March 2001

Vol. III. No. 3

The

Redmond Recorder

In This Issue…

RHS Receives Grant ...... 1

Moments in Time ........... 1

Inquiring Minds ............. 2

Crossroads Root Fair ...... 3

Derby Days .................... 3

Artist Dorisjean Colvin .. 3

Just Before Valentines ... 3

Remembering ................. 4

The Editor’s Corner ....... 5

Meeting Highlights ........ 6

The Redmond Historical Society Old Redmond Schoolhouse Community Center

16600 NE 80th St., Room 106, Redmond, WA. 98052 425-885-2919

The City of Redmond, through its

Tourism Grant Program, has

awarded the Redmond Historical So-

ciety $4,000.00 to purchase comput-

er equipment and a video camera.

This will allow us to maintain and

view our Web site from our office as

well as do more videotaping of local

histories. As part of the grant, tour-

ists and the general public are en-

couraged to come into our office in

the Old Schoolhouse and use the

Newsworthy Notes

computer to find out about our histo-

ry.

The equipment should be hooked up

for our next meeting so stop by the

office afterward to check it out. The

bigger goal is to spread the word

about historic Redmond via the In-

ternet.

The program is funded by a ho-

tel/motel tax and our thanks goes out

to the City for making it happen.

Thank you to the Society members

who helped with the Moments in

Time filming: Larry Hoger, Mar-

garet Wiese, Phil Roe, Margy

Rockenbeck, Pat Jovag, and Jerry

Hardy. These resourceful assistants

enjoyed the seniors’ stories of ―Old

Redmond‖ in which a picture clearly

emerged of a friendly small town

where everyone knew everyone and

neighbors helped neighbors. While

much follow-up work and editing

remain on this worthy project, the

preliminary filming was itself an his-

toric gathering of long-time resi-

dents, among them, two sets of

- Redmond Historical Society Receives Grant -

Submissions

If you have an article,

news item or memory

that you would like to

share with our mem-

bers, please send it to:

Walt Buchman

10323 162nd

Place NE

Redmond, WA 98052

or

wbuchm1@juno.com

- Moments in Time Big Success -

brothers and one of sisters: Daryl

& Ward Martin, Glenn & Roy

Lampaert, Lois Phillips Hudson

& Patricia Phillips Babcock.

Others filmed were Rose Weiss,

Eileen McCoskrie, Bob Sollitto,

Kay Brulé, Liz Carlson Co-

ward, Amo Marr, Jutta A. Rhi-

nehart, Roy Buckley, Evelyn

King Gilbert, Charlotte Ever-

son Hahnlen and Lester Olson.

A few of the subjects shared dur-

ing the two hour taping: hunting

skunks in Happy Valley, girls’

high school basketball in the early

“History is

happening in

Redmond!”

At our newsletter

deadline on February

24th

, we are proud to

announce that 100

Redmond Historical

Society members

have paid their mem-

bership dues for

2001. Thanks for

your support!

Redmond Recorder Page 2

1930’s, the Old Soldiers Land Grant,

annual PTA circuses, the Old Brick

Road, ―batch babies‖, local bands and

community dances, Ladies of the Lake,

Girl Scouting, dairy farms, Prohibition,

the Minute Men, Derby Days, the vo-

lunteer fire department, forest fires,

harvesting cascara bark, and the winter

where we had 10 days of 10 degree

weather and folks skated across Lake

Sammamish.

Credit for the conception, orchestration

and execution of this splendid project

belongs to Rondinne Hills. As the mo-

mentum and scope of ―Moments in

Time‖ grew and broadened, Rondinne

met each organizational challenge with

admirable ingenuity, her energy and

enthusiasm never flagging. As a new

Society member (and a recent immi-

grant to the U.S.) Rondinne sought

community involvement as an outreach

project of the Landmark Education

Program. In an amazingly brief period

of a few weeks, she oversaw this initial

step in producing a memorable history

video, bringing together old-timers,

technicians, and Society support in a

successful cooperative venture. We are

grateful to you, Rondinne, and we’re

very proud to have you in the Redmond

Historical Society.

Rondinne asked that we include the

names of the project’s crew so that they

could be thanked. So here is a list of

people who worked on that project:

Bob Watson – Photographer: Owner of

Slicker Video Productions, a local pro-

ducer of corporate, event and documen-

tary video programs; Devin Cahn –

Grip: Student at the Environmental and

Adventure School;

Steve McDonald – Boom Operator: Do-

cumentary Producer and Director for

Sirius Pictures, located in Seattle; Pa-

trick Hirsch – Cable Access Coordina-

tor for the City of Redmond; Diane

Guthrie – Videographer: Diane specia-

lizes is recording oral histories and is

currently working with the Nordic Her-

itage Museum in Ballard on their ―Va-

nishing Generations‖ project to record

the stories of over 100 long-time Bal-

lard residents; Mark Fisher – Video-

grapher: Student at Bellevue Communi-

ty College, David Christie – Video-

grapher: Student at Bellevue Communi-

ty College; Julie Chytle – Photographer:

Currently studying videography at 911

Media.

And lastly, Rondinne especially wanted

to thank Naomi Hardy and Miguel

Llanos for their enthusiasm and readi-

ness to take on this project.

“I gave mouth-

to-mouth resus-

citation to Tor

one time at the

pool. His wife

was there, and

we were friends

from then on.”

John Couch,

remembering

Tor Magnussen

"Unless all of

us become

aware of the

importance of

our heritage

and take

action to pre-

serve it, our

past won't have

a future."

Richard Moe,

President of the

National Trust

for Historic

Preservation

- Inquiring Minds Want to Know… -

…about the peat factory in Happy Val-

ley. Dee Carrel says the Sammamish

Heritage Society is just beginning to

investigate this interesting business

from the past.

… a Mr. McKay who owned the Cor-

ner Tavern.

…Cleveland Street’s namesake. Was it

named for President Grover Cleveland

or for someone local? We found Harry

Cleveland’s 50th

wedding anniversary

announced in a 1950 East Side Journal,

a 1968 obituary for James Cleveland,

and a 1969 obituary for Robert Cleve-

land, all of Redmond. Any connections

to the street?

The Crossroads Roots Fair is at

Crossroads Mall on Saturday,

March 10th

. (Yes, this is also the

day of our monthly meeting.)

Thanks to Natalie (Hardy) Fish-

er, our display is covered during

our meeting. In the afternoon, we

need folks to man the RHS table

in one hour shifts from 3-5pm.

This is an exciting event featur-

ing many people interested in our

area culture and history. Various

Help Wanted

- Crossroads Roots Fair -

I love a parade – especially the

Redmond Bike Derby parade!

We’ve got two ponies and a wa-

gon thanks to Dave and Diane

Harder of Woodinville. Now we

need the people!

We would like to see the Red-

mond Historical Society have a

presence in the Bike Derby pa-

rade this year. But we need ideas

and manpower. If you have old-

time costumes, toys, etc., or if

- Derby Days -

Redmond Recorder Page 3

People and Places

Her well-known sketches hang

near Mayor Rosemary Ives’ of-

fice door, and many members

like Tom Thomas and former

mayor Chris Himes have her

artwork hanging in their homes.

But for years, no one knew

where to find the artist who cap-

tured so many Redmond scenes

in the 1970’s and 80’s. At last,

Margaret Wiese used the Inter-

net to discover Dorisjean Colvin

now living in Olympia.

At 73, Dorisjean still paints every

day, frequently using her old

photographs of Redmond build-

ings and barns as subjects in her

work. She has always especially

enjoyed drawing buildings, and

sketched many of the old busi-

nesses downtown, like the train

- Lost and Found: Artist Dorisjean Colvin -

- Just Before Valentine’s Day -

Just before Valentine’s Day at

our last meeting, Jennie Chapin

Bryden won two Society T-shirts

for having been married the

longest [to the same person]. In

1928, Jennie married Charles

“Buster” Bryden, owner of

Bryden Trucking in Redmond,

and in the following years, they

had 5 children.

While not married the longest

[only 38 years!], Dale and Jo

Ann Potter have known one

another since kindergarten in

New York. Both are retired and

busier than ever. Jo Ann’s in and

out of our office almost daily or-

ganizing us, clipboard in hand.

Dale’s our indispensable king of

ethnic groups provide dancing

and singing, so it is a festive

time. Sign up to help! We bet

you’ll see ―someone you haven’t

seen in years!‖

you would like to help in any

way, please call Jo Ann Potter

at 425-822-3322 or send her an

e-mail to:

threeoaksloj@juno.com.

You’ll be glad you did!

depot and the Corner Tavern. She

had no idea that the Society’s

been searching for her, but she’s

glad to be found, and will soon

join us at a future meeting to be

announced.

Redmond Recorder Page 4

Remembering

loff wrote, ―It is prophetic that

ultimately the hand of time will

obliterate Redmond’s remaining

blacksmith shop…and that’s one

of the reasons why local artist

Doris Colvin is capturing it on

canvas before that happens.‖

Colvin’s sketch of Askew’s shop

can be seen today in the Socie-

ty’s office, on loan from Gerry

Radtke Mellquest. Thanks to

Carl Jeppesen, we also have a

photograph of Askew’s Black-

smith which Carl took shortly

before it was demolished. Carl’s

photograph will be used in the

walking tour brochure now being

compiled of our historic down-

town.

After pulling down the

building, although Ben was at an

age when most men retire, he

built another shop, this one in his

yard at 7903 170th

Place. Benja-

min Edward Askew continued

his blacksmithing work until he

became ill at age 90.

His daughter Nancy

Askew Wentzel remembers liv-

ing in the house behind the Red-

mond Way blacksmith shop

when her family first came to

town just after WWII. Their

Harold Everson told lo-

cal historian and reporter Oscar

Roloff that the pair of black-

smiths ―had a special stall for the

tough ones and, as one walked by

the shop, they could hear a lot of

hoofs banging off the walls as

well as considerable cussing.‖

Harold was talking about Dur-

koop and Major, and Ed John-

son added that the blacksmiths

―got their share of hoof marks on

various parts of their anatomy.‖

According to Roloff,

when the horse shoeing partners

―tossed in their tongs and let the

embers die down, the Scanlon

brothers took over, cleaned out

the horse end of the business, and

began a car repair shop.‖ The

blacksmiths’ first location across

from the Putnam Building was

later occupied by the Sammamish

Valley News. Their second site

was most recently Gordon

Woolslayer’s Towne Unfinished

Furniture.

Thirty years ago, local

horse rancher Ralph Dodd ex-

plained why most horse shoers

took their tools to the job: ―The

danger is too great for horse

owners to risk taking animals to

town shops or elsewhere for

shoeing.‖ As Redmond grew, it

was inevitable that horse shoers

would abandon the downtown

area.

In the late 1970s, just two

blocks southeast of Durkoop and

Major’s second shop, Benjamin

Askew hooked his old US Army

truck up to his wood-frame shop

on Redmond Way, and with the

help of his son-in-law Alan

Wentzel, pulled down the last

blacksmith shop in town. For

more than 35 years, Askew’s

Blacksmith had stood flush to the

sidewalk where 166th

Avenue

ended, and where today the Ave-

nue has been extended to carry

traffic south toward Redmond

Town Center.

A former dairy farmer,

Ben Askew left his welder’s job

at Houghton’s Lake Washington

Shipyards in 1945, and opened a

blacksmith shop on the same spot

where, in 1939, W.E. Jewett

built and operated a previous

blacksmith’s, the White Front

Shop, just east of the Mond

Theater.

Shortly before the old

shop was demolished, Oscar Ro-

how-to and recently completed

some wonderful remodeling in

our room, throwing out ideas as

he works, like, ―Maybe Redmond

should have a bicycle museum.‖

To this, Jo Ann’s quick to remind

him he already has enough

projects in the works.

Redmond Recorder Page 5

permanent home was a block

north of where the American Le-

gion Hall stood until recently.

Nancy also recalls her father

buying a few acres on the east

side of 148th

, south of the Morelli

chicken ranch, acreage Ben

called ―The Goat Farm.‖ We

neglected to ask if there were any

goats on the farm.

Why would we even ask?

In all his decades as a black-

smith, Ben Askew never shoed a

horse. ―Horses kick,‖ he used to

explain. The shop’s specialty was

welding, and while plenty of

farm equipment was repaired

there over the years, much of

Ben’s work was on residents’

pipes and vehicles. One of Ben’s

smithing jobs did greatly benefit

a horse, however. In 1971, Red-

mond veterinarian Dr. Peter

Dalla Pozza worked with Ben to

create an aluminum peg leg for a

breeding mare whose leg had

been amputated.

In researching the black-

smiths of Redmond, Ben’s

daughter Nancy was a valuable

resource, as was her brother Jer-

ry Askew, a 1957 graduate of

LWHS who worked alongside

his father in the early 1970s—in

the last blacksmith shop in Red-

mond.

The Editor’s Corner

Two weeks ago, the family and I drove to Spo-

kane for a few days to see the sights and visit the

Healing Rooms that are located there. As a city,

Spokane is okay. Nestled in a broad valley, it

neither made me want to stay nor made me want

to flee. All in all, it is a nice town.

We would drive downtown from our motel and

park in a parking garage. Then we would walk to

our destination. And as we walked I noticed

more and more just how many older (and old)

buildings there are in Spokane. In some areas of

town, it was almost like going back into time.

And I thought, ―Wow! What an opportunity!

This place is crawling with old buildings! And

they’re not just small ones either. Some of these

things are 4-5 stories high! I hope that someone

see these things and wants to preserve them!‖

We don’t have as many old buildings in Red-

mond as they do in Spokane and most of our

sites aren’t as big. But, then again, our town isn’t

quite the same size as their town. But one thing

we do have is that spirit that seeks to preserve,

restore and re-dedicate our history. We haven’t

missed our opportunity. And for that we can be

proud. You’re doing a great job, members. I’ll

see you on March 10th

at the Old Redmond

Schoolhouse Community Center at 10:30.

- Walt Buchman

Redmond Recorder Page 6

Meeting Highlights Number 18

February 10, 2001

Attending: Betty Buckley Anderson, Kay Nichols Brulé, Jennie Bryden, Angi Buchman, Rachel Buch-

man, Walt Buchman, Richard Cole, Liz Carlson Coward, Margaret Doman, Evelyn King Gilbert, Jerry

Hardy, Naomi Hardy, Chris Himes, Larry Hoger, Harvey Iverson, Pat Weiss Jovag, Barbara Weiss Joyce,

Judy Aries Lang, Norma Leicester, Miguel Llanos, Marge Mann, Bill Marr, Clare Marr, Carl Marrs, Pat

Marrs, Joanne Bryden Marsh, Daryl Martin, Ward Martin, Doris Hebner McFarland, Gerry Radtke Mell-

quest, Dale Potter, Jo Ann Potter, Phil Roe, Patsy Cook Rosenbach, Carol Radtke Semandiris, Richard

Shank, Ilya Smirnov, Veronica Smirnov, Bob Sollitto, Aisha Strange, Charlene Sugden, Jerry Torell, Judy

Gilbert Turner, Kris Underhill, Helen Usibelli, Don Watts, Rose I. Weiss and Margaret Evers Wiese.

Treasurer Phil Roe reported our net worth on January 13, 2001 is $15400.78. The $3,000 Municipal

Funding money has been received. The $4,000 grant from 1% hotel/motel tax has been approved for our

purchasing a computer, digital video camera and software. The fixed expenses of the Society are presently

$622/month. A new budget process is ―in place‖ wherein all expense reimbursements are tied to budget

line items.

Our guest speaker was Richard Shank, lead spokesman for Education Hill Wetlands and Wildlife Preser-

vation and Protection Association. Richard spoke about recent Education Hill history in light of recent

land development, wetlands and the Nike Site. Copies of Richard’s presentation outline are available for

review at the Society’s ORSCC office.

Following Richard’s presentation, we discussed William Perrigo’s coal mines on Education Hill, and the

location of Perrigo Springs on the east side of Education Hill.

Phil Roe, recording