Sister cities

25 years of friendship celebrated in Palmer

By DANIEL SPOTH-Frontiersman reporter

PALMER -- Luminaries from both the city of Palmer and the small Japanese town of Saroma gathered last Sunday to celebrate 25 years of friendship across the miles.

Since 1980, Palmer and Saroma have been exchanging educational, economic, and cultural resources in a sister-city exchange program. Since its beginnings in a ham-radio exchange between Ed Holmes, a Palmer resident, and Mutsuhiro Ishiguro of Saroma, the program has grown to include more than 250 people in direct affiliation and hundreds, perhaps thousands, more indirectly associated.

"Today is a great day," said Palmer Mayor Jim Cooper, pausing to let an interpreter translate his words. "It's great to be alive and it's great to be in Palmer."

Cooper said he considered the Palmer-Saroma exchange program the best sister-city relationship in the state.

"Palmer and Saroma may be miles apart," Cooper said, "but we share the same values and the same spirit."

Former Palmer Mayor George Cart/ served as the event's master of ceremonies. Cart/ himself has spent no fewer than three years teaching English in Saroma. "I'm very proud to have brought the youth of Saroma and the youth of our Valley together to forge friendships that have lasted these 25 years," he said.

Akihiro Aoki, consul-general of Japan, gave the keynote address at Sunday's banquet. The consul-general's office has existed slightly longer than the sister-cities exchange program, and was instrumental in Palmer's efforts to secure diplomatic relations with Japan.

"This office speaks not only to the relationship between America and Japan, but also to the relationship between Alaska and Japan," Cart/ said. He said the office had encouraged a spirit of cooperation between emissaries to the two respective countries, and was also very helpful in obtaining visas and other travel aids.

Aoki, who gave his speech in both English and Japanese, spoke to the great degree of pleasure he felt in encouraging strong ties between the two cities. He also thanked Cooper and Cart/ for their dedication to the project.

"Without the time and commitment of someone like Mayor Cart/, we wouldn't be here this evening," Aoki said.

Aoki, himself an amateur radio enthusiast, expressed pleasure that such a great cooperation had grown from such humble roots as a pair of ham radios owned by Ed Holmes, a Palmer resident, and Mutsuhiro Ishiguro, a Saroma teacher.

The two communicators quickly forged a bond of friendship over the airwaves in the late 1970s, and in 1980 Holmes made a pilgrimage to the Japanese town that would initiate 25 years of sisterhood between his own home and Saroma.

"The intensity of this sister-city relationship is truly unique," Aoki said. "Maintaining it for 25 years is an outstanding accomplishment, especially when you consider that Alaska has only been a state for 45 years."

Aoki said the sister-city exchange is growing increasingly valuable for both Palmer and Saroma as global connectivity and communication networks continue to grow. He cited quick telephone, Internet, and television communication as catalysts for the creation of a global society.

"As the world grows smaller, our governments are increasingly requiring a global perspective," Aoki said. "This is an outstanding example of how people from different cultures can work together to address common problems and concerns."

However, Aoki said, breaking down cultural and economic barriers between different races and locales also necessitates greater responsibilities and demands. It is the duty of American citizens, he said, to reach out and communicate with the rest of the world. The Palmer-Saroma exchange is a step in the right direction, he said.

Mutsuhiro Ishiguro, who co-founded the sister-city program with Ed Holmes 24 years ago, also made the trip to Palmer to voice his support for the program. "I express my heartiest thanks to the people of Palmer and Saroma," he said in a heavy Japanese accent.

"I don't know how we signed that sister- cities charter. I think it must have been made in heaven," he said.

Cooper said some challenging times were in store for the Japanese burg that has proved such a hospitable companion to his own city. A declining Japanese birth rate, an aging populace, and a general shift of population center from small towns to larger cities have taken their toll on Saroma, he said.

Cooper said Saroma will probably soon be incorporated with several other nearby towns to help address these problems. In fact, in a year or so from now, Saroma might not exist as such. "The possibility of the Saroma government vanishing is very real," he said.

These changes ahead are also to blame for the fact that, though the sister-city program began in 1980, its 25th anniversary is being celebrated now, 24 years later. Cart/ said the delegates anticipate being too busy with the incorporation next year to hold a similar celebration.

Despite these difficulties, Cooper said he was still enthusiastic about the future of the program.

"It is my hope that our sister-city program will not only continue, but will grow and prosper," he said.

Saroma Mayor Jiro Hori also gave a speech, this one in Japanese translated to English.

"It is just a miracle to see the development of this small friendship into such a big partnership between Palmer and Saroma," he said. "The friendship with Palmer is one of the most important issues in our lives."

"All of the members of the delegation love Palmer very much, and we would like to see the program continue," Hori said. He also joked that he was up for re-election next month, and would be terrified to see Cooper running against him.

"He will knock me down," Hori cracked, slipping back into English from his customary Japanese.

A time-honored tradition between Palmer and Saroma is the ceremonial exchange of gifts during a sister-city visit. One wall of Palmer City Hall's council chambers is occupied by gifts from Saroma visitors.

This tradition was honored during the banquet, as Cooper gave Hori a beautiful stained-glass plate depicting a spawning salmon, with the words "Palmer-Saroma -- 25 Years of Friendship," inscribed in English and Japanese along the edge.

Hori responded in kind, with a framed Japanese fan surrounded by calligraphic words. Cooper accepted the display with pleasure.

"This will occupy a special place in City Hall," he said.

In addition to speeches, the evening featured both traditional American and Japanese entertainment.

Cart/ said he recently returned from a trip to Saroma with a party that included six middle-school students and Cooper. During this cultural excursion, Cart/ said, he was extremely impressed by the singing ability of one of the Saroma delegates, Setsuko Kobayashi. Kobayashi attended Sunday's banquet and agreed to sing a traditional Japanese song titled "Same Hearts."

Other music was provided by the Bill Tull Quintet, the namesake of which had more than a passing involvement with the program.

In fact, Tull's daughter was part of the sister-city exchange program 15 years ago, and Tull's household has served as a host family for a Saroma visitor in the past.

Tull, whom Cooper described as "the father of jazz in Palmer," said that he initially wasn't sure he'd be able to scrape together more than one or two members of his jazz band, it being fishing season and all, but when he told his fellow musicians that they would be playing for the Saroma guests, he pulled in an astonishing seven performers.

The band played not only old jazz standards, but some of the delegation's own favorite tunes, including Louis Armstrong's "Someday You'll Be Sorry."

In addition to the sister-city activities, Palmer and Saroma have designated sister senior centers (the Palmer and Saroma senior centers) and sister churches (the Saroma Church and Palmer's United Protestant Church).

Existing monuments to the two cities' long and mutually beneficial relationship can be found not only in the pictures and gifts adorning the walls of the council chamber in Palmer City Hall, but also in the form of a commemorative sculpture outside the Palmer Visitor Center.

The sculpture is a project of John Dolenc, the Palmer Lions Club's senior member and celebrated local centenarian, and consists of a 48-inch cross-section of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline surrounding a wagon wheel used by the original Mat-Su Valley settlers.

The ceremony concluded with a special rendition of John Denver's "Country Roads" in English, with Valley and Saroma place names substituted for the original lyrics.

The enthusiastic clapping of the crowd was mirrored by Cart/'s closing remarks.

"Each time I think, how can it be any better than this, but I know that it will continue to grow well past my time," he said.

Cart/, who has been part of the exchange program almost since its first days, said it was time for him to pass the torch of responsibility to a new program director who could see it into its next 25 years.

The delegation caught a plane out of town on Saturday morning.

Contact Daniel Spoth at daniel.spoth@frontiersman.com.