Unlock the Issaquah History Museums’ secrets
February 21, 2012
Issaquah History Museums Executive Director Erica Maniez leans against a historic road sign at the Gilman Town Hall Museum. By Greg Farrar
Find hidden treasures from the past in the city’s unofficial ‘attic’
There are 8,359. And counting.
That’s how many artifacts, including 3-D objects and an array of documents, make up the Issaquah History Museums’ collection.
With 7,111 photos to complement the collection, there’s no better place to get a sense of what makes Issaquah, well, Issaquah.
Among the items are rare finds — an unusual Native American trading knife buried beneath the floor of an Issaquah business or a logger’s skidding cone made right here by the town blacksmith.
Some are specific to this area, such as an early 1900s billboard — discovered later facedown in a ditch — advertising the latest and greatest in Issaquah merchants, medical care and goods.
But while each item lays claim to its own history and back story, every artifact weaves into a fabric that tells a story of who we are as a community, how we came to be and even where we’re going in the future.
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Community members unearth artifacts for museums’ collection
February 21, 2012
Mary Scott was looking for stock at a yard or estate sale when she found it.
As a local antique dealer and Issaquah History Museums volunteer, she knew there was more to the old 16-by-16-by-26 inch wooden box on wheels than what probably met the eye.
And while officials with the museums are still trying to figure out the technical term for it, for now it’s been dubbed the hot box — a contraption meant to keep large amounts of food warm while it’s transported en masse to railroad workers or loggers at mealtimes. It is thought to have been used between 1890 and 1920.
Scott joined more than 40 other donors in 2011 to bring in artifacts and photographs that help piece together Issaquah’s rich history one item at a time. Items donated to the organizations must, first and foremost, be linked to Issaquah, and they must also have unique appeal.
Issaquah decks the halls with holiday happenings
November 29, 2011
All around Issaquah, it’s beginning to look a lot like the holidays.
From downtown Issaquah to Gilman Village to the historic train depot, signs of the coming holidays are starting to sprout.
Gilman Village Merchants and the Cascade Team Real Estate are the primary sponsors for a holiday happening from 5-8 p.m. Dec. 10 at St. George’s Square in Gilman Village, 355 N.W. Gilman Blvd.
Issaquah Food & Clothing Bank, museums receive grants
November 22, 2011
Countywide Community Forums of King County announced the Issaquah Food & Clothing Bank and the Issaquah History Museums as grant recipients Nov. 14.
The food bank received $500 and the museums received $100 after encouraging people to complete a survey about the King County budget. The more respondents completing the survey on behalf of each organization increased the grant amount.
Overall, the process generated more than 1,800 survey responses — a record for Countywide Community Forums, a nonprofit organization in partnership with King County government. Read more
Issaquah Food & Clothing Bank, Issaquah History Museums receive grants
November 14, 2011
NEW — 10:30 a.m. Nov. 14, 2011
Countywide Community Forums of King County announced the Issaquah Food & Clothing Bank and the Issaquah History Museums as grant recipients Monday.
The food bank received $500 and the museums received $100 after encouraging people to complete a survey about the King County budget. The more respondents completing the survey on behalf of each organization increased the grant amount.
Overall, the process generated more than 1,800 survey responses — a record for Countywide Community Forums, a nonprofit organization in partnership with King County government.
Picking up apples is a good thing
November 8, 2011
Old town Issaquah is about as good as it gets on a sunny day.
On such a day last month, I had the privilege of being a docent at the old Gilman Town Hall Museum on Andrews Street. In the back of the museum on the neighbor’s property is a wonderful, old apple tree, and while nobody had a good crop of apples around here this year, this tree was loaded. They are beautiful, deep-red apples with a subtle, winey taste. You can bet I was thrilled when the owner offered a basket of them to me.
I asked him what kind they were and he didn’t know. He said they were very old; the tree had been there since the early days. These apples looked like McIntosh to me, like the ones on my tree at home. I checked it out, and I’m convinced that they are. McIntosh is one of the older varieties, developed in Eastern Canada at the beginning of the 19th century. They are very cold hardy, tough trees. I have to say that mine in glacial till on the plateau is not nearly as happy as this one in the good, deep soil of the Issaquah Valley.
Issaquah businesses target tourists for attractions, events
October 25, 2011
Issaquah leaders often describe local qualities as treasures — a quaint downtown, mountain panoramas, historic buildings and more.
Local businesspeople describe such attractions as “tourism assets” all set for out-of-town guests to enjoy and, in the process, spend dollars in hotels and restaurants.
Issaquah Chamber of Commerce officials gathered representatives from local “tourism assets” Oct. 18 to discuss successes and opportunities to lure more tourists to the area.
Leaders from artEAST, Cougar Mountain Zoo, Village Theatre, and other Issaquah attractions and events, said attendance is strong, but sometimes people overlook local offerings.
“Tastin’ N Racin’ — unfortunately — is Issaquah’s best-kept secret,” event organizer Craig Cooke said. “Nationally, it’s not. There are events in 13 other states that have all called and patterned their event on what goes on on land and what goes on in water.”
Tastin’ N Racin’ attracts 20,000 people — and sometimes up to 50,000 — to Lake Sammamish State Park each June for hydroplane races and onshore offerings.
Other long-established attractions face a similar challenge in luring potential tourists.
Complete survey to help Issaquah History Museums earn grant
October 21, 2011
NEW — 10:15 a.m. Oct. 21, 2011
Help the Issaquah History Museums earn a grant by completing a survey before Sunday.
The survey — a Countywide Community Forums outreach project — can help the museums receive a grant valued at $250 or more.
The more survey respondents selecting the museums improve the organization’s chances of receiving a grant, as well as the size of the grant.
The survey topics focus on how residents in unincorporated areas can engage King County government, as well as the upcoming county budget and King County Metro Transit’s budget shortfall.
Organizations can receive grants of up to $5,000. The amount is based on the number of survey responses each applicant can acquire during Countywide Community Forums’ online surveys.
The grant program is open to any nonprofit organization operating in King County.
Artist re-creates favorite downtown landmarks in handmade postcards
September 13, 2011
Jane Garrison, Issaquah landscaping architect, displays her hand-drawn postcards of downtown landmarks. By Tom Corrigan
Downtown Issaquah isn’t necessarily related to Jane Garrison’s duties as a docent for the Issaquah History Museums at the Gilman Town Hall Museum.
Still, it seems appropriate that Garrison can speak happily and fluently about the background of various downtown buildings and landmarks.
“I love downtown Issaquah. I love the buildings,” said the talkative and friendly Garrison, 70.
With an architectural landscaping business of her own on Front Street for roughly 25 years, Garrison said that after she retired she got to know and truly appreciate the feel of downtown Issaquah. Always having been an artist, one of her side projects included pen-and-pencil drawing of various downtown landmarks.
The spots she sketched include Triple XXX Rootbeer Drive-in, the Eagles Hall and the salmon hatchery. Garrison initially made the drawings strictly for her own enjoyment. But now she has decided to use the sketches to create some very unique and localized greeting cards.
A portion of the proceeds from sales of the cards will benefit the history museums. The cards are blank inside, but one of Garrison’s 12 drawings appears on the front along with a history capsule about the location depicted.
City renames forestland for former councilwoman
August 30, 2011
City Council members recognized Maureen McCarry on Aug. 15 by renaming a forested tract on Squak Mountain for the former councilwoman.
The change renamed the 40-acre Issaquah 69 parcel as McCarry Woods. The designation recognizes McCarry’s efforts as a councilwoman to acquire and preserve a key wildlife habitat and trail access to Squak Mountain State Park.
“This is, in my mind, one of the highest honors I think that we can give to any individual who has contributed so much to this community,” Councilman Joshua Schaer said before the unanimous decision to rename the land.
The city acquired the land in August 2007 as part of the Cougar-Squak Mountains Wildlife Corridor project. The forested land is just east of Squak Mountain Loop Southwest in the Forest Rim neighborhood high on Squak Mountain. McCarry is a Forest Rim resident.
In addition to preserving wildlife habitat, the acquisition protected a piece of the Bullitt Fireplace Trail — a link to the state park from Mountainside Drive Southwest.
