Black Diamond NOW

Postcards - A Window into History

During the early 1900's, the three most popular hobbies included collecting stamps, collecting coins and collecting post cards.  Today when traveling, we take pictures with our cell phones.  Then, you bought postcards and collected as many as you could wherever you went.  Mailing postcards to friends then was kind of like posting pictures on Facebook or Instagram today.  The impact on the postal service at the time was quite significant.  In 1895, the U.S. Postal Service handled 5 billion pieces of mail including their official Postal Service Card.  In 1898, permission was granted to private companies to make and market their own "private mailing cards", eventually shortened to become "post cards".  By 1905, mail service volumes had doubled to 10 billion pieces and by 1913 to 18.5 billion pieces - most of which growth was due to the popularity of post cards.

Post cards produced initially had no photos.  When photos were added, postcards were typically produced by black & white lithography - a process the Germans were quite good at.  As a result, most post cards early on were produced in Germany, like the postcard image of a sawmill in Tacoma that follows. 

Photo courtesy Washington State Historical Society, 1982.37.48, circa 1910

The above log is said to have scaled at 13,800 board feet, though it looks a bit less than the 11 ft. in diameter indicated.  Can you imagine the size of saw blade needed to saw this baby?  Also, can you imagine what it took to manage the logistics of taking photos on glass plates, packaging and shipping them to Germany and then getting them shipped back for local distribution?

WWI ended imported cards from Germany, forcing the U.S. to establish it's own printing capacity.  Fortunately, printing processes became simpler and publishing houses sprouted up everywhere, including here in the northwest.  Through this legacy and with people's extensive saved collections, we are able to see much more clearly what life was really like "back in the day".

The 1,140 Acre Green River Natural Area

Living in Black Diamond, we have so many wonderful parklands, conservation areas, natural areas, acres of open space and miles of trails to explore.  Enough to keep us biking, hiking and exploring somewhere new and different virtually every week.  The 1,140 acre Green River Natural Area is perhaps the least known of them all.  Many of these lands were once farmed but flooded frequently.  To enhance salmon habitat and limit problems with flooding, King County has been able to acquire and turn back to nature much of the riparian habitat along Green Valley Road and in the process provide miles more of trail for us all to go exploring - with fishing holes aplenty.

As you can see from the above map, there are three main public access locations - O'Grady, Metzler and the recently opened Doreen Johnson Conservation Area.  While taking a Drive Down Green Valley Road, I stopped by both Metzler and Doreen Johnson to stretch my legs and take some pictures.  It doesn't get much greener than it is now.  Starting at Metzler:

If you are looking to get to the riverbank, follow the trails always keeping to the left fork.  You will need to cross a small stream along the way.  This trail has a bridge.

Plenty of wildlife.  While standing on the other side of this bridge, I was able to see an owl rob a nest and fly by with a youngster in its talons and a bird following squawking like crazy.  The ways of mother nature.  No time to photograph.  I was surprised see the owl, likely a great horned owl, but it was early in the morning.   

When you reach the river, it's wide.  A popular spot for fishermen.

Above is the view looking upriver.  The downriver view follows.  Lots of peace and quiet here.

The Metzler access is well signed and has plenty of parking area with a portable toilet.  Access to the Doreen Johnson area is limited to a small pullout at the access gate just off of Green Valley Road.  This area appears to have been farmed more recently than the others.

Several old roads and paths to follow.  With little time to spend, I found my way to the river.  Another great spot for fishermen.

Plenty of peace and quite and natural beauty.  Will be heading back soon.

 

Logging Crew Circa 1900

Before there were steam donkeys, oxen generally did the yarding of logs.  Before there were spar trees with rigging, oxen or teams of horses were hooked to the rigging.  Before there were railcars or log trucks, oxen and teams of horses drug logs along a skid road.  Without oxen and horses ..............   I think you can see the pattern here - without their beasts of burden, early loggers would have had a big problem.  The following photo taken in 1900 captures this nicely.

Photo courtesy WSU Library Digital Archives, pc018b09n364, Clark & Miller crew circa 1900

I like this photo for several reasons.  It shows just how cluttered logging sites could be.  Plenty of obstacles in the way of moving logs from one place to another.  Stumps in the way.  You had to drag the entire log along the ground, unable to lift one end high enough off the ground to reduce friction.  Each log weighed tons and tons.  Oxen in particular were cantankerous creatures prone to move only when they decided it was time to move.  Pretty amazing.  All in a days work.

Time for a Drive Down Green Valley Road

Lest there be any doubt that spring has arrived, take a drive down Green Valley Road.  Always fun, spring colors here are now eye popping and so are the livestock.  This calf can be but hours old.

In addition to mother nature, two important acts of man have contributed to preserving the beauty of the Green River Valley.  First, to prevent persistent flooding, over the years King County has purchased over 1,140 acres of flood plain and maintained these areas in conservation status with beautiful sites open for our exploration (more about these lands in a later post).  Second, to aid in the preservation of agricultural lands, voters in King County in 1979 approved enactment of the Farmland Preservation Program.  

Mosby Farms has the tractors out this week plowing ground.

To date, King County has purchased development rights on 14,600 acres that are permanently protected, a large number of which are here along Green Valley Road and also on the Enumclaw Plateau.

The calf I showed a picture of earlier was from a herd of beef cattle.  The dairy herd near Mosby Farms also has a few youngsters, including this guy who was quite curious about that funny looking animal with a camera.

Everything is so green and deeply colorful right now.

Much of the farmland along Green Valley Road is used as pasture for dairy cattle, beef cattle, horses and even alpacas.

Lots of horses, including this beauty.

I can't wait for Mosby's fresh rhubarb.  Should be ready in a couple of weeks.

I was surprised by the number of bee hives.  Must be some farmers selling honey.  I don't think that I have ever seen so many bees clustered together.

One of my favorite places is Canter-Berry Farms.

Best blueberries around.  U-pick blueberries when in season, blueberry wine, chocolate, teas, honey and much more.  I believe they are opening for business this Friday 4/27 and through the weekend.  Stop "buy" and say hello to Clarissa and Doug - you'll meet some wonderful people in the valley.  Their farm was homesteaded in 1870 and has been family owned since 1954.

Great place for a casual weekend drive and help support our local farms and farmers.

Monster Tractors

What were the biggest logging tractors ever used?  They had to be steam tractors like the one shown in the photo below.  Just look at the size of this monster.

Image courtesy Forest Grove City Library, FGLpic_00063, circa 1890 - 1900's

Not only is the size of the tractor impressive, but look at the size of the load that this monster could pull.  The horses shown in the background on the left put the size the tractor and trailers in perspective.  I would think that the biggest limitation of these tractors would be the need for decent roads and relatively flat terrain.  Still, pretty impressive.

Grays Harbor - Shipbuilding Capital of Washington?

During the late 1800's when sailing vessels ruled the seas, Grays Harbor shipyards gave Seattle and Tacoma a run for their money as shipbuilding capital of the state.  According to Dann Sears, director of the Aberdeen Museum of History, "most of the five and six-masted vessels that sailed the world, were built right here."  Why Grays Harbor?  It's large, sheltered and located right in the heart of logging country where big spruce and hemlock needed for shipbuilding grew and much like Puget Sound, plenty of sawmills ringed the shores.  The towns of Aberdeen and Hoquiam had also established the reputation as the toughest towns east of Chicago.   Apparently, plenty of "recreation" available in town for loggers and shipbuilders.

The shear size of scaffolding required for building these ships' hulls is pretty amazing. 

Photo courtesy Washington State University (Go Cougs!), pc170b7p24_shiphullscaffoldingone , circa 1917/1921

No wonder they needed sawmills right next door.

Photo courtesy Washington State University, pc170b7p23_shiphullscaffoldingD2677, circa 1918

It appears that there were at least three vessels being built at a time.  The date of some of these photos coincides with the big shipbuilding push caused by WWI.

Photo courtesy Washington State University, pc170b7p26_shiphullsunderconstruction, circa 1917/1921

Photo courtesy Washington State University, pc170b7p25_shiphullscaffoldingtwo, circa 1917/1921

The population of Aberdeen and Hoquiam during the early 1900's reached about 7,000, making Grays Harbor one of the more densely populated areas in the state during this period.  Located closer to the ocean, however, the weather here can get a little nasty.

Photo courtesy Washington State University, pc170b5p46_scenicshippummelledbystorm, circa 1902/1921

The shift from sail power to steam power in the 1920's took some of the wind out of Aberdeen's shipbuilding sails but it remained an important area for shipbuilding all the way through the period ending with World War II.

High Hut

Feeling a bit housebound with all the clouds and rain, I keep a sharp eye on my weather photography apps for improving or favorable conditions, particularly at Mt. Rainier.  There aren't a lot of choices for mountain overnight hiking/snowshoeing right now with all the snowpack but occasionally I find that High Hut or other huts in the Mount Tahoma Trails network have an opening for last minute booking.  Such was the case Wednesday night last week.  The outlook was for cloudy to clear skies beginning about midnight, so off I went - having the hut to myself for a night.

To my surprise, there's still lots of snow up there.  The trail up is only 3 miles with 1,900 feet of elevation gain, but this day I was breaking trail in snow up to my knees the last mile and a half.  Glad I didn't go to the gym before heading up.  When I arrived, the weather looked promising but iffy.  Here was my first panorama view from the hut.

Right behind me to the southwest, however, it was looking like I might be in for a long night.

Fortunately, the rain squall missed me but still not looking too good at sunset.

Nap time and set the alarm for 11:30.  Yeah, a few stars among the clouds.

Looking south, some nice color too.

The lights of Portland were sure bright.  No Milky Way though - time for another short nap and hope for the clouds to clear. 

2 am and although Mt. Rainier was still clothed in clouds, the Milky Way was bright and visible to the naked eye (I have an app for finding that too).

This time of year, we are just beginning to see the Milky Way's core rise above the horizon as we see above looking to the southeast.  Following is a panorama spanning between Portland and Mt St. Helens to the south and High Hut.

Seeing night scenes like this makes being up all night certainly worthwhile.

In not long, the night skies began to brighten and blue hour arrived.  Mt. St Helens looks even clearer in this pic.

Soon it was time for sunrise and we had one of the more interesting sunrises I've seen at High Hut.  Even though clouds continued to cover the top of Mt. Rainier, the colors were vibrant.

Another great trip to High Hut.  This is why I keep going back again and again.

Tacoma's Arch to Coke & Coal Circa 1891

Although Rutherford B. Hayes was the first U.S. president to visit our area while in office, the first official visit following statehood was by Benjamin Harrison in 1891 (statehood was in 1889).  He was greeted by parades and crowds in both Seattle and Tacoma and both cities were intent on showing off their products to the rest of the world.  What products did Tacoma want to promote?  First and foremost was coke and coal produced in the Carbon River mines at Wilkeson and Carbonado.  

Photo courtesy Washington State Historical Society, # 2011.0.181, circa 1891

For the event, Tacoma erected an arch across Pacific Ave. with a clear message.

We can Warm the World on Coal

150 Coke Ovens, More Coming

Annual Output 1,892,343 tons and growing

Tacoma was indeed an early coal town.

For more about the Carbon River coal mines, following this link to Black Diamond History's Carbon River Coal.

Text Messaging Circa 1913

Communication during the early 1900's could be challenging, but that doesn't necessarily mean slow or ineffective.  Then as now, people can be quite inventive delivering their messages.  The following example from a family in Enumclaw circa 1913 serves to illustrate.

Situation:  Belle Blanchat left her butter at her mother's place but needed it for something by the next morning.  

Problem:  No phone, no transportation, no simple way to be in touch with her mom to get her butter.

Solution:  Write a postcard.

Image courtesy Enumclaw Heritage, EPHS0019, circa 1913

What could be more apt as the cover photo on the postcard than a horse and buggy?  Perfect.  Her message:  "Dear Momma…" addressed to Mrs. Paul Blanchat, Enumclaw, WASH] "I forgot my butter will you send it to the Rochdale to-night or before 7:30 in the morning. Belle"

Belle was pretty smart.  Requiring just a 1 cent stamp, a post card was the cheapest form of communication available to her.  In addition, since Enumclaw had twice daily postal service delivery at the time, there was a pretty good chance she would get her butter in time.  No need to bother with complete addresses at the time either - a name was all that was needed.

Now, if only I can find my cell phone, I've got to text my grandkids.

 

City of Black Diamond - Active Permits

While Oakpointe's Master Planned Development gets all the attention, there is much more going on in our community.  The city's Community Development/Natural Resources department processes a whole lot of permits ranging from logging to remodels to new building to business licenses, to water and sewer permits and more.  How much more activity?  Following is a map showing the locations of current permit activities excluding the MPD's..

As a means to keep permit applicants current on the status of their permits, the city utilizes the online website Citizens Connect by Bitco Services.  Curious, I clicked on the webpage link and this map is what I found for Black Diamond.  Click on individual pins for the details.  While most permit activities are small, like my photography business license (believe me - really really small), there is much more currently and prospectively going on that we should be aware of and understand as our community now works to update the City's Comprehensive Plan.  Please be involved and contribute - you can make a big difference.

P.S.  The first Comp Plan community meeting held in some months was last evening and very informative.  Will try to do a better job helping to get the word out in the future.

Smogless Coal Circa 1948

Concern over air quality is not a recent phenomena in the northwest.  In Tacoma in particular, air pollution caused by local pulp mills, the burning of sawmill waste and coal, received heightened attention following the end of World War II.  Not only was there smog, but "the aroma of Tacoma" became a signature of the tide flats that city fathers disdained.  Efforts to curtail pollution were both big and small including this Thermal-Chemical Carbonization and Distillation Process invented by Elmer H. Records.  The process was designed to curb air pollution caused by the burning of coal which remained in widespread use in the area for both commercial and residential heating at the time.

Photo courtesy Tacoma Public Library, Richards Studio, D37078-3, circa 1948

The goal was to produce "smogless coal".  The process we see above somehow was designed to convert what the image description terms "low grade bituminous and lignite coal, like the coal found in Washington, and converted them into a fuel comparable to high grade anthracite".  Hmm, I wonder how that worked without causing even more pollution?  We've gotta love our inventors.

Roll On Columbia

It's a great time of year for visiting the Columbia River plateau in eastern Washington - escape from the rain, some great views of the Columbia and hiking without concern for ticks and rattlesnakes.  The plateau is also home to Hanford Reach National Monument, untouched by development and agriculture since 1943 and well worth exploring it's near desert shrub-steppe landscape.  Above all else, the Columbia dominates.

These two photos were taken just north of the ag town of Mattawa and home to acres of fruit orchards.

The clarity of this huge river is amazing.  Continuing south along the river and past Wanapum dam, you reach the Columbia's last remaining section of non-tidal free flowing water and Hanford Reach.  At 195,000 acres, there is plenty of room to stretch your legs and well worth exploring - and conserving for future generations.  Leave it alone Zinke!!!!

Wahluke ponds is one of the places I was able to explore while there.  In addition to the wildlife, these tall reeds growing in the ponds were impressive.

Redwing blackbirds were everywhere, though I was focusing more on the reeds.  Something so peaceful in how they sway with the wind.

For expansive views and sunset pics, the White Cliffs Overlook is a must place to visit.

As the sun sinks further in the horizon, more color and beautiful eastern Washington skies.

As the sun fades away, even more color.

A fun getaway.  What are you waiting for?

Log Rafts

What form of transportation was both the most efficient and likely the most dangerous for early loggers?  Probably log rafts.

Photo courtesy Tacoma Public Library, Richards Studio C88328-6, circa 1920

Logs are big and heavy, requiring lots of energy to move around and transport.  Yet when placed in water, they float and can be more easily maneuvered by hand using a peavey and pike.  In more placid waters like Puget Sound, many logs could be rafted together and pulled or pushed by tug to sawmills located along the waterfront.  In rivers, no tug was even needed - just let them float down stream.  Well, not so easy.  I guess we can all relate to where the term "log jam" comes from.

Photo courtesy University of Washington Libraries, AWC8315, circa 1917

According to Roy Stier in his book "Down the Hill", THE most dangerous job in logging was that of rafters.  There is so much weight, all you have to do is slip and fall between two logs and you'll be squished.  Unclogging a jam could be the worst.

I was surprised to learn that rafts were still being used to move logs to Lake Union through the Seattle ship canal when opened it in 1934.

Photo courtesy University of Washington Libraries, IND0571, n.d.

Want to move your steam donkey from one logging site to another?

Photo courtesy University of Washington Libraries, CKK02419, Clark Kinsey photographer, circa 1921

Loggers - ever seeking a better and easier way.

Wildlife of the Week

After taking our granddaughter back to Spokane following spring break, I headed for Othello to see what wildlife might be found this time of year.  With less than 10" of rain per year, finding sunshine would be a bonus.  First stop - home to a family of burrowing owls tending their nest under a concrete irrigation ditch.  Pretty bird!

Unlike other owls, these guys are active during the day.  They feed primarily on rodents and the occasional bird.  We should expect to see a brood of perhaps 6 to 8 youngsters peeking out of the nest in a few weeks.  Even at maturity, burrowing owls are small averaging about 10" tall.  The following photo shows the owl next to its nest as the sun rose.

This is Sandhill Crane Festival time in Othello and a key stopover for migrating flocks of cranes heading north all the way to the Bering Sea.  Quite the acrobatic fliers.

So graceful to watch - 100's of them making lots and lots of noise.

As you can see, clouds in the sky on this day making for an all white background.  Hard to get the right settings without blowing out the colors.

Always plenty of Harriers and Redtail hawks around the area.

This redtail wasn't too happy to see me and flew off its utility pole perch squawking away.

Eastern Meadowlarks were also big noise song makers.  They seemed to outnumber even the redwing blackbirds.

Look at those talons.  This is just a sampling.  Plenty of photo opps for photographers here and in the expansive Columbia National Wildlife Refuge.

 

Enumclaw Circa 1908 & 1930

The pace of change can at times seem mind boggling.  This is certainly the case today for history's "Greatest Generation" who fought WWII and the "Boomers" generation that followed.  Some of us, though, actually do have cell phones and can even text, if only we can remember where we left our phone.  If there is a comparable time of major change in the pacific northwest that preceded our generation, it would have to be the 1920's.  Today, change is driven by a digital world.  Then, it was the automobile "driving" change.

I recently ran across a couple of historic postcards that show downtown Enumclaw (formerly Stevensonville) in the early 1900's - one from 1908 and the second just a few years later in 1930.  Pretty dramatic change in a very short period.  

Photo courtesy Tacoma Public Library, Peterson-8, circa 1908

The above photo shows Griffin Ave. with it's dirt roads and horse and buggies.

By 1930, downtown Enumclaw had been transformed by the automobile age.

Photo courtesy Tacoma Public Library, Anderson-11, circa 1930

These buildings looked pretty much then as they do now.  Thanks again in part to the automobile and commuters, Enumclaw retains a modern vibrancy today.  The same, however, cannot be said for many communities in the Midwest and elsewhere in the country and in our state too - stuck in the mud and brick and mortar of times and industries past.

I recently spent some time wandering around Hoquiam on the Olympic peninsula.  It shouldn't be surprising the increasing division we see in the country.  More about this later.

 

Postcard from Tacoma Circa 1907

This postcard of Tacoma dating back to 1907 has to be one of the better promotional photos and postcards I've seen.  The City of Destiny.

Postcard courtesy Tacoma Public Library, Johnston-6, circa 1907

Time for a Hike to Hanging Gardens

As the amount of rain has eased, so too have flows in the Green River.  Add in a few scattered days with sunshine and you've got all the incentive you need for hiking in the gorge.  It's been a while since I visited Hanging Gardens so time to get back down there.

Shadows create interesting reflections on crystal clear water.  As you see, water levels are low enough now to permit limited walking along the shoreline.  Sharing the beach with me were Mr. & Mrs. Merganser.

It would seem that Mrs. M hasn't laid her eggs yet.  In addition to taking time for lunch, perhaps they were scouting out nesting sites.

It's too early yet to see many new plants sprouting up along the rock face but hopefully soon.   A whole lot of birds chirping and dippers flying about.

The view above looks east and up river with grass beginning to grow in the shallows.

Photographing Hanging Gardens is a challenge.  Not only is the lighting unpredictable given the many shadows and little direct sun but the sandstone rock face is so big and right in front of you, it's hard to fit it all in - particularly with trees growing on the top.  I used a 24mm wide angle lens stitching together 5 photos and still couldn't fit it in very well.  

Will remember to take my 14mm lens next.  It sure was fun seeing the Mergansers too.  Speaks well of river water quality.

To get to the trailhead, take Lawson Street up the hill northeast out of Black Diamond, across the single lane bridge crossing the gorge and continue along up the hill as the road bears right and west.  Pass the gate to Shangri-La on your right, then the gate to Black Diamond's spring water supply.  The next gate on your right is the trailhead where you will see a 3 or 4 car pullout area.  Easy trail and only about 1 mile round trip.

Puget Sound Shipbuilding Circa 1910

Not only is Puget Sound a natural seaport for trade but a great location for shipbuilding too.  Both Seattle and Tacoma had well established shipyards by the early 1900's.  Once a machine shop, the Moran Bros. Company was founded in Seattle in 1894 and delivered their first battleship, the U.S.S. Nebraska, to the U.S. Navy in 1904.  Following is a postcard dated 1910 showing the Moran shipyard.

Photo courtesy Tacoma Public Library, Fleming-294, circa 1910

It appears that the steamship shown above was equipped with both steam power and sail power.  The shipyard was located south of Pioneer Square at the foot of South Charleston Street.

Not to be outdone, Tacoma also launched a long list of large vessels for both the Navy and private shipping companies.  Look at the size of this one:

Photo courtesy Tacoma Public Library, Stenger-100, n.d.

Both of these photos were included on Postcards - The Instagram of 1900.  

Traffic #uggh - County Roads

My earlier Traffic #uggh post focused on the growth of traffic volumes on major state highways serving our community.  County arterials have seen similar growth.  Once again, I am pleased with the amount of data being tracked by King County.

The map you see above is a print screen from the county's web page Traffic Counts in Unincorporated King County.  Each of the pinkish squares represents an intersection at which traffic counts are being maintained.  Click on an intersection and this is what you will find:

This specific drop down is pointing to the intersection of Covington-Sawyer Rd at Thomas Road - a high volume intersection in more recent years following the opening of Kentlake High School.    The county samples traffic counts at this location every other year and as you will see, the growth rates have been particularly significant (my guess would be people like me avoiding Kent-Kangley to get to Costco or otherwise by-pass Covington).

                                            2016                2014                2012

West of Thomas Rd.          12,236               N/A                11,710

East of Thomas Rd.           11,386             10,267             10,730

South on Thomas Rd.          2,516               2,185               1,981

It's also worth noting the traffic flows specifically on Thomas Road - likely fueled by continued growth in unincorporated King County?  That's a 27% increase over just 4 years.  Where are you county GMA?

Following is the data for Auburn Black Diamond Road.

                                                2016                 2014                2012

West of 218th                         6,043                5,181               4,861

East of 218th                          4,338                4,033               3,692

South on 218th                       2,948                2,462               2,272

A few more intersections you may be interested in:

If you are interested in data for other intersections within unincorporated King County, follow this link to Traffic Counts in Unincorporated King County.

When the City of Black Diamond updates the city's Comprehensive Plan and traffic model, it's important to understand that city modeling will include only traffic counts and projections on roads and intersections within city limits.  Hopefully, we will have that information available no later than early next year.  But for regional modeling, however, and understanding regional impacts of growth in Black Diamond and other area cities, to get funding, we will have to wait until 750 building permits have been issued as part of the Master Planned Developments - last done based on data gathered in 2007. 

Fortunately, thanks to both WSDOT and King County, we do have some data available that helps us understand some of the changes that have occurred in our area since 2007 and help us in our city planning.  

Next week, as part of my #uggh focus on traffic, I'll include a list of traffic mitigation measures, intersections, road improvements etc. and their timing that are required of Oakpointe as condition of their permits for development of both Preliminary Plats 1-A and 2-C.  It's a surprisingly long list.

 

More KaBOOM in the Gorge

As noted in earlier posts, the last underground coal mine in our local area was closed in March 1971 along the Green River Gorge (see KaBOOM in the Gorge and KaBOOM in the Gorge Revisited).  This opened the way for Washington State Parks to acquire significant properties along the gorge from Palmer Coking Coal, including Hanging Gardens and the Franklin Townsite Heritage and Recreation Areas.  Thanks to Bill Kombol, I recently received several more photos taken on the day mine 10 was dynamited shut.  Following is photo of the mine portal first being blasted.

As the blast grew, so did the blast area.

900 pounds of experimental explosives were used.  It was quite a blast as the following photo posted earlier shows.

This is what the bridge looked like after the blast.

Quite a fitting legacy to Black Diamond's wonderful history and an area accessible for all of us to enjoy today.  Thanks again Bill for sharing with us.