Palmer Pride: Annual picnic draws locals despite rain

PALMER — Small town folk are famous for their traditions, and Palmer is no exception.

At least 100 people drifted in and out of the Palmer Depot on a drizzly Friday afternoon for the 27th annual Palmer Pride Picnic, a three-hour event complete with free food, live music and various awards for the citizens of Palmer.

“I just love the tradition of it,” said longtime Palmer City Councilwoman Linda Combs. “You mention it and most people’s faces light up, eyes light up and (they) go, ‘oh yeah!’ ... or they say, ‘what is that?’ and when you explain, they get excited about it.”

Combs and other picnic-goers donned collapsible paper hats this year to commemorate the 65th birthday of the City of Palmer, a milestone the city has been promoting at its annual events all year long. Palmer artist and Job Corps liaison Barbara Hunt designed special birthday cards for picnic attendees to take home, along with noisemakers and other party favors provided by the city.

Combs even led residents through a round of “Happy Birthday” for the city officially incorporated on April 29, 1951.

“It’s another thing to celebrate,” she said.

Joining the celebration as vendors were the Matanuska Electric Association (MEA) — celebrating 75 years of power supply this year, according to the cooperative’s website — and Matanuska Telephone Association (MTA), as well as Mat-Su College, which Combs said Palmer likes to claim.

“We’re proud of being known as a college town,” she said.

Palmer’s sister city organization, Palmer Saroma Kai, has also become a regular at the picnic over the years, feeding and regaling visitors with its Japanese noodle chute.

“They’re always here and supporting the city,” Combs said.

According to Palmer Saroma Kai member and Radio Free Palmer COO Mike Chmielewski, the noodle chute was a Saroman tradition he and other Palmer delegation members discovered on a trip there six years ago.

“I think it’s safe to say that everyone agreed that this was an incredible thing,” he said.

The chute used at the picnic on Friday was about 12 feet long, constructed with black plastic pipes (bamboo in Japan) and steel. Using a regular-sized garden hose to pour water down the tubes, one person stands at the top of the chute and drops cooked clumps of somen noodles into the stream for other people to snatch up with chopsticks and plop into a cup of soup broth.

Once the noodle snatching is mastered, the noodle dropper tosses some grape tomatoes in for an added challenge.

“Basically it boils down to being able to develop your skills with chopsticks,” Chmielewski said.

Palmer Saroma Kai President and former Wasilla High School teacher Carla Swick was recognized by Palmer Mayor DeLena Johnson at the picnic with a special certificate and “key to the city” for her contributions to the sister city program over the years, and for her “homecoming” to teach Japanese at Palmer High School this fall.

Johnson recognized 14 other individuals, families and businesses with various awards: for Home Beautification, Sun Aiying, Eller Donald, the Campbells, the Bakers, the Kirchers, the Andersons, the Summers, the Hudsons and the Lindstroms; for Commercial Beautification, Dee Rieke, Joe Hawkins and Sustainable Design Group; for Businessperson of the Year, Lorie Koppenberg, co-owner of Vagabond Blues; and for Citizen of the Year, Pat Lawton.

“She’s been here forever … she’s extremely encouraging,” Johnson said of Lawton. “She always makes you feel like she’s happy to see you and she wants the best for you.”

Combs said that’s the sort of sentiment shared throughout the city.

“Palmer’s always been a ‘let’s-help-each-other’ kind of place,” she said.

It’s also a place to be proud of, Combs said.

“Obviously people have a great deal of pride in the community because they show up every year, rain or shine,” she said.

“I love Palmer; it’s a great place to live,” said picnic-goer Barbara Johnson, who’s lived in Palmer since the 1980s.

Leah Purdy, who attended the picnic with her two young children, grew up in Anchorage but has lived in Palmer for the last 10 years, and visited the picnic a few times. She said the small-town atmosphere is her favorite thing about living in the Matanuska Valley.

“It’s still main street (here),” Purdy said, gesturing to the road in front of the Palmer Depot.

Contact reporter Caitlin Skvorc at 352-2266 or caitlin.skvorc@frontiersman.com.