Diablo Dam incline railway climbing Sourdough Mountain, 1930. Courtesy Seattle Municipal Archives, 2306.
Children waving to ferry, 1950. Courtesy Museum of History and Industry.
Loggers in the Northwest woods. Courtesy Washington State Digital Archives.
We are looking forward to 2023 when we will be working on stories about Seattle's Central Waterfront, the remarkable civic leadership of Jim Ellis, pioneers in Washington's wine industry, Seattle Public Schools, the 150th anniversary of the Northern Pacific Railroad's arrival in Tacoma, and more!
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This week HistoryLink features some of our new content related to Snohomish County, thanks to a grant from the Snohomish County Historic Preservation Commission. We begin with our new walking tour of downtown Snohomish. This self-guided tour highlights many of the historic buildings located throughout the city, so if you plan on doing any holiday shopping there, be sure go to HistoryLink.tours on your mobile device, select the "Downtown Snohomish" tour, and explore some history.
Next we look at the county’s early newspaper history, which includes a story about the time an Everett News editor shot and killed a man during a scuffle over politics. We also feature some people who worked for the press years later, such as photojournalist Marjorie Duryee, who wrote a travel series for the Everett Herald beginning in 1952, and John Patric, a journalist who can best be described as “controversial.”
From there we move on to Bel Marie Gardner, an Everett teacher, police matron, and social worker who made child welfare her primary purpose and legacy. We also note Emma Yule, who – in 1891 – became the first teacher at Everett’s first school building. And in the business world, we look at Western Gear Corporation, which built the turntable for the top of the Space Needle during its six decades of operation, and Arlington-based Eviation Aircraft, which earlier this year flew a prototype of the first all-electric commuter airplane.
On December 15, 1899, students at the University of Washington accepted an offer from developer and rowing aficionado E. F. Blaine to help establish a rowing club on campus. Within a year enough money was raised and support garnered to build two four-oared rowing gigs, a boathouse, and a dock and float for the boats. Crew racing gained official (if unfunded) university recognition in 1903.
In 1906, UW hired Hiram B. Conibear as its first salaried rowing coach, assisted by Cornell rower Mark Odell. In 1912, Conibear recruited English boatbuilding brothers Dick and George Pocock to make a racing shell for his varsity crew. The Pococks later went to work for Bill Boeing, building pontoons for his seaplanes, but continued to build racing shells, for both the UW and for other rowing programs.
After World War I, the rowing crews began using a converted seaplane hangar on Union Bay as the ASUW shell house, which soon housed George Pocock's workshop. Dick Pocock had left Seattle in 1922 to build shells on the East Coast, but George -- after quitting his job at Boeing later that same year -- remained at UW, where he devoted the rest of his life to building racing shells, later joined by his son, Stan Pocock. In 1923 the Husky varsity oarsmen propelled a Pocock shell to the school's first national championship by defeating Navy in the Intercollegiate Rowing Association's Poughkeepsie Regatta. And in 1936, in another Pocock-built shell, the UW varsity eight won the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Nazi Germany, a story detailed in the best-selling book The Boys in the Boat.
News Then,History Now
Two Into One
On December 19, 1898, the Skagit County towns of Sedro and Wooley merged after almost a decade of rivalry. Sedro began as a coal town and incorporated in 1891, right around the time railroad developer Phillip A. Woolley platted his own namesake company town right next door. Even after the merger, some of the residents sought to maintain each half's individual identity.
Work to Be Done
On December 15, 1868, 24-year-old Chun Ching Hock -- believed to be Seattle's first Chinese immigrant – opened the Wa Chong Company, a general-merchandise store at the foot of Mill Street (now Yesler Way). Chun moved back to China in 1900, but remained an owner of the Wa Chong Company, which later moved to 719 S King Street -- now home to the Wing Luke Asian Museum -- in the Chinatown-International District.
There Goes the Sun
December 17 seems to be a nexus of chilly history. On that day in 1871, record snow blanketed much of the Puget Sound region, and it was so cold that the Snohomish River froze. On December 17, 1990, a windstorm tore through Puget Sound and caused Washington State Ferries more than $3 million in damages. And beginning on December 17, 2008, two weeks of awful winter weather battered the state.
Faulty Transportation
On December 18, 1915, Spokane's steel Division Street Bridge collapsed, sending five people to their deaths. A concrete span was built in its place. And on December 18, 2017, an Amtrak Cascades passenger train derailed near DuPont on its inaugural run from Seattle to Portland, killing three. An investigation determined that the train had been traveling at 80 mph on a curve with a speed limit of 30 mph.
Days of Dedication
On December 17, 1962, Seattle Mayor Gordon Clinton officiated at a dedication ceremony celebrating the arrival of the first water from the city's new Tolt River supply system, which was piped to the newly completed Lake Forest Park Reservoir. The next day, Clinton was on hand for the dedication of Seattle’s Lake Washington Ship Canal Bridge, but it did not go smoothly. The ribbon was cut way too early, and everyone ran to their cars before any of the dedicatory speeches were given.
On December 17, 1929, in the midst of a municipal power crisis, the U.S.S. Lexington began supplying power to Tacoma.
Quote of the Week
"This story begins in a little town that stretches haphazardly between rolling hills and a slow-flowing tidal river, deep and navigable. Less than ten miles to the west are the cliff-shores, coves, and tide flats of Puget Sound, and beyond, the Pacific. Not much more distant eastward begin the first steep, forested foothills of the Cascade Mountains.”
