If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 418

The Kalakala Ferry

This unused Lantern Press Vintage Art postcard with an artist rendition of the ferry Kalakala is numbered 6548.  It was interesting to find out that the ferry was first constructed for the Key System’s ferry service on San Francisco Bay between Oakland and San Francisco.  Key System was a private company that in addition to the ferry line also operated streetcars, bus lines, and trains.  At the time the ferry was part of Key System it was named Peralta after one of the early Spanish founding families in California.  The Peralta, powered by a steam-turbo-electric system, was launched in 1926.  Unfortunately, while the ferry was moored at Oakland in 1933 an arson fire started in an adjacent train shed and spread to the Peralta resulting in the superstructure collapsing due to the intense heat.  The ferry was written off by the insurance company but still had an intact hull.

In October 1933 the Peralta hull was sold to the Puget Sound Navigation Company, also known as the Black Ball Line, and towed by tug boat to the Lake Washington Shipyards in Houghton (now part of Kirkland) to be restored and used as a ferry.  It took 2 years to rebuild.  A single engine diesel engine was installed, and the length of the ferry was reduced from 68 feet to 55 feet 8 inches.  A new electro-welding process was used instead of rivet construction giving the ferry a streamlined seamless appearance.  The new bridge and wheelhouse were built of copper.  In 1934 the ferry was re-named Kalakala, said to mean “bird” in Pacific Northwest Native American Chinook Jargon.  The naming of this ferry started the tradition of all vessels in the ferry fleet of the Washington State Department of Transportation having indigenous names.

Service between Seattle and Bremerton on the Kalakala began 4 July 1935.  The design of the ferry was instantly popular and the ferry was often photographed.  Moonlight cruises on the Kalakala with a live dance orchestra were offered in addition to the regular ferry service.  During World War II service on the Kalakala was extended to allow for transportation of Navy personnel and shipyard workers from Seattle to Bremerton.  At that time the ferry gained the title “The Workhorse of Puget Sound.”

The art deco or quirky, space age design had some disadvantages.  Because the wheelhouse was set back it was impossible to see the bow of the vessel which lead to difficulties when docking.  The small size of the wheelhouse and round windows also made visibility problems.  The car deck was not wide enough to comfortably accommodate postwar vehicles that were wider than earlier cars resulting in a drop of about 40% in the number of cars that could be carried.  By the mid 1950s the Kalakala had become obsolete for runs across the Sound.  The enclosed design made her suitable for open water routes and she was transferred to the Port Angeles to Victoria, B.C. run where she served from 1955 to 1959.  The Kalakala was also used for tours of the Bremerton Shipyards during the Seattle World’s Fair, 1962. 

We rode on the Kalakala several times.  The engine vibration and heavy shaking that ran throughout the vessel when in operation was very noticeable and part of the experience.  The ferry had several nicknames, The Silver Swan, The Silver Slug, Silver Beetle, Galloping Ghost of the Pacific Coast, and by Seattle’s Scandinavians as Kackerlacka (cockroach).

In 1967 the Kalakala retired from service altogether, was moved to a repair facility at Eagle Harbour and sold a year later to a seafood processing company.  After the sale the ferry was towed to Alaska to work as a crab cannery at Ouzinkie, Alaska. In 1970 the Kalakala was beached at Kodiak and used to process shrimp.  From 1984 to 2011 several attempts were made by various people to save the ferry but finally the Coast Guard declared it a hazard to navigation and it was scrapped in 2015.  Only a few pieces were sold as souvenirs.  Some of the scrapped pieces were purchased by the city of Kirkland with an idea of using them in a public art project.

For additional information, see:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_System
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Kalakala

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 417

Ohme Gardens, 75th Anniversary

Leavenworthcards.com distributed the vintage photographs postcard shared this week in 2004 for the 75th anniversary of Ohme Gardens located in Wenatchee, Washington. The card has the identifying alphanumeric code OG75 on the reverse.  The four views show, from the upper left:  Vista House as it was in the early 1940’s; a view of the Columbia River and Wenatchee Valley also from the 1940’s; the Sylvan Pool, 1936; and the Totem Pole Lodge, late 1940’s.

We visited the gardens in 2015 and picked up this card and the other two found below.  The day we were there it was 90 degrees F (32.2 C) and almost unbearably hot for climbing around on the hillside.  Nevertheless, it is a beautiful and interesting garden that was originally created by Herman and Ruth Ohme.  They purchased 40 acres of land for an orchard in 1929 that included a mostly barren, rocky, craggy bluff with magnificent views of the Columbia River and surrounding landscape.  

Upper left: Totem Pole Lodge, Enchantment Falls, Vista House, and the Hobbit Bench
[photos:  Charles Adams, Marcia Janke, Tom Williams, Jamie & Judy Wild. Leavenworthcards.com LC11]

The Ohmes were not rich; they did not have formal training in landscaping design or botany.  They just had a dream of turning the desert bluff into a natural garden and were willing to do everything themselves and by hand. It began with transplanting small evergreens from the Cascade Mountains.  Native stone was hauled in to make pathways, borders, stairs, and pools.  It was a labor of love.  Water had to be hauled up from the river.  They added a pool and used a mule and drag bucket before setting up an irrigation system that piped water along the hilltop. 

Twin Pools
[Photo: Charles Adams.  Leavenworthcards.com OC5]

At first the garden was worked on in their spare time as their main work and income was dependent upon the orchards.  The gardens eventually became full time work for both of them.  Soon local people started going up the bluff to see what they were doing up there.  

Entrance into the gardens

Map of the grounds with the various pathways marked.  Smaller version of the map were available at the entry gate and in the gift shop.

 Pool

 Waterfall

There is a pavilion and large open grassy area near this waterfall that can be used for outdoor weddings in the summer. 

Stone pathways

Platform with territorial view

 Looking down on one of the pools

Territorial and garden view

Poppies

In 1939 they agreed to open the gardens to the public with a 25 cent entry charge.  If the charge was meant to dissuade people from visiting it did not work, people began traveling from all over the visit the amazing gardens.  The project continued to expand with more pools, benches and pathways.  After Herman passed away their son, Gordon, purchased the gardens and kept the dream alive.  In 1991 ill health forced Gordon to sell the gardens to the State of Washington Parks and Recreation Commission and is managed by Chelan County. 

For additional information, see:

https://www.ohmegardens.org/thegardens/pages/the-start-of-ohme-gardens
http://seattlerefined.com/travel/ohme-gardens-herman--ruths-labor-of-love-in-wenatchee
http://www.halcyon.com/tmend/gardensWA.htm
https://ohmegardensblog.wordpress.com/about/

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 416

Girl in the Moon, 1907 reprint

Today’s postcard is one that Q sent in 1997.  On his way to grad school in Madison, Wisconsin he stopped in Milwaukee and visited the Miller Valley Cultural Center that included tours and information about the Miller Brewing Company and had a gift shop where he found this postcard.  The card has the number J17071CC at the lower right corner on the reverse.  It was printed and distributed by the Miller Brewing Company. 

The card shows the famous 1907 “Girl in the Moon” advertisement for Miller High Life Beer.   She was featured in Miller ads and on bottles and cans from 1907 to the present with a hiatus during the late 1980s and 1990s.  She returned in 2005 with a minor makeover she looks as she did in 1943.  There are several different poses, some with the profile such as the one above, some with a full face, some standing, and some sitting.  Promotional items with the 1907 version are coveted as collector’s pieces. 

It is not known for sure who inspired the moon maiden but it is thought that she was a daughter, granddaughter or possibly a goddaughter of the Miller family.  One account names her as Loretta Miller Kopmeier the daughter of Carl Miller and granddaughter of Frederick Miller, the founder of the Miller Brewing Company.  She visited the brewery with her father when she was about 12 or 13 years old.  Her father sat her down and she dramatically held up her hand.  That incident became the inspiration for her father and she became the model for the Girl in the Moon.  Besides the girl the design shows her amid the clouds and stars in a spacious sky.  Loretta was born in 1892 and would have been closer to 15 in 1907; however, the brewery was founded in 1903 so the design could have been from a year or two earlier than the original ad campaign.  Q’s comment on the back of the card “Here’s a souvenir from my tour of Milwaukee’s cultural center, also known as ‘Miller Valley.’  Entertaining but sentimental story.”  Loretta Miller Kopmeier died in 1990 and is buried in Milwaukee.

Trays, plates, glasses and cups with logos such as this may have been fairly popular in the early 1900s as we also have a couple items from local breweries, Rainier and Olympia, with “Gibson Girls” on them that were collected by members of the Landaas and Lee families. The artwork is in the Art Nouveau style that was popular between about 1880 to the beginning of World War I (1914).  There are charming illustrations in children’s books dating from that era that also feature the same style of artwork.

For additional information, see:

www.nytimes.com/2005/09/09/business/media/...
https://www.beer-steins.com/miller/steins2.html
https://adland.tv/content/girl-moon-miller-high-life
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miller_Brewing_Company
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Widen+Kennedy
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/18503374/loretta-kopmeier

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 415

Rachel Carson Bridge, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 2019

Joel B. Levinson is credited with photograph on this week’s postcard showing the Rachel Carson or 9th Street Bridge in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and city skyline at night.  The card is a Gold Star Products, Inc., issue and has an identifying number, GSP-394 at the lower left on the reverse. 

The bridge spans the Allegheny River and was constructed in 1927.  It is one of three bridges often called the Three Sisters.  The other two are the Roberto Clemente Bridge and the Andy Warhol Bridge.  They are the only trio of nearly identical self-anchored suspension bridges built in the United States.  The total length of the 9th Street bridge is 840 ft or 260 m including the 410 ft or 120 m main span and two side spans.  The total width of the bridge deck is 62 ft or 19 m which includes two 10 ft or 3 m sidewalks and a 38 ft or 12 m roadway.  Formerly the roadway had two streetcar tracks and two vehicle lanes, now it has four wide vehicle lanes.  The bridge is named after the naturalist Rachel Carson, who was a Pittsburgh native.  This bridge was closed in February 2019 for a rehabilitation project and is expected to remain closed to vehicle and pedestrian traffic until June 2020.  Traffic is being detoured to the other two sister bridges.

For additional information, see:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Carson_Bridge

Double Bluff, 2019

 Sign at Double Bluff park 

Hot in the city?  We’re off to a saltwater beach.  Double Bluff on Whidbey Island sounded like a terrific place to get out of the heat and enjoy a walk on the beach. Getting there meant taking a ferry from Mukilteo on the mainland to Clinton on the island, always a fun thing to do especially on a warm day.   We timed it to arrive when the tide was out and there would be interesting things to see along the shoreline.  A group of people were digging clams.  When I was a kid there were always plenty of shells and sand dollars, crabs, anemones and other sea creatures on the local beaches but in recent years it has been hard to find much evidence of sea life.  However, Double Bluff was loaded with shells of all sorts and sizes, crab shells, and even a sand dollar.  

Adjacent to the park is private property with homes along the shoreline.  This day every home had flags flying presumably for Labor Day Weekend.

 The outgoing tide had left these boats anchored to their floats but on dry land

 Low tide with plenty of beach exposed

 Rose bushes lined part of the shore, some roses had already gone to the hip stage

 others were still in bloom like this one

Lots of shells on the beach

 Bob crossing a kelp and rock bed, people digging clams in the background

Clam digging 

The Double Bluff for which the park is named

 We walked all the way down to the point and back, about 3 1/2 miles

 We saw clumps of these yellow beach flowers

 Look back toward the way we came

 There were several of these driftwood structures along the beach

There were Great Blue Herons wading and fishing in the shallows, cormorants in the sea that occasionally stood up and spread their wings before dipping back down in the water, plenty of gulls walking along the shallows, ospreys flying overhead and in the trees and even a bald eagle sitting a top a tree.  The beach is long, sandy with small stones, lots of driftwood, and plenty of wet slippery kelp to wade through to get to the hard sand when we got tired of walking on the soft dry sand.  

 Great Blue Heron and gulls

 Osprey

Butterfly

Count for the day:  50 people, 20 dogs with most of the people and dogs arriving in the afternoon