Black Diamond NOW

The Many Moods of Tipsoo Lake

A nice sunny day and the opportunity to get away.  Where should we go?  Whenever in doubt, I'll head to Tipsoo Lake near the summit of Chinook Pass.  There are hiking opportunities galore including to Sheep Lake, Dewey Lake and the Naches Peak Loop Trail - or you can connect here with the Pacific Crest Trail and make your way south to Mexico or north to Canada and all points in between.  A little ambitious?  You can elect just to stroll around the lake and take in all the great views of Mt. Rainier and surrounding peaks. I have yet to find a place where you'll find better displays of wildflowers during peak season.  And only an hour from home here in Black Diamond. 

This year I've experienced more of Tipsoo Lake's beauty.  I even learned what Tipsoo means - grassy according to Native Americans.  Somehow, going to grassy lake doesn't do it justice.  Could have been named after some famous tribal chief - but not. 

Most of us just have the opportunity to see what these wilderness areas have to offer during the middle of the day.  It takes us time to drive up there, take the hikes and then head back home for dinner afterwards.  But, it's a whole different world up here during early morning sunrise, evening sunset and even in the middle of the night - a photographer's time.  This summer, I have managed a couple of "sleep overs" both here and at Sunrise.  Following are a couple of pics from sleepovers and sunset at Tipsoo Lake.

There are actually two lakes, one south of Hwy 410 and the other north.  Fortunately for me, most people don't know that this upper lake exists on the south side and I have it to myself.  And then, night closes in and on a clear night, we have stars, the Milky Way and the lights of Seattle.

Just magical!  The Milky Way moves from southwest to northwest, so I follow it until it's just over the mountain - about 1 am.  Then time to get a little sleep.  At 4:15 am, it's time to get ready for sunrise.  I could "kill" that alarm while it's still dark out, but remembering the night before, I'm excited about what the new day holds.

A duck decided to strut her stuff just as I was enjoying the morning's reflections including the moon - a wayward female merganser teenager as best I could determine.  A duck at over 5,000 feet elevation - who would have thought?

The above photo is taken of the reflections at Upper Typsoo Lake, where I found myself alone.  Just up the road, a gaggle of photographers were waking up and taking photos across Lower Typsoo Lake.  Here's a sunrise photo from there - love it too, but pretty special on "the road less traveled".

 

Electric Laundry Circa 1897

Though I am a boomer, born when times were good following WWII, I grew up on Lake Tapps on a houseboat that had no electricity and no plumbing.  To take a bath, my mom heated water on the stove with wood as fuel and hoped it would be warm enough when poured into our old glavanized metal washtub.  Didn't happen every day to be sure.  For laundry, heat water on the stove, soak your clothes and use the washboard to get your clothes clean - using the same galvanized washtub.  Yet I find photos of an electric laundry dating back to 1897.

Photo courtesy of University of Washington Libraries, SEA0201, circa 1897

I guess it took awhile for the affluence of Seattle to make it's way to our area.  I must have grown too big for the family washtub by age 6 so our family moved to Sumner in 1951, on the other side of the tracks.  Not exactly an upscale neighborhood, but a great place to grow up.  I do remember a laundromat along my path walking to school - memorable, what did they do in there?

Electric Pile Drivers Circa 1899 - Really?

When I first saw this photo, I couldn't believe it.  Though I have often remarked about the incredible ingenuity and inventiveness of our forebears, seeing this one really stretched my imagination.  A pile driver mounted on a rail car and powered by electricity?  Cmon!

Photo courtesy of University of Washington Libraries, SEA2699, Anders Wilse photographer, circa 1899

The verso on this photo identifies this pile driver as designed and built by Nicholas Anders of the Seattle Traction Company in March 1899.  Amazing!

I wonder how many other new technologies were spawned by expansion of the railroads to the west.

Seattle, Renton & Southern Railroad - Circa 1910

Just when I think I have figured out the who, what and when of our region's railroad history, another one surfaces - in this case the Seattle, Renton & Southern Railroad.  The following photo from King County Snapshots first attracted my attention.

It shows a rail engine built by Moran Shipyards in Seattle to haul freight and coal cars for the Seattle, Renton and Southern Railroad.  It replaced a "shop built" engine following a fatal accident in 1910 which resulted from a loss of power that allowed a coal car to crash into car #102.  Certainly doesn't look like any railroad engine that I have seen before.

According to History Link.org, the Seattle, Renton & Southern Railroad was King County's first interurban railway beginning in 1891 and spurred early development of the Rainier Valley.  The now defunct Seattle PI newspaper still survives with a website and posted an early photo dated 1903.

Looks to be passenger friendly.

 

Emmons Glacier - Then & Now

We have been fortunate to have wonderful weather this summer - which means lots of hiking and trips to Mount Rainier NP.  Among my favorite views of the mountain is Emmons Glacier out of Sunrise and of course I keep taking picture after picture.  Here is the source of the White River and you can clearly see where the river begins at the foot of the glacier.  People have been taking photos from this spot for years and years. Here's a photo taken in 1961.

Just consider the advances in photographic technology in the last decade.  Not only are images in digital format and easily processed by software packages such as Photoshop and Lightroom, but even our cell phones today are capable of taking high quality pictures.  I recently heard a statistic that more photos have been taken in the last 5 years than in the history of photography.  Not sure how accurate this is but it does tell the story.  For comparison, following is a photo I took early this summer from nearly the same location.

Here's a closer view of the glacier.

Some photographers remain devoted to film and prefer this over digital.  However done with whatever camera you have, making the trip the mountain is always well worth it - and soooo calming yet energizing.

The Future of Coal in the PNW & The John Henry Mine

In the past, I have expressed skepticism about the future of coal in the northwest and that of the John Henry mine located just north of Black Diamond.  See my earlier post Energy Supply - What's Happening.  For background, about 5 years ago under orders from the U.S. Bureau of Mines to begin mine reclamation following years of no activity, Pacific Coast Coal Company (PCCC), owner of the mining rights at the John Henry Mine, made application to resume mining (and cease reclamation) based on so called new market opportunities for coal from the John Henry Mine.  Ok, new jobs for our area and I sponsored a tour of the site to better understand potential adverse implications on Ginder Creek, Rock Creek and Lake Sawyer water quality.  We made comments to the Bureau of Mines about our water quality concerns.  A permit was issued to PCCC to resume mining with clearly defined water quality discharge requirements.  For reference, here is a link to my 2010 post Pacific Coast Coal to Resume Mining at the John Henry Mine.  Following is a photo from our community tour of the mine site.

What happened?  Nothing.  There was no mining and reclamation activities also ceased, costing our community the loss of jobs.  Fast forward to today.  Once again, a "new market" for coal from the John Henry mine has "surfaced" and PCCC has made application with the Bureau of Mines to resume mining again - further delaying the need for mine reclamation.

The public reaction to this has been largely focused on coal exports and proposals for new export terminals in Oregon, Washington and BC.  I don't pretend to understand coal markets and they are no doubt more complex than simple export vs domestic uses, but by any measure I can find, the export market for coal has collapsed and with it, domestic opportunities as well.  Here are a few recent events:

• The State of Oregon has denied a permit for the Morrow Pacific coal export facility.  If ever there was a site that could be permitted in the Pacific Northwest, this was considered to be it.  Doesn't look like it is going to happen any time soon.  Even the State of Wyoming, now #1 producer of coal in the U.S., joined in supporting this permit application, but to no avail.
• Coal prices continue to collapse.  Here's a graph of current coal futures.

• Two mines in British Columbia just announced that they will be closing.

With coal demand in China collapsing, not a lot of positives out there.  The glut of coal on international markets continues to grow, further reducing market prices.  In this environment, it's probably a good thing that the proposed new coal terminals haven't been built.  And given the fundamental economic advantage of large scale coal production in Wyoming, how can a small mine in Washington State, the only mine operating in our region, compete?  Fantasy?

So, it now appears that we have another promise made (new jobs) and a promise that will not be kept.  Please help me from becomming cynical.  At this point, I have no trust in the permit system or in PCCC.  But always open to new data.

 

 

Logging in the Northwest Circa 1893

Doing a recent post about Buckley and its early logging history reminded me of how difficult logging must have been in the late 1800's and early 1900's.  Not only were the trees huge, but they had to be felled, bucked and transported to some place where they could be milled.  As can be seen in the photo that follows, this was no easy task.

Photo courtesy of Washington State Archives, AR-07809001-ph003688, circa 1893

Hence the term "skid road".  One thing, though, that confuses me about this early photo is how many small trees there were along the skid road.  Obviously, they didn't log these.  Were these peckerwood trees we see above caused by past forest fires?  Could be but are there other ideas?

Main Street Buckley - Then & Now

Located south and just across the White River from Enumclaw, Buckley shares a similar history with it's neighbor to the north.  Both had coal mines nearby that required supplies and services.  Timber resources were abundant and logging provided the largest base of employment.  The annual Buckley Log Show continues to celebrate this tradition.  Seldom do I find then and now photos look so similar.  Here's a photo of Main Street Buckley circa 1909 - followed by a more recent photo displayed on the city's web site.

Photo courtesy of Tacoma Public Library, TPL-5579, circa 1909

Take autos off the street and we pretty much have a mirror image.

According to the Tacoma Public Library, in 1909 Buckley had six churches, a weekly newspaper, a properous business district and a population of about 2,000.  Today, Buckley's population is 4,500.  For more about Buckley history, see my earlier post Buckley Schoolhouse Circa 1890.  

The Adams Motor Bungalo (Original 5th Wheel) Circa 1917

Have you ever seen so many Motor Homes and Travel Trailers on the road before?  This summer had to set a record.  And so many RV's for sale on big lots along the freeway.  Must be a sign of boomers retiring and an improving economy.  Here's a photo of the Adams Motor Bungalo purported to be the "Original 5th Wheel" dating back to 1917.

Looks pretty neat.  Who would have thought - a car with trailer hitch mounted over the rear wheel chassis.  Inventive if not practical.

So what peaked my interest in travel trailers?  No, we're not considering buying one.  If people during the 1920's perused the Sears & Roebuck catalogue to find things that peaked their interest, I browse through the Annual Office of Financial Managment (OFM) Databook.  Strange behavior, I know, but there is some interesting information here too - including the number of registered recreation vehicles in the State of Washington.  Download 2013 OFM Databook for Washington State

Lots of vehicles and sure to be growing more quickly now.  Here's the data for 2012 by vehicle type:

• Travel Trailers                            119,101
• Campers                                    24,864
• Motor Homes                             64,853
• Motorcycles                             228,493
• Mopeds                                       9,406
• Off Road                                    83,401
• Snowmobiles                             29,283

There you have it, more trivia that you didn't need or want to know.

 

Fire Lookouts and the Osborne Fire Finder

How often do you find technology, invented over a century ago, still in demand today?  Though satellites have largely replaced the need for Fire Lookout Towers, there remain a surprising number still being manned during summer months.  And what technology do they use - the Osborne Fire Finder first invented by W.B. Osborne in 1915. 

But before focusing on Osborne and his amazing invention, it's worth noting that the history of U.S. Forest Service reveals a difficult birth.  The Forest Service Act of 1891 authorized withdrawing land from the public domain as "forest reserves" managed by the Department of the Interior.  Such action was highly contested by those seeking to exploit these resources for their own personal gain - and paying nothing to the public treasury to either farm, graze livestock or log timber from these lands.  Thanks to the political strength of Teddy Roosevelt, the Transfer Act of 1905 transferred responsibility for management of forest reserves to what ultimately became known as the U.S. Forest Service, with Roosevelt ally Gifford Pinchot named as Chief Forester in 1911.  Large forest fires during these early days brought into serious question the future of this nascent organization.  Determined to make his mark and sustain the USFS mission and organization, Pinchot established "fire protection" as job one.  Timothy Egan's book The Big Burn is a great read recounting these early days of the Forest Service and the herculean efforts of both Teddy Roosevelt and Pinchot in protecting these invaluable resources for our future.  No legacy is perfect, but where would we be today without their vision and determination.

Ergo, to protect from forest fires required early warning and hence the construction of fire lookouts.  Osborne soon found a home for his earliest Fire Finder units but then came the Great Depression.  Now demand really took off with the Civilian Conservation Corps tasked with building new Fire Lookouts throughout the country.  I have yet to find a full accounting for the number of Fire Lookouts that were once constructed and manned, but they number over 8,000 in 49 states. Idaho leads the pack with over 1,000 and only Kansas was left out (must not have had a strong congressional delegation - even Rhode Island had a handful).  Osborne continued to make improvements and by 1935, what you see today is what we had back then - so simple, so accurate and no electricity required.

Following is a recent picture taken at the Fremont Lookout - only a short hike from Sunrise at Mt. Rainier NP - Fire Finder still in use today.

A quick accounting shows that Judy and I have hiked to over 15 of these historic Fire Lookouts in the last couple of years.  Great views and great hikes to them all.  Here's what we have to look forward to - just a few to go. 

Good hiking!

 

Fire & Life Safety Trends - Local

Few public institutions these days enjoy broad support from local residents.  There are exceptions including some public schools, but Fire Departments and EMS paramedics appear to enjoy pretty high approval ratings.  King County's Medic One/EMS levy passed overwhelmingly and local Fire Districts also managed to pass levies with the 60+% yes votes needed.  Yesterday, I posted data re national fire safety trends.  How well are we doing in Washington State and locally?  Thanks again to Chief Smith, I was able to access tracking data reported by State Fire Districts and summarized by the Office of the State Fire Marshall.

When ranked compared to other States, incident and death rates put us right about in the middle on a per capita basis.  Number one known cause of deaths due to fire in our state - smoking.

We appear to be better at cooking compared to national averages.

While growing up, I always thought of fire fighters spending their time answering calls to put out fires, with fire engines sounding the alarm and speeding down the road.  Though there is still some truth to this image, when a fire engine is dispatched, putting out fires is but a small part of what firefighters are being asked to do.

When we call 911, fire fighters are typically the first to be dispatched and the first on site.  Paramedics are also dispatched when needed - about 1/3 of the time based on the last data I saw for Black Diamond. 

What about fireworks?

Not a good trend.

We are fortunate in King County.  If there is a national model for creating a network of local Fire Districts and county wide paramedics, staffed by highly trained and skilled staff, this is it.  We enjoy the highest survival rates in the country for cardiac arrest - exceeding 50%.  So, if you are going to have a heart attack, you are in the right place - though I wouldn't want to test the system.

Related articles

A New Milestone for King County EMS

King County EMS/Medic One Reaches New Milestone for Cardiac Survival Rates

Fire Protection Trends - Continued Improvement

There was a time early in our community's history that if your house caught on fire, it was a goner.  Not much could be done.  Organization, equipment and adequate water supply were sorely lacking.  For more historical perspective, see my earlier posts Fire Fighting - Then & Now and Black Diamond Fire Department - A Brief History.  Times have changed and we are blessed with highly trained firefighters and state of the art equipment.  What returns have we received on our investment?  Thanks to Chief Smith with Fire District 44 and the National Fire Protection Association, I was able to obtain some trend statistics that paint a pretty clear picture.

The above graph shows the trend in Total Residential Fires in the U.S. during the decades of the 80's and 90's.  Total number of fires was cut in half during this period.  More recent data shows continuing improvement, though at somewhat slower rate.

 

What causes residential fires?   To my surprise, fires caused by Cooking were far and away the biggest contibutor.  Maybe we should eat out more often?

Here's electrical and heating.

 

Could these steep declines be caused by continued decreases in wood heating?  Smoking also continues to be a problem.

What about deaths from residential fires?  Again, continued positive trends.

 

 

And the leading known cause of Residential Building Fire Deaths - Smoking.

Washington State shows similar trends.  Will include some of these data in a future post.

 

Pacific Coast Coal Company Land Holdings Circa 1921

Several years ago, I acquired a copy of a brochure prepared by Pacific Coast Company showing PCCC's land holdings in our area circa 1921.  The brochure was not targeted at those seeking to purchase coal, but instead on the vast real estate investment opportunities the company offered.  Here's the brochure cover.

I first found this of interest since it clearly shows how important land holdings and real estate investment were to the company's business model dating way back.  The size of land holdings far exceeded what was required for coal mining and encompassed many many acres.

A close look at the headlines would seem to be more intended to attract speculators as opposed to those seeking to invest in income producing properties.  And pictures of huge salmon - were they still here in these numbers in 1921?  Not really.  The hop boom ended in the 1880's.  Showing a photo of a banker who successfully retired to the farming life and growing hops in 1921 might be a bit of stretch.  No matter - it was just marketing and buyer beware.

But poking fun at real estate marketing types is not my intent - I just love the map.  Following is a copy of the map cropped to make it bigger.  It does a great job showing area communities, highways and railroads as they were in 1921.  The Green River and White River flows are also clearly shown.

Click on the map to expand. This also helps me better understand where the Northern Pacific and other railroads came through our area.  Even the Newcastle, Issaquah and Indian mines can be located.  And Burnett too, leading to Carbonado, Wilkeson and Fairfax. 

Here's an even closer look.

It's the first map I have seen from this period that shows Bass Lake, Beaver Lake and Newaukem Creek draining into the Green River.  Lake Sawyer, Lake 12 and Lake Wilderness are clearly shown, and even Jones Lake and Mud Lake.  I don't see Ginder Lake. 

One question - The town of Franklin is labled on this map as PACOSCO, presumably standing for Pacific Coast Coal Company.  How did Franklin get it's name or was it commonly known as PACOSCO at one time.  Any insight from readers here?

Man Camps Then and Now - Revisited

In my earlier post Man Camps - Then and Now, I focused on how similar housing challenges were for early area logging and mining companies in the late 1800's and early 1900's compared to those now faced by oil companies in North Dakota developing the Baaken oil fields.  But what about other human necessities such as beer?  I note with some interest that a brew pub was recently opened in Williston ND - with plenty of tap handles.

How can man survive without a brew pub and locally brewed beer?  Rest assured, early miners and loggers in the northwest were not denied.  The Seattle Brewing and Malting Company was formed in 1886 in the Georgetown area of Seattle - later to become known as Rainier Brewing.

Photo courtesy of Museum of History & Industry, 1983.10.6078.1, circa 1886

Did Rainier beer make it all the way to logging and mining camps?  Absolutely!

Photo courtesy of Museum of History & Industry, 2001.50.65, n.d.

The above photo shows the Pastime Liquor Co., Rainier beer distributor/proprietar.  I believe this photo was taken at one of the logging camps located in the Cedar River watershed (Kerriston?).  Look at all of those kegs.  So we can be rest assured that not all was hardship duty logging and mining in the early days.

But there is one parallel that I haven't been able to find.  Can you identify anything in our history comparable to this new business that just opened in Williston ND?

 

Lake Sawyer History Pics

While doing research about the history of Lake Sawyer, I was fortunate to make the acquaintance of Peggy Hawkins, grandaughter of Joseph Neukerchen who was one of two brothers who built the Lake Sawyer Sawmill located at the north end of the lake.  In addtion to photos and memories of the Lake Sawyer Lumber Co., Peggy provided several historic photos that are meant to test our cognitive skills.  Where are these places?

So here you go.

A familiar view Jack?  Here's photo #2

I think I can identify this one.  How about #3?

My guess is that this last photo is not from Lake Sawyer but if you know better, please let me know.

 

"Man Camps" - Then and Now

Providing housing for workers represented one of the biggest challenges and "headaches" for early mining and logging companies.  Logging was typically seasonal and once an area was logged, camp needed to move on.  This photo of St. Paul & Tacoma Lumber Company's Camp 5 is particularly meaningful for us since Judy's dad was a foreman here and my dad worked in the cookhouse when just out of high school.

Photo courtesy of University of Washington Libraries, circa 1930's

Buildings were portable and could be readily loaded on a railcar and taken to the next camp - cookhouse and all.  For more, see my earlier post Logging Camp 5.

Mining camps weren't quite so portable but even here in Black Diamond, moving houses from one site to another was apparently not unusual.  Many of the current homes on Lawson street were moved to their current location from further up the hill when the Lawson Mine closed.  Mining camps also included hotels for single men, reserving company built houses for those miners with families.  Courtesy of the Black Diamond Historical Society, following is picture of the 67 room Pacific Coast Coal Co. hotel in Black Diamond circa 1915.

An article titled Company's Attitude on Boarding Houses was originally published in the Pacific Coast Bulletin, October 31, 1924 and reprinted by Black Diamond History in Sept. 2012.  It's pretty funny.  The author laments about the need to provide housing for single men - can't make any money in the hotel business, boarders cause troubles and mine superintendents find themselves making all kinds of awkward decisions about who get's granted which exceptions to policy.  In short, it was the biggest source of grief Pacific Coast Coal faced.  And even though the company had invested nearly $250,000 in hotels/boarding houses, it was a clear business necessity.

Fast forward to 2014 and the oil boom in the Baaken oil fields of North Dakota and eastern Montana. Today, such housing are called "man camps".  If you look at a map, you'll see that the central town of Williston is in the middle of nowhere.  There is next to no infrastructure here.  Yet within a period of 4 to 5 short years, oil production in North Dakota has surpassed that of both California and Alaska and the need for workers has exploded.  Rent for a single room "apartment" can exceed $2,500/month if you are lucky enough to find something.  As a result, more and more companies doing business in the oil fields have been forced to become landlords.  And this is what you get.

Definately a man camp.  Or maybe you prefer a trailer.

Nicely organized don't you think.  If you have a family, want to upgrade and can afford the rent, then how about one of these?

Lot's of money to be made and I am sure that for many, cashing in on this opportunity makes good sense.  Even a job flipping burgers pays $15/hr. and up - no need for Sea-Tac and Seattle's inititives here.  It will be interesting to see what Williston looks like 20 years from now.

Time for me to get back to taking pictures of our wildlife at Lake Sawyer and relishing the beauty of the Green River Gorge, Mt. Rainier and the Cascades.  We are blessed living here in Black Diamond and needless to say, Williston ND represents a life that doesn't register on my horizon.

Growing Up in the Pacific Northwest - A Quiz

Think that you know it all having grown up here in the pacific northwest?  Then see if you can identify who/what I am.

• I possess supreme "super powers"
• I'm furious in battle
• I'm indescribably strong
• I have no known enemies except man and "family"
• I am patient beyond belief

Got the answer yet?  Here are some more hints.

• I'm over 450 million years old and counting
• A destroyer of giants
• I eat stone and dine on boulders, without indigestion
• I seem to be everywhere

Ok, I'm a plant, but what kind?

• I have no flowers, no seeds or vascular tissue
• I absorb water and nutrients through my leaves
• Water pollution is toxic to me
• I harvest carbon dioxide and sun to create food for photosynthesis
• Reindeer eat me because I contain a chemical that keeps the blood warm
• During summer, I can reduce my metabolism to almost nothing to survive the heat
• I have no roots but do have rhyzoids
• Tribes in the pacific northwest once used me to clean salmon prior to drying
• I have also been used for insulation, mittens and to keep our feet warm

 

And the answer is - I am MOSS!  True enough, moss is quite a remarkable plant capable of digesting rock into gravel and gravel into soil.  All it takes is time.  Other than competing with other species for space, moss only has man to fear.  How does moss reproduce?  Moss produces spore capsuls during part of the year that can easily be spread far and wide.  Here is a photo of moss taken this spring at Lake Sawyer showing their young sporphytes.

For a fascinating read and Ode to Moss, Elizabeth Gilbert in her recent book "The Signature of All Things" offers a fun perspective. 

When you think of moss, what image comes to your mind?  Here's mine - moss dripping wet.

Another beauty in nature.