Welcome to grateful month

This is the time of year to give public thanks to everyone. It is a seasonal benediction to be grateful and say it out loud so others can also applaud and join in the thanks. As a part of Grateful Month, I reached out to the indefatigable crowd sourcing affiliated with the daily Palmer Alaska Buzz conversation which generates both comments and opinions on every little thing. When asked, “What is the first Palmer thing—for which you are grateful? The open ended question delivered hundreds of short responses. Please see that once again the people have spoken and here is what they listed:

Palmer Memories; Kindness; Pioneer Peak; Generosity of our people; Parking and Walking in Town; Little Shops and Cafes; Local Vendors; Frequent Events; Community (This word community was mentioned 17 times); Palmer High School; Accessibility; Our View; Saying Hello; Mountains; Our Water Tower (3); Main Street; Our Small Town; Our tight knit Community; Kind Police Officers; Our Dirt; Colony Christmas; Growing Up in Palmer.

The town’s well-planned grid system of streets (not one long strip);Outdoor Concerts; Parks; Small Community; Eagles; Christmas Lights; Shoveled sidewalks; Not Box Store town; Small Town Feel; Peacefulness; Gentle and skillful Bus drivers; Calmness; Carrs Grocery; Palmer Bar PB; Library Someday; Ambiance; Colonists; Original Friday Flings; History; Birthday Parties at the Valley Hotel Cafe.

Temporary Library; Best People; Neighbors (This was mentioned 7 times); Kind People; Farms; Neighbors; Cozy; People (7); Helpers; Runners; Kite Flyers; Alpenglow; Irreverence; Our Old-timers; Golf; Museum Garden; Palmer Bar Steak with Tots and Wasabi Ranch; Crosswalks; Ice skate; Flower baskets; Ravens; Downtown Events; Charm; Feels Like a Community; Palmerites; Christmas Parade; Community Events; Local Quality of Service; Servers at Valley Hotel.

Sidewalks; Nice Garbage Collectors; Community Events; Art Mural on city hall; Airport; Fields; Helpful churches; Dog walkers; Arboretum; Trails, Summer flying grasshoppers; Mat River Park; Moose Lodge; People opening doors at Post Office; Sweet Gypsy Cheesecake; State Fair; Balto at the Corner; Heart; Home; Mountains (this was repeatedly mentioned); Graduate Flags; Quaintness; Lost Mittens; Dogs in Bookstore.

Beginnings of 3 generations born at same hospital; Friendliest Grumpy people; Northern Lights; PB; NOT the Wind; ice skating; food trucks; ping pong table at the hive; Safe schools; Chai Medicinals; Collection of celebrants for little things; Grandparents; Electricity; Coffee Shops; Wide streets; Easy parking; Fire Chief’s big dog; 4 way stop; beauty.

Sidewalk worms after rainfall; Librarians; First Responders; Senior Center; MEA/MTA sponsorships of everything; New Horizons airplane party in May; Train Engine #5; Explorers sponsored by Police; Ice cream cone; Palmer Historical Society; Palmer Arts Council activities; Local Bulletin Boards; Big Dipper ice cream tables; Local platform—Palmer Alaska Buzz!; Red berries; Magpies; Safety; local newspaper; 203 Kombucha; fresh roasted coffee beans; Pastels (?); Pie variety; 8/12/5 whistle that alerts everyone to the time; Palmer Police Bike Riders;

I know that this question will continue to generate additional answers and I will keep a comprehensive list. I think it reads like a thesaurus for Successful Vibrant Town. We are grateful for Palmer and its many, many good things.

We Love The Lights—Palmer is looking very happy these days with all the lit decorations and colored lights and figures. It just makes you feel good when you are downtown, lookin in all directions at the shops and the pavilion and up and down Main Street. Thank you Public Works for the seasonal sequence of light-post Holiday decorations, Graduation banners, and gorgeous flowering baskets. You keep Palmer streets sweet year round.

Substitute Baby Library Tree—For many years the hardy spruce Christmas tree sat in the original library front yard and was referred to as the Community Christmas tree. With the demolition this year, the tree is gone. It is a sad fact. That should not stop us from having a community Christmas tree however, albeit symbolic and substitute until we are able to have a real one. I was bemoaning this loss last week at the Palmer Planning and Zoning Commission. I am happy to report that our new Palmer Community Development Director, Nate Outz stepped right up. He has promised that Palmer will have a lit community Christmas tree, even if he personally has to go chop or buy one himself. It will stand where the old one stood, in the exact middle of town, lighting all the ways home. Nate understands the significance of small efforts and his understanding and immediate action should be applauded.

Barbara Hunt is both Palmer writer and artist. She works hard to keep the robust pulse of Palmer, Alaska. She shares the good stuff in the weekly Palmer Alaska Buzz Column in the Mat Su Valley Frontiersman and daily on the Palmer Alaska Buzz Facebook Group. Contact at bhunt@mtaonline.net or text 907.315.3222