If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 420

Map of Tacoma, Washington, 1893

Today’s postcard has a vintage an aerial panoramic map of the city of Tacoma from 1893.  The card was distributed by Lantern Press of Seattle and has the image number 4394.  I found this card in a museum gift shop.  In addition to the street layout the border around the map shows buildings that existed in the city in 1893.

Tacoma is a port city on Puget Sound and is the second largest city in the area.  Its name comes from Mt. Takhoma or Tahoma now known as Mt. Rainier.  While Seattle is called The Emerald City, Tacoma is called The City of Destiny because it was chosen to be the western terminus of the Northern Pacific Railroad in the late 1800s.  It is located 32 miles southwest of Seattle and 31 miles northeast the state capitol, Olympia. 

When I was little the saw mills and paper pulp mills in Tacoma exuded such a strong smell that combined with the smell of the muddy industrial tide flats earned the unfortunate “Tacoma Aroma” moniker.  It was not an altogether pleasant smell.  During the 1990s companies reduced the sulfur emissions by about 90% and that has mostly eliminated the ever-present odor.   In addition to the lumber products, such as pulpwood and linerboard, Tacoma also continues to operate an U.S. Oil refinery on the tide flats that produces 39,000 barrels of petroleum per day.  Tacoma is home to food and candy companies like Brown & Haley, Roman Meal, Mars. 

There are several parks in Tacoma including Point Defiance Park that has a Zoo and Aquarium.  Multi-use trails for biking and walking connect several public parks.  There are museums and historical sites within the city that are worth visiting such as the Museum of Glass where demonstrations of glass blowing are held and handmade glass items can be purchased. 

The bridge connecting the Washington State Museum of History and the Museum of Glass with the two glass pillars.  The museum is housed in what was the Union Station built in 1910 and an enduring emblem of the city of Tacoma.  The central copper covered dome is 90 feet high.  In the 1990s this building was used as a federal court house.  It was put on the register of National Historic Places in 1974.

One of several ceiling panels filled with blown glass

Glass blowing demonstrations are held several times a day

 A window display of hand blown glass ball ornaments

An outdoor pool with a clear glass exhibit

The Washington State Museum of History has a permanent model train display among other historical displays and items.   

 Model trains

Looking down on a life-sized display depiction of what Union Station looked like when it was in operation

For additional information, see:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tacoma_Washington
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Station_(Tacoma,_Washington)

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 352

Fish Creek, Chelan County, Washington, ca 1930

Alfred G. Simmer was the photographer of the Black & White picture on this 1930s postcard.  The name Simmer and the place are written in white at the lower left of the card.  It is identified as Fish Creek, Chelan, #191.  My grandmother, Lil Anna Hornnes Schroder received this card from her brother John as a Christmas and New Year’s greeting in 1930.  The rushing water of this creek or river may have reminded both of them of the Otra River in southern Norway where they grew up. 

Fish Lake is a small lake located northeast of the larger Lake Wenatchee.  On a current map there is a creek or small river exiting Fish Lake called Fish Lake Run and I think it is possible that it may have been called Fish Creek when this card was published.  Both lakes and nearby rivers and streams are known to be good fishing areas.  Today outdoor activities near Wenatchee include hiking, water skiing, kayaking, windsurfing and swimming.  Nearby trails are open to hikers, bikers, horseback riders and there are areas for rock climbing as well.  In the winter Wenatchee State Park is used for cross-country skiing, dog sledding, snowmobiling, and ice climbing.  

There is a brief biography of Simmer, titled "Simmie," on Ancestry.com by Bill Miller, as part of Public Member Stories.  That plus the picture of Alfred G. Simmer, above, was taken in Alaska, both appeared in an article from Highway News, a publication of the old (Washington State) Department of Highways; From Highway News Feb 1953, v. 2 no. 8.  It was unexpected and fun to find a picture of the photographer.

As a photographer, Simmer, is known mostly for the pictures he took in Alaska of Eskimos and local scenes between 1905 and 1907.  His wife appears in several of the photographs he took while living in Alaska. 
I wondered what happened to him after 1907.  He turns out to have had an interesting and varied life.  Born in Germany he came to the United States at about age 15 and lived with his aunt and uncle in San Francisco while he continued his education.  He was a drafter and civil engineer as well as a photographer.  He married Mary Louise (Mitzie) Setil in Seattle 1903 and soon after they moved to Nome, Alaska where they built a home.  Both of their children were born while the family lived in Alaska, a son, Edwin, in 1905 and a daughter, Dorothy, in 1908.  After they left Alaska they moved back to Seattle in 1910 where they lived for several years before moving to Wenatchee in 1922. 

It was while they were in living in Wenatchee that Simmer became self-employed as a portrait and commercial photographer.  After 17 years of studio photography work he went to work in Olympia, Washington for the Highway Department in the Bridge Division and the Planning Division doing special photography work.  Sometime after his wife passed away in he moved to San Joaquin, California.  His two adult children were married by then and living not far away in the San Francisco Bay area, Edwin in Santa Cruz and Dorothy in Navato.  Alfred George Simmer was born in Danzig, Germany 11 February 1874 and passed away 15 April 1958.   Mitzie was born in Vienna, Austria in 1882 and passed away 25 April 1946 in Olympia, Washington.


For more information, see:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Chelan
https://en.wikipedia.org/wii/Lake_Wenatchee_State_Park
Ancestry.com

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 351

Lake Quinault, Washington, ca 1933

The Jones Photo Co. of Aberdeen and Hoquiam, Washington published this Black & White vintage card with a picture of Lake Quinault with the Olympic Mountains in the background and trees in the foreground.  Jones and an identifying number of 3358 found at the lower right corner.   

Logo of the Jones Photo Co., Aberdeen & Hoquiam, Washington found on the reverse of the card

Beginning with William L. Jones, a Welsh immigrant, four generations of the Jones family owned and operated the business from 1880, in Silverton, Oregon, moving to Washington in 1913, until 2003 when the Anderson & Middleton Company purchased it retaining the grandson of the original founder, Bill Jones, as advisor.  Over 175,000 glass and film negatives and 85,000 prints now form a historical collection of photos of northwest Washington. 

Many of the pictures depict scenes from everyday working life as well as the buildings, boats, just married couples, babies, and tribal chiefs.  Since this postcard does have a number, I had hoped that the Jones Photo Historical Collection online would have an index and it would be possible to discover who took the picture.  While there is a search function, and I tried several different options to search; however, this particular picture does not appear to be in the collection.  Because the message and postmark at dated 1933 it is likely that either William L. Jones or his son Bliss, took the photo.  The grandson, Bill Jones, would have only been 11 years old and although he had started taking pictures that year it not as likely he took this one. 

Lake Quinault is located within the Rain Forest on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington.  The Quinault Indian Nation owns the land and the area is accessible from the coastal U.S Route 101.  There are some day-hiking trails maintained by the Forest Service, fishing in the lake is allowed with a permit from the Quinaults, and there is a scenic loop drive around the lake.  In addition to the historic Lake Quinault Lodge there are also campgrounds.  

1933 one-cent commemorative stamp featuring Fort Dearborn

The U.S Postal Service issued two stamps in 1933 to commemorate the Chicago World’s, A Century of Progress, including this one-cent green stamp with Fort Dearborn featured on it.  The original Fort Dearborn was built in 1803 and was destroyed during the War of 1812.  A new fort with the same name was constructed on the same site in 1816 and decommissioned by 1837.  The remains of that fort were lost in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.  Today the site is a Chicago Landmark.  A replica of Fort Dearborn was erected as an exhibit for the Chicago World's Fair in 1933.

For additional information, see:

http://www.jonesphotocollection.com/kiosk/about.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Quinault
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Quinault_Lodge
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Century_of_Progress
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Dearborn

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 313

Fay Fuller, 1890 – first woman to climb Mt. Rainier

This is a new postcard made from an 1890 photograph of Fay Fuller who was the first woman to climb Mt. Rainier.  We found the card at the Visitor Center at the campground and trailhead to Silver Falls in the Mt. Rainier National Park.  It is produced the R. & B. Warfield Photography of Eatonville, Washington.  The number stamped at the upper right on the reverse of the card is D10692.  The photograph is from the Washington State Historical Society.

In the picture Fay Fuller is wearing her climbing garb consisting of heavy flannels (the bloomers and skirt), woolen hose, warm mittens and goggles.  To make the climb she blackened her face with charcoal to reduce glare from the sun, drove brads into her shoes, and is carrying two rolled blankets and provisions for 3 days.  Her “trekking pole” is an “alpenstock” made from a shovel handle.  She had resolved to climb until exhausted.  It is hard to nearly impossible for me to think of climbing a mountain or even hiking a trail in this outfit. 

The late 1800s and early 1900s was an era of intrepid women explorers and adventurers and Fay Fuller seems to fit the mold of such an individual.  This remarkable woman was born 1869 in New Jersey.  When she was 12 years old her family moved to Tacoma, Washington where she began to explore the wilderness.  After completing high school she started to teach school at age 15.  It was while she was teaching in the town of Yelm that she met P.B. Van Trump, one of the first climbers of Mt. Rainier, who encouraged her to climb the mountain.

In 1887 she made her first attempt to climb Mt. Rainier and reached about 8,600 feet or 2,600 m.  She set a goal to make to the top and in 1890 she was invited by Van Trump to join a climbing party for second try at it.  On August 10, 1890, Fuller and four other climbers reached the highest summit; Columbia Crest, and she became the first woman to have scaled the 14,400 ft mountain.  She refused any special help and spent the night in the steamy summit crater.  When the next climbing party found some of her hairpins they joked that the pins proved that a woman had really made it to the summit.  She is reported as saying. “I have accomplished what I have always dreamed of and fearer impossible.”

Fay gave up teaching to become a journalist and was the first female reporter for the Tacoma Ledger.  After her successful climb of Mt. Rainier she had wrote a column, “Mountain Murmurs,” that covered mountaineering social events near Paradise, Washington, and featured accounts of early Rainier climbers.  She helped found the Washington Alpine Club, 1891, the Tacoma Alpine Club, 1893, and the Mazamas mountaineering club in Portland, Oregon, 1894.  She became an editor for Tacoma papers and in 1900 moved on to Chicago, Illinois, Washington, D.C., and New York City to continue her newspaper career.  While in New York she met and married Fritz von Briesen, who was an attorney.  They later moved to Santa Monica, California where she died in 1958.  Fay Peak in Mt. Rainier National Park is named for her.

For more information, see:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fay_Fuller
Bragg, Lynn (2010) More than Petticoats:  Remarkable Washington Women, (2nd ed.).  Globe Pequot.

Silver Falls and Grove of the Patriarchs, 2017

Silver Falls, Ohanapecosh, Mt. Rainier National Park

This past week we went to Mt. Rainier National Park for the first time this hiking season.  Many of the trails in the park still have too much snow and are not yet open for hiking.  However, the hike to Silver Falls and Grove of the Patriarchs is lower elevation and mostly free of snow.  There are campsites and an information ranger station as well as the hiking trails.  No dirt road with bumps and dust to contend with and a nice restroom at the trailhead with running water and flush toilets. 

We hiked to Silver Falls and then continued on to Grove of the Patriarchs encountering only about 12 other hikers on the Silver Falls portion of the trail going in and on the way back we counted an additional 46.  There were probably at least 200 people on the Grove of the Patriarchs section.  There is another nice restroom there and a large parking area.  No dogs are allowed in the park and a Forest Service pass is required. 

Unbelievable blue-green water color from glacial runoff 

Mist catching sunlight making a rainbow

The falls are spectacular this time of year, very full of fast, roaring, beautiful blue-green water with spray catching the light and making rainbows.  If one goes past the falls and on to the Grove the trail winds up, crosses the street, and then continues on for another almost 1 mile. 

 Suspension bridge over the river

There is a suspension bridge over the river with a recommendation that only one person at a time should cross over.  There were long lines on both sides of the river of people waiting to cross.  Neither of us had ever seen so many people on that trail.  The difficulty was not that the bridge could not hold more than one person but that more people on the bridge at a time made it sway and ripple so walking was a bit unsteady.  

 Huge trees, some over 1,000 years old and 200 or more feet tall

Bob and I went a short distance apart and after we had crossed several other people figured out that they could cross more than one at a time if they were careful not to rock the bridge too much.  The line moved a little faster after that.  There is a loop trail through the old trees and some benches where we sat and had a lunch.  After wandering through the big trees, some over 1,000 years old, we re-crossed the bridge and continued a little further on the trail. 

Our hike ended up about 6 miles round trip with approximately a 500 ft elevation gain.  There were plenty of families with young children on the Grove trail and a few on the Silver Falls portion. 

Candystick

 Tiger lily

Blue violet

 Twayblade

Bunchberry

 Rose

 Three-leaved Anemone

 Coralroot

The first Beargrass of the season

We had some unexpected finds, such as candysticks, a tiger lily, coralroot, and a three-leaved anemone (something we had never encountered before).   

A sad note, my trusty little Canon power-shot elph 100 was not focusing, as it should.  I had noticed for a while that the pictures were not as sharp has they had been and dark spots were showing up on the pictures.  We took it in to a camera shop the next day.  The verdict, dust in the lens hence the dark spots and no way to fix it.  The camera was done after 5 years and 32,000 pictures.  I picked up an almost identical newer version Canon power-shot elph 190 and hope it will last as long and work as well.  The photos from Silver Falls are still with the old camera, some close ups of the flowers did not turn out as well as hoped.  

 There were several of these wooden bridges over creeks

 One downed tree that required a climb over

 Bridge over Laughing Water creek

Iron Goat, lower level – 2017

 The red caboose and information board at the trail head to Iron Goat, lower level

We had previously hiked the upper level of Iron Goat a couple of times, but I had never been on the lower trail before.  Both trails are mostly level following an old railroad line.  The lower trail is every bit as interesting as the upper route and does have railroad artifacts, historical information placards, tunnels, and a long wall that had been part of a snow shed for the railroad.  We saw lots of wildflowers, even some unexpected finds like chocolate lilies and calypso orchids.  

Sign pointing the way to the Martin Creek trail head

It was a hot day; around 80 to 85 degrees F, but there are a few shady spots and some nice cool to cold breezes coming from the tunnels.   The old tunnels from the 1800s that were blasted through the rock and had timber framing on the walls were blocked for safety but one 1916 cement short tunnel had the path running through it.  A few waterfalls and streams also added some coolness to an otherwise hot walk.  

Miner's lettuce bordering the trail

 Currants

 Old railroad mile marker

 Bane berry

Sections of the old snow shed structure

 Forget-me-nots

 Columbine

 Twin tunnels 1916 archway and old tunnel

Notice the wood framing inside

 This one had a short walkway that led part way into the arch

 Bridge

Calypso orchid

Spotted coral root

 Chocolate lilies

Mertensia

The whole area is called the Steven’s Pass historic district.  We started at the Iron Goat interpretive site and walked up to the Martin Creek trail head where we had our lunch on a bench there.  It was 5.5 miles round trip.  When we got back to the parking lot we ran into some people who had taken the upper trail.  They excitedly asked if we had seen the bears.  Bears?  No, we had not seen any.  They had seen a mother bear with 2 cubs and then later a larger black bear.  One woman said they were yelling so loud to scare the bears that they were sure all the other hikers in the area must have heard them, but we had not heard the yelling either.  The count for the day: 49 people 7 dogs (one man had 5 dogs!).   

 Water rushing down from Deception Falls

[Yes, we did get a little wet crossing the bridge]

On the way home we stopped at Deception Falls, to view a spectacular water display, which must have been just about at maximum water volume.  Since it was the end of a holiday weekend the traffic was horrendous.  We stopped at Zeke’s for hamburgers in hopes of the traffic lessening a bit.  It really didn’t, but the hamburgers were yummy.

Zekes