THEIR STORIES

Editor’s note: This is the second of a two-part series looking back at memorable features published in the Frontiersman in 2010. Part one was published in Friday’s edition.

MAT-SU — Along with breaking news, politics and keeping tabs on local government happenings, the stories about local people — the features — are some of the best-read stories of the year.

In 2010, there was no shortage of features, from a hometown hero Olympian at the Alaska State Fair to the annual giant cabbage weigh-off to a visit from Jay Leno, the last half of the year was eventful for the Frontiersman’s Valley Life and feature sections.

‘Acting up,’ July 2

A handful of Valley parents and teachers were delighted their children acted out this past summer.

Youths ages 6 to 17 spent the better part of two weeks immersed in the acting arts at Valley Performing Arts’ annual Summer Theatre Arts Program. Overall, 33 young actors took the crash course, learning how to emote, sing, dance and even build sets and props.

“The goal is to have them learn as much about different aspects of theater as possible,” said Megan Webb, one of three teachers/directors conducting the camp. “They learn music, dance and acting. They build props and sets, and do costumes. We’re trying to get them involved as much as we can in a short amount of time and still learn all the material, the songs and dancing.”

That material was for two performances that highlight what participants have learned — “Lights! Camera! Action!” followed by 12- to 17-year-olds presenting “Aladdin Jr.”

Anthony Phillips was 14 and already a veteran actor. This was his fifth year in the summer theater program. Playing the bad guy “is amazing,” he said, adding he plans to bring “more evil” to the role. “I love the bad guy and just getting that evilness out there.”

‘Hail to the chef,’ Aug. 31

There were five minutes until his deadline, and chef Eric DuBey moved with speed and efficiency. He carefully placed a piece of perfectly barbecued coho salmon atop a mound of German potato salad drizzled with a balsamic reduction. The fish was moist and flaky, but didn’t break. With a garnish of crispy shoestring potatoes, the picnic salmon dish DuBey so carefully constructed was about to be dissected.

As one of three chefs to be invited to compete in the Alaska Seafood Throwdown challenge at the Alaska State Fair, DuBey took the competition seriously.

As the only Valley resident in the cook-off, he represented local residents.

“It’s my turf, all right,” he said. “You always want to do well, impress the judges and the people.”

As chef/owner of 36 Bistro in Anchorage, DuBey is looking to expand his mark on the Southcentral culinary scene. And his food is familiar to Valley residents. He lives near Hatcher Pass and cooked at the Best Western Lake Lucille before doing a stint at the Glacier Brewhouse in Anchorage.

DuBey grew up in Soldotna and moved to the Valley 12 years ago, but his place at the Seafood Throwdown was earned last year when he won two of three rounds and all the people’s choice awards at the fair’s Beef Throwdown.

‘Hubacek still reigns as

king of cabbage,’ Sept. 3

Steve Hubacek continued to leaf his way through the Alaska State Fair record books in 2010.

The Wasilla dentist wowed a packed farm exhibits barn in 2009, winning the Giant Cabbage Weigh-Off with a world-record 127-pound entry. A year later, he proved last year’s behemoth was no fluke, winning his third consecutive weigh-off with a 105.6-pound giant.

A down year for local growers dominated by rainy and overcast days, Hubacek distanced himself from the rest of the entries, topping second place winner Scott Robb’s 57.4-pound entry and a 56.9-pounder brought in by Thomas Van Diest.

In fact, Hubacek’s 48.2-pound margin of victory would have been enough to place sixth overall.

‘Hometown Olympian draws crowds at fair,’

Sept. 5

Kerry Weiland has come a long way from being a young Valley girl attending her first Alaska State Fair. The 1999 Palmer High School graduate and 2010 Olympic women’s hockey silver-medalist passed another sunny afternoon at the fair. Weiland spent the final Friday of the fair talking with fans and signing pictures as part of the fair’s Olympian Day.

It was apparent the hometown girl has a Valley and statewide following, as the line to meet and greet the athlete ran out of the tent.

“She’s from Palmer and she’s got a medal,” said James Southam, a Nordic skier and veteran of two Olympic Games. “I’m just glad they put me in the middle instead of on the aisles, because if they put me in the corner away from (Weiland), nobody would notice I was here.”

Weiland greeted each person with patience and a smile, answering questions, offering her silver medal for inspection and posing for pictures, allowing people to wear the medal as well.

Since receiving the silver in February, Weiland has been adamant about allowing others to share the medal.

“Thousands and thousands and thousands” have handled the medal over the six months between the games and the fair, she said. “It’s never been put away and it will never be put away. Some people ask if I’ll put it in a case; absolutely not. It’s meant to be shared.”

‘Power trip,’ Oct. 17

“Is there a guy here I can talk to?” is the question Scotty Lamkin says “just tickles me to death.”

That’s because the query is usually aimed at his wife, Sherry, a sales associate for Husky Electrical Supply in Wasilla. What those men don’t know is she’s also an experienced licensed electrician. She spent some time in October talking about being a female in a profession typically dominated by men.

“Oh yeah, a lot of the guys don’t think right away that a woman can be an electrician,” Sherry said, adding that it usually doesn’t take long for her to convince her male counterparts she’s a pro.

“A lot of the guys who come in here are electricians and know their stuff, and she can stand back there and play ball with them,” said Scotty, who is also the operations manager at Husky. “They love it.”

It’s a reaction Sherry is used to and it doesn’t affect her easy smile or passion for her profession. Perhaps that’s because she grew up around the building trades and is comfortable talking the industry talk and walking the industry walk.

‘Blessings count,’ Nov. 21

Marlene Sample feels her family is blessed. Sample was all smiles the Saturday before Thanksgiving, carrying bags loaded with apples, potatoes, rolls, vegetables and all the fixings for a Thanksgiving feast. She was one of more than 1,200 local families to pack into Good Shepherd Lutheran Church for the first Valley Thanksgiving Blessing event.

“I am very impressed that the churches are taking over and helping out the community, because they are very much in need,” she said.

That help comes from a collaboration of churches and organizations in the Wasilla area, said Good Shepherd pastor Duane Hanson. Through the Food Bank of Alaska, which received a $100,000 grant from Wal-Mart, Thanksgiving Blessing expanded to the Valley this holiday season. On Saturday, hundreds of families were lined up moving through Good Shepherd to receive enough food for a traditional feast.

The effort “truly is a blessing,” Sample said, who went to pick up food for her daughter, Melissa.

“She mentioned to me that they’re barely making it,” Sample said. “When she sees the food, she’s going to cry. She’s going to be very humbled when I give all this to her.”

‘Bell of the ball,’ Dec. 17

The holidays are a time of giving, and in the Mat-Su, residents can be very generous. Leading up to Christmas, the Frontiersman featured a pair of local fixtures — the Salvation Army Mat-Su and the Christmas Friendship Dinner. For the Salvation Army, it’s all about the bell.

Maj. Verna Hughes spends much of her holiday season jangling a bell, but she’s no ding-a-ling.

For about 30 years, Hughes and husband Maj. Dan Hughes have spent countless hours smiling and bell-ringing for the Salvation Army. The couple has an extensive record of service with the charitable organization, including the past eight years in the Valley. On Thursday, Verna — who resembles a contemporary and friendly Mrs. Santa Claus — sported a big smile and rosy cheeks trying to fill the familiar red kettle at the Wasilla Fred Meyer store.

For the organization, the holidays are “big time,” she said, beginning with the day after Thanksgiving.

“Without the money to pay for our services and food for people, we couldn’t do what we do,” she said. “It is big time, because we have 426 baskets to give out, and the toys. It all stays in the Valley.

What keeps Hughes picking up that bell year after year, decade after decade are those local folks.

“Different stories come your way where people share how they received help at some point and that’s why they’re giving,” she said. “This morning, somebody walked by and said, ‘I gotta give; you saved my son’s life.’ That is terrific. That makes it all worth it. I can take a little cold and a little pain to be able to serve people.”

‘Joy to the Valley,’ Dec. 26

It may have been chilly, but it was a sunny chill that greeted a record 2,000 people to the 19th annual Christmas Friendship Dinner in 2010.

There’s nothing like a little heavy metal music to bolster the holiday spirit on Christmas. With the low and mellow tones of Tuba Christmas bouncing off the walls of the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center during the dinner, hundreds of hungry families enjoyed eating all the turkey, ham and mashed potatoes they could hold.

For Jeffrey Seligmann of Wasilla, the friendship dinner makes his Christmas. Without it, “this would just be a normal, regular day — nothing special,” he said. “This makes it special.”

Four-year-old CJ Warner had plenty of energy to focus on his meal. After a visit with Santa, who gave him a ball-throwing toy, he cleaned his plate — well, almost. He left the mashed potatoes. Asked what he liked best, he pointed to every item except the potatoes.

“I like this, this and this and this,” running clockwise around the plate: turkey, ham, olives and a roll.

The message is fellowship, said friendship dinner committee chair Elsie O’Bryan, which came through loud and clear for Outside holiday visitors. Judy Smith is visiting her daughter, Sue Whitworth, for the holidays from Frederick, Md., and said she doesn’t have an event like the dinner there.

“I’m so impressed with the number of people and I’m just taken aback,” she said. “I’m really impressed with the community involvement.”

For her daughter, the dinner is a nice way to spend Christmas now that her children are grown.

“We changed everything (with family schedules). We don’t see them on Christmas Day so we can do this,” Whitworth said. “It’s the most wonderful place to be at Christmas.”

She recalled a story that exemplifies the meaning of the gathering for some who otherwise wouldn’t have a Christmas.

“Last year we had a man who took his kids over to see Santa, and they got the only presents they got that Christmas,” she said. “And the dad just cried.”

There are myriad reasons the Christmas Friendship Dinner continues to grow, and the most basic wasn’t lost on 93-year-old Mary Hall, who not only enjoyed the food, but helped volunteer at the welcome table. She attended the dinner last year and came back for the best reason of all.

“Because we were hungry.”

Visit online at frontiersman.com for part one of “Their Stories.”

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.