail trip of 150 miles will take them into the Matanuska region where snow-capped mountains, gleaming in the warm spring sun, provide a colorful backdrop to the scenic valley they will cultivate. Each family will receive a 40-acre tract of land, a home and implements, the cost limited to $3,000 a family.  The government has arranged for long term payments of the loans. Already a tent city is spreading over the valley where civilian conservation corps workers are aiding the Minnesotans in clearing land.  Soon frame homes will dot the colony. The Wisconsin group will arrive just as Alaska enters upon its warmest season when temperatures rise to the 90 mark and higher.  Eighteen to 20 hours of daylight from a sky free of clouds and twilight nights from six to four hours long produce crops with almost magic speed. Produce, moreover, will find a welcome market from among the earlier settlers, some of them remnants of the Klondike gold rush who have been paying dearly for imported commodities. No Rosy Picture The picture that the government has painted so as not to disappoint some possibly believing themselves en route to a garden of Eden is less bright. The warm summer, they said, will bring troubles from giant mosquitoes, pests that balance the absence of soil parasites that feed upon costly crops.  The intense cold of winter rids the ground of insects dangerous to vegetation. Winter brings cold that sends temperatures to 60 degrees below zero levels, and long winter nights, harborers of homesickness for the thawing sun of the states. The colonists, however, have cast their lots with the government.  They say their troubles in the new land can be no worse, while the prospect of betterment of themselves is high. Cheerfully they go, tearing asunder the bonds that tied them to Wisconsin, trusting new and stronger fetters will grow along with happiness in their chosen land.       IRONWOOD DAILY GLOBE IRONWOOD, MICHIGAN May 14, 1935  page 9 400 Pioneers on to Alaska Wisconsin and Upper Michigan Families on Way to Seattle Green Bay, May 14--(AP)--Spirits high as they envisioned the thrills of starting life over again in a strange land, more than 400 pioneers from Wisconsin and upper Michigan today were rolling westward in a steam driven Mayflower toward new homes in Alaska. While crated dogs barked and whined in coaches up front and children of all ages roamed from seat to seat through the long train, the adult emigrants chosen by the federal government to colonize the Matanuska Valley under an FERA project were acquainting themselves with new neighbors. Nine families from northeastern Wisconsin and six from Menominee county, Mich., 103 persons in all, left here last night. The remainder of the 67 Wisconsin families entrained at Rhinelander and Superior, and those from Michigan from Sault Ste. Marie.  All are colonizing in hopes of reaching economic independence after lean years here. Enthusiasm is High The enthusiasm that had been theirs since the government notified them of their selection for the project remained at its high pitch as the time for departure from the lands of their fathers drew near. Tears were shed, but mostly by kinsfolk gathered for the farewell on the site of old Fort Howard.  Their noses flattened against windows, the children received adieus from those on the platforms while parents waved happy responses. "It's a chance that comes once in a lifetime," said Kenneth Foster, of Menominee county, Mich., as he sat in the coach with his wife, Marion, and their two girls and one boy. Foster said he was "very much satisfied" with the first stage of the 4,000 mile land and water journey to the 40-acre plat that will be his in the 70,000 acre valley of rich soil.  "We've been treated square from the start, and we know we will be always." "We're so thankful," his auburn haired wife supplemented. The government had pictured great hardships to those aspiring to membership in the group.  Most of them laughed that off and pointed to their trials in the barren and sterile scrub lands of the north middlewest. All Sturdy, Vigorous Some were from farms, others from small towns, but all were vigorous with the prospect of earning a livelihood of which they had been deprived in the states. "This will be a cinch after what we've been through," said the bronze-faced Earl W. Barry, whose experience in rough country prompted the government to go beyond its age limit and accept him as a colonist at the age of 45. "And there's going to be lots of Barrys in Alaska," he said.  The former Oconto storekeeper, who homesteaded in Montana and pioneered in Albert, has seven children. Not everyone was from farm districts.  There was young Mrs. Harry Campbell, born and reared in Milwaukee.  She smiled as her 25-year old husband, Harry, of Abrams whom she married last September declared he was "rarin' to go." While babies-in-arms were plentiful in the party, "the baby" was Norma Noreen Nelson who rode with her mother and 24-year-old father, Paul, from their old home at Mountain to Green Bay on the day she reached eight months of age.  Norma Noreen had only "goo" to say as her mother told of the thrills of going to a new home. Nothing New to Him Alaskan climate and mosquitoes, reckoned the worst blight of the country, will be nothing new to Jack Herman who served in the territory with the army.  A southerner, Herman and his wife and family of six, three children by a first wife, resided in Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, and Spooner and Shell Lake, Wis., before settling in Plymouth. George, 3, and youngest of their children could only say "I'm goin' to 'Lasky'" as he squirmed restlessly on a davenport in the U.M.C.R. lounge while his mother relaxed. Asked what he was going to do there, he promptly announced: "Gonna hunt and fish." The train ride here from Plymouth was George's first and neither he nor his exhausted mother had quite recovered. "Lots of people think we're crazy," said Mrs. Neil Taylor of Tipler, waiting with her one daughter for switchmen to make up the train.  "I don't, though; it seems like a great opportunity and from what I've seen we're going to have some mighty fine neighbors. In Seattle Thursday Others who expressed similar beliefs were the families of Arnold Havenmeister, Oscar Chaney and John Pfeiff, all of Menominee county, Mich., smiling and gay as departure time arrived. Conductor R.A. Morris of Green Bay, who commanded the train bringing President Roosevelt here last August, called out his "b-o-o-a-r-d," and amid shouts and cheers, the colonists moved on. Leaving St. Paul today with the remainder of the Wisconsin and Michigan group, the colonists will reach Seattle Thursday afternoon.  They will embark Saturday aboard the U.S.S. St. Mihiel for the six-day trip on the Pacific to Seward. From there the Alaskan railroad will carry them 150 miles inland to the site being cleared for their homes.  Each family will receive a tract of the rich soil and a home and implements limited to $3,000 in value. Schools and churches will rise up and before the long winter sets in, the colonists are expected to be housed comfortably in log and frame homes which will replace the tents of the temporary village.     IRONWOOD DAILY GLOBE IRONWOOD, MICHIGAN May 15, 1935  page 7 Kenton Mr. and Mrs. Walter Anderson and families left Monday night by special train for St. Paul, Minn., where they joined others on the trip to Matanuska valley in Alaska.  Mr. and Mrs. Anderson have five children, the youngest being six months old. On Friday evening the community gave a farewell party at the Town hall for the Anderson family.  Music was furnished by Camp 662 orchestra.  Dancing and games were enjoyed.  At 11:30 a lunch was served to a large number of friends.  Supt. H.O. Johnson gave a farewell speech.  A purse of money was given to Mr. and Mrs. Anderson from the community.     IRONWOOD DAILY GLOBE IRONWOOD, MICHIGAN May 15, 1935  page 9 Biggest Brood Among the Alaskan Pioneers The new "pioneer colony" in Alaska's Matanuska Valley is going to thrive, prosper, and grow if the family of William Bouwens of Rhinelander, Wis. is any criterion.  The Bouwens, in taking all their 11 children to Alaska with them, make up the largest complete family among the emigrants.  Bouwens is a skilled butcher, and a deputy sheriff.  The family, left to right: top row, Dorothy, Eunice, Mrs. Bouwens, Delores, William Bouwens, Sr., Edward and Evelyn.  Front row, Audrey, Ronald, Wayne, William Jr., George and James.   IRONWOOD DAILY GLOBE IRONWOOD, MICHIGAN May 17, 1935  page 5 Michigan Colonists Rest Up at Gateway to Alaska Seattle, May 17--(AP)--Seattle became the "Gateway to Alaska" again today with the second group of Matanuska valley colonists waiting for a northbound vessel. The party of 650 settlers from Michigan and Wisconsin arrived here on two trains yesterday.  They are being housed in a down town hotel--famous among Alaskans as a Seattle headquarters--until they sail Saturday on the army transport St. Mihiel to join the earlier party of midwesterners already on the ground. It's been almost 37 years since Seattle has played host to such a large Alaskan migration.  Back in '98 thousands poured through "The Gateway to Alaska" lured by promises of gold and sudden riches. Waldo Fox, former Michigan farmer, trapper and fox raiser, voiced the attitude and hopes of today's immigrants, when he said: "Give us a chance at that Alaska!  It will take hard work, but we'll be working for ourselves.  And that makes the difference.  This is a new lease on life for all of us." Many of the party have been on relief.  And they are drawn to Alaska by the lure of homes and a chance to make a living. They are cheerful but not exuberant.  They are hard headed farmers. "We didn't take the government's word for climatic conditions in the Matanuska," one said, "we checked up ourselves, and learned that the climate is better than it was at home." Gov. Clarence D. Martin, who with Mayor Charles L. Smith and other state and city notables welcomed the party at the railroad stations, was particularly taken with two of the youngest members of the entourage, lifting up blankets to peek into baskets and wiggle his fingers at Clifford Cousineau, eight weeks old, late of Roscommon, Mich., and Ronald Spencer, 15 days old, whose old home was Cadillac, Mich. He also was impressed with Melvin and Alvin McCormick, small twins who are accompanying their grownup brother, Martin, and four pet ducks, from East Tawas, Mich.     IRONWOOD DAILY GLOBE IRONWOOD, MICHIGAN May 21, 1935  page 1 Michigan Colonists Due at Seward Soon Seattle, May 21--(AP)--The army transport St. Mihiel, carrying 136 Wisconsin and Michigan farm families to the government's Matanuska project in Alaska, is due at Seward at 1 a.m., tomorrow. "Moderate seas, long swells, many seasick, otherwise all content," the St. Mihiel radioed the army quartermaster depot's office here. The St. Mihiel sailed Saturday carrying the second contingent of colonists north.     IRONWOOD DAILY GLOBE IRONWOOD, MICHIGAN May 22, 1935  page 1 Colonists Will Draw for Farms Men Will Entrain for Valley, Women and Children to Follow Later. Palmer, Alaska.  May 22--(AP)--The second contingent of middlewestern farmers, arriving today at Seward aboard the army transport St. Mihiel, will be welcomed at their future Alaskan home here by a public drawing for the 40-acre farm sites allotted them. Arrangements were completed today for the lottery which will determine the farm lands each family will hold in the federal rural rehabilitation colony here.  The drawing will be for men only. The men will entrain for the Matanuska valley as soon as each family's ton of household goods can be unloaded from the transport and transferred to the railroad train. The colonists already here will help the new arrivals to move their furniture, bedding and other articles into the temporary tent homes awaiting them.  When all is made ready, the women and children will follow.  For the time being the "tenderfeet" will be housed in eight or ten camps near their farm sites. A wet welcome appeared in store for the newcomers for the valley has been drenched with rain for the past day or so. A welcome of a different kind was also being planned by civic leaders--the first arrival of the traditional stork at the colony, expected about the middle of next month.  Donations of all kinds have been volunteered for the occasion.