Contributed by Marilyn Bennett
During the winter I always become restless. This tends to lead me to museums and libraries. I have always been curious about the history of any area I have lived in or driven through. Now that I am pretty settled here in Palmer I thought it time I find out more about this area.
Imagine my surprise to find that one of the original residents of our fair city thought it would be a good site for the State Capital. John Bugge arrived in Palmer in 1914 and homesteaded 320 acres of land. He never married but one of his sister's grandchildren has given us a window into his life here in Palmer. As a matter of fact according to his Grand Niece he had determined to give a portion of his property to the Territory of Alaska for a Capital when Alaska became a state. Unfortunately he died in 1956 and so never saw his dream become a reality. Instead of a State Capital a small playground is named Bugge Park after the old Norwegian who donated the land.
Juneau had been named the capital of the District of Alaska in 1906, when the government was moved from Sitka, the old Russian Capital of Alaska. The move made sense at that time as Juneau had grown significantly because of the gold rush. In 1912 Alaska became a Territory with Juneau as the Capital. After World War 2, Alaskans began talking about moving their capital out of South East Alaska to a more central location. In 1960, 56% of voters defeated a measure moving the capital to “the Cook Inlet-Railbelt Area, then in 1962, a measure moving the capital to “Western Alaska within 30 miles of Anchorage” went down with 55% of voters opposed to it.
The 1974 ballot committee came up with three sites: Larson Lake, Mount Yenlo and Willow, the last of which got over 53% of the votes in 1976. In November 1978 a bond issue asking voters to approve $966 million in debt for a new capital city in Willow got a resounding “no” from 74% of voters.
Then nothing happened. In 1982, a resolution to fund the move was put again before the voters. The resolution was defeated. Votes in 1984 and 1996 also failed.
In 2010 the population of Juneau reached 31,275. Estimated median income was $87,436, which is 17% higher than other Alaskans. Just like Washington DC a lot of lobbyists live in Juneau. The "Special Interests" of the Rich and Powerful are well served. It is only us ordinary people who can't afford to go there that are reduced to sending e-mails that are easily ignored. Willow, this past Thanksgiving, would have been a much different place had that vote 40 years ago been different. Alaska would be different, too. The average person would have better access to his elected representatives and would hopefully make his representative more accountable. It looked like our Governor tried to move some of the debate to Wasilla to be accessible to more people. He met with stiff opposition from those that want to keep the status quo. I don't know what the answer is, but do know that having an inaccessible Capital City is not a healthy situation in the short or long term.
On the other hand, I for one am very happy that the government did not accept John Bugge's gift of land and put the capital in Palmer. I am content with the small town feel of Palmer and certainly wouldn't want it cluttered up with politicians. it is enough to have them visit during the State Fair. Bugge Playground is the best use of the donated land in Palmer. But it would be nice if the Capital would move to Willow. Those of us who can't afford a lobbyist could drive to Willow from time to time to harass our good representatives. That's what democracy is all about.
