Volunteers with Pro Parks Sign, November 5, 2003. Photo Credit: Beliz Brother. For over 50 years, the hill overlooking Rainier Valley was home to the Hitt Fireworks Company, whose fireworks illuminated displays at Green Lake and Ivar's Fourth of July celebrations and even appeared in the Oscar-winning film, Gone with the Wind (1939). When the Hitt Fireworks Company ceased production in 1974, however, the future of the property became uncertain. By 2000, development seemed inevitable. Powell Home Builders had purchased the 3.2-acre site and proposed building twenty-two high-end homes on the steep hillside. As Rainier Valley prepared for the arrival of the Link Light Rail and plans encouraged growth around future transit stations, many neighbors feared the wooded hillside would disappear beneath a dense housing development. Rather than accept that outcome, the community came together to protect the hill. Dennis Fitzgerald, “Residents Seeking to Preserve Hitt’s Hill,” The South District Journal, February 23, 2000. A small group of residents formed Friends of Hitt's Hill, with neighbor Vicky Lee helping to spearhead the effort. They believed that the highest point in Rainier Valley should remain a place where both nature and neighbors could thrive. Their vision was simple but ambitious: to preserve the hill as a community park filled with native plants, trees, wildlife, and walking paths for the neighborhood to enjoy. Cascade Land Conservancy, now known as Forterra, stepped in to help make preservation possible, securing an option agreement for the property and serving as the fiscal agent for its eventual transfer to Seattle Parks and Recreation. The community then faced the challenge of raising $985,000 to purchase the land and preserve Hitt’s Hill as an open space for the public. What followed was a remarkable example of grassroots organizing. Rainier Arts Center Committee Meeting, 2000-2001. Photo Credit: Beliz Brother. Neighbors knocked on doors, wrote fundraising letters, attended countless committee meetings, applied for grants, and rallied support throughout the community. Columbia City organizations quickly joined the effort. At the time, people living in the area had access to less than one-third of an acre of open space per 100 residents, making Hitt's Hill an increasingly valuable community resource. In September of 2000, the Columbia City Revitalization Committee endorsed the campaign, writing, “As Rainier Valley has a significant share of school-age children, low-income families and new immigrants in Seattle, we see preservation as a great opportunity to help Columbia City grow with the amenities its people deserve.” The campaign required more than enthusiasm; it required resources. Friends of Hitt's Hill worked alongside Cascade Land Conservancy, Seattle Parks and Recreation, King County, the City of Seattle, regional funding, and generous individual donors to raise the $985,000 needed to purchase the property before park restoration could begin. On June 1, 2001, their efforts paid off. The purchase was completed, and on September 8, 2001, neighbors gathered alongside Mayor Paul Schell to celebrate the preservation of Hitt's Hill as an open space to the public. What could have become another housing development instead became a neighborhood park. Park Dedication with Mayor Schell, September 8, 2001. Photo Credit: Beliz Brother. But saving the land was only the beginning; volunteers rolled up their sleeves for years afterward. Caring for Hitt’s Hill became a community effort, bringing together neighborhood residents, Seattle Parks and Recreation, and EarthCorps. Through ongoing work parties, volunteers cleared invasive plants and debris, preserved the hill’s existing trees, planted native trees and shrubs, and helped restore the overgrown former industrial site while preserving its character as an urban green space. That community stewardship continues today, with EarthCorps and local volunteers continuing to care for and maintain the park. Volunteers Needed Flyer, 2003. Photo Credit: Beliz Brother. City of Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation, "Illustrative Site Plan," from Hitt’s Hill Park Vegetation Management Plan, June 2003. Perhaps most remarkably, many of the people who helped make this vision a reality—including Vicky Lee, Beliz Brother, Bonnie Taylor, Todd Paul, Liz Ford, and Sally Clark (former Seattle City Council Chair)—remain connected to the neighborhood, while a new generation of neighbors has taken up the work of caring for Hitt’s Hill Park. Their commitment reminds us that communities are shaped not only by the places we inherit, but by the places we choose to protect. Preparations Leading up to the Dedication of Hitt's Hill Park, 2001. Photo Credit: Beliz Brother. Friends of Hitt's Hill carefully preserved the story of their work by donating meeting notes, photographs, flyers, correspondence, and planning documents to Rainier Valley Historical Society. These records document far more than the creation of a park; they tell the story of neighbors who believed they could make a difference and proved that they could. Today, visitors walking beneath the trees are more likely to hear the chirping of birds than the crackle of fireworks. Hikers explore the trails where explosives were once manufactured, and native plants cover a hillside that could easily have become streets, driveways, and rooftops. This transformation did not happen by chance. It was made possible by neighbors who recognized the value of this place and came together through grassroots action to preserve it, allowing an overgrown former industrial site to blossom into the vibrant community park it is today. Hitt's Hill Park, 2020. Photo Credit: Mikala Woodward. As Hitt's Hill Park celebrates its 25th anniversary, it stands as a reminder that community stewardship is one of the most powerful forces shaping the future of our neighborhoods. Parks, gardens, and community gathering places rarely appear on their own; they exist because ordinary people decide they are worth protecting. That sentiment remains just as relevant today. As Seattle continues to grow and new housing is built to accommodate more residents, preserving public green spaces becomes increasingly important. Hitt's Hill Park demonstrates that growth and conservation can coexist when communities come together to advocate for both. To celebrate this remarkable milestone, Rainier Valley Historical Society invites the community to join us on Saturday, September 12, from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM, for a free celebration of the 25th anniversary of Hitt's Hill Park. Visitors will have the opportunity to learn about the park's remarkable transformation, explore its history through photographs and archival materials, and hear the story of the neighbors whose dedication helped preserve one of Rainier Valley's most treasured green spaces. Whether you've walked the trails for years or are discovering Hitt's Hill for the first time, we hope you'll join us in celebrating the community spirit that made this park possible!

Founded in 1908, by a group of sports enthusiasts, Rainier Valley Athletic Club organized, sports teams for all ages. They competed against teams from other districts of Seattle, including baseball, football, basketball, boxing, and wrestling. In addition to the Athletic Club Teams, there were a mix of school teams and those sponsored by local small businesses and churches. This photo essay showcases a variety of teams from the early years of Rainier Valley development. Columbia Congregational Church sponsored this 1914 girls' basketball team. The Rainier Valley Athletic Club was founded in 1908, so this would've been one of their first baseball teams. Sidenote: the date may only represent when the team was founded and not the actual image date. The Rainier Valley Athletic Club football team. They won the 1910 Seattle football championship. The Whitworth School Boys Baseball Team, which won the city Championship in 1911. Photo of player Fred Hutchinson (middle) in the Rainiers Baseball team uniform. Hutchinson would go on to play for the Detroit Tigers and coach for the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds. His brother Dr. William Hutchinson, founded the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and named it in his honor. Hawthorne School Soccer Team Circa 1917 A group of football players forms a line of scrimmage in 1920. Pierre Weiss, a Columbia Pioneer, is second from the left. 1924 Basketball Team sponsored by Columbia Congregational Church Harry Cole playing tennis at Seward Tennis Club, 1931. The courts were located near 39th and Angeline. The club was started by a group of tennis enthusiasts in the Columbia City area. They entered and won city-wide tournaments, and Cole won the club championship three times. The original Bethlehem Lutheran Church is visible in the background. Columbia City Softball Team 1934 Seattle Baseball Club official scorecard.

John Hoole and I began our exploration of community activism in the Rainier Valley with a simple question: How do ordinary people affect positive change in their communities? The Rainier Valley has a long tradition of civic activism, dating back at least as far as the petition filed by the ladies of Columbia City in 1905, urging the Town Council to close the local pool room on Sundays and at 11 pm the rest of the week. We were particularly curious about the period from 1970 to 1990, when many of the issues facing the Rainier Valley today came to the force, and man of the people and organizations now at work in the community got their start. Our research began with a treasure trove of slides, minutes, correspondence, and other materials documenting the activists of SESCO, the South End Seattle Community Organization, which was founded in 1975. The materials were donated to the RVHS by Rodney Herold, one of SESCO’s founders. We knew SESCO represented a specific approach to community activism, inspired by the work of Chicago organizer Saul Alinsky, author of the classic “Rules for Radicals.” We were curious to understand SESCO’s philosophy, goals, and strategies, to compare them to the work done by other community activists during the same period, and to see what lessons we could glean from the mix. As we read through documents and conducted oral history interviews, we learned many interesting connections (and a few conflicts) among the people and groups that were at work in the Rainier Valley in the 1970s, ‘80s, and ‘90s. We saw successes and failures, flashy media-savvy campaigns and long hard slogs behind the scenes. We saw people were empowered by small victories, and good intentions that lead to unintended consequences. The threads are complicated; it would take years of research to fully untangle them. We hope to continue our research in the future, and we encourage those of you with stories we failed to capture, to share them with RVHS. (2021 note: We would still love to hear your stories please email us at office@rainiervalleyhistory.org) Meanwhile, we would like to share a few of the lessons we drew from the various stories people told us over the course of the project. First of all, we learned that experts can be wrong. As the story of Greenwood Gardens shows, bureaucrats and planners do not always make decisions that benefit individual communities. They may have self-serving motives, like maintaining their jobs or perpetuating their organizations. Or they may have broader goals—from ending homelessness to balancing the state budget—that may not align with the priorities or needs of local residents. Or they may be under the say of a new trend in city planning or education reform that will prove to be deeply flawed. That large government entities often wield massive resources only make their blunders bigger. Second, social capital is powerful. People who live and work together over a long period of time—like the members of the Rainier Chamber in the 1970s —develop a network of mutual trust and reciprocal responsibility that can be called upon when they want to make a change in their community. Small acts of neighborly generosity can help build that network. Never underestimate the power of a shared lawnmower! Alinsky- style campaigns can be extremely effective. A narrowly defined issue with a clear target, and escalating tactics designed to hold that target accountable, will almost certainly produce action on that narrowly defined issue. The story of the Dunlap Dump demonstrates this, as does the tale of the Lucile Street Bridge. (The Lucile Street Bridge story also shows us the necessity of vigilance in the endgame!) Focusing on small, achievable goals, can prevent activists from seeing the bigger picture. Now, the bigger picture can be overwhelming, confusing, discouraging, and paralyzing; there generally isn’t a simple, obvious solution—this is why Alinksy advised organizers to focus on small, achievable goals. But sometimes the problems are bigger than that, and the solutions have to be bigger too. In the case of Whitworth School, there were systemic, fundamental problems underlying Whitworth’s situation—systemic problems that pitted school against school, parents against neighbors. What might have happened with everyone had worked together to address those systemic issues? Finally, and perhaps most importantly: ordinary people can change the world. Despite the cautionary principles listed above, we have found ourselves inspired again and again by the stories we heard and the people we talked to during this project. Kay Godefroy; the PTA President who went from founding an afternoon Kindergarten at Whitworth to heading up the Rainier Chamber’s anti-crime work in the 1980s, told us: “If you can organize a PTA spaghetti dinner, you can do anything. You don’t need professionals, you don’t need funding, you can make changes with the force of your will.” Many other people embodied this spirit, Pauline Wilson, Brighton resident, and mother of seven, whose talent and passion were brought out by SESCO organizers and who became a powerful voice in the fight to tear down Greenwood Gardens. Jean Vel Dwyk, whose tireless advocacy on behalf of Rainier Valley businesses and residents has wrong positive change out of the worst situations. B.J. Santos, who at the age of eleven organized a talent show at Whitworth that raised $135 to paint the boys' bathrooms, and who told the School Board that the students “could not take care of all such problems” without their help. Jim Diers, who started out as a SESCO organizer, and went on to take Saul Alinksy’s principles of community empowerment and build them into the city government, as the first director of the Department of Neighborhoods. It was an ironic idea, city hall training people to fight city hall, but the DON—particularly the Neighborhood Matching Fund—has been a powerful force for improvement and citizen empowerment in neighborhoods across the city. We see a lot of hope even in the most contentious arguments in the Rainier Valley—over density, light rail, school closures, and so on—even though they sometimes weaken the social capital that gives neighborhood activists their true power. These conflicts are the result of a necessary tension among different people, institutions, and perspectives in our community. Conflicts also show us that people here care what happens in their community. They know its past (thanks to the work for the RVHS) and they have a stake in its future. And time and again they have fought passionately for the kind of future they want to see. The 'Everybody In' project was completed in 2011 and was funded by a special project grant from King County 4Culture. Read more stories from this collection using the links below: Lessons In Civic Activism: Greenwood Gardens A Concrete Problem: SESCO and the Principle of Escalation Schoolyard Standoffs: The Tale of Whitworth Elementary How to Build a Bridge The Rainier Chamber’s Crime Fighting Spree: Harnessing Social Capital “Everybody In” packs it in SESCO Unity - South Seattle Emerald.

Step into the past with our captivating photo essays. Photo Essays The Rainier Valley Historical Society has curated captivating photo essays that illustrate the rich heritage and evolution of our culturally diverse neighborhood.

Join our team of volunteers who help us process archives, develop programming, and host events. Volunteer Form RVHS has collected, preserved, and shared the stories of Rainier Valley since 1891. Our volunteers are essential partners in this effort. First Name Last Name Email Availability 1 day a week 1 day a month Occasionally What are you interested in helping with? Archiving Events Office hours Special projects Tell us a little bit about yourself and your interests SUBMIT Thanks for your interest! We'll get back to you shortly.

Help us preserve and celebrate the history of the Rainier Valley. Be a part of our advocacy for local preservation. Become a Member With your support, we provide programs that explore diverse topics including cultural traditions, social activism, architectural history, and environmental stewardship. Your contributions also help us maintain our extensive digital and physical archives, many of which are housed at our Columbia City Office, ensuring public access to this valuable resource. Members enjoy these core benefits: Subscription to all RVHS publications. Presale access and reduced admission to tours, programs, lectures, and special events. Discounted image and document reproduction. 4 Hours of personalized research assistance. Together, we can preserve and celebrate the heritage of Rainier Valley!