Palmer is snow ready

Most all the lights are lit, the candles, the scene, the snow-people, the wreaths, the candy canes and lit snowflakes, the reindeer, the water tower, the colored lights, the fairy lights, the illuminated trees and buildings and the street ornaments.

Late Nighttime Snow Drama—Normally downtown Palmer settles down for the weekday evening between 7pm and 10pm, with the exception of the Bar block, which closes later. It gets pretty quiet on both the main and neighborhood streets. Unless there is snow. Now this is something many people don’t know but around 1130pm or midnight, on snowy evenings, a full parade of private contractor plow truck operators arrive in their rigged out trucks. They arrive as if by magic, somewhat noiseless and smooth. They peel off and proceed into various private business parking lots and begin their well planned maneuvers to remove the snow. Now this may seem like a silly thing to discuss, but once you have seen it repeatedly, it is worthy of notice. It is actually a metallic symphony of scraping noises, but it is well played and thought out. There is nothing amateur about this process of snow removal.

Daytime Snow Ballet—with Blower and Dump trucks—Here is another beautifully coordinated dance. It’s difficult to describe the intricate operation but basically it is The Blower feeding snow through a tube into little dump trucks that drive alongside The Blower. The choreography is sweet and somewhat addictive to watch. As one dump truck is filled, another empty one matches its pace and takes its place as the snow receptacle. One by one the trucks head off, fully-laden with snow, to the city snow storage area.

The Big Ones—Palmer has three snow graders. They are hunky and and bulky mammoth moveables and they are so important in our world. The graders are lit up like a Christmas tree for good reason. They have wings, or straight blades, edges, or V plows or wedges. You do not want to stumble into one of these beasts. Each has a very specific job and route and operator. They play a huge role in snow removal.

No Names—Sadly Palmer’s three graders don’t have names according to Public Maintenance. But these machines seem so important they should. In Scotland all graders are named. And other winter cities, people appreciate and name are their snow graders: Blizzard Wizard; Plowy McPlowFace; Darth Blader; Sleetwood Mac; Taylor Drift; Plowbunga; and Sledzepplin are a few of the named graders. Even the Alaska Department of Transportation has named their snow plows. These major pieces of equipment cost the price of a medium size house and are certainly worthy of a name. Perhaps Palmer could help name these pieces of worthy equipment?

Thank you—Without this fantastic crew of operators, equipment, contractors, and coordinators, Palmer would be in a state of paralysis after a major snow storm. Thank you to the Supervisor, roads teams, and all the locals who help sweep their sidewalks.

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.