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| Mat Maid News & Press “Miss Matanuska Maid” Search Caps 70th Anniversary ANCHORAGE, ALASKA - October 17, 2006 - An original pen and ink drawing from the 1940s, found among the keepsakes of a well-known Anchorage couple, has now become the centerpiece of a search for a missing woman: The Mat Maid Skater Girl. The “skater girl” pen and ink original drawing is believed to be hand drawn by Matanuska Maid’s General Manager Jim Wilson in the 1940s. Since then, the skater has become a company icon and Alaska’s most well recognized and loved logo. How was it found? The children of Harold and Betty Soule (both well known in Alaska for their support of the Irondog and Iditarod races) discovered the drawing in 2005. After they passed away, it was up to the children to sort through a large collection of Alaskana and personal memorabilia that they had collected over the many years. Discovered amongst this collection was the pen and ink drawing of the famous Skater. The children immediately recognized the drawing as something important to Alaska history and Mat Maid, but didn’t know what do with it. They turned to their next-door neighbor, Dan McConkey and the family owned AT Publishing. The children knew of AT Publishing founder, Frank Martone, and his publication This Alaska. From there, the drawing ‘sat’ for a while at AT Publishing, and it was Dan McConkey who initiated the call to Matanuska Maid President, Joe Van Treeck. With that call, Dan said, “Mr Van Treeck, I have something for you that I think needs to come home to Mat Maid.” McConkey formally presented the framed drawing to Chairman of Board, James Drew, and Van Treeck at the company’s recent Employee Awards banquet in May 2006. The presentation raised questions that have Van Treeck and his staff digging into archives and correspondence dating back to the company’s earliest days, in 1935, when Mat Maid was born out of the Great Depression and the founding of the Matanuska Colony. The “skater girl,” it turns out, was a Wilson illustration inspired by then movie star and Olympic skater Sonja Henie. But how did the sketch come to be owned by McConkey’s neighbor Van Treeck wondered? As part of Mat Maid’s 70th anniversary this year, Van Treeck also became curious about two other mysteries. The first was to discover the identity of the many Miss Matanuska Maids crowned over the years. From here, a long history begins of local pageants in the late thirties that crowned a Miss Matanuska Maid to represent the Valley in the Miss Alaska contest held in Fairbanks in conjunction with the winter carnival there. Most famous of these “Miss Mat Maids” was Dorothy Vasanoja Hildre, who was the first to represent Palmer at the pageant in 1939. Now living in Juneau, Hildre recalls those early days quite well. In the midst of that research, a number of women were found, who represented Mat Maid over a period of three decades. More than a half-dozen of them are alive and the company has contacted them to learn about their connection to Mat Maid. There may have been others, too, Van Treeck said, and the company would like to attain more information from the public about this aspect of Mat Maids’ history. Discovered among the historical photos collected during Mat Maid’s anniversary project is a black and white photo of a young woman dressed in the trademarked skater outfit. Her identity is still unknown and Van Treeck said he’d appreciate any information about her identity and whereabouts today. The Miss Matanuska Maid story includes:
Matanuska Maid, in celebrating its 70th year in business, is issuing a commemorative milk carton with a “new and old” look. “One side will be the new design and new logo; the other side will have the retro artwork, including the skater girl,” Van Treeck said. A special commemorative 70th Anniversary medallion is being commissioned that will also be offered to consumers purchasing the special retro package. In recent years, the company logo has been simplified, depicting the skater girl’s head only, wearing the trademark fur-lined parka hood. The drawing has now been preserved and framed, and Van Treeck says for right now, the “Maid” will proudly grace the conference meeting room at the Anchorage processing plant. “Honoring the contributions these women made to Matanuska Maid is more than a slice of Alaskana,” explained Van Treeck. “At the time, these women were the embodiment of what the Co-op and the company stood for…they were our PR people and goodwill ambassadors,” he added. “They’re a significant part of the reason that Mat Maid today is the State’s most respected brand and why we have an unprecedented market share and ongoing support for three generations of Alaskans.” Matanuska Maid is among the world’s largest dairy processors
located in the far north. Offering a full line of dairy, juice
and beverage products, Matanuska Maid Dairy celebrates its 70th
anniversary in Alaska this year. For more information about Matanuska
Maid Dairy, visit the company website www.matmaid.com Photo caption1: Right, Dan McConkey, Representative of AT Publishing, in Anchorage, presents the original “Skater Girl” sketch to Matanuska Maid officials (left to right): James V. Drew, past chairman of Matanuska Maid Dairy; Rhonda Boyles, corporate board member and Chair of the Board of Agriculture and Conservation; and Joe Van Treeck, CEO and President of Matanuska Maid. The skater girl became the logo of the company and is among Alaska’s oldest and most recognized icons. image > Photo caption2: Dorothy Vasanoja Hildre, Alaska’s first
Miss Matanuska Maid, 1938. Photo caption3: “Missing” Skater Girl photo – circa 1950’s. Identity of young lady pictured unknown. image > No 4: Mat Maid Heritage Skater Girl Logo – circa 1950 image > |
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