newsminer.com

The Associated Press

WASILLA -- Back in the 1970s when Sarah Palin was in elementary school, Wasilla was a sleepy little town with a few hundred people.

No longer.

Wasilla is now a big town, at least by Alaska standards, with 7,000 residents, with much of the growth occurring during Palin's term as mayor.

Residents on Friday celebrated when Palin was chosen as John McCain's running mate for president.

Melanie Packer, 32, a lifelong resident of Wasilla and mother of five children, said this was the most important event ever for Wasilla, if not for all of Alaska.

"I've lived here my whole life and this is the biggest that has happened," she said.

And it will give this former mining supply town a footnote in history.

"I think it is going to make Wasilla the place where Palin came from," she said.

Palin grew up here, playing high school basketball and competing in beauty pageants before her graduation in 1982. She attended college in Idaho, but eventually moved back.

After being elected governor, she upset many Juneau residents by not spending much time in the state's capital, instead preferring her lakeside home here over the governor's mansion.

She commutes to her office in Anchorage, 40 miles to the south, many times driving herself to work in her SUV. One day in July, her SUV was rear-ended as part of a four-vehicle pile-up, but she wasn't hurt.

The easy going nature of Wasilla matches Palin's personality well.

Wasilla is the type of frontier town where people are comfortable driving around in full- and super-sized pickups.

Many times, these trucks are hauling trailers loaded with camouflaged four-wheelers as they prepare to go fall moose hunting or boats for salmon fishing on many of the nearby rivers and creeks.

Some people walk around wearing professional business attire, but many are just at home in jeans, suspenders and baseball caps.

Wasilla was established in 1917 along the newly constructed Alaska Railroad line.

The town was named after a local Athabascan Indian, Chief Wasilla. The word is said to mean "breath of air."

Wasilla was a supply base for gold and coal mining in the region through World War II.

It's located in the Matanuska-Susitna valley, settled by homesteaders in the 1930s. Its borough, which stretches from near Anchorage to Denali National Park, is the size of West Virginia.

The town's growth started slowly in the 1970s with construction of a highway from Anchorage, and the town was incorporated in 1974.

The spurt of growth picked up in the last decade, and is easily now the fastest growing area of the state.

There are two large lakes along the Parks Highway - the main drag that also serves as the primary road between Anchorage and Fairbanks - as it cuts through the city. The lakes are used mostly for recreational purposes, and lining them are come of the city's more palatial homes.

But the town still has a frontier feel about it; residents can even stop in the Mug Shot Saloon for a cold one.

But the city's rapid growth combined with Alaska's short construction season means news buildings went up fast. These are sturdy, practical buildings meant more to endure the winter than please the eye.

To be honest, with boxy, basic and unadorned structures and unattractive strip malls, Wasilla doesn't handsome up much.

But don't say Wasilla isn't a pretty community to Mayor Dianne M. Keller.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder," she said.

With growth has come national retailers. In the last decade, the city has attracted numerous big-box stores including Target, Sportsman's Warehouse, Home Depot, Lowe's, a Super Wal-Mart, and now a Costco is being built.

Palin is credited with reducing the city's property taxes to a half percent, which since she left office have been totally eliminated.

If beauty means little or no property taxes, Wasilla certainly has that going for it.

All government services are paid for by 2 percent sales tax, said Casey Reynolds, the city's former economic development planner. There's no state sales tax. Numerous subdivisions outside city limits want to be annexed.

A decade ago, property values in the city were assessed at $300 million, compared to the current assessment of $1.2 billion. And the city has issued 1,800 business licenses, up 500 in the last eight years.

Community leaders point to pride that the area is now to the point it's drawing businesses away from Anchorage.

Keller was a city council member when Palin was mayor, and fondly recalls her as a a very strong-willed, energetic individual that will get done whatever she sets her mind to.

Keller said when she heard about Palin being selected as McCain's running mate, she crafted a new button to wear to work.

"I made this at home this morning," she said, pointing to the button that reads: McCain, Palin, Country First.

"My button is homemade, just like Sarah," Keller said.