Happy birthday Palmer history

The City of Palmer was officially established in 1951, and therefore the 70th birthday is this year! The Official Palmer City website recounts Palmer’s history back to 1935 with the advent of the Colonists settlement project and agricultural experiment. However there were many additional years of Palmer history, prior to the 1935 date. This birthday celebrates the establishment of the actual city.

Palmer Pride Picnic is Friday, July 23rd—This is Palmer’s traditional “main-street” town picnic, celebrated annually at the Palmer Train Depot. It’s a free picnic from 4-6pm, usually with music and awards provided by the business community. You will see many happy people, their dogs, and free samples of farm fresh cabbages and farm vegetables. There will be awards, certificates and prizes. (Some people have asked if this is political and it is not.) It is important to emphasize that ALL PEOPLE ARE WELCOME—Neighbors, farmers, tourists, and strangers—everyone is welcome to this free community event where we all celebrate Palmer.

Community Wishes for Palmer—The Palmer Alaska Buzz crowd-sourced individual wishes for the Palmer area. Question: What is your birthday wish for our Palmer Community? There were over 250 responses and messages—here is a sampling of the responses.

“Stay a small town. Stay homey. Keep pedestrian structure with the center of town, museum, depot, train tracks, Stay true to the sweet and simple. Keep Palmer Palmer—the one we all know and love. Continue on the same path; Maintain ‘small-town-ess.” Continue to blossom in beautiful ways. Honor the old, welcome the new. Always look out for children, bikes and pets. Bring back and acknowledge traditional place names; Support the small businesses so they will flourish; Support law enforcement. Keep Community involvement in town decisions. Keep Palmer quaint with specialty stores and restaurants. Reconsider the development in Cedar Park. Invite people in who wish to be part of Palmer’s amazing community.”

“Save the farms; Don’t allow overwhelming development; Peace; Have more unity in the community; Inclusivity and collaboration to make Ahtna and Dena’ina culture visible again; Encourage resurgence of cultural popularity of individual liberty; No Walmart. Keep the airports’ old huge cottonwoods in the at Matanuska River Park; Wish that everyone would get along and treat each other with respect. Good health. Be open to expansion. Stay young at heart. Peace, liberty and prosperity for all. No more real estate fiascos.”

Some specific entertaining comments were, “70 is a fine age for wine, women and the great town of Palmer. We’re looking forward to many more years. Please bring back the train. Palmer needs a Ma and Pa Hardware store, IKEA

NFL Team, and a good Indian restaurant!”

Say Goodbye to Palmer Peony Month—We will be saying farewell to those buoyant blossoms next week. They are short lived lovelies. August is nearly upon us. Quarter bloomed fireweed and full hay-bales are a seasonal sign of the end of July.

Best of the Valley—Last Thursday night, the Palmer Train Depot was the destination of the hip and the handsome at the third annual Frontiersman 2021 Best of the Valley, Toast of the Town Awards. There was great beer, great food, good entertainment and a full house. Palmer’s Mayor Edna DeVries and Palmer City Council Member Sabrina Combs welcomed the large crowd from all over the valley. Mat Su Regional Medical Center, Fred Meyers, Bearpaw River Brewing Company, Affordable Catering, and Premier Services were the big sponsors. The Reindeer Farm and the Palmer Ale House won special awards and local Shear Fire Design offered spa and salon packages.

This July Weekend is Full!—A “Recycle Revival”, the Valley Center for Recycling’s big summer event, is this weekend over at Settler’s Bay. There is a beautiful dog show at the fairgrounds. Friday Fling is downtown all afternoon and each evening there is live music at the Palmer Ale House and the Klondike. Tennis courts are open, ball fields are active, walkers and runners and bikers are everywhere along with their doggos. It’s a wonderful and energetic time in Palmer Alaska Summer. Be safe!

Barbara Hunt is both Palmer writer and artist. She works hard to keep the robust pulse of Palmer, Alaska. She shares the good stuff on the weekly Palmer Alaska Buzz in the Mat Su Valley Frontiersman and daily on the Palmer Alaska Buzz Facebook Group. Email bhunt@mtaonline.net or text at 907.315.3222