Rhs Newsletter 06 2005

History is Happening in Redmond!

The Redmond Recorder June 2005 Vol. 7, No. 6 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 While reminiscing about what’s left in the Sammamish Valley with Redmond Historical Society members Larry Miller and Jon Magnussen we all said almost in unison: “We still have wine making.” We were referring to all the wineries in the valley. “Boutique wineries” can be traced back to when the Italian farmers moved into the valley and began making wine in their basements. Probably back to the time of Prohibition. The Cerquis, Garbarinos, and Zanassis along with my grandfather Albert Aries are a few of the Italians I recall making wine. I refer to them as the “old boutique” wineries and I doubt if any of them had ever heard the word “boutique.” The “grape train” came to Seattle’s Georgetown from Napa Valley, California. They used their farm flatbed trucks for bringing the grapes to their wineries, or rather basements of their homes. Back then there were only two kinds of grapes available for winemaking: zinfandel to make red wine and Muscat for the white. It would take about 14 pounds of grapes to make one gallon of wine. Each lug of grapes weighed 36 pounds. So doing the math, it would take about 40 lugs for 100 gallons of wine. Some families made as much as 100 gallons of wine. Each family had their own large oak barrels but they shared the other equipment like the press and crusher. I believe the bottles were saved from year to year. There was always speculation as to whose wine Continued on Page 2

June 11th Meeting’s a Picnic and Heritage Art Show Viewing 11-noon: Art viewing at Old Redmond Schoolhouse. Noon-2pm: Potluck picnic at Anderson Park (no rain) or Schoolhouse (rain). The Old Time Fiddlers will entertain as we get a chance to Redmonisce and celebrate the society’s 6th birthday!

Cemetery Meeting June 11

This plaque at Old Redmond Cemetery appears to have been gouged by a mower.

Do you have family or friends at the Old Redmond Cemetery? If so, you’ll want to attend our June 11th picnic meeting, where we’ll discuss concerns about maintenance, especially the move to lower all pillow and hickey style memorials to ground level. While the Society had asked the owners to improve the grounds, the intention was never to see changes to the graves themselves. Andy Weiss, who has 16 relatives there, notified the City, which issued a stop work order given that Continued on Page 3

The Redmond Recorder 6/05

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History is Happening in Redmond!

2005 Meetings

Redmond’s ‘Boutique’ Wineries of Old

After our June picnic, we’ll take a summer break (no newsletter either) and then resume our Saturday meetings in the fall: Sept. 10, Oct. 8, Nov. 12 10 a.m.-noon at the Old Redmond Schoolhouse Community Center _________________________

2005 Executive Board Judy Lang, President Naomi Hardy, VP Miguel Llanos, VP Teresa Becker, Treasurer Margaret Wiese, Corresponding Secretary Beryl Standley, Recording Secretary Board of Directors Terri Gordon Tom Hitzroth Jon Magnussen Amo Marr Daryl Martin Doris Schaible

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

Video to DVD? We need to transfer old 16mm film and VHS tapes to DVDs as well as audio cassettes to CDs. If you can help, please contact Miguel Llanos at (425) 869-9806 or [email protected]

The Redmond Recorder 6/05

Kay and Scott Garbarino help press some grapes. Did they know they were making wine, or was it grape juice to them???

Continued from Page 1

was the best, but there was never any trouble getting rid of it, no matter how good or bad it might have tasted. Many friends of the families would receive gallons of wine for favors or for special celebrations. A favor might be an extra load of gravel dumped in your driveway. It was never sold, but a permit was needed to make the wine even for personal use. It was hard work. Never like the large celebration you see in movies where the women with bare feet are stomping the grapes while singing and dancing, but that surely would have made it more fun. As always, things change. In the 1960s some new Italian families came to town. Redmond Police Chief Bob Sollitto and Police Capt. Fred Patricelli bought the winemaking equipment from the Aries, Garbarino and Cerqui trio and that was the end of winemaking for my family. Judy Aries Lang, president ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Old Redmond Walking Tours Return If you live in Redmond, you probably drive along Leary Way daily. But do you know the histories of our oldest buildings? Like which one was both an undertaker’s premises and a bordello? Society board member Tom Hitzroth will educate and entertain folks with walking tours that explore those histories. The next dates are: June 19 and Sept. 18. Tours run from 1-2:30 p.m. and walkers meet on the front steps of the Justice White House. Walks won’t be held in the rain! A $6 fee helps fund Society research and pre-registration is required. To do so, e-mail Tom at [email protected] or phone our office at (425) 885-2919. 2

History is Happening in Redmond!

Were You at our May 14th Meeting? These Folks Were: Anderson, Betty Bay, Joanne Stenquist Becker, Dan Becker, Teresa Lang Bellings, Lucille Hansen Blair, Dusty Watts Blair, Wayne Brown, Al Brown, Helen Brulé, Kay Nichols DeBlauw, Karen Duffus, Natalie Emmanuel, Tony Frey, Marilyn Frey, Stan Garland, Lillian Gilbert, Evelyn King Gordon, Terri Gorlick, Audrey Hahnlen, Charlotte Everson Hammersberg, Clara McSparran Hammersberg, Jerry Hansen, Tom Hanson, Marge

Hanson, Roy Hardy, Naomi Hitzroth, Tom Hussey, Linda Ingersoll, Jo Ann Isackson, Duane Isackson, Joanne Jewell, Joan * Lang, Judy Aries Light, Lenora Forcier* Llanos, Miguel Magnuson, Cheryl Magnussen, Jon Magruder, Joan Marrs, Pat Martin, Daryl McCoskrie, Eileen Mercer, Betty Miller, Larry Montgomery, Mary Munoz, Alexa Murphy, Ed Olson, Le Roy Perrigo, Erma*

Perrigo, Thomas Paine* Pickett, Virginia Porter Rosenbach, Patsy Cook Rowe, Steve* Salmi, Ann Shults, Avis Solomon, Brad Stoneback, Phyllis Strange, Makelah Stray, Arne Stensland, Don Thayer, Boyka Dincov Tollfeldt, Anne Tollfeldt, Harvey Torell, Jerry Turner, Judy Underhill, Kristine Watkins, JoAnn Watts, Don Weiss, Rose Wiese, Margaret Evers Williams, Peggy* *First-time visitor

Cemetery Meeting June 11 Continued from Page 1

the cemetery is on the City’s list of registered historic sites. “I found upon inspection that SCI is randomly lowering headstones by removing the concrete emplacement that surrounds the headstone and is designed to protect the headstone from damage during maintenance,” City staffer Dianna Broadie informed the City Council and Mayor Ives. SCI, which owns the cemetery, is expected to respond by early June and Andy is hoping to rally others in case legal action is required. Andy’s concerns were first raised in the King County Journal, followed by KING TV. And CNN is now looking at using the cemetery as an example of problems at corporate-run cemeteries across the nation. Andy can be contacted at (425) 788-1515 or (425) 788-0815 or via e-mail to [email protected]. The Redmond Recorder 6/05

Lowered pillow headstones are seen in the center, compared with the traditional raised headstones at right.

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History is Happening in Redmond!

Thank Yous!

Helen Turcotte Frances McEvers adds to our recent Helen Turcotte findings that “Helen was a very good friend of Mrs. Farrel-McWhirter who, when she found out that she was dying, either gave or sold Helen 15 acres to the northeast of the Hutcheson homestead” – which was the FarrelMcWhirter property and later became the park of the same name.

Kirkland Ferry Update Liz Coward wrote to say that the Lincoln ferry was retired in 1949, but the Leschi ferry took its place for one more year until 1950. “That was the last year I took the Kirkland-Madison ferry to Seattle for my violin lessons. Since about sixth grade, I rode the bus after school from Redmond to Kirkland, and then took the Leschi to Madison Park, where I took a Madison streetcar over the hill and down to Second and Pine Streets where my teacher Bruno Mailer had his studio. Getting back to Redmond was everything in reverse, and in the winter time it was dark by the time I was walking home from the bus stop!!”

Redmond on Radio Gabe Morelli and Nao Hardy are among those interviewed for a KPLU radio segment on “Redmond as a company town” in the era of Microsoft. The piece can be heard on KPLU’s Web site at: kplu.org/news/company_towns.html

The Redmond Recorder 6/05

A heap of historical thanks to these great people for donating treasures, expertise, time and energy! Treasurer Teresa Becker for enabling a smooth budget process. Jerry Hammersberg for having his drill at the ready when needed at the office. Tony Emmanuel for: photos he took of our outing to the Isackson homestead and lumber mill last September; a Redmond First National Bank letter to Tony's mother Mary Emmanuel; and a recent photo of Ray and Jo Ann Watkins' milk house, which will shortly be demolished on the Redmond-Fall City Road. Suzanne Neslund Simmons for the $20 "tip" she added to her membership dues this year. Sharon Haumann Shadle for genealogical information about her family. Patsy Rosenbach, Eileen McCoskrie, Russ Goetschius and Miguel Llanos for staffing our booth at the Saturday Market in May. Robert Anderson who donated Martin Hartman's land deed of 1894, in memory of Deborah Anderson. Ted and Barb Swan for donations that included a booklet of WWII insignias and other military items; a sponge shaped and printed like a dollar bill from the First National Bank of Redmond; a "wooden nickel" from Woodie's Tavern, the Corner Tavern when owned by Woodie Reed; a rare 1949 issue of "Overlake Outlook," an Eastside weekly newspaper with a photo of Miss Redmond Jeanne Mathews, who was appearing with other beauties at the celebration of the floating bridge's toll removal. The war items belonged to Ted's father, long-time Redmond Treasurer Rex Swan.

In Memoriam Gordon Bjerke, brother of Society member Arlyn Bjerke Vallene and himself once a Society member, passed away last month from Crone's disease.

Gossard Lumber Site? The company developing the old Gossard Lumber Company site on Cleveland Street into condominiums is looking to showcase some Redmond history, and especially that of the Gossard company and predecessors, when it markets the units. If you can provide some information on the site’s history, please contact Mat Kraetsch of the Ryness Company at (425) 460-8454 or [email protected]. 4

History is Happening in Redmond!

Let’s Do Derby Days as a Bike Float!

Redmondiscing Jan McClure wrote: “I attended your last meeting as Dusty Blair's guest and visited with many old friends there. My husband and I moved to Redmond in 1967 when he opened the Redmond State Bank in a trailer unit at the corner of Avondale and 167th across from the American Legion Hall. He built the building on that site that now houses Frontier Bank. “We both were very active in Redmond civic organizations and the Chamber of Commerce, he as president in 1970 and also a Kiwanis president. I worked for the Chamber first as a secretary and later as manager until 1975. I also served on the City of Redmond Planning Commission in the early ‘70s. “I re-entered the education field after a long absence and retired from Redmond Elementary in 2001. Jim, my husband, continued in business in Redmond after he left the banking business. Our children attended Redmond Elementary and graduated from Redmond High School in the late ‘70s. “When we retired we sold our home to our youngest son and moved to the Hood Canal area in 2003. All three sons still live in Redmond. So you can see we still have an interest in Redmond. We look forward to receiving your newsletter and hope to attend another of your meetings.”

The Redmond Recorder 6/05

We won’t have someone painted in gold as in this Derby float, but the Society would love to have some old bicycles to ride or have pulled on a trailer. We’ve already got Opie Hartman’s sidecar bike, but please contact Miguel Llanos at (425) 869-9806 or [email protected] if you can help with: 1) Old bicycles, tricycles to ride or have pulled. 2) Flat bed trailer. 3) Pickup truck to pull trailer and seat a few people. The 2005 Derby Parade is July 9th and we’d need the wheels from 9-noon. By the way, the identity of the man with the golden bike stumped members at our last meeting as well as folks at a meeting of the Eastside Heritage Center, which provided the photo. But Betty Anderson later said she was pretty sure it was Buckey Wilhite, a prankster who’s also remembered for having once parachuted onto the Derby grounds! If anyone knows more about the photo contact Nao Hardy at [email protected] or 425 883-3866.

Redmond in Ripley’s ‘Believe It or Not?’ At our May meeting, Arne Stray recalled seeing a 1940s newspaper clipping stating that Redmond, with just 500 residents at the time, had made it into Ripley’s “Believe It or Not” as having the most gas stations per capita – one for every 50 residents. That certainly seems believable given the “hub” system connecting Redmond to Kirkland, Bellevue, Duvall, North Bend and Issaquah. But does anyone still have that clipping? If so, contact Nao Hardy at (425) 883-3866 or [email protected]. 5

History is Happening in Redmond!

Heritage Art Contest Help Cut Newsletter Costs If you receive the newsletter via US Mail and have access to email we ask that you please try subscribing via e-mail instead. Not only will you help reduce costs, but the photo quality is much better in e-mail! To sign up, e-mail [email protected]. If it doesn’t work out you can always go back to US Mail.

Some 50 scenes of Redmond’s heritage are on display from June 4Aug. 5 in the main hallway of the Old Redmond Schoolhouse Community Center. We’ll have an informal viewing at 11 a.m. June 11th, just before our picnic (See Page 1). The art includes paintings of the Bill Brown Building (Big Time Pizza), the Justice White House, local barns and pastoral settings. We’re proud to sponsor, along with the Redmond Arts Commission and the Eastside Association of Fine Arts, the first ever (as far as we know!) Redmond Heritage Art Contest. We’ll announce the winners at Derby Days and in the September newsletter. The Society hopes to acquire one or more pieces and its aim for the event is to promote our mission – in this case via artwork!

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:

BUSINESS PARTNERS WANTED Is your business rooted in Redmond? If so, Redmond Historical Society is looking for partners who, in exchange for a tax-deductible financial donation, would be allowed to reach our 1,200 readers via this space and on our Web site at www.redmondhistory.org. Contact Miguel Llanos at [email protected] or (425) 869-9806. The Redmond Recorder 6/05

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