Getting there Ninety Years Ago

Ninety years ago on April 27, 1922, Hubert Secor launched his bus service to "town." He is seen above with his Pierce Arrow bus in front of the Sweeney Block at the head of the bay. The bus carried 28 passengers plus the mail twice a day to Tacoma for ten years. The fare was 25 cents, plus the ferry toll.  However, no one was ever charged just to ride around Gig Harbor to do errands.

Secor left home about 6 a.m. in order to complete his first run by 8 a.m. so people could get to school and work on time.  He finished his day at 6 p.m. Gig Harbor had no high school before the fall of 1922, so Stadium High School in Tacoma was the nearest school.  The bus ran seven days a week, with Secor the only driver.  He once drove 28 months without a day off.

By 1928, a second bus was added, driven by Orville Hemphill.  He drove his bus from 8 to 8.  Both drivers earned $4.40 a day.  

Besides the free rides around town, Hubert was known to pick up items for housewives who couldn't get into town themselves.  He would take a bit of thread to match, or pick up packages upon request.

Hubert Blaine Secor was born in Longmont, Colorado, in 1904.  His family moved here in 1907.  Hubert went to Stadium High School by taking the steamer Crest each day.  After graduation, he worked at the telephone company in Tacoma, where he met his future wife Mary.

He sold his business to the Tacoma Bus Company in 1931, but continued to drive the route.  By 1934, he was ready for a change.  He and Mary opened the Minterbrook Oyster Company on the Key Peninsula.  In 1964, he was elected the fourth Mayor of Gig Harbor, serving until suffering a stroke in 1969.  He died in 1972 at the age of 80.

Linda McCowen, Historic Photos Editor
© 2012 Harbor History Museum. All rights reserved.

April 25, 1880, Sunday

On this day, Emmett Hunt wrote in his diary "Walked up to Bob Murray's but find him absent so went ... to funeral - Burston's child play preacher while I go to Mr Chamber's at night."

© 2012 Harbor History Museum. All rights reserved.

Charles Edward Trombley and The Peninsula Gateway

Gateway press

Gateway office

C.E. Trombley

Charles Edward Trombley was born in Hemlock, Michigan. He was married in 1902 and in 1904 he and his wife moved to Jamaica, Iowa where it appears he started his newspaper career. He moved his family again in 1907 to Tillamook, Oregon, where he owned and operated a newspaper. 

In August 1923, Trombley moved with his wife and three children to Gig Harbor where he purchased the Bay Island News. The Deed of Sale of the newspaper was signed by F.S. Drummond, Gig Harbor Printing Company, by C.O. Austin, and J.B. Fuller. As you will see he made an excellent decision in buying this paper.

The Bay Island News was started in May 1917 as a weekly paper by Ira Case, Editor/Owner and Homer S. Mohr, Assistant Editor and was published in Burton, Washington. 

Their mission statement read: “The paper will be purely local, its policy will be to build up, never tear down. It will aim to cover the field without partiality. We will have no favorites insofar as locations may be concerned. Each community will be largely depended upon to build up its local columns; we want the news, all of it. With this and your individual cooperation our mission will be mutually successful.”  

“We want 500 partners in this newspaper enterprise at once.  One dollar pays your subscription for a whole year.”

By March, 1922, the Bay Island News was including columns representing news from the communities of Burley, Midway, Glencove, Wauna, Purdy, Shore Acres, Warren, Fox Island, and Longbranch.

Trombley changed the name of the newspaper to The Peninsula Gateway and published it for 30 years until his death in October, 1953. 

Gig Harbor is 124 years old this week

Dr. Alfred Mark Burnham and his second wife Rachel filed the plat for Gig Harbor on April 19, 1888.  The town extended from their farm near Donkey Creek to the head of the bay, now marked by the Bogue Viewpoint Park on North Harborview.  They had arrived in 1886 after slowly working their way west from Minnesota, finding the harbor a very welcome place to settle.

They quickly became friends with their neighbors and knew it was where they wanted to put down their roots.  Having purchased land from Sam Jeresich, one of the first white settlers, Burnham offered free lots to anyone willing to build a house and paint it white.

Dr. Burnham opened his store at the head of the bay, which had a wide variety of goods to sell as well as a small stage where small plays were performed.  He produced his own newspaper.  As he was a physician, the paper had medical advice and  patent medicine ads.  

The Burnham family is pictured above seated on the porch of their white house near the creek.  At left is son Nick, Biz, Rachel, Alfred, Luella, and Frank.  An unknown neighbor is at right.  Lower left is a portrait of Dr. Burnham and at right is Rachel with her dog Prince.

Dr. Burnham died in 1896 at the age of 72.  Rachel lived until age 88, passing away in 1933.

Linda McCowen, Historic Photo Editor
© 2012 Harbor History Museum. All rights reserved.

April 18, 1880, Sunday

On this day, Emmett Hunt wrote in his diary "Cool and unpleasant.  Went to church as usual after which I spent my time with good company and listened to fine music."

© 2012 Harbor History Museum. All rights reserved.

Dr. Ivanovich credit to Gig Harbor

Did You Know?  Dr. Peter T. Ivanovich was awarded a Shield of High Honor by the Japanese for his work in the field of dialysis and kidney transplant in 1975?

Dr. Ivanovich is the son of Mato and Maria Ivanovich. Peter attended Lincoln Elementary School in downtown Gig Harbor (site of today's Church of Latter Day Saints), and graduated from Bellarmine Prep, Seattle University, and St. Louis University School of Medicine.

Dr. Ivanovich pioneered in the field of dialysis and was director of chronic-dialysis and research for the Spokane Inland Empire Artificial Kidney Center of Sacred Heart Hospital during the early development of dialysis.  He developed a pilot cooperative program for transplantation and maintenance of dialysis patients. 

He served as consultant, director, and adviser in numerous other hospital and university programs and wrote intensively on all aspects of kidney disease.

In 1979, Dr. Peter T. Ivanovich at age 50 was promoted to full professorship with tenure at Northwestern University’s Medical School.  It usually took 10 years for a person to be elevated from associate professor to a full professorship. He had only joined Northwestern University in 1975.  He also served as chief of the hemodialysis unit of the Veterans Administration Lakeside Hospital in Illinois.

At that time, he ran the artificial kidney program, was in charge of dialysis, and the head of the peritoneal dialysis program. A list of his credentials ran 24 single spaced legal-sized pages in 1975.  Can you imagine what it would run today?

© 2012 Harbor History Museum. All rights reserved.

Shenandoah Restoration Project "ramping" up

Early photo of F/V Shenandoah - in her prime!

The Shenandoah restoration volunteers  - a great group of guys - are getting started tomorrow on building the stairs that will provide access to the boat's aft deck.  This is something we've been anticipating for many months now. Shipwright Nate Slater will direct his crew on building the staircase, which will provide access for the working volunteers on the weekends, and eventually visitor access in the coming months.  Just think of sitting in the cabin having a cup of coffee, listening to some of Gig Harbor's own fishermen telling their true stories of the great fishing days...Later this year, that will happen!

If you haven't stopped by the museum on a weekend, now is the time to see the restoration crew in action. The workshop is up and running and several safety projects have been completed in preparation for work now beginining on the boat itself.

If you want to join in the restoration, please stop in on a Saturday or Sunday and talk to Nate, or Warren - the project coordinator.

© 2012 Harbor History Museum. All rights reserved.