Local nonprofit dreams of keeping Palmer's history alive

Frontiersman editorial board

A few years ago, local nonprofit planning group Friends of Mat-Su surveyed Mat-Su residents, asking what they valued most about living in the area.

Time and again, the area's connections to the land and its agricultural roots came up as things people want to preserve. Photos or paintings of barns on green fields with majestic Pioneer Peak as a backdrop are top sellers among residents and tourists alike -- just ask local artist Shane Lamb or local photographer Fred Hirschmann.

After years of sitting idle, a neglected piece of property that occupies a sizable amount of space in downtown Palmer is getting the attention it deserves, and now's a good chance to get in on the project and help shape the way residents and tourists learn about the Valley's past.

The Matanuska Cultural and Historical Project is, presently, an open-ended effort to turn the Matanuska Maid property along Dahlia Avenue into an interactive, usable space that has roots in the past, but branches into the area's future. Project representatives have discussed creating a theater, auditorium, museum, art gallery, public meeting space and a number of other possibilities, and they hope to bring their plans to the community when the ideas are more solid.

David Holladay, who's heading up the project, said he recognizes the effort will take a lot of funding -- as much as $3 million -- but he's confident the group will be able to secure grants to cover the cost of much of the work.

It's good to see a group of community members taking stock of what they value in their community, and acting to preserve it. It's exciting to consider how the historic space in Palmer could be used, and what interactive community projects could be taken up to help reshape the area. Wasilla has done a good job of community-based planning and community-sponsored work with its remodeling at Iditapark, the area once used as the city's airstrip.

Kudos to the Project, and we look forward to seeing the fruits of its vision. If you, too, have a vision for the historic Matanuska Maid property in Palmer, leave a message on the Project's message line, at 745-2781.