Rhs Newsletter Oct 2008

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OCTOBER 2008 NEWSLETTER

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THE

REDMOND HISTORICAL SOCIETY 16600 NE 80th Street, Room 106 Redmond, WA 98052 ~ Tel 425.885.2919

VOLUME 10, NUMBER 8 Our Mission: To Discover, Recover, Preserve, Share and Celebrate Redmond’s History

website ~ www.redmondhistory.org email ~ [email protected] HOURS: Monday, Wednesday and Thursday: 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ~ and by appointment

HISTORY IS HAPPENING IN REDMOND!

N

atural Heritage at Bear Creek



O

ur First Residents

Most of Redmond takes it for granted since

it’s hidden along Avondale Road and behind Town Center, but Bear Creek has one of the last major wild salmon runs in Washington. It’s a cornerstone of our natural heritage, and has faced pressure as Redmond has grown. A huge threat loomed when the state decided to widen the start of 520 and the bridge over the Sammamish River. That meant bringing vehicle pollutants much closer to the sensitive creek. What to do? Resident Gary Smith rallied the Historical Society and Watertenders, a group dedicated to protecting Bear Creek,

October is Archaeology Month ~ and what better way to



and together we convinced the state and

mark it than a presentation on our Native American heritage.

the city (thank you Council and Mayor John

This includes Redmond’s most famous dig – a 1964 excavation

Marchione!) to fund moving that section of

at Marymoor along the Sammamish River that uncovered 226

Bear Creek northward and meandering it past

native artifacts, featuring many arrowheads, some seen above.

Redmond Town Center to the Sammamish

Redmond’s first residents are thought to have spent summers

River.

and falls along the river to catch salmon before returning back

“Letters from constituents were of major support when we needed help in the State

to settlements in the Cascade foothills. Taking us on the tour back in time

Legislature,” recalls Councilman Richard Cole.

will be Philippe LeTourneau,

“We had lots of help in Olympia,” he added,

an archaeologist

especially Reps. Deb Eddy, Ross Hunter, Larry

with the King County

Springer, Roger Goodman, Fred Jarrett and

Historic Preservation

Judy Clibborn, and Sens. Rodney Tom and Eric

Program. He’s also an

Oemig.

affiliate curator at the

Some concerns still exist about vehicle

University of Washington's

pollutants, but Watertenders and others will be

Burke Museum, and has

monitoring the project, which should start in

excavated sites around the

2009. l

county, including Redmond. l

The Redmond Recorder ~ October 2008

1

RHS OCTOBER MEETING



SATURDAY, OCT. 11TH 10:30 A.M. TO 12:00 NOON at the

OLD REDMOND SCHOOLHOUSE 16600 NE 80th Street

History is Happening in Redmond!

L

ewis Green: Our “Pay-As-You-Can Mayor”

2008 RHS GENERAL MEETING SATURDAY, OCT. 11TH 10:30 to Noon AT THE

OLD REDMOND SCHOOLHOUSE COMMUNITY CENTER

2008 Executive Board Judy Lang President pro tem Chris Himes Vice-President Miguel Llanos Vice-President Joanne Westlund Treasurer Margaret Wiese Corresponding Secretary Beryl Standley Recording Secretary Board of Directors Mary Hanson Nao Hardy Jon Magnussen Doris Schaible Joe Townsend Patti Simpson Ward

Office Manager Monica Park

Attorney Charles Diesen Birthday Card Coordinator Amo Marr

Library Liasion Andy McClung

................................................... Our finances are public record and may be viewed at the office. ...................................................

FREE Newsletter

With this profile, we begin a periodic look at Redmond’s mayors. Louie and Dorothy Green gave much to Redmond. Their daughter, Lynn Green Stormans, shares some of that history with us in the article below:



Louie and Dorothy Green in 1960 with their grandson. (Sammamish Valley News archives.)

Born in Durham, England, on October 4, 1902, Lewis Green came

to America at age two with his parents. Louie, as he was called, became a citizen in 1927 and moved to Redmond in 1932, proving to be very resourceful. He operated the Redmond Stage Line; bought and drove an ambulance; ran a garage business that became Green’s Super Service and later Lewis Green’s Motor Car dealership. Louie married Dorothy Gullette in 1931. They had four children: Lynn, Nancy, John and Mary. All the children attended Redmond Grade School, graduated from Lake Washington High School and then from college. Much credit goes to Dorothy Green, who was certified from the University of Washington to start a kindergarten, which she did in the Methodist Church, and later incorporated it into the school district. She also trained and led Redmond’s first Brownies group, trained Girl Scout leaders and was involved in the Girl Scout camps on Mercer Island and Hood Canal. For several years, men of the community asked Lewis to run for mayor. A large group met with Louie and talked late into the night before he agreed to run. He thought it was too big a job, along with his business, but he did run and won. He served as Redmond’s third mayor from 1949 to 1952, but

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the workload was too much and he resigned after three years.

The Redmond Recorder

yelling to get people away from a fire and no one was listening, he simply

Published nine times annually Miguel Llanos Editor Patti Simpson Ward Society/Newsletter Graphic Designer

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The family remembers their dad as a popular businessman. If a customer could not pay right away, he would say, “Pay as you can.” A handshake would seal the deal. Louie was also one of Redmond’s first volunteer firemen. Once, when turned the hose on them. Yes, a few people were mad. He could also be found hammering, stacking bricks and pouring cement for the new Town Hall. His family recalls taking him meals on those long days. Derby Days was a big event. Louie usually rode his daughter’s tiny bike to start off the races. Once he came in on a dog sled, as if he was just back from an Alaska fishing trip. His kids said he made everything fun. Louie loved his family, his community and his life. He died at age 70 in 1973, and Dorothy died in 1992. Both are buried at Cedar Lawns Memorial Park in Redmond. l

The Redmond Recorder ~ October 2008

2

History is Happening in Redmond!

H

ydro History is Coming Back to Life!

RHS Member, LeRoy Olsen saved "Miss Sammamish."

We can thank Society member LeRoy Olsen for



Again, it proved to be a ride to nowhere.

saving Miss Sammamish ~ a piece of Seattle hydroracing

“The boat eventually ended up in a Redmond

warehouse,” the Times stated.

history with a Redmond link.

That warehouse was LeRoy’s storage barn off

Built in 1956 by Lyle Parks of Seattle and originally known as Miss Skyway, the hydro was never a winner,

Novelty Hill. LeRoy in 1989 donated the boat to

but she reflects the quirky nature of the sport ~ boats

racing legend Bill Muncey Jr., son of the racing

put together with barely enough money and sponsors

legend. It’s now being restored in Bellevue by Bill

that changed from race to race.

McDonough at Superior Automotive. “I was told this hydro did qualify along with the Slo-mo for the Gold

She had two Corvette engines, but never got over 45 m.p.h., according to a 1981 Seattle Times article. “In

Cup,” the nation’s premiere hydro race in Detroit,

1957 it became the Sunny Brand Luncheon Meats and

LeRoy recalls. “It had an Alison engine then, but the

again was a fleet ‘turkey’,” the Times noted.

owner of the engine was owed money and he put a



lien on the boat so that the boat was disqualified and

“Another aborted attempt with the boat would have

it being taken to shopping centers where children would

the engine was removed. When I bought the boat it

climb into the cockpit while then engine was running.

had no engine!” l

Miss Skyway went by the number U-7, the same one still on Miss Sammamish. (Photo courtesy of the Seattle Times.)

The Redmond Recorder ~ October 2008

3

History is Happening in Redmond!

A

W

ere You at Our September 13th, 2008 General Meeting?



Heap of Historical Thanks to:

MARY HANSON for donating a coffee urn for

These folks were! First time attendees are noted in BOLD

CAPITAL LETTERS!

our general meetings JOE TOWNSEND for making coffee at the

Adams, Ray

Martin, Daryl

Adams, Ruth

Matsui, Dorothy

Alexander, Margo

McCormick, Elma

TOM HITZROTH for offering the 2008 walking

Anderson, Betty

McCoskrie, Don

tours along Leary Way

Anderson, Ralph

McCoskrie, Eileen

Bartley, David

Miller, Larry

Bartley, Elsie

Mills, Lorraine

pedestrians and bicyclists that point the

Campbell, Sally

Montgomery, Mary

way to local areas, including Old Town along

Coward, Liz

Morey, Cammie

Leary Way

Dudley, Irene

Morey, Melissa

Elduen, Violet

Morey, Mike

Emmanuel, Tony

Morey, Mike Jr.

Foreman, Diane

Muñoz, Alexa

Foreman, Jan

Naslund, Fred

Fowler, Joyce

Park, Monica

Frey, Stan

Phillips, John

Garland, Lillian Goetschius, Millie Goetschius, Russ Goshorn, Herbert Goshorn, Jean Etta Hammersberg, Clara Hammersberg, Jerry Hansen, Tom Hanson, Mary Hanson, Roy Himes, Chris Ingersoll, Jo Ann Isackson, Diana Isackson, Duane Isackson, Joanne Isackson, Lloyd

September meeting

REDMOND CITY STAFF for the 20 signs for

Phillips, Roxie Rosenbach, Patsy Rosenbach, Ruth Ann Salmi, Anne Saunders, Dee Schaible, Doris Scott, Claudia Shults, Avis Smith, Elsie Standley, Beryl

G

Stensland, Don Stray, Fran Stray, Fred Sween, Faye Tessem, Donna



ot Any White Elephants?

We’ve been adding an element of surprise

Tessem, Ken

to our general meetings by awarding a white

Kenyon, Cheryl

Tollfeldt, Anne

elephant gift to a lucky winner!

Kuhl, Betty

Tollfeldt, Harvey



Kuhl, Howard

Torell, Jerry

and supplied the first gift – a salmon-shaped

Llanos, Miguel

Townsend, Joe

Lutz, Brian

Vallene, Arlyn

Magnuson, Cheryl

Vallene, Leonard

Marion, Sandy

Watkins, JoAnn

Marr, Amo

White, Bob

Martin, Bob

Wiese, Margaret

Kenyon, Bruce

The Redmond Recorder ~ October 2008

Russ Goetschius came up with the idea,

fish platter.

If you’ve got something you’d like to

donate, please bring it to our next meeting so that Russ can assess whether to add it to the pot. l

4

History is Happening in Redmond!

B

ring in a Morey’s Auction Item

Nearly everyone at last month’s general meeting had been to or heard

P

hotograph Our Heritage

of Morey’s Auction House, the subject of our presentation. So, now it’s time

So many of our members

to search through your attics and bring in something (small) to share that

knew Morey’s, but no one ~ not

you bought at Morey’s!

even the family ~ has photos of

In addition, great-grandson Mike Morey Jr. would love to have something from those days to keep as a family heirloom. If you have a Morey’s item to give to his family cause, please contact him at 425.867.2307 or [email protected]. l

the place.

That got member Jean

Etta Goshorn to thinking. Why don’t we urge our members to

H

photograph buildings and places

istory Happenings (Free!)

that we might take for granted today but which will be part of our history tomorrow?

THE NEW DEAL ~ 75 YEARS LATER



October 15th at 7:00 p.m. ~ Preston Activity Center, Preston

for your family archives and, if

King County Executive Ron Sims marks the anniversary by showcasing

you’ve got some you’re really

countywide projects from that era, including Redmond’s Anderson Park.

proud of, please share them with

NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES REVIEW/COMMENTS

the Society. l

So do your part, take photos

October 17th at 9:00 a.m. ~ Kirkland Heritage Hall, 203 Market Street Redmond's Anderson Park and five other county sites built by the New Deal’s Works Progress Administration are being nominated for the National Register of Historic Places. Comments are sought at a review October 17th.

PAST PERFECT GENEALOGY October 29th at 7:00 p.m. ~ Kirkland Heritage Hall, 203 Market Street How-to on using genealogy software, presented by Dale and Loita Hawkinson. Hosted by the Kirkland Heritage Society. l

✂ Redmond Reflections Order Form Also available at the Redmond Library!

We ship free for current members, so if you haven't joined or renewed, there's a form on the last page of this newsletter that you can send in with the book order form below. Price per book: $21.78 ($20.00 + $1.78 Washington Sales Tax) (Non-Members, please add postage: $3 for one book, $5 for two and $8 for three or more) ADDRESS TO MAIL BOOK(S) TO:

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Mail completed form (please print clearly) and check or money order to:

Redmond Historical Society

16600 NE 80th, Room 106, Redmond, WA 98052 The Redmond Recorder ~ October 2008

5

History is Happening in Redmond!

WANTED!!! BUSINESS PARTNERS!

IS YOUR BUSINESS ROOTED IN REDMOND? if so, Redmond Historical Society is looking for partners who, in exchange for a tax deductable financial donation, would be allowed to reach our 1,200 readers via this space and on our website at: www.redmondhistory.org Contact Miguel Llanos at [email protected] or by phone at 425.869.9806.

J

oin the Redmond Historical Society AND HELP DISCOVER, RECOVER, PRESERVE AND SHARE REDMOND’S HISTORY!

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