Peek at the Past: A look back in Mat-Su's history

As it appeared in the October 5, 1972 Frontiersman

Borough port powers approved

Results on candidates were obscured until today's canvassing, but the borough assumption of marine port powers passed by margins greater than the 80-plus challenged and absentee ballots.

Contacted today, borough manager Wes Howe said his office is now exploring various federal avenues of funding for a feasibility study of a future port at Point MacKenzie, and expects to begin applications very soon. He commended the voters, saying they had "done the right thing."

Palmer high passes

A six-room addition at the existing Palmer High School will be funded by about $250,000, and the current scheduling calls for construction to begin in early spring.

Superintendent Norm Rousey said the site for a proposed new Palmer High School, which will be designed with the new bond monies, will not be selected until an architect is chosen to help with the locating decision.

He added that no decision had been made on the recurring suggestion of a consolidated Palmer-Wasilla high school, which has been around for more than 10 years.

As a sign of the times, at the Willow Hardware store, you could buy "all-star hits on 8-track stereo tape" for $3.98.

The Valley Roller Garden was open for skaters to come and have fun, and you could rent roller skates for 50 cents.

In real estate news, you could have bought a 7 1/2 acre parcel of land in the Butte for $5,500 or 35 acres in the Four Corners area for $1,400 an acre.

In the classified section, rent for apartments varied from around $200 to $400.

At Koslosky's store in Palmer, local cabbage was going for 15 cents a pound, while a four-pound bag of apples was 99 cents. Onions were fetching 15 cents a pound.

Another news item that dominated the headlines during October of 1972 was that of Anchorage trying to annex the Point MacKenzie area to use for their port facilities.

Thirty years later, Port MacKenzie was finally built by the Mat-Su Borough -- not Anchorage.