It’s time for Page Two: News that might not make the front page for Friday February 27, 2026.
A photograph from 1935 shows Mrs. Lloyd Bell and Miss Deana Reitan standing on bare earth outside a large canvas tent somewhere in Palmer. The table behind them has a smattering of “curios.” These include a wall hanging with an indigenous design; a painted platter; and a couple of saucers. The sign on the tent reads “The Curio Shoppe.”
Reitan is holding something she picked up from the table, a wool cap, perhaps? Her face carries the universal expression of a shopper. She seems to be considering the hat.
Bell has the universal expression of a shop owner. She’s looking away, trying not to get in Reitan’s face. She doesn’t want to appear anxious to make the sale.
It’s 2026 instead of 1935. That bare earth is now covered by sidewalks and roads. The canvas tents are gone.
They didn’t have wine walks in Palmer in 1935, like the one going on tonight. It’s sponsored by the Palmer Museum of History and Art. Volunteer pourers set up tables at shops, not tents,in downtown Palmer.
Each venue has bottles of wines that the pourers talk about. Shop owners contribute foods that pair with the wines.
Executive Director of the Palmer Museum of History and Art Dylainie Nathlich says the wine walks are a great way to bring people together. She’s happy the event supports local businesses, while raising funds for the museum.
Nathlich was especially fond of the food served at Misfit Consignments last year. It was a bruschetta with sourdough and this delicious apricot jam spread. It really brought out the fruitiness of the wine.
The wine walks happen twice a year, in the winter, and in the summer. It always sells out.
And the photograph from 1935? You can find it in the museum’s Colony Compendium on palmermuseum.org. [https://palmermuseum.org/3d-flip-book/15101/]
The Compendium is an ongoing research project of the museum. They are collecting information about the families that came to Palmer during the Great Depression: how they fared, if they stayed, where they went if they didn’t stay.
Nathlich says the mission of the museum is to “inspire, enrich, and cultivate the community’s connection to the history and art of the area.” The museum houses art and historical artifacts in a log building in downtown Palmer. It is also the visitor center for the Palmer area. Thirty thousand summertime visitors pass through the area according to Nathlich.
In 2017, Richard Estelle started a database of area photographs for the museum. There’s a fascinating blog on the website by Ruth Hulbert.
Museum staff and volunteers respond to inquiries from the community. “What’s really magical, I think, about museums is that people come to us with different kinds of questions,” Nathlich says. “We’re able to explore those together in a way that you can’t really do anywhere else.” She gets questions about everything—“from wanting to know information about the colonists to indigenous culture and practices.”
Sometimes people ask about the history of their property. Sometimes people ask about their family’s history in the area. Natchlich keeps a spreadsheet of the inquiries. She gets more questions in the summer than in the winter. She gets five to ten inquiries a month.
They didn’t have wine walks in Depression-era Palmer. But looking at the photograph of Bell and Reitlan, it’s easy to imagine that they would approve.
It might even have made their burdens a little lighter to know that someday, people would visit local shops, learning about wines—all the while supporting a museum that helps share their story.
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This Page Two article was written by David Cheezem and read by Lee Henrikson. If you have an idea for a Page 2 topic, please email us at page2@radiofreepalmer.org.
That’s it for today and the news on Page Two on Friday February 27, 2026.