Black Diamond NOW

Traffic Congestion Circa 1919

Although the first automobile arrived in Washington in 1900, by the 1910's, traffic congestion had already become a major problem.  Some things just don't seem to change as these early photos of traffic congestion along First and Pike and near the Ferry Terminal in Seattle attest.

Photo courtesy of Museum of History & Industry, 1983.10.8580, Webster & Stevens photographers, circa 1919

I was surprised to see all of the street cars then in service along First Avenue.  The large Statue of Liberty marks the Liberty Theater where patrons could shop at the Pike Place Market and leave their groceries at the check-in room until after the movie.  How about trying to catch a ferry at the Coleman Dock?

Photo courtesy of University of Washington Libraries and Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society, 10086-001, circa 1925

Thanksgiving - The Making of a National Holiday

Although other countries as diverse as Germany, Japan and South Korea celebrate harvest festivals at this time of year, the holiday of Thanksgiving is unique to the U.S. and Canada.  History has it that the first Thanksgiving occurred in November 1621 as the 50 surviving Pilgrims held a feast to celebrate a successful harvest and end of the drought that had plagued them.  The feast lasted three days and was also attended by 90 invited members of the Wampanoag tribe who brought five deer as their contribution to the banquet.  A Jean Leon Gerome Ferris painting (1899) of the first Thanksgiving remains a popular holiday symbol to this day.

Although wild turkeys were common in New England at the time, it's likely that fowl brought to the feast included ducks, geese and swans.  Since flour for making bread was not available, having already consumed their supplies brought from England, chestnuts, onions and herbs were likely used as stuffing to add flavor to the birds. The main course also likely included clams, oysters and lobster, in addition to the deer roasted over a fire spit.

The tradition of "thanksgiving" continued in its varying forms until in 1863 Abraham Lincoln declared the last Thursday in November to be a National Holiday - done in part to celebrate Civil War victories by Union troops.  Being lobbied by the business community to extend the Christmas shopping season, Franklin Roosevelt changed the date for Thanksgiving to celebrated on the fourth Thursday of the month instead of the last Thursday (there were 5 Thursdays in November in 1939).  Uproar and confusion ensued.  Finally in 1941, Congress passed a joint resolution establishing the third Thursday of November as THE official date where it stands today.

Have a great "Thanksgiving" - we have so much to be thankful for!

Pacific Highway Circa 1915

The Pacific Highway, later to be known as Hwy 99, had its grand opening in 1915, just fifteen years after the first auto arrived in the state.  It was the creation, not of government, but of a loose affiliation of auto clubs in Oregon, Washington and British Columbia.  The group chose an official north-south route and placed signs along the way identifying it as the Pacific Highway.  Outside of major cities, the road was rough and unpaved but navigable.  Following is a photo taken in 1915 of the route's grand opening along a stretch of highway that was plank paved near Seattle.

Photo courtesy of Museum of History & Industry, shs441, Webster & Stevens photographers, circa 1915

In 1915, there were a grand total of 46,000 autos licensed in the state, yet car clubs had already become an important fixture.  Ahhhhhh, the romance of road tripping.

 

Dam!

 What happens when you remove a beaver dam?  The following graphic provided courtesy of Lake Sawyer Weather tracks water levels in Lake Sawyer.  Last week unbeknownsed to anyone in the City , WSDOT removed beaver dams that had been causing flooding of people's property.  Apparently, they were concerned with highway safety and the risks posed by more heavy rains.  Water released from these dams then flowed downstream into Lake Sawyer.  Here's the result:

Fortunately, rains abated and the lake did not reach flood stage but in one day the lake level went from historic lows to nearly flooding the lake.  And of course, water levels upstream receded as did flooding of people's property, much to the relief of many.  Yet we have a few vocal citizens complaining that the City caused this and should have notified citizens beforehand, though this action was unilaterally taken by the state.  We even have a member of the City Council saying that beaver dams don't cause flooding of people's property.  Go figure!

3,200 Acres of Underground Natural Gas Storage Wells in Washington State - What?

Yep, Washington State is home to the Jackson Prairie Underground Natural Gas Storage facility capable of holding up to 44 billion cubic feet of natural gas.  It represents the 14th largest such facility in the entire country and covers some 3,200 acres in Lewis County.  It's all underground except for approximately 5 acres of physical plant that we can see above ground in the following photo.

Though there is a history of drilling for natural gas in the state, we have no producing wells.  As a result, all natural gas consumed in the state is supplied either from Canada or the Mountain states.  "The facility was developed as a natural gas storage reservoir following a failed attempt by an oil and gas producer to find oil and natural gas at the site. An exploratory well drilled there in 1958 was labeled a “dry hole,” but the effort revealed several large sandstone layers favorable for storing natural gas. A 1963 state law authorized underground storage of natural gas in Washington, and the following year, PSE and its partners made the first injections of natural gas into Jackson Prairie’s underground reservoirs. The facility was certified for commercial service in 1970."  The following graphic shows how natural gas is stored underground.

"Jackson Prairie is a series of deep, underground reservoirs—basically thick, porous sandstone deposits—in which large volumes of natural gas are injected and stored for later use by utility customers across the Northwest. The sand layers lie approximately 1,000 to 3,000 feet below the ground surface. Large compressors and pipelines are employed at Jackson Prairie to both inject and withdraw natural gas at 45 wells spread across the 3,200-acre facility. PSE and its two Jackson Prairie co-owners hold leases for subsurface natural gas storage. Most of the surface acreage is privately owned and used for timber production or livestock grazing."

As a result of this capacity, more than 40% of the natural gas we consume during peak winter months is supplied from less expensive storage and not out of state supplier pipelines during periods of peak demand. Interesting.  Sounds good to me.

 

 

Exploring the Springs at Icy Creek

It's been awhile since I trekked down to Icy Creek and the Green River Gorge so time to go exploring again.  I never did make it all the way down to the river, getting side-tracked by going to the springs that feed Icy Creek instead.  Following is a view of Icy Creek at its origins.

Pretty fun - water just all of a sudden starts flowing out of the ground.  With all of the rain, it's flowing pretty strong right now.  Further downstream, this is what you see.

The springs area is also the site of an old abandoned fish hatchery.  The dam is a bit rusted now but you can still scramble across.

Note the ferns growing on top of each flume structure.  It was pretty dark so to get this picture I had to crank up the ISO and slow the shutter speed down to 1/100th of a second.  For perspective, when I'm doing wildlife photography, I usually try to use a much higher shutter speed of 1/1000th or more.  To experiment, I lowered the ISO, decreased the aperture to f11 and decreased the shutter speed to 1/4th of a second - slowing it down even more.  Doing this, here is what you get.

Now you have fluffy water since a lot more of it flows while the shutter is open.  I would usually use a tripod with this shot to avoid shake and keep the surroundings sharp but didn't have it with me and had to do this handheld.  But for those interested in photography, perhaps you get the idea.  Following are a couple of more photos of water flowing through the old dam at slow shutter speed.

Using a tripod makes this much easier and much sharper except for the water, of course.

One word of caution, getting to the springs and dam requires a bit of bushwacking.  The "trail" to the springs is fairly straight forward.  Follow the trail as if you are going down all the way to the gorge and river, but turn left instead when you see a pile of gravel - just before you start the steep downhill to the currently operating salmon/steelhead hatchery.  An old road now unmaintained is easy to follow and you will be able to hear the stream well before you get there.  But be prepared to fight branches if you go upstream to see the springs and navigating your way around the dam can be challenging - getting wet is a risk.  For directions to Icy Creek and the Gorge, follow this link to Icy Creek Salmon Hatchery.  Then, take the detour and have fun.

 

 

Our Love Affair with Autos - The Bureaucracy Plays Catch-Up Circa 1939

With annual auto licenses issued growing from 137,000 in 1921 to 460,000 by 1934, something had to give.  Road capacity was certainly a challenge in many places but the bureaucracy posed what was perhaps the most irritating constraint of all.  Playing catch-up and with growing concerns for the number of drivers and highway safety, in 1934 the State Legislature enacted a "highway code".  Among the provisions was a periodic safety inspection of all vehicles with violators being fined or arrested.  And the result?

Photo courtesy of Museum of History & Industry, 1986.5.7236.3, Seattle PI staff photographer, circa 1939

The above photo shows autos backed up in line for inspection at a state auto inspection station in Seattle.  And here's a view from the exit side.  Rather orderly process don't you think and with uniformed attendants too!

Photo courtesy of Museum of History & Industry, 1986.5.7326.1, Seattle PI staff photographer, circa 1939

Auto inspections were not the only challenge.  Try to get a drivers license.

Photo courtesy of Museum of History & Industry, PI24850, Seattle PI staff photographer, circa 1939

The above photo shows the line-up of people seeking to obtain or renew their drivers license at a Washington State Patrol office in Seattle.  I think we've made a little progress here.

 

 

Washingtonians Love Affair with the Auto Takes Off Circa 1906

The first auto arrived in Washington during 1900 and in short order by 1906 the "fever" had taken hold.  It was like setting long jailed inmates on the loose.  The feeling of freedom unleashed was like no technological innovation that came before, except perhaps for the washing machine.  But this was "manly" stuff - let's go explore and even race.  Can you feel the testosterone in the air?

In 1906, the State's Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) issued 1,253 auto licenses, growing to 9,311 by 1910, over 46,000 in 1915 and topping 137,000 by 1921.

Exploring the Sunset Highway through Snoqualmie Pass was an early popular destination.  Beauty to be seen for sure.

Photo courtesy University of Washington Libraries, WAS1008, Alfred Witter photographer, circa 1913

Photo courtesy Museum of History & Industry, 1983.10.9989.1, Webster & Stevens photographers, circa 1915

The Sunset Highway was not fully completed until 1914 and promised drivers "fine dirt and gravel road with dependable bridges".   But it was still an adventure as these switchbacks attest.

Photo courtesy of Museum of History & Industry, 1998.10.5, circa 1910's

Today, of course, we know this as I-90.  A little better road these days as it winds around Lake Kachess.

Photo courtesy University of Washington Libraries, UW13583, Asahel Curtis photographer, circa 1915

 

The Auto Arrives in Washington Circa 1900

The first auto in Washington - would you believe a Woods Electric auto brought to Seattle in 1900 by Ralph Hopkins.  Hopkins (d. 1963) is referred to as a "capitalist" who is noted for a number of "firsts" in our state, including driving from Seattle to San Francisco which took five months.  To get here, he picked up the auto in Chicago where it was produced by the Wood Electric Automobile Company and drove it all the way to Seattle.  At the time this car was made in 1899, there were only 4,000 automobiles in the U.S.  Here's a photo of Hopkins touring in Seattle.

Photo courtesy of HistoryLink.org

Note how the car was steered - a stick.  Powered by a three-horsepower motor, I find it hard to imagine how Hopkins was able to navigate over the mountains - perhaps hitching a ride on the train..  Looks a little "drafty" too for long distance travel.  I wonder how the car's battery was charged.

It didn't take long for automobiles to catch on in the state.  By 1905, the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) was created and licenses were required, personally signed by the Secretary of State.  The first license was issued to Mr. S.A. Perkins of Tacoma for his 30 HP Pope-Toledo Touring Car.  A fee of $2 was charged and by the end of the year, 963 licenses had been issued - growing to over 9,000 licenses in 1910. 

Considering such humble beginnings, it's truly amazing how fast this mode of transport grew.  I wonder when the term "gridlock" was first coined.  More state auto history in future posts.

More Traffic Trends & Mysteries

Common sense tells us that if we take drivers off the road, traffic congestion will be eased.  That's a role of mass transit, vanpools, car pool lanes etc.  So, how much of an impact are these investments having?  Here's some recent data.

 

 

Hmmm, big investment but not sure about what conclusions can be drawn from this data.  There has been some growth in ridership and other measures to get people out of their cars, but .............!

In a post next week, I'll focus on what I'm hearing re potential reasons for increased congestion despite the very limited growth in traffic volumes and investment in alternative transit.

 

 

 

This Blog is "For the Birds"

During one of the highly "intellectual" conversations that regularly flourishes at our dinner table, Judy observed how many idioms that we use every day deal with birds.  Fly by night, pigeon hole, eagle eye and swan song are but a few.

Why so many bird related idioms?  Here's one explanation.  For centuries dating back to the early painters of Gothic, Early Renaissance and High Renaissance eras, birds have been part of a rich visual symbolism.  In a time of limited literacy, symbolic imagery was vital to communication, particularly for the church.  Origen Adamantius, an early Christian theologian once stated "If all things were made through Him, clearly so must the splendid revelations have been which were made to the fathers and prophets, and became to them the symbols of the sacred mysteries of religion."  A few examples of this symbolism then and now:

A Raven was the symbol of St. Oswald.  He was born to a wealthy family but devoted his life to the poor.  The raven's cousin a Crow, however was a symbol of adultery or wicked thoughts.  Both ravens and crows can symbolize devil's henchmen. 

A chubby Pigeon denotes self-indulgence and slothful ways.

A perched Osprey symbolizes Satan's vigilance in the hunt for backsliders who are easily corrupted.

And the Eagle - a symbol of Christ and of regeneration by baptism..

We sure have a lot of Crows around and since we have both Osprey and Eagles at Lake Sawyer, what does this say about us?  I guess we need them all.

Let us all be Wise as an Owl.  And being Wise, don't forget to order your Calendars and photos with all proceeds donated to the Black Diamond Community Center's Families in Need program.  You can view the catalogue at Black Diamond NOW Photography.  Don't be a Bird Brain.  Place your order now and remember, the Early Bird Catches the Worm.

Welcome to the Manhattan Project National Historical Park

On November 10, 2015 it became official - congress authorized creation of the newest National Park in the country called the Manhattan Project National Historical Park.  No, it's not located in Manhattan but takes it's name from our country's historic efforts begun in 1941 to produce an Atomic Bomb in a race with Germany for arms supremacy.  The new NP will be unusual in its design and management.  It includes three locations spread across the country - Oak Ridge TN, Los Alamos New Mexico and Hanford Washington. To quote an article in the Portland Oregonian:  "Hanford was the location where plutonium was enriched for the first and third atomic bombs, which were developed to bring about the end of World War II. Oak Ridge enriched uranium for the second bomb, which was dropped over Hiroshima, Japan. Los Alamos was the primary science laboratory that engineered development and testing of the bombs."

Photo courtesy of History News Network

Since these sites remain "active", the park will be managed in a partnership between the Department of Energy and the National Park Service.  A Los Alamos visitors center has been designed and appears to be the first up for new facilities construction.  Additional links that you might find of interest include The Manhattan Project and a posting at HistoryLink.org.

Gas from Coal - Seattle Circa 1873

With abundant supplies of coal but no sources of natural gas in the Puget Sound region, lighting for streets, businesses and homes was difficult.  The solution - produce synthetic gas from coal.  And that is what Seattle founders Dexter Horton and Arthur Denny did, forming the Seattle Gas Light Company in 1873.  Unfortunately, this first plant burned the ground in the Great Seattle Fire of 1889 and little or nothing is known about the plant.  Not to be deterred, with a more efficient technology for converting coal to gas in hand, a new plant was opened in 1906 at Browns Point on Lake Union - current home to aptly named Gasworks Park.  Amid growing complaints from neighbors about air pollution, the plant became Seattle's primary source of gas for producing electricity until hydro-electric power came along in the 1930s.  Here's the oldest photo I could find of the plant.

Photo courtesy of Seattle Municipal Archives, circa 1938

During the 1930's oil became cheaper than coal and the plant was converted.  Oil could also be efficiently shipped directly to the plant through the Ship Canal without the complicated logistics of coal.  The plant eventually closed in 1956 to the relief of many.  Here's a photo taken in 1971.

Photo courtesy of Museum of History & Industry, 1986.5.53567.2, Seattle PI photographer, circa 1971

For a more complete and fascinating history of this plant, follow this link to Gasworks History. 

More Traffic Trends

Following are a few more charts focused on traffic trends.  First - population and employment growth in our region (data source PSRC).

As you can see, the "great recession" had little if any impact on population and only a marginal impact on employment, which continues to grow at a brisk pace.  Yet, despite this growth in both population and employment, the growth in auto usage has not grown much.

Yet our highways are more clogged than ever.  In future posts I'll address the impacts of alternative modes of travel and the potential causes of today's clogged highways.

A Visit to the Nisqually Delta

With snow in the mountains, one of my favorite places to visit is the Nisqually Delta.  This time of year is particularly fun with fall colors and a wide variety of birds beginning their migration south.  This day, I started by stopping at the Nisqually Reach Nature Center located on the south side of river.  From here, you can look northeast across the Delta and see the 1.5 mile boardwalk.  Here's the view of the boardwalk using my long lens from the Reach.

From the Reach at low tide, you can walk the beach and see shellfish farmers harvesting clams and oysters.  You can buy them here too.  Great views of the Olympics and Puget Sound.  Heading back across to the NWR, the first thing you will see are lots and lots of geese - both Cackling Geese and their bigger cousins Canadian Geese.

On the west end of the shorter 1/2 mile barn loop trail you are often able to see Great Horned Owls taking a nap.

Great blue heron are almost like pets as you make your way out along the boardwalk toward the river.  Lots of them.  You will also generally see several bald eagles.  Here's a juvenile as it successfully finds dinner at the expense of a duck.  These three pics are taken in sequence.

You should have seen the flock of birds fly away as this eagle descended.  Too late for one of them.  And finally, Mr. & Mrs. Baldy.  The larger eagle perched further down the branch is the female and the smaller male above.

Always a treat to visit the Nisqually.

 

Exploring Ravensdale Creek

Ravensdale Creek is yet another of our amazing local treasures.  With snow in the mountains and wet weather, its time to begin thinking of hikes closer to home so I headed off wearing my wet weather gear earlier in the week.  Wow, such beautiful colors right now and the creek is running full again.  Here's a photo I was able to get between rain showers.

Where else in King County can you find places like this right in your back yard.  To my surprise, by the time I made it to Lake Sawyer I found that Frog Lake was full and overflowing and Ravensdale Creek was flowing strong into the lake.  Just a couple of weeks ago both Ravensdale Creek and Rock Creek were dry at the point of discharge.  We should begin to see the lake filling soon after such a dry summer and fall.  Here's what I call the slatted bridge crossing about 1/3 of the way from 288th to the park.

I saw heron, King Fishers, heard an eagle and more and more ducks migrating through including the first Bufflehead that I have seen this fall.  Miles and miles of bike trails too.  What a great place.

The Tax Man Cometh - 2016 Assessments

In recent months, we have all received the "good news" from King County about our property tax assessments for 2016.  Big jumps in values.  For Black Diamond, it translates into the following total city assessed valuations:

Though the recession cut total property valuations in our city by over $100 million, values today now exceed pre-recession peaks.  With increased values, city levy rates have declined.  Why?  As a city we collect property taxes based on total dollars, not levy rates.  And because we are limited to a 1% per year increase in property taxes without a vote of the people, except for new construction, as property values increase, levy rates decline.  And the reverse holds true when property values decline.  That's why you see city levy rates increase during the recession and head back down as property values have increased.  Here's the history.

How much of your total property tax bill goes to the city?  Less than 20% as shown in the following pie chart.

As you might expect, schools represent the largest recipients of our property tax dollars.   For the above chart, I used levy rates for the Enumclaw School District for the local school district sum.

 

Pacific Coast Coal Company General Store Circa 1915

In 1904 the Black Diamond Coal Mining Company sold the entire town of Black Diamond to the Pacific Coast Coal Company, including the company store.  According to the photo's description:  "The company store sold merchandise to the miners which were charged to each miner's account. On payday, the credit charges were settled and the miners received the remainder of their pay.  The store building had three floors with general merchandise, dry goods, clothing, shoes, nails, hardware, and the bookkeeper’s office on the main floor. Hay, oats and chicken feed were kept in the basement. Upstairs were furniture and the payroll guards' living quarters."

Photo courtesy of Museum of History & Industry, SHS19175, circa 1915

Payroll guards?  Apparently so since payment to miners, net of what they owed the company store, was made in cash.  I didn't realize that the wild west once lived here in Black Diamond.

"This building was moved to the Railroad Avenue location shown here from Lawson after that mine closed in 1910.  Around 1939 Pacific Coast Company sold the homes to the miners and essentially ended the "company town" concept. The store was sold to Harry McDowell in 1942 and survived until the 1960s."

I actually experienced payroll guards making payment to loggers in my early days with Weyerhaeuser.  Somehow I found myself at a remote logging camp in Sabah east Malaysia on the island of Borneo.  Pirates were common and were known to raid camps generally located along the shoreline.  The payroll guards at this camp had BIG guns and lots of them.  Scared the heck out of me.   Just goes to show that the Company Town model for resource extraction industries lives on.  Weyerhaeuser sold their interest in Malaysian timber resources not long after my visit.

 

Black Diamond NOW Photography - Community Center Fund Raiser

Again this year, Judy and I have committed to raise funds for the Black Diamond Community Center.  We are sponsoring the Center's Families in Need program providing weekly vouchers to families with children in need of dairy and eggs.  Our commitment is to donate a minimum of $2,000 to fund the program for 2016 using proceeds raised through sale of photos and calendars.  We donate 100% of all proceeds including our costs of production.  To keep things as simple as possible yet provide choices, we have available the following:

Greeting Cards - 3 for $10

Matted Prints  8" x 12" - $25 each

Canvas Prints  20" x 30"  - $125 each

Calendars  - $25 each

As a holiday special, I am offering a 16" x 48" Canvas Print of the "Don't Mess with Me" eagle photo for $125.  We delivered one to the Carole & Pete Butkus and it turned out really cool.  Local delivery is free of charge.

Following are 32 photos that you just can't do without.  Great Christmas gifts too and for such a good cause.

Aurora

Blood Moon

Dege Peak Trail

Don't Mess with Me

Eagle On Approach 1

Eagle on Approach 2

Fall Colors at Tipsoo

Halo

High Hut Sunset

Lake Sawyer Sunrise 1

Lake Sawyer Sunrise 2

Milky Way at Tipsoo

Milky Way from Dege Peak

Milky Way over Mt. Rainier

Moonset over Mount Rainier

Mount Rainier Sunrise from Suntop

Mountain Goat Family

Mt. Adams from Olallie Lake

Mt. Rainier Sunset from Suntop

Mt. Rainier Wildflowers

Night Lights at Suntop

Night Lights from High Hut

Pink Skies over Rainier

Portland Lights

Ross Lake Sunset

Short Eared Owl in Flight

Sunrise Lodge

Suntop Lookout

Tipsoo Sunset 1

Tipsoo Sunset 2

Tipsoo Sunset 3

Tolmie Peak Sunset

To order, you can email me at craig.goodwin99@gmail.com or call at 253-405-6564.  Thanks for your help in supporting our Black Diamond Community Center!