Honoring ‘Hubcap’

PALMER — On the way to Butte, there’s miles of bike path stretched alongside the Old Glenn Highway. Numerous individuals and families frequent the path, be it for a simple stroll or a trek to the mountain. Bikers, runners, speed walkers, slow ramblers, teenagers with headphones and seniors with track suits occupy the lane regularly.

Until now, there hasn’t been a place to rest, a designated sitting area. Bob Hakenson’s longtime friend, Gordon Mahar, also known as “Gordy” or “Hubcap” died earlier this year. Mahar was many things — a truck driver, business owner and Vietnam veteran, just to name a few of his descriptors. Earlier this month, Hakenson decided to place a picnic table along the bike path at mile 14.5, across the street from Maud Road.

“We’ve got miles of bike paths with no benches on them. Let’s honor our veterans with a place to rest,” Hakenson said.

This project serves as a memorial to Mahar and a contribution to Hakenson’s community. Based on his observations, a lot of older citizens and veterans walk on the bike path as is. He figured having a place to rest would go over well with the pedestrians. Hakenson is also a veteran. He served 23 years in the National Guard. He said that his life and Mahar’s “paralleled each other in many ways.” They both were very familiar around a truck; both used to haul conveys and other loads in and out of the military.

“Gordon was character, that’s for sure,” Hakenson said.

Mahar happened to pass away on Hakenson’s birthday, back on Aug. 21 Mahar was born in 1949. He served in the Army from 1966 to 1968 during the Vietnam War. After his military service, he spent many years as a truck driver - hence the “Hubcap” nickname. He drove back and forth on what was then, the original Glenn Highway to Interior Alaska and beyond.

In 1988, he founded a tour company in Cantwell called Denali River Wilderness Safaris. That was a year after Hakenson retired from the National Guard. The two met as Hakenson was working at the Kenai Tours. They figured all the people were going to Denali so it would be wise to take advantage of that. Hakenson worked alongside Mahar to keep the company going until 2015.

“Over the years it did real good. During the primo years - in the 2000s, that era — they were doing like 10 or 12,000 people in a summer,” he said.

Hakenson helped Mahar establish the company but said, “I never thought I was a boss. I just worked for him.”

The two became good friends over the years. They hunted together. They fished. They did not however, ride in any helicopters together. Apparently Mahar crashed in a helicopter three times during his service.

“I’m not sure what he did in Vietnam, but he didn’t like helicopters. He wouldn’t get in one.” Hakenson said.

The picnic table is actually a remnant of the days of the Denali River Wilderness Safari. Hakenson took it home and the table sat in his yard for a while. He fixed it up and placed across the street from Maud Road, just a couple miles from his house. He typed up and laminated a memorial for Mahar and placed it in a frame mounted to the table. It says, “In memory of Gordon “Gordy” Mahar” and has a brief overview of his life. It also has a picture of Mahar’s old truck from the 70s. The description to the left of the picture says, “At the time, this was the heaviest and biggest load over the Brooks Range, at Atigun Pass.”

“I’m big on vets. There’s more vets in Alaska than anywhere,” Hakenson said.

The Borough gave Hakenson the green light on his project. The only request was to ensure the structure was safe and secure, which Hakenson did. He plans to place two more benches or picnic tables along the bike path. He envisions a bench or picnic table every half mile or mile, from the bridge to the Butte. He hopes this notion will catch on and other members of his community start placing benches or picnic tables along the path. He also hopes that other communities adopt similar practices for their own area. He said that this was a volunteer effort so people should volunteer to make something that lasts, something to rest your hat on.

Placed on the very highway he worked on for years, Mahar’s memorial stands on a picnic table and is the picnic table. Hakenson concluded Mahar’s memorial plaque with, “Rest yourself — Hak.”

“Just do something nice for someone else,” Hakenson said.