Not only was logging dangerous in the early days, particularly the 1920's boom times, it was also not pretty. Image courtesy University of Washington Libraries, CKK0274, Clark Kinsey photographer, circa 1926 The above photo shows a logging camp located on Tiger Mountain during the 1920's. Once it was clear cut, time to move on to another site. The environmental regulations that followed were "clearly" merited. Continue reading

Each year, I have to do at least one post on the varying moods of Icy Creek in the Green River Gorge. It's typically very lush even in the middle of summer, but this year, it's really green and the creek is flowing strong. Because of it's location on the shaded east side of the river. there are plenty of areas that get very little sun year round. We should call it Fernville. Even foxgloves eke out an existence in areas that seldom see sun. The Green River continues to flow at relatively high levels given all the snow melt.... Continue reading

As noted in my previous post Visiting Local History , our region in the early 1900's had built nearly 500 beehive ovens used for refining locally mined coal into high quality coking coal used in local metallurgical applications such as copper smelting and fueling blast furnaces in the production of steel. Why coking coal? It's virtually 100% carbon, with impurities removed, and can be used as fuel to heat ovens to very high temperatures - in the1600 to 2500 F range. But then I read that to produce coking coal, beehive ovens must be heated to over 1,100 degrees F... Continue reading

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... Continue reading

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... Continue reading

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.... Continue reading

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. a As today, face masks became an important part of community and individual defense. Local businesses chipped in to help. Communities... Continue reading

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... Continue reading

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... Continue reading

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... Continue reading

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... Continue reading

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... Continue reading

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... Continue reading

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... Continue reading

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... Continue reading

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... Continue reading

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... Continue reading

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... Continue reading

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. Continue reading

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... Continue reading

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... Continue reading