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Rainier Valley’s Connection to the 1936 Olympic Gold Medal Reading the captivating and best selling book Boys in the Boat, inspired us to piece together the Rainier Valley connection to the story. Al Ulbrickson, Johnny White, Johnny Merrill and Royal Brougham, all former Franklin High School students, had a role in the 1936 WA Crew year. With the release of the movie, Boys in the Boat, new fans across the globe share in the enthusiasm for the “against all odds” Olympic Gold Medal win. The following biographical information was compiled from Boys in the Boat, our RVHS collections, Seattle Public School archives, Ancestry.com, Historylink, and the UW Crew archives. ALVIN ULBRICKSON - (1903-1976) UW Coach Franklin High School Class of 1921 Al Ulbrickson, the UW coach who navigated the 1936 charge to the Olympic Games, was born in 1903, in the Latona neighborhood. In the 1910 U.S. Census, the Ulbrickson family was renting a house in Rainier Valley at 4438 39th Ave S, near Rainier Playfield. Al was 7 years old at the time, with 4 siblings, his father 31 years old, listed as a City Park worker and his mother, a homemaker, aged 29. Ten years later, the census showed the Ulbricksons living in the Lakeview District, owning their home on wooded and considered affordable Mercer Island. Al’s dad’s occupation changing from park employee to a farmer. Al was enrolled at Franklin High School in 1917, so it is unclear when exactly they moved to Mercer Island from the valley. The story goes, that Al rowed across Lake Washington from the southeast corner of the island to Rainier Beach to catch the streetcar to Franklin. The rowing distance, approximately 2 miles each way, no doubt paid off by the time he got to the University of Washington. Ulbrickson, a star oarsman for the UW, rowed in the Varsity-8 to the national championships twice and was ranked by the national press, as popular as Babe Ruth. He also excelled in his studies, earning a Phi Beta Kappa key at the UW College of Business. Here’s a segment from our oral history collection between Dr. William Hutchinson and RVHS Founder Buzz Anderson, in 1996, where they talked about the ferry that transported people from Mercer Island, and Kennydale, to Rainier Beach. Bill discusses his dad’s physician practice and how Al rowed to Rainier Beach from Mercer Island. (Dr. Hutchinson was 87 at the time of this interview). Bill: Well you see all those towns had to depend upon either my father or a doctor from Renton and he could get there actually easier than they could because they had to come over land. (My father) would come by Harry Patterson’s boat which was a launch which operated between Mercer Island and Kennydale and Rainier Beach. Buzz: We have a picture of that boat, with him, with the skipper, and -- Bill: It was a famous boat. Now the way they’d get along Mercer Island would be to put up on the dock, where they had the flags, and put up a flag and of course they’d know that they wanted them to stop, which they’d do and pick up whoever was coming into Seattle. Now interestingly enough, a great oarsman at Washington was Al Ulbrickson, as you know - Bill: - and he was not only a great oarsman, but he was a great coach. And he would row across to pick up the street car, the Renton Express, at Rainier Beach, and then would stop there, and so every morning and every night he’d have to row home or row to get somewhere on the train. And so he was a great oarsman before he ever hit University of Washington. But they just couldn’t compete with him. Buzz: I knew of him as a coach, but I didn’t know, I had never thought much about whether he was a good oarsman, but he probably was, that’s why he stayed with it then, as a coach. Bill: And he had two brothers, both of whom made the varsity squad at the University, because they, too, would row a lot. What was interesting, while researching Al’s early life, his student enrollment card at Seattle Public Schools showed his home address not on Mercer Island, but on the corner of Rainier Avenue and 57th, at 9246 57th Ave S in Rainier Beach (today where Jude’s restaurant is). There was a pharmacy and apartments on this corner, just in front of the streetcar stop. Whether Al’s father rented an apartment in Rainier Beach or used a PO Box there to show a Seattle residence for his children to attend FHS, is unknown. Al Ulbrickson was inducted into the Franklin Hall of Fame in 2001. He was just 24 years old when he took over the UW Crew program, transforming it to match the class of back east programs, and led the University of Washington teams to great heights over 31 years. He coached his team to six national titles with his two biggest wins, the 1936 Olympic Gold Medal in Berlin, and defeating the Soviet Union in Moscow in 1958. “He was Seattle’s Man of the Year in 1936, was inducted into the Husky Hall of Fame in 1979, and was named by the Seattle Times as one of Seattle’s top twenty-five coaches of the century” (Franklin Hall of Fame). JOHN (“JOHNNY”) WHITE - (1916-1997) Member of UW Gold Medal 1936 Crew Team Franklin High School Class of 1932 Johnny White grew up in a house above Lake Washington at Pritchard Beach. He attended Dunlap Elementary, then graduated at the young age of 16 from Franklin High School. Johnny and his dad decided if he were to take a couple of years off to save enough money to enroll at the University of Washington, he would also have enough time to physically catch up in size. He found physically demanding jobs at a shipyard on the waterfront wrestling steel and a construction job for the new Grand Coulee Dam, improving his chances at making the UW Crew team. Johnny’s father was a first rate sculler from Pennsylvania before moving out to Seattle. John Sr. spent long hours rowing on Lake Washington and most likely taught his son how to row. When we met the current owner of where the White family lived, we were told that Johnny’s sister sold him the house, and she had shared some of Johnny’s diary with him, the writings that helped shape the book, Boys in the Boat. The home owner also found an old rowboat in the brush... Johnny’s Olympic gold medal is at an auction house with a starting bid of $10,000. He was inducted into the Franklin Hall of Fame in 2001. ROYAL BROUGHAM - (1894-1978) Sportswriter for the Seattle P-I, Franklin HS Hall of Fame Royal Brougham attended Franklin High School from the Dunlap neighborhood until his Junior year, when he took a copy boy job in the sports department for the Seattle P-I. Royal’s passion for covering sporting events for Franklin continued, the 1912-13 Tolos show his articles and title as Editor for Athletics. Despite lacking a formal education, Royal rapidly ascended from an errand boy to a part-time writer, eventually establishing himself as a full-time sports journalist as the P-I’s Managing Editor. As a senior sportswriter, Royal had the honor of covering numerous major sporting events including the 1936 Olympic Games. With Brougham’s support in leading the newspapers’ drive to send the team to Berlin, the UW successfully raised $5,000 to secure their attendance. Unfortunately, none of Royal’s Olympic Games’ reporting was published locally due to a strike at the P-I. Undeterred, Brougham famously attempted an impromptu interview with Hitler, although he was turned away after a brief encounter. Later he described the team, “All were merged into one smoothly working machine, they were in fact a poem in motion, a symphony of swinging blades.” Royal’s impact extended beyond journalism. He befriended many athletes, coaches and managers as he actively engaged in community service, advocating for recreational amenities and fairness in sports. His legacy is underscored by honors such as the “First Citizen,” founder of the Royal Brougham Sports Hall of Fame and Museum; he served on the board of directors of the SeattleKing County American Red Cross; was Washington director for the National Commission of Living War Memorials; and was twice a member of the Olympic Games Press Committee. South Royal Brougham Way, near the stadiums, was named after him in 1979. JOHN MERRILL - (1914-1984) Franklin High School Grad - Rainier Beach resident - UW Crew John Merrill, also known as “Johnny”, graduated from Franklin HS the same year as Johnny White. John didn’t share much about his early years with his family, they knew he lettered in Washington Crew, but not much else until they discovered his scrapbook. John had memorabilia from the ‘36 National Championship sweep on the Hudson in Poughkeepsie, NY. John was a coxswain for the team, perhaps a substitute, and possibly a student manager. Though his name does not show in the program he saved from Poughkeepsie with the coaches, team and George Pocock signatures, he was there. John is mentioned in Boys in the Boat on page 106 as the coxswain navigating the ‘34 freshmen boat, when they nearly collided with a tugboat in Lake Washington. It is likely the other mention in the book was about John as well, in Poughkeepsie the night the Varsity-8 asked coach Ulbrickson if they could journey up river to find the President’s house. Instead of meeting FDR, his son Franklin Roosevelt Jr. answered the door and invited the team in. On page 261, “the boys recruited one of the crew’s student managers as pilot and navigator, and piled into the launch...when they found the cove, they left the manager in charge of the boat.” Merrill’s keepsake in his scrapbook, the Western Union social message from Franklin Roosevelt, Jr., to the team saying “Good luck to you” and an apology for not making it to see them the night before the race. Following the Poughkeepsie National Championship, the UW team traveled to Princeton for the Olympic trials, from there they were off to Berlin to represent the United States in the ‘36 Olympic Games. John did not make it to Berlin, not everyone on the team did due to the budget. Image Gallery Click to expand and then swipe your way through history.

I was born on March 30, 1947 in Rochester New, York. I came to live in my grandmother’s house, where my dad and uncle grew up. The house was on Whiteford Road and my grandmother, “Nana” lived across the street. There were aunts, uncles, and cousins who also lived on this road. My Nana was born on March 30, 1886, and since we shared a birthday and the fact I was her first grandchild, we loved each other very much. I always felt safe and cared for on this street. My Nana was a widow and for many years she worked as head of nursing in the Rochester State mental hospital. She was a force of nature at 4’11” tall. They called her “Tiny” but I have been told that she was tough and and some of the older folks told me they still shook at the thought of disappointing her. For me, Nana was perfect. At approximately 6 years of age, my family moved to a larger house in Brighton, New York, a suburb of Rochester. I still saw my Nana every week and I learned how to call her on the telephone. Nana was a convert to Catholicism and took great interest in my upcoming Holy Communion. In fact she sat next to me during the ceremony. We shared many whispering words to each other during my first communion. It seemed I was talking too much and she put her finger to her lips to quiet me. The only problem, she had died several months before my big event and I continued to see her for many years to come... I moved to Washington state in the 70s, by the 80s I had a full family of five children. Like my Nana, I had a husband, Tom Neville, who passed away very early. By the late 2000s most of my family was away to work and in college. My house in the Lakewood/Seward Park neighborhood felt too large for me. I considered a condo but realized I didn’t really like sharing very much, so I changed my home into a duplex and had created a small cottage house in the lower part of my historic home. I lived very close to work and I often went home for lunch. (I was still wearing high heels at the time.) In the little house, I had a lovely claw foot tub with a large shelf next to it. I always had flowers and art near the tub. But sometimes I would leave my purse on the shelf. I did forget my purse one day and ran back to the house to get it. I was in quite a rush. I stepped into the tub with my heels on, grabbed my purse and went to get out and fell flat on my face onto the concrete floor... I couldn’t move and still do not know if I was conscious or not. While laying face down on the floor, I heard two people talking and recognized their voices. “What is she doing now?,” Nana said. A low male voice replied, “she is something of a klutz.” That was Tom. I was getting very annoyed with them talking about me, and they said together, “Joan! You need to get up now!” I did get up and saw Nana them clear as day. Tom was sitting up on the ceiling on the left part of the tub and Nana was on the right side. It was like a Mary Poppins tea in the ceiling story but there was no tea. They kept on laughing at me. I got up, called the medics, and ended up in the hospital. My head looked like a pumpkin and my face bruised. The worst part of it for me was they kept laughing. I did know that both of them loved me and I loved each of them very much, but really, their laughing was troublesome. So ends my ghosts in the ceiling story!

Rowing is the oldest intercollegiate sport in the U.S. that began with a race between Yale and Harvard Universities in 1852. Years later, in 1903, Washington’s crew program started and reached World Championship ranks by 1936. At the end of WWII, the GI bill drew record enrollment to colleges, so did the enthusiasm and tryouts for crew. Al Ulbrickson, UW Coach with an Olympic gold medal under his belt, was raring to get back at the National Championship stage after a lull in competition during the war. Washington State leaders, alongside the UW Sports Program, rallied for a national Regatta on the new Lake Washington course on the south side of the I-90 Bridge. $50,000 was the price tag. Thanks to the Lake Washington Regatta committee, the reps of the Seattle men and women who put up the money, the event came to fruition on June 28, 1947. The sprint course, 2000m (1.2 miles), started just north of Lakewood Marina heading toward Andrews Bay, finishing at the swim beach in Seward Park. The top 12 teams, Yale and Harvard, Cornell, California, Penn, Syracuse, Princeton, M.I.T., Washington, Wisconsin, Columbia, and U.C.L.A, boarded the new Great Northern Railroad’s Olympian Hiawatha train, following the IRA National Championship in Poughkeepsie, New York. For many of them, it was their first time to the Pacific Northwest. Royal Brougham writes the day before the race, ”Doc, examine my silly head and see what makes me do things like this... through force of habit or the demands of an exacting public, a writer must attempt to tell in advance who will win a race of America’s greatest boats. Ten out of the dozen have a chance. So closely are these crews matched, the width of a baby’s hand may separate the winner.” (Seattle P-I, June 28, 1947). Brougham’s picks were Harvard 1st, Cornell, California, and Washington, 4th. The Seattle P-I reported over 150,000 spectators showed up that day, the largest crowd and greatest sports spectacle in Seattle’s history. The newsreel claimed 200,000 people flooded the shores of Lake Washington. The crowds were there from the start, to see a swimming competition, a log-rolling exhibition, a speedboat race, a Native American canoe race, a water-skiing exhibition, a quad rowing race, and a Seaplane show. All took place before the sprint. Two thousand boats of every kind lined the log boom, “hordes of policemen, patient, cheerful and briefed to the hilt on the special traffic arrangements.” Homes along the boulevard held open houses, lawns crowded with friends, spectators filled windows and porches and every inch of the hills, wherever a view of Andrews Bay could be found. The race was over in less than six minutes. So close was the finish that Royal Brougham’s live KOMO broadcast, from overhead in the blimp, brought the news to the jam-packed shore. Harvard first, followed by Yale and Washington 3rd. Brougham reported the following day in the P-I, “It was a lightning fast race, as the time proved, Harvard did it in 5:49, a new world’s record for the 2000m. Settling a blistering pace down the beautiful Lake Washington course, Coach Tom Bolles’ Varsity-8 carved itself another chunk of glory with its crimson blades winning the championship of America from the finest field in crew history. The perfectly coordinated, expertly trained boat from Cambridge led its ancient rival, Yale, over the finish line by nearly a length. And driving furiously into the roaring maelstrom at the finish came the Cinderella crew from Washington, the glamour boat load of freshmen which only a week ago found itself in the Husky varsity. A fine Washington showing, brought to a close a highly successful year so capably coached by Al Ulbrickson. All in all, it was a day that made American rowing history and more than that, it proved that Seattle has the water, the climate, and the brains with which to stage a regatta unmatched by any rowing event ever held.” (Brougham, Seattle P-I, July 29, 1947). Visiting coaches from all over America were unanimous in their praises for the highly successful regatta and its perfect location. The last intercollegiate regatta on the Lake Washington course was in 1969. It was University of Washington coach Dick Erickson who revamped the crew program in the 1970s, bringing back crew for female students after a 50-year hiatus. He connected the Seattle Yacht Club and Seafirst Bank in combining and sponsoring Opening Day with a regatta. For the past 38 years, Windermere has hosted the annual Windermere Cup/ Opening Day Regatta at the Montlake Cut. This year (2024) was special with invitations to Italy’s and Wisconsin’s crew teams and special guests from the Boys in the Boat acting crew. They celebrated the history-making Varsity-8 from 1936 in the hometown of Conibear Shell House.

Step back in time with us as we dive into the history of the Columbia Branch Library. In June 1909, the Seattle Public Library established a modest branch within the main room of the old Columbia City town hall on Rainier Boulevard (later Rainier Avenue South) at Hudson Street, rent-free. The accommodations were humble, with patrons needing to venture to a nearby furniture store for restroom facilities, crossing the unpaved street and railroad tracks! By 1911, philanthropist Andrew Carnegie's generous donation heralded a new chapter in library development. By 1912, a suitable site for the Columbia Branch was selected and purchased, funded by $2,500 from community contributions and $2,000 from the city. A snapshot from the summer of 1915 captures the library's construction, with the Columbia Branch officially opening its doors on Dec. 30, 1915. Be sure to peruse the newspaper clipping from the grand opening and explore images of the original reading room. A significant renovation in 1931 revitalized the Columbia branch, just prior to budget cuts prompted by the Great Depression. Fast forward to 1998, when Seattle voters endorsed a substantial upgrade through the "Libraries for All" bonds, allocating $196.4 million for improvements. This initiative led to an impressive expansion and renovation project, culminating in its completion in 2004. Take a glimpse into the library's reopening through the photo and excerpt from the RVHS 2004 Summer newsletter. Today, the library remains a vital cornerstone of the Columbia City community, offering a diverse array of events and activities. Share your cherished memories of the library in the comments below! 📖💭 Photo 1: Columbia Library under construction, 1915. RVHS Photo (1996.73.01) Photo 2: Snippet from Columbia Branch Library opening. RVHS Photo: (1993.1.506) Photo 3: Columbia Branch Library, 1927. Courtesy of MOHAI (1983.10.745) Photo 4: Reading room, Columbia Branch, 1915. Courtesy UW Special Collections (1983.10.9205) Photos 5 & 6: Photo and article taken for RVHS Summer 2004 Newsletter Documenting the grand opening of the expanded library. Photo 7: Photo of the library provided by SSF Engineers from their collaboration with Cardwell Architects on the 2004 renovation project.

The one room Lakewood Grade School located at 48th Ave S and Snoqualmie Street taught only 1st and 2nd graders from 1916 to 1927. RVHS Photo Catalog # 01.057.001, Seattle Public Schools Archives The existence of a Lakewood School came to light by a chance remark in a conversation I was having with Charles “Bud” Creevey. That conversation was the last I had with him as he passed away about a year later in February of 2000. Bud was a retired Seattle Firefighter and had worked as part time delivery truck driver for my dad, Art Anderson, who had the Grayson & Brown Hardware and Furniture Co. in Columbia City. He worked there in the early forties during the war. I was in high school during those years and also worked at the store after school and on Saturdays. One of my jobs at the store was to help Bud with the two man deliveries. I got to know him very well and whenever we ran into each other over the years we enjoyed reminiscing about our mutual delivery experiences. During that last conversation I had with Bud, when he mentioned the existence of the Lakewood School, we talked about two specific delivery experiences that we would have liked to forget. We were delivering a bedroom set that had a dresser with a large plate glass mirror. Rather than stand it on edge and tie it like we should have, as we only had a short distance to go, we laid it flat on the bed of the truck. That was a big mistake as there was a chuckhole in the road and the mirror went flying and shattered. We learned a good lesson and were in the dog house with my dad. On another occasion we were delivering a sofa sleeper out in the north end on Aurora Ave. The house was on the other side of the street from us and rather than go around the block, we parked and proceeded to carry it across the arterial street when there was a break in the traffic. We learned something else. Always tie down the spring unit on a sofa-sleeper before moving it. In the middle of Aurora Avenue it sprang open and the cushions and mattress went flying. Bud had told me he had attended the Lakewood school about 1921 as a second grader. I didn’t even know that it existed until Bud asked me if I knew about the school.  He said it was close to 48th Ave. and Snoqualmie St and was a one room school. He also said it was for just the early grades and other students that attended with him were Bill McGinnis. Burke Howard and Bob Kimball. Burke, until recently lived just around the corner from my home which is about two blocks from Snoqualmie Street where the Lakewood school was located. Burke’s wife Mary had worked in the office at Grayson & Brown. Bob Kimball was a nephew of “Beans” Kimball, as he was called, and he owned and operated a small company that produced “Kimball’s Baked Beans” in the early days. They produced the baked beans in a part of their home, as I remember it, and it was located on the west side of Renton Avenue just south of where it joined Empire Way, now Martin Luther King Jr. Way. The cross street just to the north was Waldon. I don’t remember if their baked Beans were just distributed locally or shipped to other areas but they were very popular here in the Valley and they were very tasty. I made frequent deliveries to their home and business. Getting back to the Lakewood School, I tried to find more information about the school without success. I was talking on the phone to Elenor Toews, director of the Seattle School Archives, and I mentioned the possible existence of a Lakewood school to her and she had no knowledge or records of it. After a few weeks went by she called me back and said she had a photo of a one room school and no information as to the name or the location. She suspected it was an annex for a grade school and could it be the Lakewood School that I had asked her about? Could it have been an annex for the nearby Hawthorne grade School? She sent me a copy of the photo and she also mentioned that she was putting the finishing touches on a revised book on the history of the Seattle Schools and she would like to find the name and location of that photo to include in the book. I sent a copy of the photo to Louise Creevey as she had indicated she would show it to Burke and Bob Kimball for possible identification. Her husband , Bud, had passed away. Sure enough, both Burke and Bob said that was the one room school they had attended, and gave the exact location, about two blocks north of my home. As you go west on Snoqualmie street, it crosses 48th Avenue and continues just half a block where it dead ends at a steep bank that drops down to 47th. The school was on the south side at the end of Snoqualmie Street with the entrance facing east. Not only that but they remembered the name of the school’s teacher, Miss Bow. Their classmate McGinnis added some more information. His brother, Daniel McGinnis, was the janitor for the school and they lived next to the school. He would come over every day and do the janitor work. The school was for 1st and 2nd grades only and existed from 1916 to 1927 and it was an annex to Hawthorne. Needless to say, Eleanor was delighted to be able to put a caption on the photo and include it, along with the information, in her new book which should be available soon. The Lakewood School was about on the dividing line between Hawthorne and Whitworth grade schools. Burke went on to Whitworth, Bob to Hawthorne and then both to Franklin High. Bill McGinnis was in the Franklin Class of 1929. Days Gone By - South District Journal 3/13/2003 By Buzz Anderson

Presenting: "The Real Boys in the Boat" - A Daughter Remembers Join us and Judy Rantz Willman, daughter of University of Washington crew member Joe Rantz, in presenting the genesis of the book, “The Boys in The Boat.” Judy discusses each crew member including Rainier Beach’s Johnny White and coach Al Ulbrickson, both Franklin High School grads. See footage of the 1936 Olympic Games of the UW crew team winning the Gold in Berlin! When: Saturday, May 11th, 2024 10:00 am - Annual Meeting with presentation to follow Where: Rainier Beach Community Club 6038 S Pilgrim St, Seattle, WA 98118 5 5 S Alaska St, Seattle, WA 98118 3515 3515 S Alaska St, Seattle, WA 9811

"We decided to make a quilt. It’s cool. It shows all kind of things that happened in history in this neighborhood. We learned to work together. We learned to share and work on each other’s squares and captions. Park and Mikala helped us. We made our sewing skills better. Thank you for letting us display our quilt in the library! "- Sydney, Aden, Jahlil, and Sam, presenting their Rainier Beach History Quilt to the librarian at the Rainier Beach Library. In the spring of 2005, the RVHS presented a slide show of Rainier Beach History to three classes of 2nd graders at the New School, as part of their study of the neighborhood. Out of that study, a number of community projects emerged, including the Rainier Beach History Quilt. The Quilt was designed and made by four 2nd-grade boys. They selected 16 significant moments in Rainier Beach history and drew pictures depicting each one. They transferred the pictures to cloth and sewed borders around the pictures to create colorful panels for the quilt, which was assembled by parent volunteers. The students presented the Quilt to the Rainier Beach Library, where it was displayed for 6 months. It has since been on display at History House in Fremont, at the Rainier Valley Cultural Center, and at the New School. Guide to Rainier Beach History Quilt

The Rainier Valley’s Italian community has long been a focus of interest and curiosity. In 1915 sociology graduate student Nellie Roe made Garlic Gulch a focus of her master’s thesis “The Italian Immigrant in Seattle.” Her approach was clearly that of the anthropologist studying an arcane culture. The UW Social Sciences student describes the Italian families she visited as “like children in their simplicity, ignorance, and optimism.” A product of the Progressive Era, Ms. Roe can’t help but wish these families would accept help and instruction from charitable agencies, such as the Charity Organization Society, in order to assimilate into the dominant culture. Notably, Ms. Roe did not use the term “Garlic Gulch,” although she did remark negatively on the smell of garlic and cabbage pervading the homes. Nearly a century later, another UW student, Richard Gilbert made the community the focus of his 2004 master’s thesis “Garlic Gulch: Interpreting the History of Seattle’s Rainier/Atlantic Neighborhood, 1903-2003. An urban planning student, Gilbert honed in on the negative transforming effects of highway planning on the community. Along the way, he picked up some revealing anecdotes from residents past and present, such as this possible explanation for the name Garlic Gulch from Al Bianchi. "In the 30s, there was a big gully that started a little south of Jackson Street, and went all the way to Atlantic Street. Now by big gully, I means that was about two blocks wide and I’d say, over 100 feet deep. I think that’s where we derived the name Garlic Gulch, I’m not sure….But the city decided to make a dump out of that area. And that really disturbed the people. But we were told, ‘You’re standing in the way of progress; we have to have a dump somewhere, and we’ve chosen this spot.’ But you can’t believe how that was. The smell, the rats, the seagulls….The rats were as big as cats.” Meanwhile, Eric Scigliano wrote “Italian Seattle: Good-by, Garlic Gulch,” an in-depth, illustrated account of the rise and fall of the community which was published in the Weekly in 1987. And Wenda Reed offered a series of articles in the Beacon Hill News/South District Journal in 1980 entitled “The Italians,” based largely on interviews with diehard Italian businessmen such as Art Oberto, Tony LaSalle, John Patricelli, and Nick Paolella, Jr. The City of Seattle explored the influence of this community in its 2004 North Rainier Context Statement and, more recently, in the Southeast Seattle Community History Project, a series of web-based articles and resources, including an in-depth piece on Garlic Gulch by historian Mikala Woodward. So what more is there to say? We know now that Garlic Gulch as a cohesive community is not coming back. Yet there are remnants still. And there is still a generation or two of folks who grew up in or near the community. Our own project, Remembering Garlic Gulch, is an effort to collect the memories and images of Garlic Gulch for the use of current and future researchers. And, perhaps, along the way we will uncover new insights into the role the community played in the Rainier Valley and the city.

Join retired Head Gardener Don Brooks as he gives us a virtual tour of Kubota Garden. This was recorded for our 2020 Annual Meeting.

" On the afternoon of July 26, 1970, Jimi Hendrix (1942-1970) headlines a concert at Seattle's venerable outdoor ballpark, Sicks' Stadium. The all-day festival is billed as a "Concert on the Ground," but the ground itself is muddy because of rain, a Seattle hazard even in late July. Writes The Seattle Times the next day, "The outfield grass was a soggy mat and the infield dirt a giant mud pie. Yet a fair-sized crowd braved Seattle's fickle precipitation and huddled on the field and in the puddled stands to watch Jim Hendrix perform" ("Wet Crowd Catches ..."). Hendrix died less than two months later. " - Peter Blecha (HistoryLink.org Essay 21126)

South Seattle has many schools with interesting histories. Our children attend newer, rebuilt schools, such as Muir and Whitworth, or older schools like Columbia (Orca). Once a building is rebuilt much of its history can be lost. The Rainier Valley Historical Society seeks to keep memories of our “goldenrule days” alive. A recent acquisition of the society includes a photo album from Brighton School. The volume includes pictures of championship softball teams from the 1940s and graduation classes, with names, from 1927 through 1945. These priceless photos were protected by a sturdy wooden cover, which prevented their destruction in the fire at Brighton in 1946. Historical society volunteers were able to separate the photographs, make copies of them and add them to our collection. The photograph above is of the Brighton School, built on land donated by Judge Everett Smith, opened on the southeast corner of 51st Avenue and Graham Street on January 1, 1901. It must have been an exciting day when Miss Pearl Groat opened the doors on that winter morn. Students came from all over to attend first through third grades at the new school, while the older children completed their elementary years at Columbia. By 1904-1905 school year it was necessary for the third and fourth graders to attend school in the basement of the Brighton Presbyterian Church, at the corner of Rainier and Brighton. Evidently, over the next few years the population grew, and by the time the area was annexed to the Seattle School District, in 1907, students also attended Dunlap, Van Asselt and Rainier Beach schools. Older students traveled to Broadway High School, known then as Washington High. The number of students necessitated the use of the Franklin grade school for the Rainier Valley students in 1907. This annex site at 18th and Main was used until 1912 when the current Franklin High School was built. Given this set of circumstances a child attend first and second grades at Brighton, third and fourth at the church, finish elementary school at Columbia, attend Washington for two years and finally complete highs school at Franklin. Whew! And we thought life was easier back then! Even if a child stayed at Brighton he or she would have moved around a bit. The first Brighton closed in 1905 when the new school opened at 4425 Holly Street. The post-World War I years saw pupils again fill the old school, affectionately called “Little Brighton,” with first and second-grade classes for a time. The old building was finally sold and moved in 1943, which proved to be unfortunate since the “New” building, now 40 years old, was partially destroyed by fire on Sept. 22, 1946. Nearly 300 students were in need of a classroom that fall. Portables and neighborhood schools absorbed these kids until the school could be rebuilt. At least by the 1940s transportation through Rainier Valley was relatively easy. Parents undoubtedly told their children tales of the “good old days,” trudging through muck and snow to get to school – and their stories probably were stretched only slightly. Prior to 1891 early settlers reached the area by traveling on a corduroy road, a wagon-train trail, which traversed Beacon Hill on its way to the city of Seattle. A trip across the hill would have taken one to two hours to complete. Horses would have been left at the Montana Stables on Washington Street while residents shopped for provisions and socialized with the folks in town. Much of a day would be spent by the time they returned from their excursion. Eager for progress, some of the settlers were happy to see Mr. Edmiston and others invest in a company that platted the Columbia area and sold lots for $10 down and $1 a week for 300 weeks, no interest. But a streetcar line had to be built to get the potential buyers out there.  The line started at the waterfront, up Washington St. by cable car and then out to Columbia City in 1890. The next year to Rainier Beach and then on the Renton. The inaugural run was made on Jan. 1, 1891. The line ran from Seattle to Rainier Beach along what is now Rainier Avenue. The fare was a nickel to travel from downtown to Dunlap’s addition. Turn-of-the-century students at Brighton, and other neighborhood schools, would cross pasture-land and woods on their way to school each day. Wooden fences were constructed around the school, to keep the cows out as much as to keep the children in. Mothers in the community united in a campaign to get the land cleared for a playfield at Brighton. They must have had a time of it, cleaning their children’s clothes and shoes after they had traveled to school and back across the fields, streams, cow pastures and woods. Think of that as you pick your children up in your car after they have been at school! But that is a topic for another story. Days Gone By South District Journal 12/2/1998 By Mary Ann Balch

Charlie Fletcher was the last surviving motorman from the Rainier Valley Street car line. Before he passed away in October of 1994 at the age of 93, he wrote of his experiences as a motorman during the years of the early development of the Valley. He presented his story, printed below, to his fellow members of the Pioneers of Columbia City, our predecessor organization, on the occasion of their annual April meeting. The script was then added to the Pioneer's historical archives. The photo below shows car # 106 of the Seattle, Renton and Southern, Rainier Valley Lines, taking time-out on a curve somewhere along Rainier Avenue, waiting for the photographer to capture the moment. This particular car was one of nine cars placed into service in 1910 and was built here in Seattle at the Moran Shipyards. Charlie Fletcher was one of the motormen running those cars back and forth between Renton and downtown Seattle over the route that at one time was considered the longest interurban line in the country. The Seattle City Council ordered the line to cease operations at the end of 1936. Car # 106 was the last car to operate on the line, and it clattered across the switches at the Hudson Street Car-Barns at 1:45 AM, January 1, 1937, to end 45 years of street car service to Rainier Valley and Renton. "Memories of a Rainier Valley Street Car Operator", the talk given by Charlie Fletcher, is printed here. For those of you who knew him, you will remember him for his great sense of humor and the smile that was forever on his face. "Friends, Valleyites and Columbians -- lend me your ears! I come to reminisce a bit, not to bore you. I hope I may be able to bring the past to life for us, just for a little while. First, let me tell you of a family moving here to Rainier Valley in 1915, from a very little town in Southwestern Washington. I was one of that family, and if ever there was a 'hick', I was it, but I didn't know it. My parents had both been school teachers and they taught us to read and write before reaching school age. But I had another advantage. I had memorized the textbooks that my older sisters and brother used so when I entered school, they kept me just one day in the first grade and only four days in the second grade. I'm afraid I was a real smarty-pants on reaching the third grade so easily, but that seemed to pave the way straight to my teacher's heart. Miss Collins adopted our class and stayed with us through the eighth grade. I was to finish my schooling just before my 14th birthday. Thanks to her faith in me, I was allowed to attend high school classes in Math, Latin and English, while I was in seventh grade. We moved to Seattle in 1915 and rented a house at 51st and Lucille St. My brother-in-law was a good friend of the superintendent and got me a job on the S.R.S. Lines, sweeping cars. At seventeen I became night foreman, a position I held until 1927 when I moved to operator. Now let's imagine you are all on my car at 4th and Stewart, about to head to Renton, and let me share some of my memories with you. Ready now - We must wait until the exact second to start. Schedule was all important on the S.R.S. No fudging. Our watches had to be checked daily with the dispatcher's clock. Our first stop is Pine Street, where a group of passengers get on the car. One gentleman asks me, 'Do you stop at Oscar Street?' Taken aback, I ask him, 'Do you mean Orcas Street?' 'No, Oscar Street, taking an envelope out of his pocket and showing me. It was clearly Orcas, but he was still calling me dumb when he left the car. We move on to Jackson Street. Here a lady, accompanied by a Red-Cap, placed a dozen pieces of luggage on the car, then called to me, 'What streets do you cross?' I guess I was a little dumbfounded and asked what street she wanted? She said she would know when she heard it. I told her I always call out the names so she decided to get on board. She got off, luggage and all, when she heard 'Oregon'.Further along we are at Atlantic Street. A well-dressed little Italian man asks me, 'what is you name?' When I tell him, he says his wife wants to name their baby after me because I was so careful when she rode in my car in her delicate condition. Gee Whiz! I never did find out who she was. Now we arrive at Columbia. Passing the car-barn we see 'old 300', the freight locomotive. I will share a quick remembrance of when I still worked in the shop. One evening the boss went with the crew to deliver a load of lumber to Dugdale Park. When the delivery was completed they checked in and went home. Later I gave it my usual inspection and to my surprise I found a very, very frightened and a very warm young lady locked in the control chamber where the temperature was over 100 degrees. I took her home and all was well. This is the first time I have revealed this incident and I'm not mentioning names. Continuing our trip, we come to Rainier Beach, Taylor's Mill and the city limits, where I must collect an additional fare. Then we ride along the lake shore to Bryn :Mawr. Here in 1917, one of the cars ran over a cougar. My crew had to clean up the trucks, and believe me it was a mess. Buffalo station is next. Earlington and we make a sharp turn east and head into Renton, the end of the line. At the end of the line is where a lady got on my car and went quickly to the back seat. Before I could send for a doctor, we had an extra passenger, a bouncing baby boy. As we head back to Seattle we have one more story. We had a wild, stormy Sunday in 1934. The wind was recorded at 66 mph. At the 51st Avenue stop, two lovely sisters are waiting for my car. Aghast, I ask, 'where are you girls going in this storm?' 'Oh, just to see what's happening downtown'. What they saw downtown in just a few minutes was enough and they returned with me on the way back.Now, one of the girls is here today and last week she and I celebrated our 53rd wedding anniversary" Charlie ended his talk with this message: "Now if there is going to be a life hereafter and, faith, I know there's going to be, I will ask my God to let me make my heaven In that dear land in Rainier Valley." Days Gone By South District Journal 2/10/1999 By Buzz Anderson