Spenard Landmarks #5: Who Was Joseph Spenard?
This is the fifth stop on the Spenard Landmarks Tour.
You can see the complete Spenard Landmarks Series here.
This cache is located behind a building that has hosted a variety of food establishments over the years. If the architecture looks a little distinctive to you, it's because it was first conceived as a Sizzler! There is no clear evidence of when the two (or is it three?) sizzlers in Alaska were operated, but all parties agree that at one time, the state of Alaska had two: one here at this location, and one across from Merrill Field, a few miles northeast of here. The Merrill Field one is now a Castle Mega Store (how very Spenardian of them), and this one is now styled after a classic Roadhouse with the neighborhood's namesake on top of it. In between this iteration and the Sizzler, it was also home to the Hogg Brothers' cafe, which was originally next to Chilkoot Charlie's, and was known for the post-bar break breakfast specials.
Nowadays, it is an independent restaurant that is known for a rotating "Bacon of the Month" and for having the largest collection of bourbon "this side of the Mississippi." *
The building itself is cool, but more interesting is the name in the business-- Spenard. This is also THE neighborhood, but I haven't really explained anything about how Spenard get its name yet. Let's dive in! This is a pun, because the main reason this is called Spenard is because of a lake resort popular for swimming.
Joseph Spenard was born in Canada and moved around a lot before immigrating to Valdez with his Welsh wife around the turn of the century. He started a delivery business in Valdez and moved it to the Anchorage area a few years later. In 1916, he illegally built a road through federal property to the large lake in the area and basically claimed squatter's rights on the land, on which he built a lakeside day resort on. The land actually had been claimed by a guy, Thomas Jeter, but he lost the rights in a legal shuffle in 1915. Spenard swooped in in the confusion and claimed 140 acres as a homestead. The lake itself had even been called Jeter Lake, but Joe renamed it Spenard Lake and the name stuck, later growing to be the name of the whole townsite, which merged with Anchorage in 1975. You can learn more about the boundaries of Anchorage and Spenard in Spenard Landmarks #9.
Shortly after, Joe suffered a major injury, and he and his wife left "for the winter" and never returned. He died in 1934 in California. In all, he spent only about a year in the Anchorage area, but his legacy lives on in all the good and weirdness that is Spenard.
Lake Spenard lived on as a seaplane base, but quickly grew too small for fully loaded seaplanes to land at. In 1940, a canal was dredged between Lake Spenard and the larger Lake Hood, and now Lake Hood is the world's busiest seaplane base!
Thanks for reading this little history lesson. The cache is hidden in a signpost near the dumpsters. Find it, and then consider looking up what the current Bacon of the Month is and sharing it in your log.
*This claim was made to me in the messages section of a dating app during the short and dark time in my life between my divorce and meeting The Manpanion (tm). The man I was messaging with was a manager at the roadhouse in this era. I have no idea if he was full of it or not, but he was proud of this stat.