Palmer intersection of progress and loss

The “Palmer Theater of Change” is located at the Busy Intersection of Progress and Loss—Without a doubt Palmer is making a transition right now. It isn’t just the library. There are development projects on board. There are new businesses. There is construction. There is demolition. There is remodeling. There is renovation. There is leveling and ripping. There are empty store fronts. There are big plans. It is definitely a time of change.

Progress?—We are standing at the Palmer Depot, at the corner of Valley Way and Dahlia. If you look to the left or north, you will see new construction. This was where the old sewing shop was, and then “The Baddest Cookie Store.” There were also a dozens of storage places built on this lot. Jeff Johnson is the owner of this and many other plots in Palmer. He does some pretty nice redeveloping in our town. I am not worried about the quality of the end projects, which will include a new bank, and if gossip is correct it will be Northrim. He has been digging and laying block and pipe work most of the summer thus far. New sticks of lumber stretches vertically into the sky creating new shadows on the earth. This is probably what progress looks like. That aroma of fresh building materials confirms this.

Progress?—Still standing on the corner of Valley Way and Dahlia, if you look south towards Pioneer Peak, you will see what remains of our Palmer library. It’s been scraped and sorted and hauled and flattened. Pieces have been chopped up, metals have been collected, the roof has been ripped, and indeed the whole site looks thrashed at this point. It is unlovely. Every afternoon in the past week I have been sitting on a grassy knoll, with my dogs, watching the sequence with sentimental interest. It is a curious obliteration, deconstruction process. I know I shouldn’t be obsessively watching but I can’t help it. At this point, the entire library is removed, with exception of a single wall in the back. There are ghost signatures on the earth where the building once stood but there are no longer any shadows from the structure.

Loss?—I suspect that this hard-core demolition process had to happen obviously….to kick-start the rebuild. We, as a community, needed to see the obliteration of the sweet library which stood hobbled, damaged and injured for so long. So the clearing and the cleaning and the cleansing of the site is now being prepared for a new library, which hopefully will be as embraced as its predecessor. The discussions surrounding the new library are continuing. Sponsors, fundraisers, bequeaths, and donations are being dropped in as the various financing figures itself out. There are nutty rumors as usual. There are random misjudgments, exaggerations, and nefarious plots discussed about structure, donors, intent, and contributors. Frankly this kind of discussion is typical during any public building design and construction process.

Progression—However the Palmer library seems to receive more conspiratorial treachery talk—because it is a LIBRARY and libraries are seen as a social repository for more than books. Libraries have survived for 5000 years and then, as now, they are symbols of freedom, public choice and community for everyone. Let’s get progress on our side with this Palmer Public Library and start building. We need a solid shelter, with windows, and bookcases, strong walls, sturdy roof, good heating system, clean access, some nice chairs and good lighting. We are in the middle of 2025 and all of this might take 2.5 years or 3 years. Some of us will not be alive then, I’m afraid. And that is a sadness. But we will call it progress.

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