Sarah Palin made an impression on Michiganders while her son played midget major hockey in Kalamazoo.Her oldest son, Track, lived in Portage, where he spent about six months of his senior year at Central High School in 2006 and 2007 while he played in a hockey development program.
"I can't say enough about Sarah Palin and the family," S2 Hockey coach Steve Lowe told the Free Press shortly after the announcement Friday that Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., had selected her as his running mate.
While the Alaska governor never visited the Kalamazoo area, Lowe said she attended tournaments elsewhere to watch her son.
"She loves her hockey. She loves to watch Track play," Lowe said.
"She was extremely intelligent," he recalled. "We never talked about economics or balance sheets or anything. We talked about her son Track and the family business. ... They're very much a hard-working, middle-class family."
Track Palin's playing ended soon after he injured his shoulder, and he returned to Alaska for surgery, the coach said.
Palin now is in the Army and headed for Iraq in September.
During an interview at the National Governors Association conference in 2007, Sarah Palin told a Free Press reporter that she didn't know much about Michigan until the weekend she spent at the conference last summer, but was impressed with the Traverse City area.
"What a stinker," she said of her son. "He never told me how wonderful it is."
By: Tim Higgins & Chris Christoff
Detroit Free Press; August 30, 2008
