The Colony Day Parade took place Saturday, June 8, in Palmer, continuing the decades-long tradition of celebrating Alaska’s original farming community. The turnout for the event was one of the biggest ever. This year’s theme was “Harvest of Gold.”Palmer was founded in 1935, when under the New Deal, 200 families were relocated to Palmer from Midwest states such as Minnesota. They were given 40 acres and materials for a barn in exchange for creating a farming community in Alaska. The families endured much hardship on the way to creating the community as it is known today, which supplies much fresh produce to Alaskans. The first winters were bitter cold and pioneers huddled in chilly shanties and tents while they cut wood, built cabins, chopped through ice to get river water, and somehow survived.
If you have a family anecdote from the early days of the Palmer colonists, please add it in the comment section below.
Here are some of the photos from this year’s parade:
We saw Nick Begich at the parade. What a solid guy – we need to get him in Congress!
Practically a different breed of people back then, it was work or die.
Well done🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Beautiful. I am sure the Palmer Lions had their pancake breakfast this morning as well.
Glad to part of it (guy on the green tractor, 1946 LA John Deere)
A government program that actually worked, repaying taxpayer investment many times over.
I was from out of town and stopped by to watch.
What a great family of friends and Conservatives up in Palmer.
One of the intentionally suppressed stories about the New Deal colonies is that price controls contributed to their demise. Only those who marketed their own garden produce could turn a profit. The problem was not the homesteaders, most of whom eventually had to bail out … it was the federal socialist system.
PHS Class of 1974, not ’79.
Nice photo! We had fun!
Y’all look so young! – sd
A great event and the fact that Nick Begich was the ONLY candidate in attendence should speak volumes to ALL Alaskans! We NEED him in Congress.