A number of years ago, I was sitting on the sofa in the late Mary Daheim's living room. On the end table next to me was a book titled "A Hoghead's Random Railroad Reminiscences."... — Updated 8/17/2022

Have you visited Joyce, Florence, Beverly, Addy, Arletta, Amanda Park, or Lebam? Those are all towns in Washington named for wives, daughters, and lady friends. There are certainly... — Updated 8/10/2022

The chicken runs at midnight. This isn’t ancient history. Much more recent. It dates from 1992, but it seems appropriate this year when the Seattle Mariners may be making a... — Updated 7/27/2022

The history of railroads in Snohomish County is really rather boring. Great Northern Railway reached Edmonds in 1891. The most unusual aspect of this arrival was that Great Northern... — Updated 7/20/2022

I watched a YouTube video presented by "The History Guy," who likes to specialize in forgotten history. The particular episode was about Camp Ellis near Ipava, Illinois. During... — Updated 7/6/2022

It was nearly a three-hour drive from Edmonds to Issaquah to Port Orchard. Later in the day, I reversed the route to come home. Why would I do that? In Port Orchard there were... — Updated 6/29/2022

I mentioned a few weeks ago that celebrated local author Mary Daheim had died. She had been the voice for the ghost town of Alpine, Washington, a title I have inherited. I also... — Updated 6/8/2022

I was looking through my old files to find something that I could post on the "Remembering Alpine Washington" Facebook page. I found an old interview granted by Mary Daheim. I also... — Updated 6/1/2022

We all know the southwest Snohomish County of today. Edmonds, Lynnwood, Mukilteo, Mill Creek, Mountlake Terrace, and Brier are the municipalities. But what about 100 years ago? Wher... — Updated 5/11/2022

In a recent article I mentioned attending a program at the Mercer Slough Environmental Education Center in Bellevue. While there, I met a man who is knowledgeable about the history... — Updated 5/4/2022

A birdwatcher mentioned to me that there didn’t seem to be any grebes around. The grebe has always been a very common bird. On any given day he might see hundreds. A few days... — Updated 3/30/2022

The name of actress Swoosie Kurtz is familiar to many. Years ago, I assumed that Swoosie was a nickname of some sort. Wrong. Swoosie is really her name, and there is a Puget Sound... — Updated 3/23/2022

I call Skykomish my home away from home. But due to COVID-19, I haven't gotten there as often in the last two years as I would have liked. Fortunately for me and others, there is a... — Updated 3/9/2022

Did you ever play post office? I never did, and had no idea of the rules until doing some research on local post offices. A town was measured by its post office, as much as by its... — Updated 1/5/2022

A number of years ago there was much complaining about a bridge to nowhere in Alaska. My story today is a bit different. It is about roads that would have gone somewhere useful in... — Updated 12/1/2021

Why does it matter that Seagen is now the sixth most valuable company in Washington, and who cares other than shareholders? Would the jobs at Seagen still be as valuable if the... — Updated 11/27/2021

The name Diamond Knot is familiar to many residents of southwest Snohomish County. Many are acquainted with the brewpubs in Mukilteo and Mountlake Terrace, but few know the origin... — Updated 8/18/2021

We spent a day chasing history. The first location was the Cleveland High School Memorial Forest. After World War II, Cleveland High School students bought 20 acres on... — Updated 8/14/2021

Editor's note: Edmonds resident Tim Raetzloff, who writes the History Files column for the Beacon, was a contestant on a "Jeopardy!" episode that aired in January 1989. (His show... — Updated 2/24/2021

Editor's note: Edmonds resident Tim Raetzloff, who writes the History Files column for the Beacon, was a contestant on "Jeopardy!" in 1988. After the death of longtime host Alex Tre... — Updated 2/3/2021

Washington was admitted to the union Nov. 11, 1889, less than a year before Edmonds was incorporated. Every fourth grader in the state might be able to tell you that snippet of... — Updated 5/10/2020

Author Mary Daheim sent me an email that her cousin Steve Shelley, who is also an author, sent her a message reminding her that during the Spanish flu in 1918-1919 Alpine,... — Updated 4/23/2020

Driving near Paine Field recently, I saw a sign for the Technology Corridor. I didn’t realize any of those signs still existed. For the Technology Corridor is mostly forgotten,... — Updated 3/11/2020

The Stanley Cup still bears evidence of the Spanish flu, more than 100 years after the event. A couple of years ago I asked my friend Billy Gleeson to take a picture of the Stanley... — Updated 3/4/2020

In studying history, like art and architecture, perspective is paramount. An acquaintance sent me a note, probably paraphrased of what he had read in an old journal from an early... — Updated 2/19/2020