The Talkeetna Roadhouse supports abortion rights. This Fourth of July, a sign at the bakery window made this clear to patrons.
“100% of today’s sales will be given to Planned Parenthood of Alaska,” Trisha Costello, the owner of the Roadhouse, posted for all to see.
“Women are just facing a day where they have to choose. It could be their life, because they’re being forced to carry a pregnancy that is unwanted or unsafe.”
As the Fourth of July approached and Talkeetna business owners and residents got ready for the parade, Costello couldn’t stop thinking about the unprecedented overturn of Roe v. Wade on June 24.
“I didn’t really feel like it was a time to celebrate, honestly. Necessarily.”
After the Supreme Court decision, Costello felt that her freedoms and liberties were greatly diminished.
“It’s easy to just get really angry these days, and just get really focused on that and I just really felt like I needed to put my energy and effort somewhere that was positive.”
Costello has an audience. Tourists and residents alike look forward to the weekends for her raspberry cinnamon rolls, reindeer meat twists, ginger molasses cookies, and berry turnovers.
She gets up at 3 am, sells goods all morning, and then does it all again the next day.
“Fourth of July—once I decided that that’s what I was going to do and I figured out how to word the flier—was probably the most meaningful day that I’ve had in years.”
This is not just a woman’s issue, Costello says. Women carry the brunt of it, but it will have a huge effect on everyone. She only saw one family turn around.
“I generally don’t take tips, but I put the tip jar on the counter with a note that said: ‘This is all going to Planned Parenthood as well.’ I was shocked, actually, at how many men stuffed that jar.”
As a small town business owner, there’s a certain pressure to remain apolitical. After the fact, however, Costello wishes she had spread the word to neighboring businesses.
“I wish I had thought about it earlier. Because I would have reached out to all the female, especially female business owners and said, ‘Hey, this is what I’m doing. It’s your choice whether you want to do this or not, but today would be the day. The day of independence is the day to do this.’“
She hopes that other businesses saw what she did and might be inspired to step up in their own way to make a statement.
“And again, we’re not talking just about the abortion issue. We’re talking about sex education, we’re talking about contraception, we’re talking about family planning. We’re talking about not just women, but families and kids.”
Costello thinks that all of these values should be embraced, regardless of whether there is a law in the books banning abortion. She was appalled by the trigger laws in various states after the Supreme Court decision.
“It seemed to me that Alaska was one of the safer places, and that was a relief to me. I hope it stays that way and I hope that we still continue to be able to have the right to choose here in Alaska.”
Costello sent an unsolicited donation of $2,500 to Planned Parenthood of Alaska with a copy of her flier. She gave not just a monetary donation, but also her time, energy, and thought.
“I felt like it was important for me to mobilize whatever I could. I don’t have much time to give. I don’t have a lot of money to give either, but I felt like I was fine funneling the proceeds for that day.”
She explains that there’s more reason to find common ground in a divisive country than a love for cinnamon rolls.
“We can debate abortion morally one way or the other and there will be a lot of strong feelings about it. Really strong feelings. But, I really feel that we can find common ground that everyone deserves to be educated. Everyone deserves health care.”
Costello hopes Alaskans and people of the United States can at least agree on that.
For KTNA, I’m Nell Salzman.
