Full Steam Ahead Fectly Relaxed

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2014 | FRONTIERSMAN.COM

VOLUME 66, NUMBER 157 75 cents

Published for the Mat-Su Valley and Fred Nunley of Wasilla. Houston nixes rezoning BY BRIAN O’CONNOR trial to act as a screen between the said one possibility for construc- the future, said Knikatnu President Frontiersman.com 560-acre heavy industrial parcel tion there is a light-bulb factory to Raymond Theodore. Inside and some of the neighbors, and produce environmentally friendly “This is just a first step,” he said. HOUSTON — The city council amendment which failed during LED lights. The company’s overrid- This is one of the biggest parcels here voted 5-2 Thursday to reject a an August planning commission ing concern was to be good neigh- we have in the Valley. We’re trying contentious rezoning measure. meeting. bors, said Richard Porter, executive to do something for our people. I Had the measure been approved, Deputy Mayor Lance Wilson and director of the Knik Tribal Council. don’t think that’s wrong.” it would have rezoned two parcels Mayor Virgie Thompson were the “What we would start to find Residents, like Charlotte Den- of property from residential agri- only two council members to vote out is that our grandfathers raised nis, were skeptical. They pointed cultural — the zoning classifica- in favor of the rezoning. us the same way,” he said. “I think to the 11 enumerated uses of heavy tion for many surrounding proper- Representatives from the prop- when you guys see this, you see the industrial facilities in city ordi- ties — to heavy industrial. Deputy erty’s owner, Alaska Native Cor- scary thing of heavy industry, but if nance and say they wouldn’t want Mayor Lance Wilson had offered poration Knikatnu, Inc., requested you look at this, we have the same any of those facilities as neighbors. an amendment to zone the small- the zoning in order to develop the values as you guys.” er, 80-acre portion as light indus- property. Company officials have The corporation was looking to See rezoning, Page A3

Another PALMER ART WALK Assembly full weekend Valley teams face candidates tough tests in week 5. PAGE B1 discuss tourism

BY BRIAN O’CONNOR State Supreme Frontiersman.com Court WASILLA — Tourism Court upholds and economic development suspension for are one and the same, candi- Palmer judge. dates for borough assembly PAGE A8 told a forum Friday afternoon. Candidates for the fourth and fifth borough assembly districts met at Evangelo’s for a forum hosted by the Mat-Su Borough Conven- tion and Visitors Bureau Friday. Fifth district candi- date Bill Kendig put it best on an answer to an audience question on supporting cruise ships. “That’s going to fuel our tourism more, which fuels our small businesses, which is the backbone of our economy,” he said. Kendg and District 4 Full steam incumbent Steve Colligan agreed that cruise ships were ahead essential to growing the The 557 Restoration economy, and supported Co. volunteers allowing them to dock at Port MacKenzie in the future. “still think they can. ” Dan Mayfield, in the PAGE A11 unenviable position of answering the question first, said he would require time to do some research. “The port is more indus- Weather Caitlin Skvorc/Frontiersman.com trial, so my off-the cuff Nicolas McCaslin, a Beatles fan extraordinaire, performs his favorite tunes outside B Bella in the Koslosky High: 60 Center for this month’s Palmer Art Walk. See tourism, Page A10 Low: 40s Scattered showers. Var. wind to 10 mph. Full forecast, PAGE A2 Houston firefighter homeless after blaze BY BRIAN O’CONNOR had safely stored inside the residence in Frontiersman.com case they did ignite, but that the fireworks neither ignited nor played a role in the fire’s Index MEADOW LAKES — A Thursday ignition. morning fire left a Houston firefighter and The Houston Fire station, unlike some A section his girlfriend homeless and injured a fire- other facilities, has no quarters, so the Red Around the Valley ��A2 fighter responding to the blaze, authorities Cross was temporarily housing Stiles at a Faith ��A5 said. local hotel Thursday afternoon. Opinion ��A6 The fire happened about 8 a.m. along Stiles’ sister, Katheryn Baker, whose fam- Obituaries ��A8 North Finsbury Lane, according to bor- ily had suffered a house fire of their own Police Beat ��A8 ough Deputy Emergency Services Direc- within the last year, had been keeping some tor Clint Vardemann. No one was injured of her property at the Finsbury Lane house. Business ��A9 before firefighters arrived, but the mobile “She still had a bunch of her property Valley Life ��A11 home that burned, which belonged to there and she was going to move it into her Houston fire fighter Shawn Stiles, was a house,” he said. “I guess the fire had other B section complete lost. plans.” Sports �� B1 “It happened so quickly that the smoke Firefighters at the Houston station were Puzzles �� B3 alarms didn’t have a chance to go off before accepting small items for donations. Baker Classifieds �� B4 the house was engulfed,” Stiles said. had established a campaign on the popular Stiles said he’d recently returned from crowd-sourcing charity site www.gofund- the Bristol Bay Borough, where he had been me.com, which had raised about $110 of a working as a firefighter. Officials were still stated goal of $3,000 by Saturday afternoon. investigating, but Stiles said he’d been told “His home is now gone,” Baker wrote. a malfunctioning natural gas heater was “He lost all but a few items of clothing. Photo Courtesy GoFundMe.Com most likely the cause. Stiles said he’d pur- Luckily, every one made out alive, and Firefighters from Central Fire and Rescue work to chased the house within the last year. that’s a lot to be thankful for.” extinguish a blaze Thursday morning that left Houston Some reports incorrectly said fireworks firefighter Shawn Stiles homeless. A GoFundMe have played a role in the blaze. Stiles said Contact Brian O’Connor at 352-2269 or brian.oconnor@fron- campaign established by Stiles’s sister had raised $110 he warned responders about fireworks he tiersman.com Saturday afternoon.

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78443_MATS_Maythrn_10_125x2c.indd 1 8/5/14 5:03 PM Mat-Su Valley VALLEY LIFE SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2014 PAGE A11 KNEEJERK CHRONICLES If you rebuild it, they will come

By Tim Johnson Making a separate peace Old soldiers don’t die — they just redeploy — Anony- mous Curmudgeon

This is about two old soldiers who knew of each other. In 1983 one drove down a remote road in North Dako- ta. At a roadblock a gunfight ensued. Two law enforcement officers died and he fled. He died in another shootout in Arkansas. His name was Gordon Kahl. I once found the other old soldier on another remote road and that is my favorite memory of him. This is his story. Courtesy photo In 1984 I was driving on a The partially restored Engine No. 557 has been moved outside while volunteers work to restore the tender car that will carry the coal to gravel road in North Dakota fire the historic steam engine. and saw a car at the side of the road. I stopped and walked to the driver’s side of the car to offer aid. I was delighted to see my favorite uncle. I had just arrived from Alaska and had not seen him in years. He was reading a newspaper and my aunt was knitting. They seemed per- full steam ahead fectly relaxed. Volunteers with the 557 Restoration Co. still ‘think they can’ I asked if they needed help. My uncle replied “no” By Erin Shaver and went on to say that the For the Frontiersman car had a habit of quitting once in a while but could be restarted in a few minutes. WASILLA — Every boy is interested in trains, quips Jerry Cunnington, He reasoned that he now volunteer for the Engine No. 557 Restoration Company, “I’m out here had sufficient evidence to playing with a toy train. This one just happens to be on a one-to-one scale.” “puzzle through” and cor- At the old Kenai Supply building just off the railroad tracks in Wasilla, rect the problem in his own volunteers are there most days, cleaning, building, learning and storytell- garage. He was 77 years old ing their way through the restoration of Alaska’s last steam locomotive. and as strong as ever. He was If there were a proverbial hump, halfway, or middle point in restoring a skilled farmer, trapper, car- an old steam engine, the 557 Restoration Company is pretty much at that penter, and mechanic. juncture. But don’t tell them that. They are just a bunch of old boys hav- My uncle and my father ing a little fun. were two of the most peace- “Most of the people I see are regular. Some of them come in almost able people I have known. They were quiet, steady every day,” says Doug VanWingerden, retired machinist and regular men who had “made do” volunteer. “It’s amazing. Some have a real affinity to railroads, they build and “puzzled through” all models, and it’s a natural fit. Others just like to come down here and be of their lives. My uncle and part of something.” Gordon Kahl were both It’s been exactly two years since the 557 Restoration Company began North Dakota farm boys the formidable task of deconstructing and reconstructing a 70-year-old who fought in World War II. Courtesy photo steam engine. And two summers from now, they hope to see it running Each was an expert gunner Engine No. 557 Restoration Company mechanical department passenger service on the Alaska Railroad once more. and highly decorated, but volunteer machinist Doug VanWingerdon works to restore a Volunteers have logged a massive 10,000 hours in the first two years of they dealt with issues very piece of the historic steam engine to operating condition. the project. Many are retired. Most keep regular hours. Some arrive as differently. Why? early as 7:30 a.m. and clock a full day. If there is an answer to my “When I walk in here in the morning by myself question, perhaps it will help and I just look at the project, it could become very research into the treatment overpowering,” says Pat Durand, volunteer and of post-traumatic stress dis- president of the 557 Restoration Company. “But order. the first volunteer who walks through the door My uncle was the eldest changes the whole dynamic. I am now sharing of three brothers and was the opportunity to make progress, and that gives born in a homestead sod me direction.” house in 1907. In 1917 his When George Fellers first read about the 557 parents built a two-story restoration last fall, he stopped by to check it frame house. The brothers out on a Thursday and, by Friday, had basically slept upstairs. Sometimes in started working. He has been coming in regularly the winter, drinks left near ever since. As a retired boiler technician in the the beds would freeze. In the U.S. Navy, he had some proficiency when it came summer they often slept out- to dealing with steam. side on the ground to escape “I really like the other guys here, teaching them the heat of the second story. things,” says Feller, hands too dirty to shake from There and then, educa- hours spent scraping the tender’s trucks with a tion was in a one-classroom needle gun. “There’s also a lot I did not know. It’s schoolhouse a mile walk all ongoing knowledge; gotta learn something from the farm down a dirt new every day.” road. As with most rural The 557 was the last steam engine to run on youth, schooling ended for Courtesy photo the Alaska Railroad, taking its final trip in 1962 my uncle at the eighth grade. The partially restored Engine No. 557 has been moved outside while volunteers work Then he spent almost 20 to restore the tender car that will carry the coal to fire the historic steam engine. See 557, Page A12 years as a farm hand. Lodging was usually pro- vided by the employer, but could have been in a stack of hay or a barn. Alternatively, th boarding houses were avail- people we know Entwisles celebrate 50 able. Food was plentiful on • Kaitlyn Klapperich of • Lily Eskelsen Garcia Frontiersman staff farms and came with the Wasilla is the 2014 to 15 will take office Sept. 1 In celebration of wages. A farmhand would be Editor in Chief for the Col- as president of the more their 50th anniver- used to eating lots of meat, legian, the student news- than 3.5 million-member sary, Ned and Miki fish and poultry — both paper of Central Methodist National Education Asso- Entwisle of Wasilla wild and raised. There was University. The paper is ciation. She is the daughter renewed their vows always locally grown fresh or published every other week of longtime Wasilla resi- in an Aug. 31 cere- canned produce. throughout the semester, dents Marcella and Bobby mony at Lamb of God At that time social life was with the first issue set for Earl Pace. Garcia was the Lutheran Church not technology-driven, so publication Sept. 10. Read 1989 Utah Teacher of the on Church Road in people entertained them- the Collegian online at bit. Year and served 10 years as Wasilla. selves. Since farms were ly/1uGlkrW. president of the Utah Edu- Miki works as a where the food was, farm- Collegian Editor in Chief cation Association begin- homemaker, herbal ers and farm workers ate Kaitlyn Klapperich and • Army Pvt. Forrest E. ning in 1990. distributor and vol- well. This was not true of Powell has graduated from Layout Editor Bailey • Athlete Dane Tudor, urban areas during the Great Brown. The Collegian is unteer, and Ned’s basic combat training at 25, of Palmer is featured working career includes retirement from the U.S. Air Depression. Fort Jackson, Columbia, the student newspaper in the new ski movie After trying for years to at Central Methodist Force and from the state of Alaska’s Department of Cor- South Carolina. Powell is “Every day is a Saturday,” rections. Presently, he is employed as a greeter at Home get into the Army, my uncle the son of Forrest E. Powell University. which was shown at the was inducted in 1941. At Depot. of Wasilla. He is a 2013 at Fort Jackson, Columbia, Beartooth Theatre Pub and The couple’s children are, Brad Entwisle, of Seward; the time, he could have car- graduate of Wasilla High South Carolina. Bliss is Grill in Anchorage Sept. 6. ried everything he owned Jeremy Entwisle, Tokyo, of Japan; and foster daughters, School, Wasilla. the son of Tamera Bliss Tudor won Best Male Pro Mary Morgan Swift, of Seattle, Washington, and Rose in a car. The country was • Army Pvt. Jer- of Wasilla. He is a 2014 skier at the International getting ready for war. Many Okpealuk, of Anchorage. emy Bliss has graduated graduate of Houston High Free Ski Film Festival this A potluck followed the service, which was attended by from basic combat training School, Houston. year in Montreal, Canada. See PEACE, Page A12 the Lamb of God congregation and guests of the family. PAGE A12 SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2014 frontiersman.com

Courtesy photo Mechanical Department Volunteers Pat Durand, Doug VanWingerdon, Ron Dudley, Jerry Cunnington, Lyn Willis, Jerry Peters, George Fellers, Terry Douglas, Ken Elmore. Not pictured are Jeff DeBroeck, Jerry Christensen, Dean Sawyer, James Keene and Stewart Sterling.

engine was manufactured in a war era, vated, give job assignments, and just gets table is also becoming a 501c3 nonprofit — 557 when corners were cut to save metal, and things done.” right now 557 uses the Alaska Community Continued from Page A11 now it’s getting its much-needed modern Durand, for his part, relies in turn on the Foundation as a fiscal sponsor. upgrades. technical skills and steam experience of the Fundraising is always ongoing and before resting at a museum in Washing- “We had some naysayers, they said, why 557 chief mechanical officer Jeff DeBroeck. definitely the hardest part, says Durand, ton state for the past several decades. It in the world did you tear it down that far?” While holding a full-time job in the Alaska although in-kind business donations and returned to Alaska in 2012 and restoring says Durand. “Seventy years of abuse and Railroad shop force, DeBroeck still finds grants have been numerous and appreci- it has been every bit as complicated as it mis-use. Things rotted away; lots of little time to volunteer and direct the scope of ated. The Rasmuson Foundation kicked might seem. There were no plans or direc- things. We had to.” work on 557. The company also has hired things off with a $350,000 matching grant, tions. Volunteers had to break down the The volunteer who has given perhaps the out Robert Franzen, president of Steam and the Kenai Mountains-Turnagain engine entirely and clean off 70 years worth most of all, Durand, is the exact same age as Services of America, to meet the exact- Arm Heritage Area and National Railway of soot and grime on nearly every piece the engine. His commitment to the project ing requirements of the Federal Railroad Historical Society have recently awarded before they could really even begin. is so steadfast he usually works seven days Administration in completing the task. In grants. “It had been operated without much a week, cultivating donors, managing vol- addition to the 22 regular volunteers on the And so long as those volunteers keep maintenance. You wouldn’t imagine how unteers, promoting and networking, and mechanical side, the 557 team also features coming in, the dream of seeing a piece of much silt was still on there from when they doing manual labor, too (during our inter- volunteer secretary/treasurer Dick Morris Alaska’s history come back to life endures. drove it into the overflow of the Nenana view he popped out to pick up a propane and grant writer Maria Keefer. And yes, “You get to the point in life where you’d River over 50 years ago,” says Jim Keene, a tank for a forklift that ran out of juice). His there are a few ladies who get filthy in the like to have done something that’s perma- retired pharmacist. He adds with a chuckle: dedication is firm, albeit droll at times, even shop on a regular basis. nent, and this has the chance at doing that,” “I don’t have a lot of skills in terms of weld- jibing, after I proposed writing a profile Next on the horizon for these volunteers? says volunteer Lynn Willis, retired from ing or machining, so I typically do a lot of about him, “Profile? Does that mean I have In the immediate, it’s crunch time on trying FedEx, who has been with the project since cleaning.” to turn sideways? I’ll crawl into a hot fire- to get a new firebox in before winter hits. day one. “We’re leaving a bit of a legacy… Volunteers rattle off stories of dirt and box if it will further the cause.” In the long run, it’s figuring out the route to have touched something important. grime like a rite of passage — noting with The ardor of the all-volunteer staff is a details with the Alaska Railroad. On the And, it’s a nice way to spend time.” reverence the days the soot and dust were testament to both the cause and his leader- so bad you could only see the whites of ship skills. Volunteer Ken Elmore, who has their eyes. And they laugh about taking out News accounts are that site. My father and my uncle worked on several nostalgic engine restora- Gordon Kahl had conflicts were their mother’s sons. all those stay bolts — the bolts that hold the tions in Portland, has been coming in two peace inner and outer firebox together — 1,042 in Continued from Page A11 with government and law I don’t have an answer, days a week since the beginning to offer his enforcement going back but I do believe that it is as total that had to come out of the boiler. experience in both restorations and indus- inductees from urban areas to 1967. He justified such important to understand Tasks have ranged from tracking original trial electrics. were underweight and unfit conflicts with an extreme why some veterans do not manufacturer’s plans from museums all “I knew Pat through model railroading because of malnutrition. right-wing doctrine. Did have PTSD as it is to under- over the world to noting the exact ultra- and he is a very astute historian for the Residents of Rural America this man who served his stand why some veterans do. sound measurements of steel thickness Alaska Railroad,” says Elmore. “I think he’s were in better shape. At 34 country against the greatest My uncle was very well on thousands of spots on the boiler. The a pretty good leader to get people moti- he was a big, powerful man, evil ever known — as did my read and well informed. On well fed and well muscled uncle — have PTSD? I don’t one occasion he noticed from years working on know. Neither do I know that I was reading a maga- farms. how my uncle lived the rest zine article and asked me He did not talk about what of his long life without any about it. I told him that the PFD he did to the enemy in com- outward signs of PTSD. article was about the most bat, but he did talk about the My uncle was older than decorated Marine in his- third time he was wounded: most when he entered the tory. He said, “Do you know SpecialLet us he made a separate peace Army. At 34 his maturity that some big-shots tried to with the war. He told him- may have been a factor or make him dictator?” Re-Fresh self that if he survived, he perhaps his family history. Next: Smedley’s War would never let anything His father was a harsh and Tim Johnson is a computer program- your living bother him again. And he autocratic man but my mer who lives in Palmer and is owner of never did. grandmother was the oppo- AKWebsoft. Read more at TJ49.com. space 5817 E. Updraft Rd. Kustom Kitchen & Design, Inc. 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