Rhs Newsletter 03 2001

“History is happening in Redmond!” March 2001 Vol. III. No. 3

In This Issue…

The

Redmond Recorder The Redmond Historical Society Old Redmond Schoolhouse Community Center 16600 NE 80th St., Room 106, Redmond, WA. 98052 425-885-2919

RHS Receives Grant ...... 1 Moments in Time ........... 1 Inquiring Minds ............. 2 Crossroads Root Fair...... 3

Newsworthy Notes - Redmond Historical Society Receives Grant -

Derby Days .................... 3 Artist Dorisjean Colvin .. 3 Just Before Valentines ... 3 Remembering ................. 4 The Editor’s Corner ....... 5 Meeting Highlights ........ 6

At our newsletter deadline on February 24th, we are proud to announce that 100 Redmond Historical Society members have paid their membership dues for 2001. Thanks for your support! Submissions If you have an article, news item or memory that you would like to share with our members, please send it to: Walt Buchman 10323 162nd Place NE Redmond, WA 98052 or [email protected]

The City of Redmond, through its Tourism Grant Program, has awarded the Redmond Historical Society $4,000.00 to purchase computer equipment and a video camera. This will allow us to maintain and view our Web site from our office as well as do more videotaping of local histories. As part of the grant, tourists and the general public are encouraged to come into our office in the Old Schoolhouse and use the

computer to find out about our history. The equipment should be hooked up for our next meeting so stop by the office afterward to check it out. The bigger goal is to spread the word about historic Redmond via the Internet. The program is funded by a hotel/motel tax and our thanks goes out to the City for making it happen.

- Moments in Time Big Success Thank you to the Society members who helped with the Moments in Time filming: Larry Hoger, Margaret Wiese, Phil Roe, Margy Rockenbeck, Pat Jovag, and Jerry Hardy. These resourceful assistants enjoyed the seniors’ stories of ―Old Redmond‖ in which a picture clearly emerged of a friendly small town where everyone knew everyone and neighbors helped neighbors. While much follow-up work and editing remain on this worthy project, the preliminary filming was itself an historic gathering of long-time residents, among them, two sets of

brothers and one of sisters: Daryl & Ward Martin, Glenn & Roy Lampaert, Lois Phillips Hudson & Patricia Phillips Babcock. Others filmed were Rose Weiss, Eileen McCoskrie, Bob Sollitto, Kay Brulé, Liz Carlson Coward, Amo Marr, Jutta A. Rhinehart, Roy Buckley, Evelyn King Gilbert, Charlotte Everson Hahnlen and Lester Olson. A few of the subjects shared during the two hour taping: hunting skunks in Happy Valley, girls’ high school basketball in the early

Redmond Recorder

“I gave mouthto-mouth resuscitation to Tor one time at the pool. His wife was there, and we were friends from then on.” John Couch, remembering Tor Magnussen

"Unless all of us become aware of the importance of our heritage and take action to preserve it, our past won't have a future." Richard Moe, President of the National Trust for Historic Preservation

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1930’s, the Old Soldiers Land Grant, annual PTA circuses, the Old Brick Road, ―batch babies‖, local bands and community dances, Ladies of the Lake, Girl Scouting, dairy farms, Prohibition, the Minute Men, Derby Days, the volunteer fire department, forest fires, harvesting cascara bark, and the winter where we had 10 days of 10 degree weather and folks skated across Lake Sammamish. Credit for the conception, orchestration and execution of this splendid project belongs to Rondinne Hills. As the momentum and scope of ―Moments in Time‖ grew and broadened, Rondinne met each organizational challenge with admirable ingenuity, her energy and enthusiasm never flagging. As a new Society member (and a recent immigrant to the U.S.) Rondinne sought community involvement as an outreach project of the Landmark Education Program. In an amazingly brief period of a few weeks, she oversaw this initial step in producing a memorable history video, bringing together old-timers, technicians, and Society support in a successful cooperative venture. We are grateful to you, Rondinne, and we’re very proud to have you in the Redmond Historical Society.

Rondinne asked that we include the names of the project’s crew so that they could be thanked. So here is a list of people who worked on that project: Bob Watson – Photographer: Owner of Slicker Video Productions, a local producer of corporate, event and documentary video programs; Devin Cahn – Grip: Student at the Environmental and Adventure School; Steve McDonald – Boom Operator: Documentary Producer and Director for Sirius Pictures, located in Seattle; Patrick Hirsch – Cable Access Coordinator for the City of Redmond; Diane Guthrie – Videographer: Diane specializes is recording oral histories and is currently working with the Nordic Heritage Museum in Ballard on their ―Vanishing Generations‖ project to record the stories of over 100 long-time Ballard residents; Mark Fisher – Videographer: Student at Bellevue Community College, David Christie – Videographer: Student at Bellevue Community College; Julie Chytle – Photographer: Currently studying videography at 911 Media. And lastly, Rondinne especially wanted to thank Naomi Hardy and Miguel Llanos for their enthusiasm and readiness to take on this project.

- Inquiring Minds Want to Know… …about the peat factory in Happy Valley. Dee Carrel says the Sammamish Heritage Society is just beginning to investigate this interesting business from the past. … a Mr. McKay who owned the Corner Tavern. …Cleveland Street’s namesake. Was it named for President Grover Cleveland

or for someone local? We found Harry Cleveland’s 50th wedding anniversary announced in a 1950 East Side Journal, a 1968 obituary for James Cleveland, and a 1969 obituary for Robert Cleveland, all of Redmond. Any connections to the street?

Redmond Recorder

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Help Wanted - Crossroads Roots Fair The Crossroads Roots Fair is at Crossroads Mall on Saturday, March 10th. (Yes, this is also the day of our monthly meeting.) Thanks to Natalie (Hardy) Fisher, our display is covered during

our meeting. In the afternoon, we need folks to man the RHS table in one hour shifts from 3-5pm. This is an exciting event featuring many people interested in our area culture and history. Various

ethnic groups provide dancing and singing, so it is a festive time. Sign up to help! We bet you’ll see ―someone you haven’t seen in years!‖

- Derby Days I love a parade – especially the Redmond Bike Derby parade! We’ve got two ponies and a wagon thanks to Dave and Diane Harder of Woodinville. Now we need the people!

We would like to see the Redmond Historical Society have a presence in the Bike Derby parade this year. But we need ideas and manpower. If you have oldtime costumes, toys, etc., or if

you would like to help in any way, please call Jo Ann Potter at 425-822-3322 or send her an e-mail to: [email protected]. You’ll be glad you did!

People and Places - Lost and Found: Artist Dorisjean Colvin Her well-known sketches hang near Mayor Rosemary Ives’ office door, and many members like Tom Thomas and former mayor Chris Himes have her artwork hanging in their homes. But for years, no one knew where to find the artist who captured so many Redmond scenes in the 1970’s and 80’s. At last, Margaret Wiese used the Inter-

net to discover Dorisjean Colvin now living in Olympia. At 73, Dorisjean still paints every day, frequently using her old photographs of Redmond buildings and barns as subjects in her work. She has always especially enjoyed drawing buildings, and sketched many of the old businesses downtown, like the train

depot and the Corner Tavern. She had no idea that the Society’s been searching for her, but she’s glad to be found, and will soon join us at a future meeting to be announced.

- Just Before Valentine’s Day Just before Valentine’s Day at our last meeting, Jennie Chapin Bryden won two Society T-shirts for having been married the longest [to the same person]. In 1928, Jennie married Charles “Buster” Bryden, owner of

Bryden Trucking in Redmond, and in the following years, they had 5 children. While not married the longest [only 38 years!], Dale and Jo Ann Potter have known one

another since kindergarten in New York. Both are retired and busier than ever. Jo Ann’s in and out of our office almost daily organizing us, clipboard in hand. Dale’s our indispensable king of

Redmond Recorder how-to and recently completed some wonderful remodeling in our room, throwing out ideas as he works, like, ―Maybe Redmond should have a bicycle museum.‖

Page 4 To this, Jo Ann’s quick to remind him he already has enough projects in the works.

Remembering Harold Everson told local historian and reporter Oscar Roloff that the pair of blacksmiths ―had a special stall for the tough ones and, as one walked by the shop, they could hear a lot of hoofs banging off the walls as well as considerable cussing.‖ Harold was talking about Durkoop and Major, and Ed Johnson added that the blacksmiths ―got their share of hoof marks on various parts of their anatomy.‖ According to Roloff, when the horse shoeing partners ―tossed in their tongs and let the embers die down, the Scanlon brothers took over, cleaned out the horse end of the business, and began a car repair shop.‖ The blacksmiths’ first location across from the Putnam Building was later occupied by the Sammamish Valley News. Their second site was most recently Gordon Woolslayer’s Towne Unfinished Furniture. Thirty years ago, local horse rancher Ralph Dodd explained why most horse shoers took their tools to the job: ―The danger is too great for horse owners to risk taking animals to

town shops or elsewhere for shoeing.‖ As Redmond grew, it was inevitable that horse shoers would abandon the downtown area. In the late 1970s, just two blocks southeast of Durkoop and Major’s second shop, Benjamin Askew hooked his old US Army truck up to his wood-frame shop on Redmond Way, and with the help of his son-in-law Alan Wentzel, pulled down the last blacksmith shop in town. For more than 35 years, Askew’s Blacksmith had stood flush to the sidewalk where 166th Avenue ended, and where today the Avenue has been extended to carry traffic south toward Redmond Town Center. A former dairy farmer, Ben Askew left his welder’s job at Houghton’s Lake Washington Shipyards in 1945, and opened a blacksmith shop on the same spot where, in 1939, W.E. Jewett built and operated a previous blacksmith’s, the White Front Shop, just east of the Mond Theater. Shortly before the old shop was demolished, Oscar Ro-

loff wrote, ―It is prophetic that ultimately the hand of time will obliterate Redmond’s remaining blacksmith shop…and that’s one of the reasons why local artist Doris Colvin is capturing it on canvas before that happens.‖ Colvin’s sketch of Askew’s shop can be seen today in the Society’s office, on loan from Gerry Radtke Mellquest. Thanks to Carl Jeppesen, we also have a photograph of Askew’s Blacksmith which Carl took shortly before it was demolished. Carl’s photograph will be used in the walking tour brochure now being compiled of our historic downtown. After pulling down the building, although Ben was at an age when most men retire, he built another shop, this one in his yard at 7903 170th Place. Benjamin Edward Askew continued his blacksmithing work until he became ill at age 90. His daughter Nancy Askew Wentzel remembers living in the house behind the Redmond Way blacksmith shop when her family first came to town just after WWII. Their

Redmond Recorder permanent home was a block north of where the American Legion Hall stood until recently. Nancy also recalls her father buying a few acres on the east side of 148th, south of the Morelli chicken ranch, acreage Ben called ―The Goat Farm.‖ We neglected to ask if there were any goats on the farm. Why would we even ask? In all his decades as a blacksmith, Ben Askew never shoed a horse. ―Horses kick,‖ he used to explain. The shop’s specialty was

Page 5 welding, and while plenty of farm equipment was repaired there over the years, much of Ben’s work was on residents’ pipes and vehicles. One of Ben’s smithing jobs did greatly benefit a horse, however. In 1971, Redmond veterinarian Dr. Peter Dalla Pozza worked with Ben to create an aluminum peg leg for a breeding mare whose leg had been amputated. In researching the blacksmiths of Redmond, Ben’s daughter Nancy was a valuable

resource, as was her brother Jerry Askew, a 1957 graduate of LWHS who worked alongside his father in the early 1970s—in the last blacksmith shop in Redmond.

The Editor’s Corner

Two weeks ago, the family and I drove to Spokane for a few days to see the sights and visit the Healing Rooms that are located there. As a city, Spokane is okay. Nestled in a broad valley, it neither made me want to stay nor made me want to flee. All in all, it is a nice town. We would drive downtown from our motel and park in a parking garage. Then we would walk to our destination. And as we walked I noticed more and more just how many older (and old) buildings there are in Spokane. In some areas of town, it was almost like going back into time. And I thought, ―Wow! What an opportunity! This place is crawling with old buildings! And they’re not just small ones either. Some of these things are 4-5 stories high! I hope that someone see these things and wants to preserve them!‖

We don’t have as many old buildings in Redmond as they do in Spokane and most of our sites aren’t as big. But, then again, our town isn’t quite the same size as their town. But one thing we do have is that spirit that seeks to preserve, restore and re-dedicate our history. We haven’t missed our opportunity. And for that we can be proud. You’re doing a great job, members. I’ll see you on March 10th at the Old Redmond Schoolhouse Community Center at 10:30. - Walt Buchman

Redmond Recorder

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Meeting Highlights Number 18 February 10, 2001 Attending: Betty Buckley Anderson, Kay Nichols Brulé, Jennie Bryden, Angi Buchman, Rachel Buchman, Walt Buchman, Richard Cole, Liz Carlson Coward, Margaret Doman, Evelyn King Gilbert, Jerry Hardy, Naomi Hardy, Chris Himes, Larry Hoger, Harvey Iverson, Pat Weiss Jovag, Barbara Weiss Joyce, Judy Aries Lang, Norma Leicester, Miguel Llanos, Marge Mann, Bill Marr, Clare Marr, Carl Marrs, Pat Marrs, Joanne Bryden Marsh, Daryl Martin, Ward Martin, Doris Hebner McFarland, Gerry Radtke Mellquest, Dale Potter, Jo Ann Potter, Phil Roe, Patsy Cook Rosenbach, Carol Radtke Semandiris, Richard Shank, Ilya Smirnov, Veronica Smirnov, Bob Sollitto, Aisha Strange, Charlene Sugden, Jerry Torell, Judy Gilbert Turner, Kris Underhill, Helen Usibelli, Don Watts, Rose I. Weiss and Margaret Evers Wiese. Treasurer Phil Roe reported our net worth on January 13, 2001 is $15400.78. The $3,000 Municipal Funding money has been received. The $4,000 grant from 1% hotel/motel tax has been approved for our purchasing a computer, digital video camera and software. The fixed expenses of the Society are presently $622/month. A new budget process is ―in place‖ wherein all expense reimbursements are tied to budget line items. Our guest speaker was Richard Shank, lead spokesman for Education Hill Wetlands and Wildlife Preservation and Protection Association. Richard spoke about recent Education Hill history in light of recent land development, wetlands and the Nike Site. Copies of Richard’s presentation outline are available for review at the Society’s ORSCC office. Following Richard’s presentation, we discussed William Perrigo’s coal mines on Education Hill, and the location of Perrigo Springs on the east side of Education Hill. Phil Roe, recording