Opinion / History Files
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On a trek to find a lost waterfall | History Files
Thirteen years ago, I went in search of Anabe Falls with three friends: Michele Harris, Marie Lovell, and Brian Harris. Anabe Falls is east of North Bend, and a long way from Snohom... — Updated 8/9/2023
Power plants bring/brought electricity to Puget Sound | History File
My mother's parents lost their farm in the southeast corner of Montana, near Ridge, in 1924. They packed up everything they could, like "The Beverly Hillbillies," and left... — Updated 3/22/2023
Old Amtrak Cascade bistro car ready for viewing | History Files
Talgo 6 trainsets traveled through Edmonds on a daily basis as the Amtrak Cascades for more than two decades. And the Northwest Railway Museum in Snoqualmie was able to acquire a Ta... — Updated 3/8/2023
Historical records provide some answers | History Files
Popular author Mary Daheim died eight months ago. Teresa A. Anderson and I have been helping Mary’s family sort through photos and historic records that Mary had collected.... — Updated 11/25/2022
On watersheds and lost rivers | History Files
Recent trips to Alpental at Snoqualmie Pass and Black River Junction in Renton were learning experiences and reminders of history that is older than usually found in textbooks. I... — Updated 11/2/2022
History: It's all about connections
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 8/24/2022
Anna Curtis: Which town was named for her?
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
A story with two happy endings | History Files
In my last column, I wrote about former Seattle Mariner third-base coach Rich Donnelly, his daughter Amy, her losing battle with cancer in the 1990s, and a couple of nearly forgotten baseball players who deserve to be remembered.... — Updated 8/3/2022
Life lesson: Always look behind the obvious | History Files
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
Train depots were king back in the day | History Files
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
Towns built, towns wiped out – and forgotten | History Files
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
A road trip, and a still-missing photo | History Files
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
Snohomish County, and its coaching tie to the U-Dub | History Files
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
Trivia time: presidents and vice presidents | History Files
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
What happened to old depots from 100 years ago? | History Files
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
Would you buy a home on the site of an old coal mine? | History Files
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
Our shorelines are not where they used to be | History File
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
How is Swoosie Kurtz's name related to Washington state? | History Files
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
Post offices and the past | History Files
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
Who knew? Washington's shared distinction in American history | History Files
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
Alpine and the Spanish flu | History Files
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
Technology Corridor: History worthy of remembrance
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 and the Spanish Flu
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