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

As it appeared in the Nov. 10, 1977 Frontiersman

Access road could start next spring

Borough Mayor Ron Larson informed the Wasilla Chamber of Commerce that the Capital Site Planning Commission is planning a meeting at Palmer High School.

Larson responded to a question from Jules Mead, who asked when some form of ground-breaking would begin. Larson said he expected construction work for an access road into the Capital core site to begin sometime next spring.

He also briefly summarized the Capital project saying there are now 27 consulting firms working for the Commission, trying to meet a nine-month deadline imposed by the Alaska Legislature.

600 acres in Mat-Su Valley transferred to AMU

Louise Kellogg of Palmer, an Alaska Methodist University trustee, announced that she is transferring 600 acres of her Matanuska Valley farm to the DeWolf-Kellogg Trust, of which the beneficiary is the university.

"AMU is an important part of higher education in Alaska and for the past 20 years it has been an important part of my life. I am pleased to be able to assist the university with this contribution," Kellogg said.

At the D&A Supermarket, Butterball turkeys were going for 89 cents a pound, while picnic hams were 79 cents a pound.

Frozen vegetables ranged in price from 49 cents to 99 cents a box, and canned fruit cocktail was 89 cents a can.

For a night out, you could go to Barry's Resort, Settler's Bay Village or the Kashim Inn, the latter offering a "deluxe prime rib buffet" every Sunday night.

Just in time for winter, the headline in Hill's Big Lake Marine ad exclaims "The '78 Cats are Here!" For a $100 deposit, the store would hold a new 1978 Arctic Cat snowmachine for a customer.

In real estate, a new, four-bedroom home on 1 1/2 acres of "view lot" on Bodenburg Loop was retailing for $70,000, while three-bedroom home on Big Lake was going for $68,000. Five wooded acres near Mile 77 Parks Hwy. was listed for $16,600.