Black Diamond NOW

Tales of Nectar & Pollen

What's your favorite insect?  For me, it has to be bumble bees.  Large, cute and fuzzy when compared to honey bees, they don't produce much honey but are important pollinators.  And they don't sting me either, like their much more aggressive cousin the yellow jacket - who make me swell up like a basketball when stung.  Here's one of the cuties that doesn't seem to mind having it's picture taken.  Note the red tongue protruding forward in the following photo.

Like other bees, they thrive on the nectar of flowers, rich in sugar, that provides the energy they need to make their rounds all day, even in cold weather.  Add some of their saliva to the pollen they collect and we have honey.  Note how the pollen collects on one of their legs while their tongue laps up the nectar and that's how we get pollination between flowers and the makings of honey.

Why don't we get stung a lot bumble bees?  In part, it's because only females have stingers, and not males.  They also form in small groups, typically 50 or less, and stay close to home.  Because they have long thin tongues, they can reach nectar in long tubular flowers that other bees can't and don't have to compete with other bees feeding off the same flowers.  You can see how long their tongue is in the follow photo.

Only the queen bee survives the winter, with enough honey stashed away to support her until the spring when she starts a new colony.  

So much fun to watch.

Black Diamond 4th of July Celebrations

Celebrating the 4th of July has a long history in our community.  It's not clear that we had fireworks displays "back in the day" (I doubt it), but it's clear we had parades - any excuse for a parade.

Image courtesy Black Diamond Historical Society and Roger Perry, circa 1925

Pretty fancy decorations and a great time for promoting locally made coal Briquets for heating your home.

Image courtesy Washington State Historical Society and Roger Perry, circa 1918

Apparently parades were quite popular at the time.

Image courtesy Washington State Historical Society and Roger Perry, n.d.

Labor Day is now the time for our community's signature annual parade - but alas, not this year given the coronavirus pandemic.  Next year we hope.  However, Lake Sawyer Community Club members voted to continue on with this years 4th of July Fireworks display, so let's enjoy and celebrate - SAFE AND SANE.  If among other people, please wear your mask so everyone can enjoy next year's celebration too!

Visiting Local History

Where can you go this summer to get a good taste of local history?  Given the complications created by the current Coronavirus Pandemic, it's not an easy question to answer.  A visit to the Black Diamond History Museum would normally top our list, but this and other good choices are likely off-limits or significantly curtailed for some time.  Taking visitors on a hike to the ghost town of Fairfax might work but this is not for everyone, particularly young children and seniors who would likely not enjoy hiking through the mud, climbing over downed trees and getting stung by nettles.  I've got it - how about a visit to Coke Oven Park in Wilkeson.  

For many of us, our image of coal mining in Washington is shaped by photos of coal miners with smudged faces emerging from mines located deep underground. We see huge "topworks" above the mines, smokestacks bleeding soot and smoke, large structures required for cleaning and storing coal ready for shipment from Mine #11, America's Deepest Coal Mine   We see railroad coal cars headed to bunkers located at the ports of Seattle and Tacoma - coal ready to be loaded on to vessels for shipment to customers in San Francisco and Alaska.  

Today, that brick and mortar is long gone and mines closed.  We are left to largely imagine what it looked like when exploring on our own.  We can see the foundation of a few buildings in Franklin or perhaps Lester, but little is left of what once was - except for Beehive Ovens actually used for making Coking Coal!

The above row of ovens at Coke Oven Park in Wilkeson is all that remains of what one time was the largest number of coke ovens in the west.  Quoting from a report by Joseph Daniels from the U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Bureau of Mines in March 1941, the number of ovens in Washington State once totaled nearly 500, most of it in Carbon River country.

The neat thing about the remaining Wilkeson ovens is that they are easy to get to and accessible by all.  And they are safe for snooping around too.

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Coking coal produced in the state, also known as metallurgical coal, was sold primarily to customers within the northwest and not exported in large volumes with primary demand coming from Puget Sound area pig iron, lead and copper smelter operations.  So if you are looking for local history that you can see and visualize what it might have been like, Wilkeson is a great place to go.  Just follow SR165 through town, taking a left following the sign to the Wilkeson grade school.  The park is right next door.  And if you are eager for more, follow SR165 across the Fairfax bridge and find your way to the ghost town of Fairfax. More about local coking coal history in a future post.

 

"As Dangerous As Poison Gas Shells"

As many of you know, dealing with a "Flu" pandemic is not new here in Washington State.  The Spanish Influenza found it's way home with our soldiers at the end of WWI in 1918, creating many of the same crises that our communities face today.  The Office of the Washington Secretary of State maintains a blog that is rich in our state's history called From Our Corner.  Their recent post "Exploring the 1918 Influenza Pandemic" is an interesting read.

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As today, face masks became an important part of community and individual defense.

Local businesses chipped in to help.  Communities struggled with much the same issues as we face today - quarantines, closing and opening businesses and churches, the need for school closures, cancelling public events.  

"By early October Seattle’s Mayor Ole Hanson ordered closures of businesses and schools to check the fast spread across the city. City health officials began requiring stricter quarantines. Physicians were ordered to submit patient lists so notices could be posted on quarantined homes with the clear warning: “Influenza.”

"Reports from the east side of the state were also showing evidence of the spread to the smallest, most vulnerable communities with limited access to doctors. An example being a barber who infected 12 of his customers in the small town of Molson, Washington, after he returned from a visit to Seattle."

Something more mature about the communication back then compared to today's divisive me, me, me self-centered whining we see on regular display.

U.S. Postal Service - In the News

What U.S. government institution, short of Congress or the Executive Branch, has it's history dating all the way back to the Constitutional Convention of 1789?  The U.S. Postal Service, of course.  Based on the policy then established, Congress passed the Post Office Act of 1792, establishing the position of Postmaster General, setting initial postal rates and outlining  postal rules and regulations.  By 1851, post offices had expanded from 75 up to 18,000 - one post office for every 1,250 people.  You had to pay for your mail and pick it up back then, but post offices became a core community hub.  Most were classified as 4th class post offices, often located in a community general store.

Since the Postal Service was granted a monopoly by congress, having one located inside your store could be a real boon to business.  And since the Postal Service, with lots of "help" from local congressmen, also established the location of Post Roads, their political sway could be significant.   Urban post offices, like those in New York, grew to be very large and limited in the number of post office boxes available.  Crowding thus gave rise to pick pockets and "penny posts".  People seeking to have their mail delivered to them, avoiding the chaos, paid a penny delivery fee to enterprising "mailmen".

In response, seeking to protect their mail monopoly, congress authorized free home delivery in cities with 10,000 or more people.  Not to be left out, rural populations clamored for service.  After all, in 1890, 75% of the U.S. population lived in rural  areas not covered by free delivery service.  Again, congress responded and Rural Free Delivery (RFD) came into being followed by the addition of free Parcel Post service in 1913.

One wagon design appears to have been used across the country when mail carrier routes were too long for delivery on foot.

Here's a mail delivery wagon in Redmond in 1910.

Image courtesy University of Washington Libraries, L 83.92.12, circa 1910

Railroads also played a big role in the USPS country wide mail and parcel post delivery system.  The following photo of a Great Northern Railroad mail car leaving Seattle shows men sorting mail in post office rail car

Image courtesy University of Washington Libraries, P125087, Seattle Post Intelligencer photographer, circa 1944

"The United States Government introduced railway post office cars in 1862. As the train sped along the tracks, postal workers sorted letters and packages for all of the towns along the route. Trains carried most of the nation's intercity mail until the 1970s."

If you want to make big money, being employed by the USPS would not be the path to riches.  This photo from 1955 tells the story.

Image courtesy University of Washington Libraries, 1986.5.11150, Seattle Post Intelligencer photo, circa 1955

The postal workers shown above are celebrating having just won a big raise after several years of drought.  Any guesses as to how much of a raise?  8.1%.  Sounds good, right?  Perhaps not so good, when your hourly rate goes from $1.61 to $1.81/hr. and your annual increase totals all of $300.  Even in the 1950's, that wasn't much.  I think I made more than that in the bulb fields.

Over the years, the number of post offices have declined significantly.

Fast forward to today and we see a whole lot of change in communications - the digital age.  Mail volumes have fallen dramatically.  On the other hand, home parcel delivery is on the upswing, further boosted by todays coronavirus pandemic.  Change however, has not been uniform through the years and there remain big gaps between those living in rural vs urban areas.  

• Today, 14.5 million people in rural areas lack access to broadband
• 18% of americans still pay bills by mail
• A significant percentage of rural residents vote by mail
• USPS delivery service is the only delivery service available to many rural areas
• What business will want to provide service and lose money

Should mail and parcel delivery service really be dropped for so many?  Or charge rural customers higher rates that city slickers?

 

Muskrats at Lake Sawyer?

We have long known that Lake Sawyer and environs are home to both river otters and beavers.  But muskrats?  Apparently so.  Though I have seen them before swimming under and around our dock, I always mistook them for beavers.  But if you look carefully at their tails, which are much more like a rat's tail, long and roundish, then it's a Muskrat.  In other words, a big rat that swims.  On a clear day with bright sun (too much for good photos), I was able to capture a few shiny images while one frolicked around our dock.

Look how long that tail is.  Not the wide flat tail of a beaver, nor the smooth pelt of an otter.  

You'll be happy to know that muskrats are prolific breeders and may raise 20 or more youngsters each year.  They normally stay very close to their home den, maybe 150 feet or so, which is why I'm surprised to see them where we are on the lake.  

Perhaps they have a den somewhere at the north end of the lake.  They are known to burrow into floating docks and make a nice comfy home in the dock's Styrofoam.  Will have to do some exploring of the shoreline and floating docks up here.  Unlike otters, muskrats' diet consists of grasses and plants growing in shallow areas of lakes and streams.  After this guy finished swimming around under our dock, I got one picture that shows it with it's prize bouquet ready for dinner, taking it back to the den.  Which makes me think their den is pretty close to home.  Will have to go exploring and see what I can find.

Other sightings or observations?

John Henry Mine Update 6/16/2020

Good news, I think.  According to recent documents submitted to the City of Black Diamond, Pacific Coast Coal Company (PCCC) is planning to proceed ahead with reclamation of the two large spoil piles at the mine that are located within Black Diamond city limits.  Specifically, the notification states:

To proceed with reclamation, PCCC must obtain a clearing and grading permit from the city.  The following map shows the location of spoil piles 3N and 3S (shown n red at the bottom left of the map).

A condition of the permit as submitted by PCCC requires that the city affirm acceptance of current permit conditions.  From my perspective, it would be wise fo do all that we reasonably can to facilitate the completion of mine reclamation.  This is an important step and the sooner that reclamation can be completed the better.  Acceptance of these same conditions, were they planning for the continuance of mining as previously proposed, howerer, would be a whole different matter - but that apparently is no longer the case and thus this is good news for our community.  Be prepared for a very different landscape as you drive by on SR169.

For those seeking to make comment to the city, following is a copy of PCCC's complete proposal Download John Henry Mine SEPA (1).  

Manley-Moore Lumber Co. - Families

One more post about Manley-Moore Lumber Co., this one focused on families.  Always searching for low cost labor, mill owners around the northwest actively recruited immigrants.  For more, see my earlier post Washington State Immigration 1880 - 1940.  Manley-Moore employees included both a significant Japanese workforce (housed in a separate enclave like at other lumber companies) and 9 Russian families as well.  Following is a photo of the Japanese contingent, which was quite large for the time.

Image courtesy University of Washington Libraries, CKK0355, Clark Kinsey photographer, circa 1927

Japanese native foods were imported to town and prepared by worker families.  

Not all workers were single.  Here's a photo of other employee families.

Image courtesy University of Washington Libraries, CKK0350, Clark Kinsey photographer, circa 1927

To accommodate families, mill owners built a two story schoolhouse on site, which doubled as a community recreation center and motion picture theater during weekends.  Here's the whole sawmill gang, excluding loggers I expect.

Image courtesy University of Washington Libraries, CKK0346, Clark Kinsey photographer, circa 1927

I've always wondered - why all the hats.  A symbol of "dress-up'?  To keep dry?

Manley-Moore Lumber Company - High Tech Circa 1927

The Manley-Moore Lumber Co. sawmill was unusual in many ways.  Located along the Carbon River, it was located 1,600 feet above sea level along a narrow stretch of river frontage with its timber supply growing on steep slopes at even higher elevations.  Not the ideal place to locate a sawmill, one would think, unless timber supply came at bargain prices.  One of the bigger challenges of locating a sawmill along a narrow strip of riverside land was the logistics of moving material around.  Most large sawmills of the time used rail and/or large carts towed by large Speeders.  Most mill sites were wide, not long and narrow, making sorting and handling easier.

The Manley-Moore sawmill used the first crane that I've seen in the 1920's to move and handle lumber along their narrow mill site.  Must have been some heavy weights on the crane's rail base.

Image courtesy University of Washington Libraries, CKK0361, Clark Kinsey photographer, circa 1927

Notice how narrow and long the crane's path traveled.  It was also nestled against the south hillside sitting on a raised trestle supported by sturdy timbers.  This configuration would seem to make crane operations much simpler and easier "lifts".  Of course, the mill also had it's own heavy duty speeders.

Image courtesy University of Washington Libraries, CKK0359, Clark Kinsey photographer, circa 1927

And if all else failed - the high tech of them all!

Image courtesy University of Washington Libraries, CKK0358, Clark Kinsey photographer, circa 1927

Forest Fires - Hiking in the Aftermath

In the year 2015, our state recorded the highest number of acres consumed by forest fires ever, totaling over 1 million acres burned.  This significantly exceeded even that of the infamous Yacolt Burn of 1902 in which there were 65+ deaths.  Fortunately, the death toll in 2015 was much smaller but still, 3 fatalities is 3 too many.  During our recent hiking trip to Trout Lake and Mt. Adams, we chose to take one hike to Bird Creek Meadows on the east side of the mountain, known by Native Americans as "Pahto", on the Yakama Nations reservation.  Unknown to us as we headed up, this site was also home to one of the big burns in 2015 called the Cougar Creek Fire which burned 53,523 acres and covered forest land right up to Pahto's snow line.  The stark beauty of the fire's aftermath was worth the visit.  Here's our first view as we stepped out the car.

Snow-melt streams - naked.

We were at an elevation of about 5,500+ ft. in early June and nature was beginning to emerge.

Trees turned silver as if retired, but still standing tall.

And then!

Yeah - our first Glacier lilies of the year.  

There is hope - here and elsewhere in our country.

Manley-Moore Lumber Co. - Carbon River Pioneer

Though the Carbon River is best known for its history of coal mining, ergo the river's name, the Manley-Moore Lumber Co. in 1909 pushed development even further east and established a significant logging and sawmill operation.  The lure to locate just a few miles east of the coal mining town of Fairfax was two fold - ready access to the Northern Pacific Railroad for shipping finished lumber to market and a bountiful supply of timber without competitors.  Whoever controlled access to the railroad also controlled the timber.

Postcard image courtesy Washington State Historical Society, 2014.45.1.45, n.d.

However, Manley-Moore also had significant challenges, one of which can be seen in the above photo.  Though rich in timber, those hills/mountains surrounding the narrow upper Carbon River valley were steep, presenting big challenges for loggers.  I can't remember ever seeing a logging railroad this steep - 57 degrees steep!

Image courtesy University of Washington Libraries, CKK0362, Clark Kinsey photographer, circa 1927

Logging steep hillsides certainly wasn't pretty either.

Image courtesy Washington State Digital Archives, AR255-114-0-1_L-0922, John T. Labbe Collection, n.d.

Geared locomotives, like the 3 Truck Climax Locomotive shown above, were absolutely essential.  The sawmill's elevation at 1,300+ feet was among the highest, if not the highest, in the northwest at the time.  This meant lots of weather to contend with both in the woods and at the sawmill.

Image courtesy University of Washington Libraries, CKK0349, Clark Kinsey photographer, circa 1927

Though the river provided a ready source of water for filling the mill pond, the Carbon was also prone to flooding during the spring, creating further weather related challenges.  The steep elevations also meant that loggers did their work in "portable" logging camps located well above the river valley and away from home, though not all that far from home as the crow flies.

Image courtesy University of Washington Libraries, CKK0357, Clark Kinsey photographer, circa 1927

Like most sawmills during this period, the 1920's were boom times and business was good.  And like most mills not located on Puget Sound following the crash of 1929, like Lake Sawyer Lumber Co. and Pacific States Lumber Co. in Selleck, the owners of Manley-Moore Lumber Co. could last only until 1934 before having to close and liquidate their business. 

Every time I head up the Carbon River to do some hiking and photography, it still amazes me the adversity our forefathers were able to overcome - and the beauty we see today.

Ghost Town of Fairfax - Road Reopened May 11, 2020

Winter rains and flooding along the Carbon River caused several significant washouts of the Fairfax Forest Reserve Road east of the Fairfax bridge and the road has been closed through early May.  This road provides access to several homes, the Carbon River entrance and Ranger Station for Mount Rainier National Park and the bridge crossing to Forest Service Road 7810.  Though not yet opened all the way to the park entrance, the road has been repaired up to the bridge.  For those of us who enjoy hiking in and around the old ghost town of Fairfax, that's good news.  Effective May 11, it's once again time to go exploring.

For those not familiar with the ghost town of Fairfax, it was first established in 1892 and was a happening place, specializing in producing high quality coking coal and home to some lumbermen as well.  Following is a "birds eye view" of Fairfax taken in 1910.  

Image courtesy Washington State Historical Society, 2017.1.47, circa 1910

Note the school building middle left surrounded by a white fence.  You can still find the foundation to the school during your wandering of the site.  

Like most coal mining towns, Fairfax had a hotel that was primarily used for housing unmarried miners.  

Image courtesy Washington State Historical Society, 2011.0.138, circa 1908

Housing for married miners appears to be among the best at the time.   Note the row of two story residences along the back side nearest the hotel.  I wonder if these for used for housing just one family or perhaps more than one family.

Image courtesy Washington State Historical Society, 2014.45.1.16, circa 1911

Note the railroad depot on the upper right as the railroad track bends north toward the river.  Here's a closer look.  

Image courtesy Washington State Historical Society, 2008.197.1, circa 1910

Coal bunkers and cleaning plant can be seen in the following photo.

Image courtesy Washington State Historical Society, 2014.45.1.15, circa 1920

Following a steady decline in the coal business and the nearby Manley-Moore Lumber company, the town of Fairfax was abandoned in the early 1940's.  Today, if you visit the site, the most visible history and remnants that remain are the coking coal ovens lined up in two rows on the west end of town.  It's fun to climb around and try to visualize how the process worked.  Very interesting.  

For directions to the Ghost Town of Fairfax, follow this link to Fairfax Ghost Town directions, Washington Trails Assoc.

 

The Kloeber - Time for a Visit?

Stressed out by todays' health pandemic, economic uncertainty, political rancor and social unrest?  Perhaps you have high blood pressure, rheumatism, neuralgia, chronic digestive disease (from eating at home?), nervous diseases and their allied disorders?  Then make a visit to the Kloebler Health Resort for treatment of what ails you.

Postcard image courtesy University of Washington Libraries, 1998.10.21, circa 1910

Apparently everyday life in the early 1900's had it's own share of anxiety and stress - and demand for treatment if you could afford it.  The Kloeber Health Resort at Green River Hot Springs met a need.  Located in the Green River Valley just west of Lester where the Green River and Champion Creek meet, the town was first settled as Kendon in 1886, so named by the Northern Pacific Railroad.   With development of the resort shown above by J.S. Kloeber, MD in 1903, the town became renamed as Hot Springs and by 1907 - 1908, the town had a population of 225 with two physicians.

According to the brochure, the resort offered treatment for a wide variety of ailments, achieving a 95% success rate.  Room rates ranged from $5 to $10 per week and meals were served at "affordable prices".  An orchestra played during meals, visitors enjoyed beautiful suites and had full access to the resort's bowling alleys, shooting gallery, billiards and card rooms - and were cured.  Want a massage?  You got it.  Hmmm!  I'm going to have to talk to Multi-Care.  The resort's lifeline and only access was the railroad with three scheduled trains visiting each day.  They even provided special tokens for train goers making the trip.

 

 

Unfortunately, good times didn't last and the resort burned down in a fire.  By 1918, the town had virtually disappeared and postal service was ended.  

From what I'm told, there remain no more signs of the old resort and hot springs.  This being in the City of Tacoma watershed, all signs of the past have been removed and/or buried, including the hot springs.  Too many curiosity visitors no doubt.

It's Haying Time

If you drive around the Enumclaw plateau, you'll see farmers harvesting their first hay crop of the season.  Seems early but apparently it's been a warm spring.  The process of haying, even on small farms today, is a whole lot simpler than it once was. 

The closest to an "automated" solution there used to be was harvesting hay with a horse drawn "harvester".

Image courtesy University of Washington Libraries, UW5249, circa 1915

After that, it was all hand work - first piling the dried hay into big piles using a hand fork.  Following is a photo taken along the Green/Duwamish River in 1914.

Image courtesy University of Washington Libraries, 1993.26.1, Allen & Perkins photographers, circa 1914

Then, pile it high onto hay wagons.  Talk about a workout.  

Image courtesy University of Washington Libraries, ORL 79.79.7, circa 1900

The Cedar River valley, after being cleared of timber, saw plenty of hay fields on farms in the early 1900's.  The above photo was taken near Issaquah and the following photo shows the Johnson and Wright farm in Hobart. 

Image courtesy University of Washington Libraries, P01.16.12, n.d.

Here's one of the Peterson Farm in Maple Valley.

Image courtesy University of Washington Libraries, P02.16.3, n.d.

No need for a workout at the gymnasium for these guys!

 

 

Wood Stave Pipe and the Cedar River Pipeline

In April 1899, the City of Seattle undertook a major investment in it's future - authorizing construction of Cedar River Pipeline No. 1, delivering water from Landsburg to downtown Seattle and thus insuring a reliable source of water supply upon which to grow.  At a total contract price of over $1.2 million, the new pipeline extended a total of 29.5 miles, including 6.0 miles of 42" steel pipe, 1.0 mile of 36" steel pipe and 22.5 miles of 42" wooden stave pipe.  That's a lot of money for the time, but town fathers were determined to emerge from their competition with Tacoma as top seaport, and dare I say, top dog in the northwest.  And they succeeded on both accounts.

Using wooden pipe for water mains has a long history dating back to Roman times, later replaced by lead pipe (a bad decision). Wooden pipe emerged as popular again in Europe and the U.S. in 17th and 18th centuries.  Drilling a hole through the log's core created the method of conveyance.  There were a few bugs with this method, however, both literally and figuratively and a return to metals again became the norm.  But once again, with improved wood stave pipe technology, wood re-emerged one last time in the 1880's and remained popular in this country well into the 1920's.

Image courtesy HistoryLink.org.

The above image shows wooden stave pipe being built on the job.  Surround the wooden structure with steel wire bound tightly and you have pipe that is both strong and virtually leak free.  It was also common to build pipe in standard lengths, ready for fitting end to end on the job, much like steel or concrete.

Image courtesy University of Washington Libraries, SEA2555, circa 1906

By 1916, Seattle was ready to move ahead with Cedar River Pipeline No. 3, but this time city authorities had been sold on the benefits of steel and concrete.  Apparently a couple of washouts along the river near Landsburg had soured the city's taste for wood and they wanted something that would last longer with less maintenance - except steel and concrete cost more.  I ran across an interesting article in the Seattle Star dated October 12, 2016 that pitted the pro steel and concrete city hall against local businesses, like the West Coast Lumberman's Association, who favored the use of wood.

For a fun read, you can find the complete article at Download Cedar river pipeline.

In the end, it appears that a compromise was struck and that a combination of concrete, steel and wood stave pipe were used.  Following are a few photos from this period.

Image courtesy University of Washington Libraries, 1983.10.3161.4, Webster & Stevens, circa 1926

Pretty healthy steel strapping.  Reliance on building pipe on site apparently remained their standard practice.

Image courtesy University of Washington Libraries, 1998.21.17, circa 1926

Image courtesy Seattle Municipal Archives, #3820, circa 1929

But in the immediate Landsburg area, concrete became the norm.

Image courtesy Seattle Municipal Archives, circa 1930

Stop by the Maple Valley Historical Society for more about wood stave pipe and you can actually see a real example on display.

 

200' Log Stringers

I thought logs cut to 132' in length for use as stringers in a railroad bridge trestle was beyond the pale, but 200'?  Here you go!

Image courtesy Washington State Digital Archives, AR255-114-0-1_LL-0678, John T. Labbe Collection, n.d.

At least they were using rail and not trucking along a road (see How do you Truck a 132' Log?).  The above photo was taken near Kelso.

 

How do you Truck a 132' Long Log?

Very carefully?  Yes, of course, but how do you truck it and better yet why?  There's certainly no regular market for logs or lumber of this length and the cost had to be extraordinary.  The answer as to why is straight forward - building a bridge for a logging railroad required long stringers that can support heavy loads.  A 132' long Douglas Fir is exceptionally strong, though with a bit of a deflection I'm sure.  Remember the railroad trestle built by Pacific States Lumber Co.?  The how of trucking this stringer log is less straight forward.

Image courtesy Washington State Digital Library, AR255-114-0-1_LL-0976, Lee Pickett photographer, circa 1937

The answer - load the large butt end of the log onto a conventional log truck, fastening securely.  Then lift the top end onto a trailer attached to another truck, securing the log end at the truck.  Finally, pull the whole load using the lead truck, including the back end log trailer and truck, using both as a trailer.  A driver in this end rig somehow had to communicate with the driver in the lead rig to navigate.  Stranger things have happened and I guess it worked.  How would you like to drive around a corner in the road with this setup?

Are log stringer bridges still used today?  Believe it or not, yes!  Attached for all of you engineers out there is a "Graduating Essay" from April 2008, showing how it's done.  Enjoy Download LeeMichael_FRST_497_Graduating_Essay_2008 (1).

Ready for Some Good News?

How about you?  Are you ready to focus on some positive happenings in our world?  Boy, I sure am, but where to find it.  How about trends in energy efficiency and the growing use of renewable energy sources?  Bingo.  Take a look at the graphic that follows, with data taken from a recent Electric Power Usage monthly report prepared by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.  What is the really great long term trend that you see here?

Despite the very rapid growth our economy has seen over the past decade, the amount of energy our country consumes has changed very little.  Part of this is structural, with the economy driven more by services than manufacturing, but some really great improvements in energy efficiency are part of the equation too.  And just as important, our sources of energy have also changed dramatically, with coal consumption declining at an accelerating rate and now little more than half of what it was just 10 years ago.  The switch by electric utilities to using cleaner natural gas has played a large role, but the switch to renewable energy sources continues to accelerate too.

Wind power in particular seems to have really taken off with major new capacity being added over the next several years - most of it in the mid-west.  Here's the data for 2019.

 

 

There, now I feel better! 

Footnote:  I put together the first two graphs as my simple way of trying to wade through all of their detailed work sheets.  The last three graphs are eia graphs.

Pacific States Lumber Co. - Local Success Story

Pacific States Lumber Company was among the most successful, yet least known, logging and lumber companies in the Puget Sound region during the 1920s boomtimes. With 600 to 700 employees working three shifts at it's peak in the remote company town called Selleck, it was probably one of the largest sawmill operation of its kind not located on water.  This birds eye view photo taken in 1926 tells the story.

Image courtesy City of Tacoma Public Library, Marvin D. Boland Collection BOLAND-B15754, circa 1926

When you have a railroad schedule that includes two passenger and four freight trains each day, it was clearly a busy place.  Following is a broader panorama of town.

Image courtesy Black Diamond History, circa 1923

The mill's large size for it's time, it's company town status that exists in part to this day, a separate Japanese Town for housing Japanese immigrant workers and families, a community school that operated well into the 1950s and the town's legacy of historic buildings designated as a King County Landmark, all make Selleck a really interesting place to learn about.  And there is more, like the extensive use by Pacific States Lumber of logging railroads to access the timber rich Cedar River watershed.

Image courtesy Washington State Archives, AR255-114-0-1_LL-1731, n.d.

The above photo shows a Baldwin 2-6-2 locomotive pulling a long load of logs into camp.  These owners were very determined to extend their reach to the really good timber, which in this case meant building a railroad trestle spanning the Cedar River Canyon. They invested heavily.

Image courtesy Washington State Archives, John T. Labbe Collection, AR255-114-0-1_LL-1683, photographer Darius Kinsey, n.d.

No temporary structure this!  At the time, this wooden trestle, spanning 893' across and rising 203' above ground, was thought to be the largest in the world.  As I have observed many times - the feats of our fathers are pretty amazing.

Yeah - The Lake is Open for Fishing

This is the time of year when the "pros" return to Lake Sawyer for a summer of outstanding fishing.  Though they don't need a fishing license from the Washington State Department of Fish & Wildlife, the timing of their annual visit typically mirrors the official "opening day" for the rest of us.  And no concerns about social distancing for these pros.  Who am I referring too - osprey of course,  otherwise known as the fish hawks/aka Seahawks. 

These are real pro fishermen and nobody does it better.  While local bald eagles will dip their talons in the lake to snatch a fish near the surface, they would just as soon have a lunch of duck, fish carcass or squirrel fricassee than go diving for live fish.  Osprey diets are 90% + fish and they really know what they are doing, often diving fully submerged in order to latch on with their talons for dinner.  We get to see lots of "fly-byes" this time of year as local osprey patrol the lake.

Eagles will sometimes perch in a tree waiting for an osprey to catch a fish, then dive bomb the osprey as it struggles to fly with a heavy load.  The osprey has little choice but to let go, dropping its dinner while the eagle swoops in behind snatching the fish in mid-air before it hits the water.

Turnabout is fair play, however.  Here is an eagle reacting to being dive bombed by an osprey from above.

Although smaller than an eagle, the wing span of an osprey approaches that of an eagle, making the osprey quite strong when lifting fish from the water.

I took the above photo at Hayden Lake Idaho, showing an osprey flying away with a kokanee salmon it had just captured.  Here's another one with an even bigger fish.

Spawning kokanee, which by the way we once had here at Lake Sawyer, weigh probably on the order of 3 lbs or more - heavier than an osprey for sure.  My biggest kokanee catch at Lake Sawyer weighed less than this and had not turned red yet, but was sure fun at the time, and tasty too.  Alas, no more kokanee at Lake Sawyer these days.

Enjoy the sights and theatre this summer and hopefully you'll get to see some real pro fishing.