Willow celebrates Historical and Wildlife Museum dedication

During the Memorial Day weekend, residents of Willow came together to celebrate the re-dedication of the Willow Historical and Wildlife Museum.

The original 40-foot-by-60-foot log building was the first community center for Willow, and is now, appropriately, located next to the current Willow Community Center, in the heart of the community. It is the only building in Willow on the National Register of Historic Places.

According to the original dedication ceremony in May 1962, Governor William Egan, in December 1960, approved $8,000 to be used for wage payments to qualified Willow are residents, and one of the approved projects was the construction of the community building, designated to be used for a civic center, community clinic, and emergency school. The rest of the funds for the building came through various fundraising endeavors, as well as people coming together to donate materials or money.

“This building and everything in it has been a ‘we’ project from 1959 on,” said Jim Huston, Vice President of the Willow Historical and Wildlife Foundation. “We owe a lot of credit to our parents and people of the community then, when not having much of their own, needed a place to come together. This was the biggest building in Willow for many years and done on a shoestring budget.”

“It’s appropriate that we’ve chosen Memorial Day to celebrate the lives and work of our Willow predecessors,” said Madeline Gocke, President of the Willow Historical and Wildlife Foundation, which oversees the museum.

“We have attempted to capture the moment in a variety of settings from times gone by. The early days of the Hatcher’s Pass Mining District and the construction of the Alaska railroads, the introduction of homesteaders, and the creation of civic organization, and of course our exceptional wildlife display are a few the highlights to be found in the museum.”

Within the museum are items that have been donated by families and residents of Willow throughout the years, creating a time capsule of what life was like early in the days of the community, complete with a dogsled, kitchen utensils, tools used to build some of the original cabins, artwork, and news articles from newspapers that featured Willow.

“Just like the building materials were all donated by the people, the homesteaders and they didn’t have much. But they managed to get enough money and saw the logs for this building, but the windows, and build it with their own hands,” said Huston.

“Today we want to honor the men and women who came before us. In the words of Lyndon B. Johnson in his dedication remarks at the Smithsonian Institute’s Museum of History and Technology, ‘why not open your historical doors and let the visitors see what kind of people we really are, what sort of people we come from.’

Gocke said it is because of the hardworking pioneers in Willow in 1959 who envisioned a place where the whole community could gather together for celebrations, meetings, church, elections and more that there is a Willow Community Center was born.

“Fast forward 60 years, most of those pioneers and homesteaders are no longer with us, so it is our intent, here in the Willow Museum, to keep their legacy alive,” said Gocke. “We want folks to understand our history, to enjoy our story, and to work together in the spirit of our ancestors to build a brighter future.”

Todd Smoldon, who calls Willow home, remarked that is the people that make the center the heart of the community.

“What amazes me most about this community is that, while there are a large variety of political views, perspectives, different groups, when it’s time to come together, we all do that in order to get things done.”

He then read a message from Governor Mike Dunleavy congratulating Willow on the re-dedication of the historical building.

“The story of this building is a testament of what it means to be Alaskans-hardworking and persistent, with the ability to come together to promote community, culture, and history.”

Governor Dunleavy said that members of the Willow Historical and Wildlife Foundation, the Mat-Su Borough members and staff were instrumental in making the building a permanent historic site and thanked the residents of Willow for making the Community Center a vital part of the area.

Matanuska-Susitna Borough Mayor Edna Devries was on hand, wielding a hefty pair of gold scissors, to cut the ribbon to officially open the museum. She acknowledged the importance of Memorial Day and the re-dedication of the museum taking place.

“We are thinking and remembering the people that came here so many years ago to found Willow and use the items inside (the museum). And of course, on Memorial Day, we remember those who gave their lives for the fact that we can have the freedom that we have not only in Willow, but in Alaska, to be able to gather today and acknowledge all of the hard work that has gone on before.”

After the ribbon was cut, technical difficulties interrupted the Alaska Flag Song, and just as the people contributed to the building of the original community center, so too did the people contribute to singing the song.

The Willow Historical and Wildlife Museum is open for visitors. Please visit www.waco-ak.org for more information.

“We’ve come a long way, and we’re continue to grow.”