Not every town has an identity. Not every community can boost of being the “capital” of an area or the “hometown” of someone notable.

Palmer’s identity is one of a frontier farm town — a slice of Alaska history. Part of that history, for more than 70 years in one way or another, was Matanuska Maid Dairy.

Now Palmer wants to buy the land on which the old Mat Maid buildings sit, not far from the Palmer Library. Preliminary ideas for use of the land, City Manager Bill Allen says, include a community center. Mayor John Combs points to the historic value of the buildings there, which once processed milk products and more recently dealt with the plastic containers for products sold by the now defunct Mat Maid Dairy. The state Board of Agriculture and Conservation will consider the city’s request, along with those from others with an eye on the property. The bottom line, officials say, is to get the best possible financial return for the state.

We hope that means more than simply the top dollar amount that could be acquired from the sale of the 3-acre parcel. There are aesthetic, historical and community interest values to that piece of Palmer history that won’t show up in the bottom line of any ledger and may escape an out-of-state developer looking for a new project. There are values that should be preserved for the community and state.

Palmer’s identity will always be tied to its origins in the Colony project. Because we are rapidly losing those Colonists who came here, even as young children, the need to preserve that history has never been greater. There is no better future that Mat Maid site, and perhaps some of its structures, could have than as a community gathering place that also preserves the heritage of the Colony roots — agriculture, hard work, neighborliness and a sense of community that has endured some 75 years since the Colonists arrived.

While it will likely be some time before a decision is made about selling the Palmer Mat Maid property, we urge state officials to consider these intangibles as value when reviewing Palmer’s bid for the property. It’s a prime piece of real estate in the heart of the city and its rejuvenated historic downtown. Look beyond the dollar signs and the dollar value of the 3-acre parcel and see the intrinsic value it has to this community and the state.

That doesn’t mean the state board has to cut the city a sweetheart deal. By giving Palmer this consideration, the state board remains in character as the same group that has urged the state to pony up $200,000 to help save an industry that six months earlier had no future. This group has shown it can be fiscally responsible and still maintain focus on what’s most important. Consider Palmer’s bid as a request from “The Godfather’s” Don Vito Corleone himself as an offer you can’t refuse.

In an age when too many communities struggle to find their identity or have trouble clinging to a gloried and storied past, Palmer can retain its roots, its identity and its sense of community through yet another reminder of how it came to be the town it is today.