Family keeps Palmer park tradition

PALMER -- In 1952, Jesse "Kep" Kepler built a few flatbottom wooden boats and tied them to docks he had made on the shore of a small lake outside of Palmer. He rented the boats out to neighbors and visitors who came to picnic, paddle around and catch fish stocked by the Territorial Department of Fish and Game.

Fifty years and five generations later, Kepler's great-great-grandson, 3-year-old Riley, plays at the water's edge at Kepler Park while his mother, grandmother and great-grandfather look through family albums documenting the many years they have all put into the park. The photos show generation after generation building outhouses, digging ditches and paddling boats.

This year the Keplers are celebrating their park's 50-year anniversary as they once again resume the day-to-day operations after several years of leasing it out.

"This summer I decided to take it over," said Patti Kepler-Swanson, granddaughter of "Kep" Kepler. "I guess we had kind of gotten out of touch with it … and it does mean a lot to us."

The park, located at Mile 37.3 Glenn Hwy., started out as a nearly 150-acre homestead that "Kep" Kepler bought for less than $2 per acre. Kepler developed a beaver farm and a family picnic area on the lakes, but in 1952 Territorial Fisheries biologist Rupert Andrews requested permission to stock trout in the lakes.

During the next years, the Keplers established a park that attracts several thousand visitors each year. The family built 30 campsites and eventually acquired a small fleet of flatbottom boats, canoes and, more recently, paddle boats. They also have a small store that sells candy, soda pop, chips and basic fishing tackle. But visitors won't find any tobacco or alcohol for sale, and the Keplers ask that no one drinks alcohol while visiting, for both safety and religious reasons.

Throughout the history of the park, the family has been dedicated to the service of God, hosting church activities and baptisms at the lakes and encouraging all visitors to enjoy a healthy, family atmosphere.

"We just love to see the people able to come down and enjoy the place. We know God has blessed us," Patti said.

The Keplers' landhold is now down to 57 acres and is surrounded now by both private property and Alaska State Park land, including Kepler-Bradley State Recreation Area, which is slated to close this summer.

Despite all the changes to the area surrounding it, Patti said she doesn't foresee the family selling or closing the park. The lakes and their shores hold many dear memories for the Kepler family. Patti recalls playing with her brothers on long summer days.

"I was kind of a tomboy," she said. "My brother and I had our Naval fleet … we'd go out and play Navy with the flatbottom boats and we had all these forts along the shore."

More often, though, Patti was earning 50 cents an hour, picking up garbage and clearing brush around the park.

"I always had a summer job here," she said.

The tradition has lived on, with Patti's son, daughter, son-in-law and grandson assisting in the park's maintenance.

"What I like about it is all the wildlife," said Krystal Cordle, Patti's daughter. She, her husband and son live at the park. She described watching a black bear, beaver, muskrats, moose, bald eagles and baby ducks in the park.

While Krystal said she would like to see the family continue to improve the park, perhaps building more campsites and expanding amenities, she believes this wildness is what makes it special.

"I want to keep it as natural as possible," she said. "That's why a lot of people come here. It's peaceful and quiet."

In addition to the calm beauty of the area, another attraction are the fish. Each year, the Department of Fish and Game stocks the lakes, and anglers catch everything from 8 to 20 inches.

Patti's father, David Kepler, said the biggest fish he recalls being caught in the lake was a 32-inch rainbow. And just this spring, an angler hauled a 27-and-1/2-inch rainbow trout from the shallow water near the bridge.

"That was exciting," Patti recalled.

The Keplers are used to visitors asking for tips on how to catch trout.

"They ask all the time, 'Where are the fish?'" David Kepler said. "And I tell them, 'In the water.'"