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There is some question as to the correct number of the streetcar shown in this photo from the archives of our Rainier Valley Historical Society. On the back of the original photo the car is referred to as #21. In some newspaper articles about the car, it was referred to as #201. Whatever the number, it is of special interest to us as it was made in the car barns in Columbia about 1896, by Louis Hipkins, blacksmith and master mechanic for the street car line. He was known as Pa Hip by his friends. The name of the line at that time was “Seattle & Renton Railway Co.” as printed on the side of the car. On the top of the car however are the names “Seattle Columbia & Renton” which indicates the route covered by the line. That could have been one of the names of the car line also as the company was continually changing ownership and renaming the company during its 46 year history. This car was originally a Port Townsend street car, purchased by the Rainier Valley Line, and rebuilt by Mr Hipkins. He used a 36ft long flat car to put the old car body on making it twice as long as it was originally. That gave the riders the unusual choice of indoor or outdoor seating. Pa Hip was a vital part of the Seattle area’s transportation system for fifty years. When Frank Osgood’s horse cars were converted to that new-fangled electricity in 1888-89, Hipkin’s hammer helped rush through the transformation within five months. Later when Osgood purchased the Rainier Valley line in 1896, he wanted the master craftsman of the forge with him. Osgood sold the line after a few years and was the only owner of the company, over the 46 years it existed, that made any money on his investment. Hipkins stayed on with the Rainier Valley line until 1937 when the busses took over and the streetcars were cut up for scrap. Most of the motormen were retrained to operate the buses. Pa Hip retired. “I guess that makes me the oldest in point of service,” Hipkins told a Post-Intelligencer reporter in 1937. “I remember the open cars. You published a picture once, of old #201. That was the first of its type -- closed. I worked hard on that car.” Hipkins pulled out an aged copy of a newspaper to show the reporter. “Say, I wonder if you ever heard about the big robbery we had -- back in the Spanish War days? Your paper had a story about it. ….Plenty of excitement, that caused.” Under a story of Dewey’s victory at Manila is the headline, “BOLD STREETCAR HOLDUP,” and the story of three daring bandits who not only robbed passengers and crew of Car #13 of $150 in cash, plus several watches, but so delayed the car that before it could reach Seattle the power had been shut off for the night and the victims were marooned until morning. Days Gone By South District Journal 5/17/2000 By Buzz Anderson

Historical Photo Leaves All To Imagination. What were those well-dressed folks doing on that day so long ago? As we enter the new millennium we marvel at the changes in our society in just the past 100 years. Oftentimes, looking at one aspect of life will shed light on how different our memories are from those of our grandparents. In the 1890 and early 1900s, leisure time was defined by a break from work, a Saturday or Sunday sabbatical rest, well deserved and enjoyed by families spending time together. The photograph I am writing about this week is from the Rainier Valley Historical Society collection of the D.W. Brown family. It has intrigued local historians since first it was discovered. There was no documentation along with the photo, so comments here can be considered educated speculation. Research of local events turned up many possible scenarios for this story. The trolley stop is new construction, evidenced by the stacks of what appears to  be left over lumber. It is in an unpopulated, wooded area. The street car tracks were lain starting in 1889, when J.K. Edmiston saw his dream of the Rainier Valley Electric Railway come into being. The tracks began at Washington Street, and by March of 1891 the line extended to Rainier Beach. No buildings are nearby, and the land is forested with evergreens and deciduous trees, which are in full leaf, indicating late spring or early summer. Perhaps it is the summer of 1891 or 1892. Men and women in Sunday best are boarding or disembarking en mass, indicating a group event, which required the scheduling of two cars traveling in the same direction. Possible events include a church picnic, lodge outing, or a journey to a large gathering such as the Alaska-Yukon  Exhibition, in 1909, or a trip on the steamboat to Mercer Island or Kennydale. Let’s do a little detective work. The shadows show the time of day to be about mid-day, which makes sense for any of our speculations. The photo shows the name of the streetcar line as The Rainier Electric Railway, the first of many names for the line from downtown to Renton. Because many people are gathered here they must be attending an organized event. As noted, the area has no buildings near the stop, indicating a less densely populated area. Maybe the party was looking at land? Lot sales were conducted in Columbia City in April of 1891, in which flatcars with benches on them were attached to the streetcars to pull prospective buyers out from Seattle. April is a little to early in the spring for this photograph, but perhaps other sales events tool place throughout the summer and in later years out south toward Rainier Beach. Would women be included in such a trip? Probably not. If they were included would they wear their best dresses? Probably not. Let’s look at some other possibilities. Known history of the time in Rainier Valley notes at least three fraternal organizations in the Columbia City area, all of which had regular social events. The Masonic Lodge was on Rainier Avenue and still stands today. The Modern Woodmen of America, also were on the strip in Columbia, as were the Knights of Pythias, who meet at their hall between Ferdinand and Edmunds on the west side of Rainier ( later called Phalen Hall) at 4863 Rainier Avenue. Local churches had summer picnics for fellowship and respite from the workweek. The Brown family belonged to the Columbia Congregational Church, one of the first houses of worship in the neighborhood. A notice published by the railway gives further clues, inviting “Seattle to Rainier Beach, on Lake Washington, a pleasant ride of 8 miles. Come out and see the country.” The notice includes information regarding the schedule, with cars leaving every 45 minutes from Railroad Avenue and Washington Street during the day, extra cars being available for special occasions with special rates for parties of 50 or more. Outside the city limits passengers could be let off only at established stations, about a quarter-mile apart. One of the reasons for this may have been the presence of cougars along the route. During those days steamships crossed Lake Washington between Rainier Beach and Kennydale, bringing passengers on their journey via the Railway to Seattle. Perhaps a social event of some magnitude drew folks from all over to this isolated little rail station. A news article may have read: “A distant romance between a lovely young lady from Brighton Beach and a handsome young businessman from Kennydale brings celebration to the entire community on the shores of Lake Washington. The groom and his family arrived aboard the steamship ‘Arrow’ early the morning of the ceremony.” “The weather cooperated perfectly as friends and relations from as far as the Denny neighborhood arrived by streetcar, buggy and on foot. The popular bathing beach and picnic area at Atlantic City in Rainier Beach provided a backdrop of shining blue water and greenery, framing the bridal party. The newlyweds boarded the streetcar to Seattle where they will spend their honeymoon, afterward settling in their newly built cottage in Columbia City.” We may not be any closer to the truth about the nature of the gathering documented in this photo, but it has been fun speculating about the possibilities. If you enjoyed this exercise inprobing the past, more opportunities await you at the Rainier Valley Historical Society. Who knows, maybe you will be the next volunteer to uncover the truth about a mysterious picture! To volunteer, donate photographs, or to enlighten us about this photo, please call or stop by our office at the Rainier Valley Cultural Center. Mary Ann Balch is a volunteer with the Rainier Valley Historical Society. Days Gone By South District Journal 5/10/2000 By Mary Ann Balch

RVHS Photo 1993.001.0012 This 1908 photo shows the office of the Rainier Valley Investment Co. at 4870 Rainier Avenue. The office was located next to the present location of the Rainier Office Supply in the center of Historic Columbia City. The man on the left, according to the writing on the back of the photo, is a Mr. Watson, probably an employee. The man in the center was my grandfather, D. W. “Will” Brown and on the right is J. A. Kelso. They were probably owners as both their names appear on the left front window of the office. We have some of the company’s stock certificates and Mr. Kelso had signed them as secretary of the firm. The president’s signature was also on the certificate and his name was H. A. Gardner. The stock certificates we have were owned by Will Brown. One of them was certificate number 700, amounting to 16 2/3 shares of common stock with each share valued at $10.00. The certificates listed the capitol stock of the R. V. Investment Company at $15,000 and was dated the 2nd of June, 1920. The date of 1908 on the photo indicates the firm was in business for at least twelve years. The company might have been a sideline for some the men as Mr. Gardner, its president, was one of Columbia City’s barbers, in business with his son-in-law, Menzo Laporte. Also, Will Brown, during those years, was the superintendent of the Seattle Renton & Southern Ry. street car line until 1916 when the line declared bankruptcy and was reorganized as the Seattle & Rainier Valley Co. The signs in the investment company’s window give us the impression that their business activities were mainly real estate sales and housing rentals. Looking closely at the messages on the signs gives us an idea of the prices at the time the photo was taken. One sign is advertising a four room furnished house for rent at $10 per month. Another offers view lots for sale, close in, 40 x 102, for $550. One stated they had money to loan on Rainier Valley Property. The Rainier Valley Investment Co. was also in the insurance business, made investments and was a notary public according to the lettering on the window just to the right of Mr. Watson. One of their investments, in 1913, was the construction of the two story brick building on the northwest corner of Rainier Avenue and Ferdinand Street, diagonally across Rainier Avenue from the historic Columbia Hotel. Their building had businesses on the street level and apartments on the second floor. The Rainier Lions Club has been the owner since about 1969 when they contracted with the state to house people attending the State’s training facility for the blind a few blocks away on Alaska Street. That contract was recently terminated. The Lions club have used the majority of the main floor as their meeting hall with the front section leased to Matthiesen’s Flowers. This building has had a variety of tenants over the years. Some of them were: Green’s Dry Goods store in 1915, the office for the Rainier Valley Times and W.D. Mosely, Jeweler , both in 1917, in 1926 the Beehive Marketerias, Inc. sold groceries there and then it became the Piggly Wiggly Grocery. The small office space on the Ferdinand Street side, at the rear of the building, was occupied by the Christian Science reading room for several years. I believe it was in the early forties that Ernst Hardware moved into the building.. They had originally opened a store on the east side of Rainier Avenue in the same building once occupied by the Rainier Valley Investment Co. After a few years in the new location, Ernst sold the business to an investor whose regular job was  driving a milk delivery truck. The new owner hired the Ernst Store’s ex-manager, Fred Mc Bride to run the business for him and they remained in business for several years. Rainier Valley Investment Co. also made an investment in property in south west Washington. I didn’t know about that until 1998 when my wife and I were in the town of Goldendale, close to the Columbia River, checking on some vacation property that my grandparents had acquired about 1914. I was curious as to the location of their property and to see if their cabin, shown in a photo we have, might still be there. In those days it was an all day drive on gravel roads to get there. We have a photo of them leaving town in their open touring car, grandpa Brown with his derby hat and goggles and grandma Brown with her wide brimmed fancy hat held in place with a scarf over her head and tied under her chin. I located the property on a map at the local Historical Society in Goldendale. They had owned about ten acres of land on the north side of Section 32. It was on the slope that rises up from the Columbia River about four miles north of Goldendale. It has a sweeping southerly view of the Columbia River and the mountains beyond. Then on the map, just below the Brown’s property in that same section of land, I noticed a large parcel of land, about 120 acres, with the name of “Mountain View Orchard Estates.” The interesting thing about that parcel was the name of the owner. It was listed as the Rainier Valley Investment Company. We tried to find the property and ended up at the town cemetery. We then realized we lacked sufficient information to locate it. Being a holiday when we were there, the assessor’s office was closed but we hope to go back and do some more research to find how to get to the property, what is on the property now and when they bought and sold it. We have no idea why they bought it. While these men of Columbia City that owned the Investment Company were doing their thing, buying and selling property and building buildings, their wives and some of the other women from Columbia apparently decided they also wanted part of the investment action. They formed a women only group they named “Columbia Co-operative Investment Company.” They incorporated and sold stock just as the men had done. We also have some of the women’s stock certificates and their capitol stock was $4800.00. The shares were $1.00 each and were issued on July 14, 1910. The certificates we have had been purchased by Edith Brown, Will’s wife, on December 10, 1920, indicating the company was around for at least 10 years. I wonder what the husbands thought about this venture by their wives? It was very unusual in those early years for women to be involved in anything except housekeeping. It confirms what many of the old timers have claimed over the years, that those early settlers that bought the first lots in Columbia in 1891 were a hardy bunch. They formed a close knit group while setting up the town’s government and developed a community that thrived for years and even after being annexed by the City of Seattle they stuck together. This was evidenced by their “Pioneers of Columbia City” association, (now the Rainier Valley Historical Society), that has held an annual spring meeting every year since Columbia City was formed 1891. Their membership grew to over 500 at one time. The only reference to this women’s cooperative group that we can find was an article written in the local newspaper’s “Rainier Valley Citizen Annual” and published in 1915. Following is that article. “COLUMBIA HAS ONLY WOMEN’S REALTY CORPORATION” “Though not generally known, there exists in Rainier Valley a women’s organization of a very unique character. There is not known to be another one of the kind in existence in this city or elsewhere: and, indeed, the Federal Department that has charge of tabulating the businesses and corporations of the country, has made public that it has no record of any other. This organization is one of Rainier Valley housekeepers, incorporated for business and investment purposes only, and is well known as the Columbia Co-operative Investment Company. The company was organized in March, 1907, and incorporated four years later with twenty-four Columbia women as members. It has made a business of loans and dealings in Rainier Valley property. Its holdings are confined to Rainier Valley. It now has $3000 invested in property and loans, but the value of its holdings is understood to much exceed this amount, as the women have shown excellent judgment in buying and selling and conducting the business along profitable lines. The members now holding office are: President, Annie Hyde;  Secretary, Minnie Hastings;  Treasurer, Clara Brown;  Board of Trustees, Agnes Pearson, chairman;  Eva Harris, Vinnie Sims, Edith Brown, and Alma Lawrence.” It sounds like these ladies were way ahead of their time. Days Gone By South District Journal 3/22/2000 By Buzz Anderson

The “Big Rock” at 48th Ave. S and S. Ferdinand St. was once the meeting place of Valley Residents. This Photo of the Big Rock, with an accompanying article about The Pioneers of Columbia City was published in Paul Alexander’s Rainier District Times in 1966. The above photo and the article are from the archives of the Rainier Valley Historical Society’s Columbia Pioneers Collection. The article was written to call attention to the Pioneer’s forth-coming 75th annual meeting. The content of the article was not so much about the Big Rock as it was about the recollections of the Pioneers when they gathered for their annual meeting. There were several of the old timers still living at that time who could remember those early days and would tell and retell the stories that, along with the 700 plus photos they had collected, became the foundation for our extensive collection of Rainier Valley history. The article was written by Ruth Hall who came out from the east to live with her aunt and uncle, the Hipkins, when she was nine years old. The Hipkins had settled in Columbia when Mr. Hipkins, or “Pa Hip” as he was called, was hired as the blacksmith and master mechanic for the streetcar line when it started. Ruth was raised in that pioneer environment and was fascinated with the area’s history. She became very active in the Columbia Pioneers and served as their historian and secretary for many years right up to the time of her death. I knew Ruth very well and I can say without a doubt she, along with Carey Summers, were responsible for collecting and preserving the historic collection we inherited from the Columbia Pioneers. Ruth was obsessed with the preservation of our photos. She arranged for and insisted that the photos be kept in their metal trunk in the vault of the Seattle First National Bank in Columbia City and few people got a chance to see them, even at our annual meetings. If someone wanted to see one of the photos she had to know why, who they were and she would be right beside them watching their every move. Carey Summers of course was the one who cataloged everything over the years, made negatives and slides and entered the printed material and photo descriptions into his early day computer. Following is the Rainier District Times article written by Ruth prior to the annual meeting scheduled for Friday evening, April 1st, 1966. I have added some explanations in places, in brackets [    ], to clarify the location or the meaning. The Columbia Pioneers organization met,[had their first meetings] in homes from 1891 until 1896 when the Columbia Cong’l Church was built and they could meet there. Later around 1910 they met for a few years at Fraternity Hall which was located on Ferdinand St., back of Rainier Floor Covering. [South West corner of Rainier and Ferdinand St.]. At the 1909 meeting Mr. H. H. .A. Hastings delivered a speech over a “Gramaphone”, the new modern invention of the year. Mrs. Hastings, our only living Pioneer of 1891 when the first lots were sold, will be present with us again on April 1st. Dunlap was awarded a new school in 1899 and soon Brighton and Hillman districts began to grow. Members on the School Board usually lived in Columbia and were brought into close contact with these districts and their people thus bringing in many new memberships to the Columbia Pioneers. It resulted in the Pioneers adding the word of “Vicinity” to their name. [They became “The Pioneers of Columbia City and Vicinity].” By 1914 we were again meeting back at the Columbia Cong’l Church and continued until 1957. At this time the old school bell which was retained by the Pioneers after the destruction of the old school, was placed in a showcase at Columbia School to be kept as a permanent historical souvenir and an important memento at our future meetings. Any Pioneer can remember how this bell rang out calling us to school each day. I can recall the piano playing, accompanied by the beat of the “triangle”, as we marched out of the building at recess, noon and afternoon sessions. If you played ball on the school grounds do you remember the creek in back, and how we had to retrieve said balls from the water on the opposite bank? That property was Dr. Parks veterinary stable with that “horse odor.” 50 years ago, 1916, was the year of the big snow when many of us as children built huge snow houses and there were days of no school. The older groups met at the big rock at 48th S & Ferdinand Street and hopped on a bob sled for a ride down 48th , across the bridge [over Genesee Street] and on down to the edge of Lake Washington where, on the beach, a bon fire was aflame to keep us warm. These and many other recollections will be retold at our meeting. Won’t you come and join us?” Editor’s note: Part of the “Big Rock” can still be seen on the south side of Ferdinand street, on the bank in front of the second house east of 48th Avenue. The Rainier Valley Historical Society has continued with the tradition of having our annual meetings where such recollections are retold, only now it is by the children and grandchildren of those early pioneers. We are planning for our 109th consecutive, annual, meeting this year at 11 am on Saturday, May 20th, 2000. The location is the Rainier Valley Cultural Center, where our office and museum are located, at 3515 South Alaska Street. Won’t you come and join us? Days Gone By South District Journal 2/23/2000 By Buzz Anderson

RVHS Photo 1993.001.0006 This photo of the Toby building was taken about 1930. It was built by Simeon T. Toby in 1903, on the Southeast corner of Rainier Avenue and Edmunds Street in Columbia City. This was the original two story building and it had a full basement. Shortly after this photo was taken a third floor was added. In 1945 Mr. Toby’s son, Thomas, sold the building to a landlord noted for neglecting the buildings they owned. For 50 plus years the building deteriorated. At first businesses were thriving and the housekeeping rooms upstairs were full but over the last two decades that wasn’t the case. Between the building deteriorating and the area’s crime problems in the ‘70s things got pretty grim. In 1992, however, the building was purchased by Pioneer Human Services and completely rehabilitated with the approval of the City’s Landmarks Preservation Board. It is now a residence for people putting their lives back together and it is a real asset for the community My grandfather, Will Brown, explained to me many years ago the circumstances surrounding the purchase of land by Simeon to build a bank. The two had met on a previous occasion. Simeon was coming out to the Hillman City area from Seattle on the Seattle, Renton and Southern Ry., as the streetcar line was named at that time. He decided to stop off in Columbia City to visit with Will. Simeon mentioned to him that he was on his way south to the Hillman area to purchase some land, put up a building, and establish a bank. Will Brown was somewhat involved in real estate and was a stock holder in Columbia City’s Rainier Valley Investment Company in addition to his job as motorman on the streetcar line. When Simeon mentioned where he was headed and why, my Grandad insisted on showing him a choice corner lot available in Columbia. As my Grandfather told me, “I offered him such a good price, he decided to invest in Columbia City”. Hillman City’s loss was Columbia City’s gain. Simeon did construct the building and a few years later he opened his bank. He did not have the $10,000 needed to obtain a State Charter, however, so he formed a private bank, “S. T. Toby Bank”. A year later he obtained the needed Charter and his bank, in 1910, became the “Rainier Valley State Bank”. My grandfather had the honor of being the first depositor at the new bank. Toby left for an Around-The-World tour in 1920 leaving his son, Thomas S. Toby in charge of the bank. After his return he formed the Southern Savings & Loan next door in 1922. In 1924 Simeon Toby died and Thomas became head of the banks. It was about this time that Seattle First Bank took over Toby’s bank and relocated the bank on the corner across Edmunds Street. The above photo of the bank was taken after the bank had moved and the space was occupied by Cameron Drug Store. Simeon was active in the community and probably was remembered most for his efforts in convincing the city about the need for a road over Beacon Hill. In order to get to Georgetown and West Seattle, it was necessary at that time to go all the way to Dearborn Street and then back along Airport Way. He was successful with his project and the city put his name on a large, bronze, embossed plaque with the phrase “The Father of Columbian Way”. The city mounted the plaque on a large rock in a mini park diagonally across the intersection from his building in Columbia. Seafirst Bank constructed a new building in 1950 on the corner where the plaque was located. When excavation began the rock and the plaque had to be removed. What happened to it was a mystery for many years. Finally, in the early ‘90s, it showed up when a city employee brought it out to Lou Soreano at Soreano’s Plumbing Co. here in Columbia. Then the debate started as to what to do with it. Pioneer Human Services was planning a complete renovation of the old Toby building about that time so we approached them with the suggestion that the exterior brick face of the building would be the appropriate place to mount the plaque. They agreed and as the building neared completion they installed it on the side of the building just above where the dog is sitting in the photo. The recessed corner entry door shown in the old photo had been moved forward to be flush with the sidewalk. When Pioneer Human Services was planning the remodel they decided the door should be restored to the recessed corner location in keeping with the original design. The Toby Building, over the past 97 years, has been home to all kinds of businesses. In addition to the corner site there were two other store fronts on the Rainier Avenue side of the building and a large space at the back of the building that fronted Edmunds Street. I would like to mention just a few of the businesses that occupied the building over the years: In 1904 -- Grayson Brothers Hardware and Furniture,  1905 to 1911 - Columbia Station Post Office,  1915 - Andrea Jenson Pool Room,  1915 - Adolph W. Delzer Barber Shop  1916 - A. B. Watson Merchant Taylor,  1916 - Modern Woodmen of America Hall,  1916 - W.B. Wells 5, 10, 15, 25 Cent Store,  1916 - Pure Food Mkt, Fuss and Lane proprietors,  1928 - Harry Marsh Real Estate,  1929 - Columbia Malt Shop,  1930’s - Cameron’s Drug Store,  1936 - Rainier Realty,  1945 - Clay Yost Insurance,  and 1950 - Althea Drennan’s Beauty Shop. The entrance to the upstairs housekeeping rooms was on the left side of the building on Edmunds Street. The door next to it went downstairs. Down a long flight of wooden stairs ending in the basement’s 1920’s Pool Hall. It was listed in the directory of the Pioneers of Columbia City History Book as: “Pool Hall, Restrooms in Basement’. Actually the restrooms were outside the pool room. They were underground with the Edmunds Street sidewalk also serving as a ceiling. That ceiling over the bathrooms consisting of segments made up of four inch square glass blocks. There was an area in one corner of the basement about ten by fifteen feet that no one could get into however because it was a solid block of concrete from floor to ceiling. Simeon was apparently concerned about security as it was located directly under his bank vault. The basement and part of the main floor space was later taken over by Rainier Valley Transfer and Storage Co. owned by the Verhagen family. They rented part of the main floor where they sold furniture and they rented out storage space in the basement area. In about 1941 they moved to a new location at 5016 Rainier Avenue just South of Hudson Street. Within a few years it became the Rainier Furniture Co. owned by Dick and Merle Hammons. Grayson and Brown Hardware and Furniture, adjacent to the Toby building, was owned and operated in the mid 40s by my dad Arthur Anderson and his partner Henry Peterson. They were doing quite well and needed more space so they leased the entire basement area of the Toby building for a warehouse. The main floor on the back section of the Toby building became their sales floor for kitchen appliances and dinette sets. They had removed part of the common wall between the Toby and the Grayson & Brown buildings giving them an additional 6500 sq. ft of floor space. It was in 1972 that Columbia City was designated as an historic district and extensive remodeling of the streets and sidewalks were underway. They were just started to dig up the sidewalks in front of the Toby building when I asked the engineer on the job what they were going to do with the two rest rooms under the sidewalk that serviced the old basement pool hall. He had no knowledge of them and they were not shown on the plans. He said they would probably be filled in but he wanted to take a look at them. The doors to the basement restrooms had been blocked by floor to ceiling wood shelving installed in 1945, almost thirty years prior to the street remodeling project. Over the weekend I dismantled the shelving and opened the door without a clue as to what I would find inside. The first thing I noticed were the high quality white porcelain fixtures with chrome faucets, valves and pipes. I saved all of the removable parts, adding them to my antique collection. I can’t throw away stuff like that. There was an old Philco, wood console radio sitting on the floor, probably left over from when the Verhagens rented out the space for storage. Unfortunetly the wood was completely delaminated from the dampness but I saved the decorative metal trim and added that to my collection also. One thing that I almost overlooked in the dim light was a sheet of printed paper laying on top of the radio. It turned out to be a single page from a 1910 Sears Roebuck catalog. I took that, plus the other things I had salvaged, and proceeded upstairs where the light was better to examine them. Upstairs I had a collection of antiques displayed on a ledge above our wall displays. I probably had about 100 lineal feet of shelf space with a variety of antiques I had collected over the past 60 years. They included a carpet stretcher dated 1899, a hand crank 16 mm movie projector, several photographs of our family business blown up to poster size and the largest and one of my favorite items, an old wooden tub washing machine. It had a heavy cast iron fly wheel that the operator would push or pull to start it turning. Then, by pumping the handle, the shaft would continue to turn and the attached gears would cause a wooden agitator to rotate back and forth inside the tub, cleaning the clothes. I had received that washing machine as a trade-in on a furniture sale. You can still see the faded turquoise label on the front that says “High Speed Wizard.” I glanced down at the single page from the 1910 Sears catalog I had in my hand. The main item featured on that page, priced at $7.15, was an illustration of that same “High Speed Wizard” washing machine that was on the ledge above me. I couldn’t believe it. That single catalog page had been laying on top of the radio, locked up in that damp restroom, for at almost 30 years. The washing machine I had, however, would have cost a little more than the one illustrated as mine has the hand operated clothes wringer attachment on top of the tub. The washing machine presently holds a place of honor in my living room at home and supports my wife’s Ficus benjamina house plant. Days Gone By South District Journal 1/19/2000 By Buzz Anderson Membership in the Rainier Valley Historical Society is open to everyone interested in learning about the fascinating history of our Rainier Valley. Members receive our quarterly eight-page newsletter.

Columbia City has had its share of manufacturing companies over the years. One of the more noteworthy was the Heater Glove Company, located at 4812 Rainier Avenue. They were on the East side of Rainier, occupying the ground floor of the historic Masonic Temple building. They were directly across the alley from where Washington Federal Savings bank is today. The panoramic photograph shows the 32 member work force standing in front of the glove manufacturing business. The ladies are all wearing skirts, one with a bow on her blouse and another with a bow on her shoe. Their attire is typical of the 1920’s when the photo was taken. Most of the men are attired in their leather aprons apparently taking a break from work to have their group photo taken. Freeman Heater, standing at the far right, started the company in 1918. Their first location was one block south in a small building with room for only one sewing machine and a front door that opened onto the alley. They were directly behind Mayfield’s Restaurant and Hotel at 4914 Rainier Avenue. Since 1929 it has been known as the Columbia Café and Elbow Room. The shop was against the back wall of the old Columbia Theater which was built parallel to Rainier Avenue, behind the other store buildings. The reason was to conform to a city ordinance at the time that stipulated theaters had to be a certain distance from schools. I had an opportunity a few years ago to interview Bob Heater, Freeman’s son, when he was visiting Seattle. One thing he mentioned was about the family name “Heater”. It is a Dutch name and a family member in the past shortened it from the original“Van Heater-Jahn”. The Historical Society had quite a few photos and had some knowledge about the history of the Heater Glove Company but Bob brought us a lot more information and photos we didn’t have. They were mainly a manufacturer of leather gloves but they did get into making clothing. Bob remembers that the family all had leather jackets and hats made for them. In the thirties there was a Northwest Products trade show every year in downtown Seattle  by the Pike Place Market. Freeman Heater would have a large window display showing all the products they manufactured. Photos of those display windows were included in the collection Bob gave to us. Among the products they made were leather aviator helmets for the pilots during the open cockpit era of flying. The most noteworthy product the company produced was the helmet worn by Charles Lindburgh on his transatlantic flight. It was made of a very soft light brown leather. It is now on display in the Smithsonian That wasn’t the only notable product they made however. It seems that Freeman was a boxing fan and if you look close in the photo you can see the corner of a poster promoting a boxing event on the left side of the window behind the ladies. Bob said his dad was a friend of the famous boxer, Jack Dempsey, and the company made his boxing gloves for him. They also made them for Jack Sharkey and other local boxing champs. One of the photos that Bob gave us showed him as a boy of about four years of age, he was called Bobbie then, standing in front of the new Columbia School under construction. It dates the time of the photo at 1923. It was a month later when I was shooting a negative of the photo for our files and noticed, in the right hand corner of the photo, the bell tower of the old Columbia School. I had always assumed the old school had been taken down and the new one built in its place but that wasn’t the case. Now I realize the new Columbia was built behind and to the west of the original Columbia school. The main entry for the new school is on the South side facing Ferdinand Street. The old building’s main entrance was facing east toward Rainier Avenue. And it was situated on what is now the playground and the garden area of the new Columbia, an alternative school referred to as Orca at Columbia. I was in the 7th and 8th grade at Columbia School in the late 1930’s and I had a regular routine on my way home from school. After performing my duty as captain of the School Patrol to see to it that all the students got safely across Rainier Avenue at Ferdinand Street, I would head for the back door in the alley next to Heater Glove Co. I would check out their garbage cans looking for scraps of leather big enough to make the pocket for slingshots. The rubber strips for them would come from old tire inner-tubes scrounged from Charlie Miles Mobil gas station half a block north. The wood handles in the shape of a “Y” we would cut from branches in the neat wooded hillside at 44th and Angeline Street where we had our “Cops and Robbers” battles. Amazingly the woods are still there. I reminisce every time I go by on my way to the post office. After the business closed Freeman managed the bar at a dance hall on the lake shore in Bryn Mawr between Renton and Rainier Beach. It was in fact aboard a boat that was beached at the site of the old Vallley Lumber Co. mill. Bob said he and his sister used to perform for the customers at the establishment. He didn’t say whether they were singing or dancing. The boat was actually one of the many passenger ferries that crisscrossed the lake in the early days. They drove pilings to stabilize it but it still kept sinking into the mud so eventually they decided to move it to a firmer location. First they cut it in half. I don’t know whether it was the bow or the stern, but they moved the “half-a-boat” up and across Rainier Avenue and they were back in business. This was during the prohibition era and rumor has it that it was a wild and popular night spot. It was later badly damaged in a fire and subsequently torn down. I can remember the old boat sitting on the hillside but I didn’t know the story behind it and of course I knew nothing about the wild times aboard. Bob Heater went on to work for the Government after World War II. He was in Europe working with the Marshall Plan to help rebuild Europe from the ravages of the war. He now is retired and resides in California. Buzz Anderson I want to thank Bob Heater and Jack Collier for furnishing information for this article. Membership in the Rainier Valley Historical Society is open to everyone interested in learning about the fascinating history of the Rainier Valley. Our dues renewal period starts the first of the year. Members receive our quarterly eight-page newsletter. Days Gone By South District Journal 12/29/1999 By Buzz Anderson

What put the car in the ditch? This photo depicts the Genesee Streetcar on a day when it was not going anywhere, at least not for a while. It was during the ‘20s and ‘30s when the “Dinky”, as it was called by the locals, traveled east on Genesee Street from Rainier Avenue, going under the old 48th Avenue overpass and on to 50th Avenue where it turned South. It then climbed up the gentle slope, passed the Lakewood Playfield, and continued one block further to the end of the line at Hudson Street having dropped off passengers along the way. With no turnaround, the motorman had to reverse the car’s direction. He would have to switch the overhead trolley to the other end of the car and then push the seat backs to the opposite side so the riders were facing the front. He also had to disconnect the fare box and take that, along with his control lever and lunch box, to the other end of the car. He would then wait for the exact time to start the return trip to Rainier Avenue as he had to be precisely on schedule. He picked up riders on the return trip, usually issuing transfers as most of them were headed for downtown on the Rainier Avenue street cars. Although most people referred to it as the Dinky, some of the old timers said the appropriate name in their day was the “Galloping Gertie”. The Dinky, or the Galloping Gertie if you wish, probably made its last run in 1936 when the Seattle and Rainier Valley Company ceased operation on Rainier Avenue. When car # 106 came into the Hudson Street barns on the final run at 1:45 AM on January 1, 1937 it ended 45 years of transportation service to Rainier Valley by private operators. Don Bearwood, my high school classmate, had told me about the photo he had of the derailment of the Dinky. We weren’t sure where the derailment had occurred but assumed it was just after the turn at 50th and Genesee. We had come to that conclusion because teenagers, who shall remain nameless, were known, on occasion, to have put grease on the tracks just before the corner at the bottom of the hill. This prevented the street car from having enough traction to slow down to make the turn. It also prevented them from getting up the hill. In the ‘20s and ‘30s the Bearwood’s beautiful old family home was on the west side of 50th just south of Hudson Street. The home was only one-half block beyond the end of the streetcar line which was on the east side of the street. The family album Don brought in had several photos of the surrounding area but this one image of the Dinky proved to be the most interesting. Shortly after Don told me about the photos of the Dinky he moved to the town of Goldbar which is on hiway 2 going towards Stevens Pass. We kept in touch and I kept thinking about those photos until we finally got together last spring and I was able to see them and make negatives and copies for our archives. He is one of those methodical individuals that saves everything that will some day be historically significant and never throws anything away. The thing that is different about him is he has everything cataloged on his computer so he knows what he has and where it is located in his storage boxes. It was just after we received the Dinky photo that I was talking with Vera Almquist Carr at our Historical Society’s annual meeting. The Almquist family were pioneers in the Lakewood area and they had donated land to the city of Seattle for the Lakewood Playfield. Their home was very close to the end of the streetcar line on 50th and Hudson and when I mentioned the photograph of the Dinky laying on its side in the ditch, she said, “I remember that and I know why it went off the tracks.” It seems the motorman had parked the streetcar at the end of the line and came to their house and asked to use their bathroom. Apparently he hadn’t set the brakes and when he returned to begin his return run, his car was at the bottom of the hill. It had jumped the tracks at the curve and tipped over into the ditch. Nobody was on the car so there were no injuries. Finally the mystery was solved. But there is more to the story. While I was working on the article I received a call from one of our members, Captain Elmer Yates, who grew up in the Genesee area and is currently living in Tampa, Florida. He was in the Franklin class of 1934 and after spending his life at sea he wrote a book about his experiences and is now writing some short stories for the local paper in Tampa. He has just written an article about the “Dinky” as he remembered it and the editor asked him if he could get a photograph to go with the article. He phoned me and I sent him a copy. He then sent me his article so we now have some of his recollections to add to the story and our archives. He referred to the Dinky as the “Toonerville Trolly”, a name derived from the comic strip of the same name. He described how the steel wheels would squeal every time it came to a stop and how the steel tracks were anything but smooth. No doubt some of the regular riders knew how many lengths of rail there were between their station and the end of the line. They would be able to count the clickity clacks as the trolley passed over rail connections. Elmer and his brother were regular riders on the line but they had a rather unorthodox seat. Their paper route ended at 50th and Genesee so rather than walk home they would wait until the streetcar slowed to make the curve and then jump on the rear cowcatcher. Quite often the motorman would stop the trolley and run back and try to grab them, always without success. As they became regular riders some of the passengers near the back would warn them if they saw the motorman make a move to go after them. Whatever name we use to describe this trolley, the Dinky, the Galloping Gertie or the Toonerville Trolley, the memories will not be forgotten by those of us who put their pennies and nickels in the token box or jumped on the cow catcher or tried to find some grease in dad’s garage. With light rail scheduled to come into the area we will once again be riding on steel rails, but unfortunately it won’t be the same. Our grandchildren will only be able to read about the “Dinky” in our archives. Days Gone By South District Journal 11/24/1999 By Buzz Anderson

This was the sweetest place in Columbia City in the 1920’s and ‘30s. It was a regular stop for all the school kids on their way to and from Columbia Grade School. Standing in the entrance is Nick and Mrs. Vamkros, owners of the Columbia Confectionery. One of the main attractions of his store at 4867 Rainier Avenue occurred every Saturday morning. It was the day Nick made his famous peanut brittle and all the kids, and some adults with a sweet tooth, came by to watch and savor the aroma emitting from his shop. He made other kinds of candy including chocolates which you can see on the trays displayed on the two lower shelves in the front window. Notice the popcorn machine moved out onto the wood planked sidewalk to attract customers. The sign at the lower right offers “Ice Cream To Take Home” and the upper windows advertise Henry the Fourth and Chancellor Cigars. The small vending machine to Nick’s left, attached to the door casing reads “Pulver Chewing Gum” and to entice passers-by, is the slogan “One Cent Delivers a Tasty Chew”. Below, to Nick’s left, is their “paper vending” chair with the twisted and curved wire back that holds copies of that morning’s Seattle Post Intelligencer. The white vending machine at the far right, attached to the building, pronounces in vertical letters, “Wrigley's Spearmint”. My fondest memory of Nick’s Confectionery was in the ‘30s when he had “grab bags” for sale. I can remember stopping at Nick’s every day on my way home from school and purchasing, for a nickel, one of his grab bags. If I didn’t have a nickel, I would scrounge up some milk bottles and trade them in for the treat. Not knowing what was going to be in those white paper bags was the fun part, but it always contained some of his homemade candy and sometimes a really neat toy. Nick was a great salmon fisherman. He would be out on the Sound every chance he had. That was in the days of the Seattle Times Salmon Derby and Elliot Bay would be jammed with boats, mostly rentals from the several marinas along the shores. One of his favorite fishing spots however was on Camano Island, a little over 70 miles north of Seattle. He would leave his home on the corner of 45th and Dawson, across the street from Whitworth School, and drive up to Camano and like most people in those days, rent a cabin and a 16 foot Reinell outboard boat and motor. In those days you always caught salmon. It was just a question of how big and how many. He usually rented a cabin at Camp Lagoon resort on the Northwest side of the island. That was only about two blocks from a group of about twelve summer cabins built by residents of Rainier Valley’s Columbia City area. In a previous article I mentioned that group of cabin owners and the unofficial, but functional, post office address they had, Columbia City #2. I knew Nick quite well and ironically my wife and I purchased one of the remodeled Camp Lagoon cabins in1978. My grandparents, Will and Edith Brown, had sold their Columbia City #2 cabin about 1955 that they had built in 1927. My fond memories of spending my summers there enticed my wife and I to again have a cabin on that stretch of beach. I wonder how many times Nick had stayed in that same cabin which we enjoy today. Unfortunately there are no salmon left to catch, but the crabs and clams are plentiful. Confectionery stores were popular in the early days. Pierre Weiss had one next door at 4871 Rainier Avenue in 1911 that included sporting goods along with the usual fare. Ulysses S. Tibbetts and his wife Mary had a confectionery at the same location as Nick’s, also in 1911, according to the King County Directory. Others at that same location were Fraker’s Confectionery and M. Paul’s Confectionery, date unknown. Later at that same location there were several drug stores including Otto Richardson’s Drug Store that later moved to Hillman, Rainier Drug Store and Elmo’s Drug Store. The one thing I remember was they had a soda fountain and I was a regular customer always ordering either a green river or a vanilla malt. Today the Wellington Tearoom is at that location. Owner Gwyn Baker has also just opened a second location in West Seattle. Seattle Magazine focused on the Wellington in an article on Columbia City, and Gwyn was featured in a national coffee and tea magazine and both the Seattle Weekly and the Seattle Times had articles about the Wellington. They are now offering weekend brunches. The Wellington is yet another example of the positive things that are happening in Rainier Valley and particularly Columbia City. Days Gone By South District Journal 11/3/1999 By Buzz Anderson

The location of the grading in progress was on Orcas Street in Hillman City, almost a block west of Rainier Avenue in front of St. Edwards Catholic Church. The photo of the grading project was donated to the Pioneers of Columbia City by Mona and Hugo Sobottka, possibly in 1955, as it was that year the two of them shared the presidency of the Pioneers of Columbia City, the predecessor of the Rainier Valley Historical Society. Hugo Sobottka’s parents built their family home in 1907 on the southeast corner of Orcas Street and 42nd Avenue. This grading project would come up to the front of their house and around the corner, leaving their house and lot about four feet higher than the street that was about to be put in. In the photo the neighbors are looking over the grading equipment after working hours. One of the neighbors is at the controls, pretending to be the operator. The boys in the photo, one standing on the bucket while the other is leaning against it, are the Sobottka’s two sons, Hugo and Herb. Hugo, on the left, was born in 1900 and looks about ten in this photo which helps to date the photo at about 1910. The photo was probably shot from the north side of Orcas Street a little over half way up the block as the old St. Edwards Church can be seen in the photo to the right. The cables coming down from the overhead boom and attached to the bucket indicates it was a drag-line excavating project. The bucket was dropped from the end of the boom and scooped up the dirt as it was drawn toward the machine. Like most machinery in those days it was powered by steam. At the lower left in the photo you can see the steel railroad type wheel on a steel rail supported underneath by wood ties. This temporary rail line supported the machine and was extended forward as the work progressed. This machine was used on many street-grading projects in the valley and the streetcar tracks were used to transport it from one job to the other. A spur would be put in the main line at the site of a new project and the tracks were laid as the grading progressed up the hill. On the lower right of the photo notice the 3 to 4 foot high bank that has resulted from the grading. If you look at many of the streets in the Valley where there is a steep slope, the grading that was done is apparent. A cement block retaining wall next to the sidewalk is very common on the hilly streets and many times there is a steep bank above the retaining wall. Another street that was graded is Hudson Street, east of Rainier Avenue, where some of the homes were 15 feet above the finished road. The accompanying photo was taken during this 1911grading project at 39th and Hudson, using the same machine as on the Orcas project. The machine is turned sideways on the track, showing the boom in operation with smoke or steam coming out of the stack. Mona Sobottka died last August at the age of 91. She was very active in community affairs, was a “lifetime flower show judge” and worked for 23 years at Grayson & Brown Hardware and Furniture in Columbia City as, among other things, an interior decorator. In her early years she was valedictorian for the first graduation class at Garfield High School. She turned down a scholarship in business administration at the University of Washington as she wanted to pursue her dream of being an artist. She took a job at Frederick and Nelson where she met her future husband, fellow employee Hugo. They were married and moved into the Sobottka family home on Orcas Street where they raised two sons, Hugh and Tom. Hugo worked for R.H. Brown Co. for most of his career. He died in 1972. Mona and Hugo were approached by the church about buying their property and they agreed to sell. It is now the site of the new St. Edwards Church. More grading was done on the lot when the house was removed as the entry to the Church is now level with the street and sidewalk.

Bill Phalen was an organizer. He was also a professional baseball player, a politician (Columbia City's mayor), and he started Columbia City's first volunteer fire company, organized a baseball team and he owned and operated one of Rainier Valley's largest stores. Bill came to Seattle in 1903 from the mid-west and settled in Columbia City, purchasing the two-story Knights of Pythias building that had been constructed in 1892. He had experience in the grocery business in the east and established himself in the same business in Columbia City with the Reliance General Store, located in the building he purchased. He changed the company's name to Phalen's Grocery as on the truck sign, however the sign on the building above the truck states, W. W. Phalen, your Grocer. He probably didn't have space for all those letters on the truck sign. The upper floor was a meeting hall used by a variety of organizations for meetings, social gatherings and dances and came to be known as Phalen's Hall. He organized and was chairman of the first Rainier Valley Fiesta in 1915. The truck in the accompanying photo was Bill's entry in the parade. He was promoting his grocery business by having his employees as passengers with a sign stating "The Bunch That Deliver the Goods." The truck had solid rubber tires and a chain drive as transmissions were yet to be developed. A canopy, and what appears to be side curtains, covered the truck bed. Ten of Bill's employees were riding with him in the truck. Bill Phalen, with the mustache, is seated to the right, behind the driver. Behind him are three ladies with their large fancy hats that were stylish at the time. Two of the ladies were the Curtis sisters. For this photo the truck was headed north on Rainier Avenue standing in front of their store. The first floor of the building exists today and houses the Tropicana Restaurant. A fire in 1941 that started in a closet of the Columbia Bakery on the first floor, destroyed the second floor of the building. The dance floor was only scorched so rather than rebuild they just added a roof. We have one of the 20 page Official Programs from the 1915 Fiesta in our archives. Hidden between all of the advertising that covered every page is a listing of the Fiesta's events. To give you a feel for what the Rainier Valley Fiesta of 1915 was all about, a description of some of the events is listed here. The celebration started at two p.m. on a Sunday afternoon in July with one of the Rainier Valley streetcars, carrying a Calithumpian Band, traveling between downtown Seattle and Renton. They were promoting the Fiesta that was about to start in Columbia City and would continue until late into the evening. Children's activities were from 2 to 4 p.m. featuring a Punch and Judy Show, pony riding, merry-go-round and sports competition with prizes. Cavanaugh's Band played from 3 to 6 p.m. Following the printed announcements of these events listed in the program, a statement relevant to the performers was usually included. For this musical group the message was: "Let joyfull, weird and soothing music sounds cause all forgetfulness of care." During the dinner hour intermission the booths were open and people were encouraged to visit them as "Mr. Gardner has arranged many attractive ones." The Calithumpian Parade consisting of bands, floats, horses and people started at 7:30 p.m. at Edmunds Street, proceeded to Kenney Street and returned to Columbia City. ("Calithumpian" is not in the dictionary. Does anybody have a clue as to what it means?) After the parade, there was music by the Lakewood Choral Club. At 8:45 p.m. there were selections by the Eagle Band, followed by the Tillikum Drum Corps. Then a Drill by the Eagle & Redman Drill teams. The reception of Seattle's mayor, H. C. Gill was next. The program comment was "The Mayor is with us. Give him a goodly reception." At 10:00 p.m. a fireworks display was presented by Columbia City's own "Hitt Brothers Fireworks Co." The comment for this announcement was "Hitt Fireworks Co., are known all over the United States. We are fortunate in having this great and original attraction. ( H. Bruskevith, provided for the excellent night display.)" This was followed by a showing of Lantern Slides by Rev. R. D. Nichols. The program stated "Be sure and see the lantern slides. They will interest and edify your understanding." The last event on the program, at 10:45 p.m., was the Street Dancing. "Dance, and the winds of the night dance with you." And the final comment in the program was "From this time on, let all the citizens within the limits of this place, amalgamate as one." The Columbia City Fiestas continued for two additional years and the streets were crowded with people from all over Seattle. Unfortunately, Bill Phalen died of a heart attack in 1917 while in New York attending the baseball World Series. That year, 1917, was also the final year of the Rainier Valley Fiestas. Days Gone By South District Journal 10/13/1999 By Buzz Anderson The Rainier Valley Historical Society's office and museum are located at 3515 S. Alaska Street just West of Rainier Avenue, in the Rainier Valley Cultural Center building.  Stop by and see our displays of Rainier Valley's unique history.

The above photograph was one of four donated to the Historical Society last year that contained an image of the second Brighton School. This one shows Rainier Avenue in the foreground with Brighton school in the distance.  The school building was built in 1905 and as the building appears new in the photos, it establishes the approximate date of the photos. The original Brighton School was completed in January of 1901 and was located at 51st and Graham Street.  It was a one-room school for grades one through three and used until the new Brighton was built.  It is now the site of the Graham Hill School. The new Brighton School on Holly Street was partially destroyed by a fire in 1946 and was replaced by the present brick building. I decided to write this article about the Brighton community because the 124 unit Brighton Place apartments has just been purchased by the Southeast Seattle Senior Foundation and renamed "The Brighton". The dedication is scheduled for September 30th.  (See article in this issue of SDJ.)  I didn't know as much as I should about the Brighton Community so I did some research. Printed on the lower left corner of the photo is "#280 at Brighton".  I don't know what the significance is of the #280 but I thought the "Brighton" would indicate it was Brighton Street, right?  Wrong!  The photo was taken on Holly Street looking west, across Rainier Avenue. Brighton Street is one block south between Holly and Willow but it does not cross Rainier Avenue.  It dead-ends on the West Side of the Brighton School property and then continues on the East Side of the school toward Rainier Avenue.  It then dead-ends a little less than a block from Rainier.  Coming from the lake on the eastside of Rainier, it dead-ends at 51st Avenue S. next to the former Brighton Presbyterian Church. When the contractor and former owner, John Conners built the Brighton Place apartments in the late '60s he had Brighton Street vacated.  It is interesting to note that "The Brighton" is situated exactly where Brighten Street used to be.  I think everyone will agree that keeping the Brighton name was an appropriately decision. I looked at the 1920's Seattle plat map we have that shows all the streets and every lot.  It showed Holly Street on the north and the next street to the south was Willow Street.  Brighton Street was not even listed.  It must have been added later when the lots in the area were platted. I next checked our Polk, King County Directory of 1911-12.  The community listed under Brighton had the following description: Also called Brighton Beach.  A station on the S. R. & S. Electric Ry. and Lake Washington, within the (Seattle) city limits, 5 miles south of Pioneer Place.  (It had)  Telephone connections.  Mrs. Mary E Knapp P M. (postmaster). It listed eleven businesses and the mix of those businesses tells us some interesting things about the community.  Boyle & Kelley, real estate;  Emil Carl, fuel; Ernest Hadlock, grocer;  Thos H (Mary) McGrath, grocer & feed;  Cepha C (Fannie) Morrison, cigars and confectionery." There was an interesting thing about the remaining six businesses.  They were all in the floral business.  Frank Bell, florist; A. E. Buxton, carnation grower, Tel Beacon 826; Clarence E McCoy, florist; Aug D Risdon, florist; J A (Ida) Sahli, nurseryman and florist, Tel Beacon 966;  & H B Slauson, florist.  Truly a gardening community. Notice the sidewalk on the left side of Holly Street that goes from Rainier Avenue all the way to the school.  It has a fence on the left side and is partially elevated over what appears to be a garden area.  My guess would be flowers.  I suggest that the fence could have been installed to keep the school kids out of the flowerbeds on their way to and from the school and the streetcar line. That area was quite swampy in those early days and the school probably installed the sidewalk to keep them out of what must have been a very muddy street. The buildings in the photo of the intersection of Rainier and Holly probably house some of those businesses listed in the directory.  That will call for more research at a later date to identify them. Just beyond the porch of the building to the right, you can see the top of the streetcar line's, Brighton Beach Station.  There appears to be a man waiting for the S.R.& S. Ry. streetcar on the platform next to the tracks. The corner property across Rainier Avenue with the white storefront and the double doors is now the site of the Arches Apartment designed by local architect, Ken Koehler.  He was also the architect for The Brighton apartment building.  And John Conners who built The Brighton also built the Arches Apartment. Norm and Barbara Chamberlain own the Arches and Norm told me the white store building with the double doors is still there.  The Arches building was built around it and it became part of the apartment complex.  Interesting things come to light when you start investigating the area's history. Across Holly Street, the building on the left is now the location of the S. E. Seattle Senior Center.  "The Brighton" is located just to the left of it, bringing the dream of a Senior Campus closer to reality. Many thanks to the dedicated people from our community that worked all year to put together the financing for the purchase of The Brighton, the only senior retirement apartment complex in Southeast Seattle. Days Gone By South District Journal 9/29/1999 By Buzz Anderson

The date was April 30, 1910 when a runaway coal car hit streetcar #102 on the "Seattle, Renton & Southern Ry." streetcar line.  Two passengers were killed and twenty were injured. The accident occurred on Rainier Avenue at Willow Street. The power apparently failed and the shop-built locomotive pulling the coal car had no emergency braking system to cover such an emergency. The locomotive was used for hauling freight cars, especially coal, as it was doing when the collision occurred. There were fuel yards scattered throughout the Rainier Valley in those early days as everyone used either coal or wood to cook with and heat their homes. The locomotive picked up carloads of coal, probably at Newcastle and delivered it to the fuel yards that in turn delivered it to their customer's homes by horse and wagon. On arrival at the home the coal was shoveled into a big steel buckets about the size of a garbage can as the horses waited patiently and the local kids came by to watch. When full of coal, the workman, with a thick pad on his back, would put his back against the heavy bucket that was sitting on the bed of the wagon, grip the bucket at the top, lean forward to take the weight, and head toward the customers house. He would have to go upstairs and downstairs, sometimes for long distances, before dumping it down the coal chute into the coal bin, usually in the basement. Then back for another load. The locomotive was also used as a repair car for maintenance on the rail line between Renton and Pine Street in downtown Seattle.  Louis Hipkins, the master mechanic and blacksmith built the locomotive at the company car barns on Rainier Avenue at Hudson Street. He was known as "Pa Hip" to all his friends and fellow employees. He worked for the car line, building and repairing the cars for 50 years. When the car line changed ownership, which it did many times, the new owners insisted he remain with the company before the sale was finalized. In 1937, when the line closed down and the city busses replaced the streetcars, he retired. He and his wife moved to their cabin on Camano Island where about ten Columbia City residents also had summer homes. The post office address for their "little community" was what else but "Columbia City #2, Camano Island". Streetcar #102 was new, having been in service only about a month, when the accident happened. It was one of eight larger steel cars, with two doors, built for the Rainier Valley line by the Moran Shipyard Company here in Seattle. After the accident, it was repaired and returned to service as car #109. The original cars they replaced were built of wood. According to some of the old timers in the valley, but not able to be verified, the motorman of the doomed car #102 escaped injury by diving out of the window. Also a woman passenger wouldn't get off, as she was concerned her transfer might not get her on another streetcar. The accident attracted a sizable crowd as evidenced by the photo. Everyone seems to be dressed up including the boys in the center of the photograph, particularly the one in knickers, suit coat, tie and a pork pie hat. Their attire suggested they might be going to Sunday School. Also notice the long shadows indicating it is early morning. The date was written on the back of the original photo, April 30, 1910,  so I looked up that date on a perpetual calendar and sure enough, it was on a Sunday. Days Gone By South District Journal 9/8/99 By Buzz Anderson