Peek at the Past

Here’s what made the news in the Jan. 26, 1978, edition of the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman:

School board ask for street changes

School sites and layout in the Wasilla area were the main topics of conversation at the last school board meeting. The prospective site for Snowshoe Elementary School, on donated land bordering Fairview Loop Road, was shown with the school sketched on it. The 20-acre site is long and narrow, about 420 feet wide, and there was some concern that the school as already designed will not fit. The board felt the site as donated should be used, but perhaps a purchase of an adjacent 10 acres would make a better arrangement. Also discussed was the elimination of three street rights-of-way. They included a portion of Lakeview and Lang streets and the S-curve on Bogard Road in front of Wasilla Junior High School. When the new Bogard Road realignment is complete, tying Bogard to the Parks Highway east of the Carrs complex, the committee feels the old Bogard will not be needed for through traffic and vacating it would make the layout of school playing fields easier.

Mount McKinley

goes to the dogs

Mount McKinley may be going to the dogs if musher Joe Redington Sr. has anything to say about it. It seems the word is out that Redington, along with Ray Genet, mountain climbing guide from Talkeetna, is considering climbing Mount McKinley this summer on dogsleds. Redington, credited with being father of the 1,000-mile Iditarod race from Anchorage to Nome, said he knows dogs could make it to the top of the 20,000-foot peak. He said dogs are tougher than men, have better lungs and some of them are smarter than humans. He also stated that he’s traveled at high altitudes with dogs in airplanes before and has worked rescue with his team at some pretty steep places. He said many of the climbing details remain to be worked out.

Wasilla ponders bypass proposal

After making it clear that the proposed Wasilla bypass is still only a proposal, with no route established, speakers at the Wasilla Chamber of Commerce found the main question to be “what do we do until it’s built?” The sizeable audience was concerned with problems local traffic has in getting onto the highway. Wasilla City Councilman Michael Palmquist suggested the department re-open the old highway past Wasilla Aggregate. This would allow people south from the Knik Road area to get on the Parks Highway at a different point than the Teeland corner. Another suggestion came from school board member Karen Siry to upgrade Fairview Loop Road and funnel traffic going toward Anchorage and Palmer eastward instead of through Wasilla. Research suggests that the Parks Highway would reach capacity to Wasilla in five years. Mat-Su Board Planner Dave Simpson estimated the greater Wasilla area will have about 28,000 by 1987. It has about 5,000 now.

It cost what?

According to advertisements in the Frontiersman, in January 1978 you could:

• Brush with Crest toothpaste for 98 cents a tube.

• Purchase deli turkey slices for 98 cents a package.

• Feed Fido with a 50-pound bag of Purina for $9.98.

• Enjoy spaghetti with meat sauce at Pizza Napolitana for $1.95.