Joe Gotchy and The Narrows Bridge

It’s always interesting to see what some of the favorite exhibits at the Harbor History Museum in Gig Harbor are; and yes the favorite changes on a daily basis.

But Galloping Gertie remains a regular favorite.  Whether the guests are looking at  the remnants of the bridge, or watching the videos, there always seems to be a large crowd  of all ages gathered around them.  What is so intriguing about rusty old steel and iron pieces?  I think it is the puzzle about them.  What part of the bridge do they represent?  How could the wind tear heavy metal like these pieces apart?  

The videos are easier to understand.  It is the shock of knowing no one lost their life except for the small dog.  The twisting and turning of the steel, iron, cables - all caused by the wind.  Or, the pictures of the men building the bridge, especially the daring young men stringing the cables and constructing the towers.  

So much hard work that went into a bridge that lasted four months before collapsing.  Yet the Golden Gate Bridge built earlier which is 5 miles in length never experienced the problems which plagued Galloping Gertie and it is only 1 mile long.

During the summer a young physics teacher and his wife traveled from New Zealand to Gig Harbor to see our exhibit.  Not only is he fascinated by the first Narrows Bridge and its collapse, he uses it as an example of a flawed design in his classes.  My daughter told me that one of her friends in Pennsylvania also used Galloping Gertie in his physics classes.

But how many people are aware that Joe Gotchy, Gig Harbor resident worked on both the first bridge and its replacement?  Everyone who has read The Tale of Two Bridges, a Harbor History Museum online exhibit.  It is made up of eight parts which answers the most frequently asked questions.  If you haven’t had an opportunity to read, I suggest that you do when time allows.  You can also review “Bridging the Narrows” a book written by Joe Gotchy and published in 1990 by The Peninsula Historical Society now known as Harbor History Museum.  Unfortunately, we do not allow the books to be removed from the Resource Room.  But the Pierce County Library has the book available to check  out for reading.

Joe was born in 1903 in Bothell and raised on a small farm in Rochester.  His brother, Leonard was 5 years older, and so when Leonard was 24 and Joe 19 they decided to make their career building bridges rather than farming.  Unfortunately the experienced bridge workers viewed Joe and Leonard as threats and were not willing to share their knowledge. The older workers always tried, if they could, to make the young men look uneasy and inexperienced.  The advantage Leonard and Joe had was that they were young, active and not afraid of heights. Their work farming and logging was a tremendous help in learning how to rig booms used in bridge building.  Both brothers joined the ironworkers’ and pile drivers’ union.  Their first job was on Lake Washington, then in Snohomish and the Tolt River in Carnation.  They drove piles and while working on the Tolt River, learned to rivet.  Those were followed with another bridge at Sylvania and then the Olympic Hotel in Seattle which is a steel frame building, the last jobs they worked together.

Leonard worked on the Spokane Street Bridge and then went to California where he worked on almost all the major bridge projects including the Golden Gate Bridge.  Joe said that the Dearborn Street Bridge in Beacon Hill was a real learning experience for him where “rat trapping - the iron, wired together for columns and other parts of the structure look exactly like that - rat trapping”.

Joe continued to work all over the state building bridges and then on January 2, 1939 while working for Hart Construction Co. as a foreman, they built the dock at the foot of Sixth Avenue in Tacoma which would be used as a service dock during the construction of the first Narrows Bridge, Galloping Gertie.  Pacific Bridge Company, the general contractor on the Narrows Bridge project met Joe at that time, and when Walt Cathey learned Joe was Leonard’s brother he hired Joe on the spot as rigger foreman.

2nd Narrows Bridge;  #13: Ted Joslyn rides chord on material car signaling operator of the "railroad". The outer edge of the bridge vertical lines hold diagonal truss in place. #14: Deck stringer is lowered, the last piece of steel in deck section; view to east shore.

Midspan & west shore; west midspan; towers & cables in place crews laying deck

And the rest of the story, including Joe’s participation in building the second replacement Narrows Bridge after the collapse is described in great detail in Joe’s book “Bridging the Narrows” and the online exhibit “The Tale of Two Bridges”.

© 2012 Harbor History Museum. All rights reserved.

Butch Pollock & Joe Gotchy

Emmett Hunt's Diary Wednesday January 3, 1883

Wednesday January 3, 1883:  Snow 1/2 inch this morning & still threatening.  Air cold & raw.  Find all our bolts are failures so use a thumb screw intend & wood up as we have some scouring to do tomorrow.

© 2012 Harbor History Museum. All rights reserved.

Christmas ….

A glance at any social networking site reminds us of some people’s annual holiday viewings during the holidays.  They seem to take us back in memory to something we saw when we were young or younger; many an annual event we celebrate with our families as a holiday viewing or reading.  “A Wonderful Life” is one, normally an annual TV movie but this year shown at the Galaxy Theatre in Gig Harbor to a movie audience and it received lots of raves from the attendees.  In my family “The Dead” by James Joyce, Guy du Maupassant’s “The Necklace or La Parure” and “Joyeux Noel” a true story about the truce called by the British, Germans and French for Christmas Day during WWI. Other selections include Dicken’s “A Christmas Carol”; “The Gift of the Magi” O. Henry; Jean Shepherd’s A Christmas Story and “T’was the Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore.  Let’s us not forget that there are some less serious movies/books in the annual custom - “How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss”, movie by Ron Howard  or Jodie Foster’s “Home for the Holidays”.

But for the purpose of this holiday blog, I would like to share some memories as recorded by some of our earlier residents.  I hope you enjoy these few records of the holidays specially Christmas day/s in Gig Harbor’s past.

Frank Owen Shaw, Christmas 1954

Emmett Hunt’s Diary for December 25, 1882 (Monday) “A day of surprising beauty.  Lovely Christmas!  Stroll promiscuously in AM.  In PM go to Mother’s get a huge dinner followed by Xmas tree, taffy pulling, a little invigorated, etc.”

Miles Hunt Family

But Lillian Vernhardson Fries description paints a large picture of their Christmas.  We always had a Christmas tree with real candles, Mamma made “Icelandic pancake,” a flat pancake made right on top of the stove.  She also made the little sweet rolled pancakes (crepes susette).  The best we had was our Christmas dinner.  On Christmas Eve we all went to church, where they had the Christmas program.  Little Sarah had not started school but she recited “Twas the Night Before Christmas” one year.  It was often raining hard.  Papa would go ahead with the lantern, we would follow in the mud.  It was (the) only time Papa ever went to church.  Our only Gig Harbor church at the Head of the Bay was Methodist, but our family was Lutheran.  Sam and Sadie later joined the Methodist church.

“The church was decorated and full of people.  All the children took part and it was a gay, warm time.  Each child received a stocking with candy.

“After we came home, we sang the Christmas carols that we had sung in church.  Papa sang “Hily Night, Silent Night” with us off-key, but it was so good to hear him singing.  Mamma said it was the only fault she could find with him was that his singing was not good.  We ate our candy and opened our presents.  Our presents from our folks was always needed clothes, but we got wonderful gifts from an aunt in Vancouver, B.C.  

“One year it was a necklace, one year it was an exquisite little doll, about 10 inches tall, with many clothes.  Aunt Ena worked as a domestic and how kind of her to think of her little nieces and nephew who would get little.  She also sent c;other from the children in whose household she had worked.  One was for me, a lovely cream-colored dress with a sailor collar.  

“In Hoquiam, our Christmases had been different the last few years there.  Papa had been a foreman at the mill and had Greeks working under him.  At Christmas they came with elaborate gifts for our family.  Black-eyed, black-haired mustached men, thinking perhaps of their own families back in Greece.  A big basket for Mamma filled with oranges and nuts and candy.  We always had that big basket afterwards.  Mechanical toys for Sam and a doll for me.  One year it was a marvelous jointed doll, its neck, arms, elbows, wrists, hips, knees were all jointed.  It had real hair and eyes that opened and closed.  I never got such a doll again.”

Lillian Vernhardson Fries

Then there are Clarence “Nick” Burnham’s (Dr. A. M. Burnham’s son) diary entries from 1930, 1942 and 1943.  “1930:  Spaded some.  Took the truck out to see if the speedometer worked, it did.  Bis *took Lee for groceries.  Lee went to town to Don’s for dinner.  … stopped & gave Bis & I a drink of whiskey.  Fine day.”   1942 “Bis, Smith & I piled the mill wood that was dumped in the yard.  I gave Smith lead & ladle to … a jigger to fish for Ling Cod off Pt. Defiance.  I finished cultivating the … berries.  Made an iron shoe for Ashford’s boat.  Cold & heavy frost tonight some ice.”  1943 “Rain last night clear & warm today.  Arthur & Zell came to Lee’s we had a small tree and we had a fine time.  Lee had a turkey.  We had a lot of funny toys among the real presents.”  *Throughout the records you will find Bismark’ nickname spelled either Bis or Biz.  Nick wrote it as “Bis” which I used.  Since they were brothers I believe it is only appropriate. 

Bis [Bismark], Lee [Luella] and Nick [Clarence]

Estella Rust wrote in her 1912 Diary on Wednesday, December 25th “A good Xmas day.  We ate dinner at Etties had duck, chiken (sic) and everything good.  We sent cards to Mrs. Van Der Volgen & Wm. Mrs. Thompson, Ulman, Taylor John Frank & Hal, Herb & wife, Miss Kiet Kieth, Ettie & Herbert.  The (sic) all ate supper here.  Rec’d card from Miss Newman.”

Rust Family Home on Randall in East Gig Harbor

And lastly, Chester Edwin Dadisman wrote in his memoir “I remember well that Dad and Mom bought me my first bicycle for Christmas in 1924.  Dad had assembled and hit it in Grandmother Dadisman’s vacant house.  What a great surprise when I was told to go there and look around.  It was a 26-inch wheel Schwinn model, without training wheels.  Though anxious to ride it, I wasn’t very proficient on the gravel roads in Home so I experienced many scrapes.  Neighborhood kids, especially Ada Sorenson, helped me take off on my own.  Her folks operated a competing grocery store located next to the Home dock.  They resided on a houseboat a short distance away.”

Chester E. Dadisman

And our last remembrance is from Gertrude Emma Strebe, born in 1879, died in 1976.  Unfortunately her memories remind us how hard life could be, especially for the children.  She lived in Wisconsin until 1902.  Most of this comes from the eulogy given at Gertrude’s funeral and written by her grandson and her daughter.  “There was no religion in their household.  August [her father] was a German Lutheran and Elmira [her mother] was Catholic, and in order to make their marriage survive, they must have had an agreement on no religion.  At that point in history, in Europe, not so far removed from the Lutheran Reformation, feelings were strong for or against Catholic doctrine.  The glorifying of Christmas, for one thing, was taboo in Puritan New England and so probably among the German Lutherans, as well. The little cabin she and her four brothers and one sister grew up in was of the crudest type. …

“Every winter for eighteen years, August would go up to  Northern Wisconsin to log in the woods.  … If he came home at Christmas time, the children got apples or oranges.  For whatever reason, the little Strebe children were never allowed to have a Christmas tree.  After they saw the neighbors’ pretty Christmas trees, Gertie and her brothers begged for a tree too, but only once did Elmira relent and allow a tree.  It was decorated with little apples, molasses cookies and popcorn, and to the children it was the prettiest tree in the community.  Maybe August wasn’t home that Christmas.”  *”Our McIntyre Family  In loving memory of Fredrick David McIntyre and Gertrude Emma Strebe, Rosedale, Washington Pioneers.

Gertrude Emma Strebe

© 2012 Harbor History Museum. All rights reserved.

Emmett Hunt's Diary Wednesday December 27, 1882

Wednesday December 27, 1882:  Nice day mostly spent in sleep & ...?...  Watered "Baby Mine" Feel somewhat old but think of making a run for Steilacoom tomorrow.

© 2012 Harbor History Museum. All rights reserved.

Norwegian & Swedish Immigration

As I mentioned previously, it is my hope to present the monthly Tea and Tour Presentations on the Harbor History Museum blog page so that you can refer back to them when you want to check something you vaguely remember from the event.  Or, perhaps you had other engagements and missed the presentation.

This presentation was given by Elizabeth Frisino in November 2013.  It’s title is “Norwegian & Swedish Immigration”.  Elizabeth’s presentations are most interesting, and very complete.  They are something so interesting that you will find yourself going back to time and again as you would when reading your favorite book.  However because of the length of the presentation, I have elected to include select portions for the blog.  For the opportunity to read the entire presentation I recommend that you visit the Harbor History Museum Resource Room because you will learn so much more about the Scandinavian immigrants who found their way to the greater Gig Harbor community.

Here is Elizabeth’s Tea and Tour presentation (condensed version)::

“Most of us have roots with immigrants that came here at least a few generations ago.  My father was born in Italy in 1918 and came to America in 1919 with his parents.  They settled in Brooklyn, New York.  Like many of the Scandinavians we will talk about today we found our way to Gig Harbor after initially living in places to the set of our harbor.  We found our way to Gig Harbor from New York through Kentucky, North Carolina, Florida, Republic of Panama and Texas.

“The big difference in our migration to the Pacific Northwest was we did it in the comfort of air conditioned cars and jet airplanes that cross the land and seas in a matter of hours not months.  Emigration patterns in the Nordic countries Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland show striking variation. 

“Nordic mass emigration started in Norway, which also retained the highest rate throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries.  Sweden got underway in the early 1840s and had the third highest rate in all of Europe, after Ireland and Norway.  Denmark had a consistently low rate of emigration.  Iceland had a late start but soon reached levels comparable to Norway.  Finland, whose mass emigration did not start until the late 1880s, and at the time part of the Russian Empire, is usually classified as part of the Eastern European wave.

“The most dominant group of Nordic people to settle in Gig Harbor were the Norwegians and Swedes.  Between 1825 and 1925 over 800,000 Norwegians and 1.3 million Swedes immigrated to North America.  Many found their way to the Pacific Northwest, the State of Washington, the Kipsap Peninsula and Gig Harbor.  This is their story. …

“…Reasons for Immigration:  Though many Norwegians and Swedes were influenced by nationalism and religious freedom, over population and the resulting lack of economic opportunity were by far the greatest cause of the mass immigration from 1840 into the early 1900s. …A severe famine in the late 1860s gave impetus to the emigration trend, leading about 100,000 Swedes to go to the United States between 1868 and 1873. …

“… Incentive for Immigration - the Homestead Act of 1862:  The Homestead Act encouraged a lot of Norwegians and Swedes to come to the United States with the promise of 160 acres of fertile flat land. …The Homestead Act was actually a set of 3 laws; the first passed in 1862.  The law required 3 steps:  File an application, improve & live on the land for 5 years, and file for the deed.  Requirements to file an application: 21 or older or head of a family and promise never to take up arms against the US government. …

“… Arrival at Ellis Island and The Process.  … Not all immigrants went through Ellis Island.  If you were traveling 1st or 2nd Class (i.e. had money) you were quickly examined on board ship by a doctor and immigration officer and could land without further ado.  3rd class passengers went to Ellis Island.  This was steerage, below the water line. …The arrivals first underwent a medical examination,  Contagious diseases like tuberculous meant automatic expulsion.  The inspector had 2 minutes to decide whether the immigrant had a right to enter the US.  He asked 29 questions, including name, occupation and the amount of money carried. This was to make sure immigrants could support themselves…

“… The Settlement …  In 1883 the Northern Pacific Railroad completed its transcontinental line to its terminus in Tacoma, WA.  With this mass movement of Scandinavians to the Puget Sound area of Washington and Oregon took off. By 1910 almost 10% of all Swedish & Norwegian Americans lived in Washington, Oregon and California with a concentration in the Seattle-Tacoma area.  Norwegians in America were deeply attached to farming.  They were the most rural of all the major immigrant groups.  In 1900 about half of Norwegian born people who were the breadwinners for their families were either farm owners or farm workers.  Farming in America was very different than farming in Norway, but the Norwegian farmers did well.  They grew crops such as wheat and corn, raised cattle and hogs.  When the Pacific Northwest was finally opened to mass immigration the principal industries were fishing and logging. …

“…If you were to walk down the streets of Gig Harbor 100 years ago, you would be surrounded by the sound of numerous languages, including a lot of Norwegian and Swedish.  … By 1900 immigrants from the Nordic countries made up the largest ethnic group living on the Gig Harbor Peninsula, representing more than 14% of the adult population outnumbering even the Croatians. …

“… Gig Harbor  The population of the Nordic community continued to grow in proportion to the population of the Peninsula, persisting into the 1920s as the largest ethnic group in the community. … As we discussed the first to come were usually reacting to economic depression and cultural changes that were causing widespread poverty and hardship in their countries.  As time passed, news of the success of those who had made the journey strengthened the argument for emigration. …  The trailblazers that first arrived on the Peninsula wrote back to family and friends in the Midwest and in the homeland about the mild weather and how much the Puget Sound reminded them of their native countries.  … The newly arrived settled throughout the Peninsula - Crescent Valley, on the north and east side of Gig Harbor, in Artondale, Midway and Cromwell.  Most of the Scandinavians arriving in the late 1880s and early 1900s sustained themselves through farming.  The specialties were berries, tree fruits, and tomatoes.  The berries included the loganberries popular in Scandinavia.  They also raised chickens, bottled milk and made butter. …

“… Settling In.  It was not uncommon for these farmers to also work as loggers, miners or in sawmills.  Several were fishermen that fished for the local Croatian skippers that fished for salmon.  By the 1920s the Scandinavian immigrants were offering their fellow settlers a variety of services - they were general merchants, chicken ranchers, carpenters, shipwrights and blacksmiths. …

Some of the family names Elizabeth mentions include:  Evans, Calvert, Ellison, Chandler, Goodman, Carlot, Bliss, Rasmussen & Peterson; Samuelson, Carlson, Berntsen, Sundberg, Ellingson, Smeby, Evje, Erickson, Must, Brynestad, Kellogg, Seglem, Fosness, Anderstall and Grytten…

“ … Conclusion:  There were more than 4.5 million people of Norwegian ancestry in the US  today … 21% live in the Pacific states of Washington, Oregon and California.   …

The Goodman Family

The Miles Hunt Family

First Christmas at Immanuel Church in Cromwell

The Samuelson Wedding Picture

As you can see from this condensation of Elizabeth’s Tea and Tour Presentation, there is so much more information which she presented that has been omitted in this blog.  Elizabeth’s research is very extensive, and I feel that to truly understand her retelling of the Scandinavian immigration to the US, it is necessary of you to have the opportunity to read a hard copy of her presentation.  The hard copy is held in the Harbor History Museum Resource Room, and is available to viewing.  You will also find HHM blogs on several of the families mentioned, and on other early settlers. 

© 2012 Harbor History Museum. All rights reserved.

Emmett Hunt's Diary Wednesday December 20, 1882

Wednesday December 20, 1882:  Very pleasant day.  Got around late as usual.  Watered Baby, cut some wood & brought home a barrel of kraut.

© 2012 Harbor History Museum. All rights reserved.

Minter Creek Native American History

I love introducing fresh voices...I think you enjoy reading them too.  I'm trying to catch up on the Tea and Tour presentations which have been absent, but the one you get to hear today is one of the Harbor History Museum interns.  When he first asked questions about the Native Americans on the greater Gig Harbor Peninsula it was easy to a new talent   to share with you.  Most of you attended the dedication of the Donkey Creek Restoration project and were witness to the history as shared by the Puyallup Tribe of their time living and fishing Donkey Creek, listened to their prayers and enjoyed their dances.  Brandon's blog this morning is a tribute to another part of the history of the Native Americans in our community. 

Minter Creek Native American History

Hello, my name is Brandon McCormick, and I am a new author for the Harbor History Museum (HHM) blog. I am an intern at HHM and a 17 year old Tacoma Community College student. My father and several history teachers have instilled a deep value for learning history in me which made working for HHM a natural move. I decided to focus this blog entry on Minter Creek after a gentleman looking through the museum exhibits asked me in depth questions about the ancient history surrounding the native inhabitants of Gig Harbor; Minter Creek is one the most notable local archaeological sites containing a portal to ancient Native American history. Before delving too deep into the subject, we should make sure we have an accurate picture of where Minter Creek is. This map below details Minter Creek’s location:

 http://www.nwfsc.noaa.gov/research/divisions/cb/genetics/minter_creek.cfm

Minter Creek Map from Northwest Fisheries Science Center¹ Center¹

Coastal Salish tribes inhabited Minter Creek consisting mainly of Nisqually, Puyallup, and Steilacoom people. There are various theories on these tribes’ origins such as crossing the Siberian-Alaskan land bridge, coming as other northwestern tribes did in ocean canoes along the Aleutian chain until discovering a gentler climate, or from Central America, where intense and prolonged drought drove them north in search of more temperate weather and lush resources.² 

Continuous layers of artifacts and midden (refuse) from sites at Minter Creek can definitively deduce that the area has been continuously occupied by humans for 1,400 years, although coastal sites could be in upwards of 3,000 years old and sites farther inland around 9,000 years. Dale McGinnis, an anthropologist who worked at Minter Creek in 1977, remarked that “it was probably a winter encampment. The tribe would apparently arrive in the fall when the salmon began to run, and they would leave to hunt in the spring.”³ A later archaeologist to inspect Minter Creek was Michael Avey in 1986, along with a student team from Fort Steilacoom Community College.⁴ Part of Avey’s research entailed confirming fears that many archaeological sites had been destroyed by development: an oyster harvesting company sits on the site of an indigenous village and real estate companies advertise cedar homes where cedar slab lodges of natives once stood at Minter Creek. 

The Smythe's Cabin

Cabin built by European settlers at Minter Creek from HHM collection.

According to Jerry Meeker’s account, there were six identifiable Puyallup houses at Minter Creek, the largest of which was 100 feet long and 50 feet wide: it was used to train children on tribal history and where a secret fraternity conducted initiations on young adults. Houses were intended to be shared and used by every member to promote the welfare of all by ensuring shelter to anyone in the village.

According to Jerry Meeker’s account, there were six identifiable Puyallup houses at Minter Creek, the largest of which was 100 feet long and 50 feet wide: it was used to train children on tribal history and where a secret fraternity conducted initiations on young adults. Houses were intended to be shared and used by every member to promote the welfare of all by ensuring shelter to anyone in the village.

Photo of Jerry Meeker from Browns Point Improvement Club.⁶

Portrait of Chief Leschi from the city of Tumwater, WA.⁸

Chief Leschi is best known for being wrongly executed after individuals he purportedly killed during combat in the Puget Sound War, a conflict instigated by protests of terms in the Medicine Creek Treaty, were instead charged as murders against him; Leschi was exonerated of murder charges in 2004 by the Washington State legislature. On a humorous side note, because Governor Stevens thought American settlers were helping Chief Leschi evade capture, he imposed martial law on Pierce County, was held in contempt of court for doing so, and used his executive power to pardon himself of the legal penalties.

As of now, Nisqually, Puyallup, and Squaxin tribes maintain tradition by fishing the Coho salmon which exit Minter Creek. This year, those three tribes set up buoys along the mouth of Minter Creek creating a closure zone in order to enhance protection of marine wildlife to promote sustainable commercial and sport fishing.⁹

This overview of Minter Creek has hopefully shown how innumerable stories may exist completely unseen in places taken for granted to remain preserved and will hopefully inspire some to propose or advocate for historic preservation in the future. As Michael Avey, an archaeologist mentioned earlier in the blog, explains this dynamic, “It is everyone’s responsibility to preserve the records of their past. You can’t save all of it. That’s reality. But I cite myself as an example of what an individual can do”.⁴ If you think you know or own a site that could yield historical significance than I would implore you to consult the Pierce County Historic Preservation Office.¹⁰ Visit the Harbor History Museum and read a blog written earlier this year entitled Early Settlers on the Gig Harbor Peninsula (http://www.harborhistorymuseum.blogspot.com/2013/02/early-settlers-on-gig-harbor-peninsula.html) to learn more about our local Native American history.

References

¹Northwest Fisheries Science Center. (Cartographer). Minter Creek map. Retrieved 

from http://www.nwfsc.noaa.gov/research/divisions/cb/genetics/minter_creek.cfm

² Kluger, R. (2011). A Credit to His Race. The Bitter Waters of Medicine Creek (p.59). 

Retrieved from http://www.richardkluger.com/ExcerptsBWCredit.htm

³Webster, K. (1977, April 21). CC diggers unearth new evidence of Indian life. The 

News Tribune.

⁴Lane, B. (1986, February 9). Backyard history. Loss of Indian sites worries 

archeologists. The News Tribune. B-2

⁵ Puyallup Tribal News (2008, February 21). Deposition of Jerry Meeker for claimant 

taken at Puyallup Indian Reservation, Wash., March 25, 1927. Puyallup Tribal News. Retrieved from http://www.puyalluptribalnews.net/news/view/deposition_of_jerry_meeker_for_claimant_taken_at_puyallup_indian_reser/

⁶Browns Point Improvement Club. (Photographer). Early History of Browns Point 

Improvement Club. Jerry Meeker. Retrieved from http://www.brownspoint.org/history.php?idx=1

⁷Carpenter, C. S. (1976). Washington biography: Leschi, last chief of the Nisquallies. 

The Pacific Northwest Forum. Vol. 1 (1) (para. 6). Retrieved from http://www.narhist.ewu.edu/pnf/articles/s1/i-1/leschi/leschi.html

⁸MSCUA. (Artist). Nisqually Chief Leschi. City of Tumwater, WA. South Puget Sound 

Indians. University of Washington Libraries. Retrieved from http://www.ci.tumwater.wa.us/research_indianphotos.htm

⁹Squaxin Island Tribe. (2013). Salmon. Retrieved from 

http://squaxinisland.org/government/departments/natural-resources/salmon/

¹⁰ Pierce County Department of Planning and Land Services. Historic Preservation. Retrieved from http://www.co.pierce.wa.us/index.aspx?NID=954

© 2012 Harbor History Museum. All rights reserved.

Emmett Hunt's Diary Wednesday December 13, 1882

Wednesday December 13, 1882:  Stormy morning but fair and cool day.  Crawl out of bed & go to Tacoma and all day doing nothing.  Start home, wait at Pt. Defiance for tide til 2 & get home at 4.  Bad business.

© 2012 Harbor History Museum. All rights reserved.