LOVE AND MARRIAGE: Wasilla couple celebrating 70 years

WASILLA — Mel and Peggy Behnke are celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary Nov. 21 and while the two may have trouble remembering the fragmented details of their memories, the feelings of adoration they shared during marriage seemed to be clear as day as they tell their story.

“My parents are a great example of loving, lifetime partners. They are each strong individuals who have always supported each other in their independence as well as combined interests and endeavors,” their daughter, Melissa Behnke, said.

Mel and Peggy are spending their twilight years together at the Primrose Retirement Community off Elkhorn Drive in Wasilla. Melissa visits her parents regularly, helping to jog their memories and clarify details.

“I'm so grateful that they chose to carve a life out for themselves and their family here in Alaska. It didn't happen without challenges and perseverance. Life doesn't get easier as you age. I'm so glad they have each other. They keep each other going,” Melissa said.

Mel sat across from Peggy at a small, round table in their apartment. Mel was sitting in front of a hand-made quilt adorned with several fabric images made from old photographs. Each photo represented a memory or milestone of the life they built together, like the black and white photo of their 1953 Jeep station wagon, the same one they drove to Alaska in. At the center was their old, 80-acre homestead near where the Big Lake turn off on the Parks Highway is now. Peggy made that quilt and the many others seen in their apartment. She said that she picked up quilting and other fabric arts after getting married.

One of Peggy’s quilts can be seen hanging in the new Wasilla Public Library off Crusey Street. Melissa said that Peggy was one of the earliest volunteers at the very first Wasilla library, pre-dating the one that opened in 1978 off Main Street.

“It all kind of unfolded,” Peggy said.

Mel and Peggy both spent their formative years in San Diego, California. They met at an ice rink when Peggy was a ninth grader and Mel, a year younger, was in junior high school. Mel said that his friend was dating one of Peggy’s friends so that brought him to the rink that fateful day.

Mel and Peggy eventually got sweet on each other and dated through high school. Mel recalled the early days of disapproval from Peggy’s mom and one teacher in particular.

“She had a teacher that every time she saw us walking down the hall, she’d shake her head,” Mel said, shaking his head with eyes closed, mimicking the teacher of yore.

“Was that because mom was a good student and you were a bad student?” Melissa asked Mel, as Peggy and Melissa laughed.

“Well, you were the youngest of four boys and they had gotten in trouble once in a while so you had a hard time I think. They expected you to get in trouble,” Melissa said.

Mel said that Peggy’s mother eventually warmed up to him. The high school sweethearts got married on Nov. 21, 1948. Mel was 18 and Peggy was 19. They quickly built a house and filled it with three children.

In 1955, Mel was laid off from work and suggested they go visit Alaska, a place he remembered vividly in his mind. He said that he read a book about Alaska when he was in elementary school and the pictures with vast wilderness stuck with him all those years.

The couple packed up their children, loaded up an 18-foot trailer, strapped it to their Jeep and travelled north. Peggy said that that they only stopped for lunch or when it was time to fix a flat. When they made it to Alaska, they visited Fairbanks then made their way down south and fell in love with the Mat-Su Valley.

Mel worked many years as a carpenter and built the family homestead by himself in 1956, just a year after he and Peggy became yet another story of what locals call perma-vacationers. What started as an adventurous vacation quickly evolved into an adoration of the state, particularly its natural, scenic wonders, so the couple sold their house in Sand Diego and planted their roots here.

Once they decided they were staying, Mel went into full Alaskan-homesteader mode and got to work building their new home with spruce logs he cut down on the property, hauling them with the sled dogs he acquired from Joe Redington Sr., the man known as the “Father of the Iditarod.”

Once the Behnke family acclimated to their new home in the Valley, Mel worked as a carpenter. He also spent 20 years with the Alaska Department of Corrections and even did some work at Defense Early Warning sites.

Mel said that he was born to fly. He has a lifelong obsession with airplanes. He worked on aircrafts during World War II when he was a teenager in San Diego. In 1965, he acquired his first plane, J3 Cub on floats, rebuilding the craft and tinkering with it throughout his retirement. Melissa said that if you want to go down a rabbit hole, just ask her father about flying and he will, “go on forever.”

“It was the most natural thing in the world for me, learning how to fly” Mel said.

Peggy said she was kind of a nervous flyer and wasn’t as impressed with flying when she was up in the air with her husband. Mel chuckled, saying that when she found out he was teaching their son Steve how to fly, she told him to “fly low and slow and don’t make any turns.”

Mel said that when he bought the Jeep from his father before venturing up to Alaska, his mother called him crazy for his adventurous plans but his father shared a timeless quote that he remembers to this day.

“He said that crazy people are the most fun,” Mel said.

Now, Mel and Peggy are celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary and their 63rd year of residence in the Meadow Lakes and Wasilla area

The Behnke family is set to celebrate Mel and Peggy’s anniversary and long life together on Nov. 21, from 1-3 pm, within the Gardenside Cafe, Primrose Retirement Community of Wasilla, located at 889 North Elkhorn Drive, Wasilla. Friends, family and anyone who would like to wish them well are invited to stop by or to send a card to 889 North Elkhorn Drive #109, Wasilla, 99654.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com