Food, fun and memories

PALMER — The drone of old farm tractors couldn’t cover the sound of the fingernail-on-chalkboard screeching of dead weight metal pulled over gravel.

Still, a throng of enthusiasts gathered on a small slope and watched as the old farm horses pulled the weight to see who brought the muscle to the Colony Days tractor pull.

Among the throng was Duane Sturdy of Mt. Vernon, Wash.

“When I hear an engine, I have to come see it,” Sturdy said Saturday afternoon. It’s natural, he’s a retired auto mechanic, good with his hands. A trait he learned from his father. “Dad said we had to be useful because we certainly are not decorative.”

But Sturdy had a more than passing interest in the tractors and all the Colony Days events. Sturdy was born in the Palmer area in 1937. His family was part of the collection of Midwest farmers who came up in 1935 to settle on a 40-acre plot in the Alaska Territory.

“We came from northern Michigan. I don’t really know what town. It was around Iron Mountain, I think,” he said.

His father, mother and sister came up in 1937 to live out his father’s dream and to escape the drought and the Depression that had beset the nation.

“I was born here, but we had to leave when I was 6 months old. Mother had a health problem and the doctor told my father there was no way to do testing,” Sturdy said. “He (the doctor) told him if they didn’t leave, he would lose her. That was a non-decision for my Dad.”

It ended up being a thyroid problem.

“It’s something they can regulate with medicine now,” he said.

It turned out to be a good decision, Sturdy said, because his mother made it to nearly 90.

“Mom loved Alaska,” he said. “I feel sorry for my dad. It was his dream” to work the land and make this his home. “It was something he looked forward to.”

The family left Alaska for Mt. Vernon, where Sturdy, 73, has spent the rest of his life.

“We went there because that was where my mother’s family was,” he said. “That way if something happened, there would be family to help take care of us kids.”

As Sturdy studied the tractors, he also marveled at the great views. “Every time we come up, I can see why Dad left half his heart here.”

He didn’t recall how many times his wife and he had visited.

“We came up for the 50th and the 60th (anniversaries of the colonists), I believe, and now this one,” he said. “It seems like more than that, but at my age, everything runs together.”

They went by the plot the family drew when it came up. It had been empty land the last time they visited.

“Now there’s a lot of homes.”

People with a less longtime perspective included four teenagers selling lemonade at an out-of-the-way spot. Business was so-so.

“It comes in spurts,” said 17-year-old Maria Sanders of Sutton.

She and Matthew Ketchum, 15, of Chickaloon, Forrest Lamb, 16, of Palmer, and Mariah Newman, 15, of Palmer, were raising funds for the fight against childhood cancers.

“We got about $150 so far,” Sanders said.

Corey Randall of Palmer and his wife Courtney, with three children in tow, were waiting in line for kids events near the Palmer Depot. They got to town in time for the parade, but the children had been there longer. They came earlier with Grandma.

Randall said they would probably sleep well Saturday night.

As for the parade, Courtney Randall said it seemed longer than usual. “It was still good. More entries I guess.”

More was better all over.

Mike Frizzelle, owner of the mobile part of his Rib Shack eatery, said business was good.

“Its been real steady. As soon as the parade was over, it’s been non-stop. This is a great event,” he said.

He said this is his third year at Colony Days. He said they set up about 9 a.m. and will shut down “when they quit coming.”

The big seller was his pulled pork sandwiches and pork kebabs, he said. “And the corn fritters — great corn fritters. They’re to die for.”

As people streamed by a friendly face asked what was available for half-price.

“Oh, I’ve got something real special for you,” Frizzelle said.

Although the skies were darkening, for the hundreds who came, Colony Days seemed a bit special for all, there being no rain yet.

Contact T.C. Mitchell at tc.mithcell@frontiersman.com or 352-2268.