Rhs Newsletter 02 2005

History is Happening in Redmond!

The Redmond Recorder February 2005 Vol. 7, No. 2 Redmond Historical Society

Our mission: To discover, recover, preserve, share and celebrate Redmond’s history 16600 NE 80th St, Room 106, Redmond, WA 98052 425-885-2919 www.redmondhistory.org [email protected] Office hours: Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday, 1-4pm, or by appointment

President’s Corner Since the disaster struck Southeast Asia I have read articles about Americans volunteering to help. It usually isn’t anyone I know. Well not anymore. Jan. 4th I received an e-mail from Shelly Chambers, a beautiful, courageous and adventurous young woman who lives in Santa Barbara, Calif. This was not the story I had planned to write about, but one I would like to tell. The e-mail reads: “Well, I’ve made a rather huge decision … I’ve quit my job and am going to Thailand to be a volunteer in the disaster relief effort. … This is all happening so fast it is a bit of a whirlwind.” She goes on to say how none of the organizations in Thailand were accepting folks with no experience so she and six others are starting their own non-profit group to train and place folks in Southeast Asia. They were to open their office in Bangkok Jan 15th and their Web site is www.unitedvolunteers.com. You might want to check it out. So what is the connection with Redmond? Well, over the past 30-some years Shelly has come to visit her grandparents Opie and Cleo Hartman, who have lived in Redmond since moving here in 1952. Opie is now living at Cascade Plaza and by the time this is printed he will have celebrated his 88th birthday. Cleo lives next door in Cascade Vista. Opie and Cleo were big time organizers of the Redmond Bicycle Derby for many

100: A magic number!

Our first general meeting in 2005 started with a special birthday party. Society charter member Audrey Gorlick turned 100 on Jan. 27, and we celebrated a bit early. Treasurer Teresa Becker presented the cake, followed by a round of “Happy Birthday toYou” by the heritage choir!

Our next speakers: Sammamish neighbors Join us Feb. 12, 10:30am-12pm, for our next general meeting. Helen Baxter and Virginia Kuhn of the Sammamish Heritage Society will update us on preservation efforts on the plateau and make connections between Sammamish and Redmond. We meet at the Old Redmond Schoolhouse Community Center.

Continued on Page 2

The Redmond Recorder 2/05

1

History is Happening in Redmond!

2005 Meetings All @ 10:30 am

Old Redmond Schoolhouse Community Center 16600 NE 80th St. Second Saturday of the month: Feb. 12, March 12, April 9, May 14, June 11, Sept. 10, Oct. 8, Nov. 12 _________________________

Help us reduce newsletter costs! If you receive the newsletter via US Mail and have access to e-mail we ask that you please try subscribing via e-mail instead. The City, which sends out US Mail copies for us, has noted that our mailing list just keeps growing. While that’s great for us, it’s expensive for the City. Our goal is to get 100 of the 400 readers getting US Mail copies to switch to e-mail. Even if you tried it before and had trouble getting the file, please try again. We can also send the e-mail as a Word document if the PDF file doesn’t open. Not only will you help reduce costs, but the photo quality is much better in email! To sign up, e-mail [email protected]. If it doesn’t work out you can always go back to US Mail.

2005 Executive Board Judy Lang, President Naomi Hardy, VP Miguel Llanos, VP Teresa Becker, Treasurer Margaret Wiese, Corresponding Secretary Beryl Standley, Recording Secretary

Shown here with his wife Cleo, Opie Hartman is known for his sense of humor. Decades ago, he installed a surplused Seattle parking meter in front of his house on 165th Avenue NE, and initially even collected some change.

Board of Directors Terri Gordon Tom Hitzroth Jon Magnussen Amo Marr Daryl Martin Doris Schaible

90 or Better? Are you at least 90 years young? Or do you know someone with links to Redmond who is? If so, the Society would like to send birthday cards to these very special people. Please phone Amo Marr at 425-868-4094 to get added to the list.

The Redmond Recorder 2/05

Continued from Page 1

years. Opie could be seen walking around town wearing a “pith helmet” with a cigar in his mouth. Cleo was busy helping with the Girl Scout cookie sales, organizing the USO and Sammamish Valley News collection many other things. Also they owned Lyon’s Septic and Laundromat businesses. Shelly’s mother, Coeta Hartman (now Chambers) and uncle Larry could be seen early in the mornings riding their bikes around Lake Sammamish in training for the many bike races throughout the country and collecting trophies to bring back to Redmond. Outside our office we have a picture of Opie and Cleo riding a bike with a sidecar. Nick Llanos has undertaken the project to repair the bike. The sidecar needs work too before it will be ready to take on the Derby parade. Anyone interested in this project? Marge and Roy Hanson and I plan to meet up with Shelly in Bangkok in Feb. We are on a tour and not doing disaster relief work. Speaking of “disaster relief,” thanks to Daryl Martin for tidying up our office! Judy Aries Lang

2

History is Happening in Redmond!

Mystery of the Month Ross Bendixen sent us these photos, wondering who these fellows were and where the contraption below was located. Notice that what appears to be a train trestle is behind the machinery. All we know is that the photo was taken in 1913 and refers to a Warren Paving. The chap in the bow tie at left is also seen below, standing on the slope with hands in pockets. Please contact Ross if you can help solve the mystery. He can be reached at 425 4554111 or [email protected] And if you have mystery photos of the Redmond area, contact [email protected] or mail a copy(ies) to our office, care of Miguel Llanos. We’ll try to get some answers via the newsletter!

The Redmond Recorder 2/05

3

History is Happening in Redmond!

Can you help?

We need to transfer: • Old 8mm film to DVDs. • Audio cassettes to CDs.

If you have the means to do so, please contact Judy Lang at 425-823-3551 or [email protected]

Member numbers

100 members renewed in the first week of January alone! And we received 13 new memberships. Thanks to all who have turned in dues so early in the year. Those who haven’t renewed or joined can use the form on Page 6 to do so.

Oral History Workshop

Recording personal histories is a priority for the society, and we’ll be offering a brief workshop in March on how to go about interviewing a subject. Check the March newsletter for the exact date and time.

Help Us Redmondisce

We’re always looking for anecdotes and stories of Redmond to share in the newsletter. Send them along to [email protected] or via US Mail to the office, care of Miguel Llanos. The Redmond Recorder 2/05

A business looks back after 50 years Medtronic Emergency Response Systems, a medical equipment company on Willows Road, celebrates 50 years this month, having started as Physio-Control. Murray Lorance, a Medtronic employee, asked about the history of the property, which old maps identify as York. Here’s what Society historian Naomi Hardy provided for the company archives:

The town of York never existed, but that doesn' t mean it lacks a colorful history. Located on the west side of Willows Road, about where NE 116th Street comes to a halt, York was platted in the 1880s by May and Ronald M. Crawford, who hoped the new railroad might build a station there. In 1890, York was designated a post office in the home of its first postmaster, but it was only a flag stop for the daily Seattle, Lakeshore and Eastern Railway. Two years later, a new postmistress moved her home a mile north, and with her went the post office, which then changed its name to Derby. For the next quarter century, not much happened on the land once platted as York, only the logging of its virgin trees when C.D. Stimson bought the property for his logging company. Then, in 1918 King County purchased the 400 York acres and built a "Lazy Husband' s Ranch" for deadbeat dads. That was a lively piece of local history. A federal raid on the facility for bootlegging was closely followed by the repeal of the wayward husband law, and King County deserted the site. From then on, it was honest farming at York, until 1967 when Rocket Research Corp. broke ground for its new $2.5 million headquarters on the property purchased from York Farm owner Ralph James. Today, Medtronic and AeroJet/Pacific Electrodynamics occupy the original parcel. Murray in his e-mail added to the history himself, noting that “… we will be celebrating the founding of Physio-Control” on Valentine' s Day, Feb 14, 1955. The date fits, Murray adds, given the nickname a “Company with a Heart!” and the fact that founder Dr. K. William Edmark created the world' s first DC-powered defibrillator. Physio was bought by Eli Lilly in 1980, Murray notes, sold to Bain Capital in 1994, became a public traded company and then was bought by Medtronic in 1998. In May 2004, the name changed from Medtronic Physio-Control to Medtronic Emergency Response Systems.

Anyone with additional history about the site is encouraged to contact Murray at 425-867-4552 or [email protected]

4

History is Happening in Redmond!

Thank Yous!

A heap of historical thanks to these great people for donating treasures, expertise, time and energy! Evelyn King Gilbert for the articles on Cory and Ruby de Jong. Tony Emmanuel for the T&D Feeds sweater. Linda Jaton for the krumkake cookies at the January general meeting. Rose Weiss for collecting dues. Daryl Martin and Jerry Hammersberg for helping with set up and take down for the meeting.

Were You at our Jan. 8 Meeting? These folks were: Anderson, Betty Buckley Bean, Ron* Bean, Susan Becker, Teresa Lang Blair, Bonnie* Briggs, Anna* Call, Mardy Carlson, Howard* Carlson, Jerrie* Cisneros, Nancy Coward, Jim* Coward, Liz Carlson Daly, Sharon DeBlauw, Karen* Emmanuel, Tony Frey, Stan Garland, Lillian Gilbert, Evelyn King Goetschius, Millie Goetschius, Russell Gordon, Terri Gorlick, Audrey Hahnlen, Charlotte Everson Hammersberg, Clara McSparran Hammersberg, Jerry Hardy, Naomi Himes, Chris

The Redmond Recorder 2/05

Hitzroth, Tom Humann, Kay* Hussey, Linda Ingersoll, Jo Ann Isackson, Duane Isackson, Joanne Jaton, Linda* Jaton, Wayne* Jovag, Pat Weiss Kruller, Bill* Lang, Angela Aries Lang, Judy Aries Llanos, Miguel Lyons, George* Lyons, Jackie* Magnuson, Cheryl Marr, Clare (Amo) Marrs, Carl Marrs, Pat Martin, Daryl Martin, Ward McCormick, Elma McCoskrie, Don McCoskrie, Eileen Miller, Larry E.

Montgomery, Mary

Muñoz, Alexa Peckenpaugh, Carolyn Carlson* Peckenpaugh, John* Peterson, Dean Peterson, Jana* Schaible, Doris Sederholm, Erik* Sifuentes, Deanna* Solomon, Brad* Stalwick, Shelley Standley, Beryl Thomas, Kay Tollfeldt, Anne Tollfeldt, Harvey Usibelli, Helen Vallene, Arlyn Bjerke Warner, Norma Watkins, JoAnn Weiss, Rose Westlund, Earl* Westlund, Joanne Wiese, Margaret Evers Woolston, Gayle* *First-time attendees

5

History is Happening in Redmond!

Glenn Lampaert Joins Lifetime Member List

Sneak peek The Society’s long-awaited look back at Redmond is nearing publication. Here’s a first peek at the cover and back page. At 100-plus pages, the coffee-table size book will have over 700 historic images of Redmond!

Michelle Haley surprised her dad, Glenn Lampaert, with a special gift: a lifetime membership to our Society! Glenn and wife Norma, pictured above, have been with the Society from the start, along with Glenn’s brother, Roy, also a lifetime member.

Join the Redmond Historical Society 2005 dues

And help discover, recover, preserve, share and celebrate Redmond’s history! Levels of Membership (Check 1 only)

Trailblazer (Student) ............... $ 5.00 Pioneer (Individual) ............. $ 20.00 Homesteader (Family) ......... $ 35.00 Entrepreneur (Supporter) ... $ 200.00 Corporate (Business).......... $ 250.00 History Maker (Lifetime) $ 1,000.00

All Contributions are Tax Deductible

Please make checks payable to: Redmond Historical Society Mail To: Redmond Historical Society Attn: Membership ORSCC, Room 106 16600 NE 80th Street Redmond, WA 98052

Name__________________________________________________ Phone ______________________ (Please print your name exactly as you would like it to appear on your name tag for general meetings.)

Address _____________________________________________ City _______________________ St ________ Zip _________________ E-Mail Address ________________________________________ Birth Date (MM/DD/YYYY) __________________________________ If Family Membership, other names to be included: _______________________________________________________________________ If you would like a short, one-liner on your name tag (e.g. Charter Member, or Pioneers Since 1903), enter it below:

The Redmond Recorder 2/05

6