Loyal Frontiersman subscriber for 64 years and counting

WASILLA — The Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman has recorded a lot of local history over the past 65 years. From personal triumphs to tragedy and all the politicking in between, the Frontiersman has been the source for local news since its first eight-page edition was published Sept. 17, 1947.

For nearly all of those years, one loyal Frontiersman subscriber has shared that journey.

Now 94, Pat Lawton remembers moving to the Valley at age 29. It was one year after the Frontiersman first published that Lawton became a subscriber in 1948. More than six decades later, she’s holds the distinction of being the newspaper’s longest continuous subscriber.

Lawton sat down with Frontiersman staff Friday prior to a reception to mark the paper’s 65^th anniversary and talked about the importance a hometown newspaper holds for a community.

Frontiersman: What are some of the more memorable stories or events you read about over the years?

Lawton: Well, there were a lot of stories, but a lot of them weren’t good or were accidents and people being lost and things like that. It kept your attention. I remember when the people from the electric company were lost, the manager and a couple of others. .. And, of course, there’s the earthquake (of 1964). That was something else again.

F: What do you remember from the early years of the Frontiersman’s operation?

L: At first, we bought them in our office, because they brought them in the office, and that’s where we bought them. … Of course, we didn’t have TV or even radio when I was growing up, so we read (newspapers) and made our own games with my four brothers and three sisters.

F: What would you think if your Frontiersman didn’t arrive one day?

L: On my goodness. I don’t know what I’d do, because I’d just miss out terribly because I’m still familiar with so many things in there. I look forward to it. … I wouldn’t be without it, even though a lot of my age group are not here (anymore). I’m going to be 95.

F: What role do you think a newspaper should play in the community?

L: I think it’s an important thing to have and I find that it’s not too biased about anything. It seems very fair, so I really have no complaints. It’s really important that we have the paper and get to know the people involved (in producing it).