Wasilla Knik Historical Society

Hobo Jim Remembered

Trails Day

Knik Museum

Join us the first weekend in June as we clean up the Iditarod National Historic Trail and the Knik Museum.

Thank You to Our Devoted Sponsors:

 Alaska Railroad, WalMart, Home Depot, Talkeetna Air Taxi, Mahays Riverboat Service, Arby's, KFC, Red Robin, Subway, Three Bears Big Lake, Spenard Builders Supply, Eleanor Wilde, David Bastian, Richard Wilson, Bob Frost.

​​1st Annual Homestead

 Survivors' Reunion 

This was a NEW event, held at the Palmer Depot on April 30 from 3-8pm, . It was a time to come together, tell and listen to stories, and reminisce about the early days of the Mat-Su Valley. It was so much fun that we plan to hold it again next spring, on Sunday, April 28, at the Palmer Depot!

Annual Potluck Picnic

Knik Museum- 10524 Knik-Goose Bay Road, Wasilla, AK

The 2023 inductee was Joe May, veteran, homesteader, trapper and Iditarod champion.  
“You did it with snowshoes, you did it with an ax, you did it however you could.”  That was the first thing Joe May told us as he  talked about the early years of racing in the Iditarod.  Joe drove his Fiat to Alaska in 1975 “sick in body and sick in the head” and made a life for himself here.  He built his cabin by hand and settled in.  At some point he acquired some dogs and ran a trap line.  His dogs were fast and could go long distances.  It was Dick Mackey who talked him into racing the Iditarod.  Joe made his sled out of plywood and he made everything else he needed on the trail.  What an adventure!

Posted by  Linda Fenton ~2013 Teacher on the Trail
June 27, 2012 


Copyright 2022. Wasilla Knik Historical Society. All Rights Reserved.

Wasilla Knik Historical Society

300 N Boundary, Wasilla, Alaska 99654

907-376-2005


Delivering the mail in 2023 were Iditarod racers Kristy and Anna Berington of Knik.


Pictured is Ellen Redington, delivering the mail in 2022.

Alaska Day Dinner

In October we celebrate the 1867 transfer of Alaska from Russia to the United States.  This year's dinner will be on Friday, October 20. 

Doors open at 4:30 so that desserts may be delivered and friends may visit, followed by the Famous Dessert Auction at 6:00. Bring your yummiest dessert to tempt your fellow bidders! This year, there will be other auction items, including a framed print from the Alaska Railroad. A silent auction will be open for the evening, and our guest speaker is Jeff Schultz, Official Volunteer Photographer of the Iditarod, ​with photos and stories along the trail. 

A buffet dinner, catered by Marion Romano, will be served at 7:00.  

It is with great sadness that we inform fans of the passing of Jim Varsos in the fall of 2021. Jim was an amazing musician, a true ambassador for the state of Alaska, and a supporter of the Knik Museum. He is missed.