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

10 years ago, in the June 17, 1992 Frontiersman:

Fire just misses five homes off Pittman

A 15-acre blaze with flames 100-feet high threatened five homes off Pittman Road and sent two firefighters to the hospital last weekend.

The fire, which authorities have characterized as man-caused, left some neighbors outraged at a Meadow Lakes resident they blame for starting the fire.

"It was intense," one resident commented. "The flames were touching the clouds."

Bittersweet victory for borough in redistricting

An interim redistricting plan unveiled this week by a court-appointed panel has proven to be a bittersweet victory for the Mat-Su Borough voters.

The borough has already spent $200,000 on lawyers to challenge the original plan drawn up under Gov. Walter Hickel.

Under the interim plan, which may be fine-tuned by Superior Court Judge Larry Weeks, three House districts will be controlled by Valley voters.

A fourth district grabs Sutton-area voters and links them to an Interior Highways district that includes Glennallen and Valdez.

In a Spectrum column, Sen. Jay Kertulla wrote about the subsistence issue and how the feds could take over management of fish and game -- something that ultimately happened nearly a decade later.

In the classified section, you could purchase 32 acres, with more than a mile of Little Su frontage, for $78,000.

A three-bedroom home between Palmer and Wasilla, landscaped with a fenced yard and a storage shed, was listed for $66,500.

In Equestrian Acres, a three-bedroom home with a double Jacuzzi and a two-car garage was going for $135,000.

Many of the prices for other things -- namely, airfare -- were about the same as they are today. A roundtrip to Portland was $229 10 years ago.

Ads for the Cottonwood Creek Mall included sales pitches from Hometown Records and Tapes, Orange Julius and Godfather's Pizza, all of which have shut down.