Contributed by Linda Frey
Wasilla-Knik Historical Society
Old Wasilla School House, location of the first Alaska Day Dinner
On October 18, 1867, in a ceremony held at Fort Sitka, the Territory of Alaska was formally transferred from the Russian Empire to the United States of America. Alaska had been purchased on March 30 of that year for $7.2 million dollars - less than 12.3 cents an acre. Although many recognized the potential of this addition to the United States, many did not and called Alaska Seward’s Folly or Seward’s Icebox, after President Lincoln’s Secretary of State, William Seward, who had negotiated the deal. In 1917, the territorial legislature declared October 18 to be Alaska Day.
In 1967, to celebrate the centennial of the Alaska Purchase, several Mat-Su residents banded together to form the Wasilla-Knik-Willow Creek Historical Society. They were an ambitious, hard-working group, determined to preserve the history of the area. Some of the charter members were LeRoi and Margaret Heaven, Joe and Vi Redington, and Dorothy Page. A dog race was held that year, on the historical Iditarod Trail, as part of the centennial celebration. The Knik Museum was opened by Vi Redington and Dorothy Page to preserve the history of Knik, home to the Dena’ina people, and later a booming port community at the turn of the century, serving miners in Hatcher Pass, Iditarod and beyond.
The Wasilla Museum was also opened in the old Community Hall, and buildings from around the area were moved into the Historic Town Site. In 1993, the original Herning-Teeland Mercantile was moved from the corner of Main Street and the Parks Highway to its current location and restored by the historical society when the Parks Highway was widened. It now houses Krazy Moose Subs upstairs and the office of the historical society downstairs. Today the Knik Museum, located at 10524 S Knik Goose Bay Road, is run by the Wasilla-Knik Historical Society and is open Wednesday-Sundays from 1-6pm, May through October. The Wasilla Museum is owned and operated by the City of Wasilla and is open Tuesday-Friday 10-3pm year-round. Both of these museums continue the mission to preserve and share the history of the Wasilla-Knik area.
More than fifty years ago that newly formed Wasilla-Willow-Knik Historical Society held their first Alaska Day Dinner in the old Wasilla school house. The early potluck dinners were attended by the board and members of the new society with guest speakers and Gold Pan awards for members who had made special contributions over the years. Marian Romano, then owner of the popular Deli in Wasilla, soon started catering the event, making the Alaska Day Dinner an annual treat indeed!
A few years later a dessert auction was added to the event as a way for the society to raise money to support its projects. Members vied with each other to create the tastiest desserts which were sold to the highest bidder. Cookies were great favorites, with bakers delivering them to the auction in decorative cookie jars, usually returned empty to be refilled and auctioned off the following year. Eventually candy, jams, pies and cakes were added by the large membership. Margaret Heaven always supplied several jars of her homemade apple butter which were hugely popular with bidders. Marian Romano’s ricotta cookies were a big hit, and Vivian Teeland’s famous coconut pie usually drove bids past $1000.
As the invitation to the event was extended beyond the membership to the community, the Alaska Day Dinner and Famous Dessert Auction was moved to the Herning-Teeland-Mead Mercantile, now home to the Krazy Moose Sub Shop, and eventually to the Elks Lodge on Finger Lake.
The Wasilla-Knik Historical Society welcomes historical enthusiasts old and young to this year’s Alaska Day Dinner and Famous Dessert Auction on Friday, October 20th, at the Palmer Elk’s Lodge. Chef Marian Romano, proprietor of Nonna’s Osteria, will again be catering the event. Jeff Schultz, the official volunteer photographer for the Iditarod for over 40 years, will be the guest speaker.
All bakers are invited to bring your favorite confections for the Dessert Auction! If you’re not a baker, you’re always invited to raise a bid paddle to support the efforts of the historical society! The doors open at 4:30pm for delivery of baked goods and a Meet and Greet, followed the Famous Dessert Auction at 6:00pm, then dinner and the program at about 7:00pm.
Tickets are $50 and reservations must be made by October 15 by contacting the Wasilla-Knik Historical Society by email at KnikMuseum@gmail.com, leaving a message at 907-376-7755, or by contacting any board member. Visit us on Facebook or online at www.wkhsociety.org.