This article ran in the Eatonville Dispatch in 1952. It begins with “The score books show that Eatonville High School basketball team, the second best “B” class team in the state of Washington.
The team was a testament to true sportsmanship and lead by Coach Ernest Cope.
Image courtesy of Dick Logston.
Click on image to enlarge.
This image shows the earthquake slip in LaGrande, Wash. I’m guessing this was the earthquake of April 29, 1949.
The Oregon Department of Geology states, “It was a magnitude 7.1, Olympia, eight killed and $150 million in damage in Washington, minor damage in Northwest Oregon. This was the largest and best documented quake in the Northwest and was felt over 230,000 square miles.”
There were reports of damage throughout Eatonville back then, including the High School and the liquor store and Otto Haynes said it fixed he clock in his car.
Photo courtesy of Jeannie Woehl and Tacoma Power.
Click on image to enlarge.
This comes to us from Terry Larson. She scanned these ads straight from the 1912-1913 Eatonville High School catalog.
Some familiar names here. And several of these business were brand new — had just started up in 1912:
• C. A. Nettleton, butcher (set up shop in 1912)
• E. J. Reed, Tailor
• Hotel Snow (built in 1912)
• E. A. Williams, ice cream parlor owner (launches business in 1912)
• Inter-Mountain Journal.
To give a little perspective on 1912 — it was the year Arizona was admitted as the 48th state and the Titanic sank.
Photo courtesy of Terry Larson.
Click on image to enlarge.
This wonderful shot of Frank Van Eaton and BW Lyon Sr. was taken in front of the Eatonville High School in October, 1962.
Frank Van Eaton was born in Eatonville in 1894, and played a big role in the community throughout his life. There is a whole write up about him here.
BW Lyon, was a former superintendent of the school and had a tremendous impact (more later on that.)
Photo courtesy of the Baublits family, and taken by Joe Larin.
Click on image to enlarge.
In 1979 Pennsylvania dealt with the Three Mile Island nuclear accident, Michael Jackson released his album Off the Wall and the average cost of a new home was about $17,500.00 (and the new Sony Walkman cost $200). In addition, Eatonville High School send three reps to Girls State.
This short Eatonville Dispatch article reads:
Three Eatonville High juniors have been selected as representatives to the Evergreen Girls State Conference to be held at Central Washington University. The delegates to the leadership conference are: Michele Mueller, Jan Dean and Mary Burwash.
The trips to the conference are sponsored this year by the American Legion Mount Tacoma Post 148 and the Eatonville Lions Club. The conference is June 17 to June 23.
Photo courtesy of Jan (Dean) Burgess.
Click on image to enlarge.
My understanding is that the 1918 Eatonville High School Basketball team were champions.
Thank you Terry Larson for providing the following information:
From the Eatonville Dispatch, page 1, column 1, Feb. 22, 1918:
EATONVILLE 18 ROY 17
The Eatonville High School basket ball team ends a successful season. Eatonville ended the Pierce County league schedule with a perfect percentage, when they defeated the fast Roy team 17-18. The game proved to be vary (sic) snappy and fast with only a few fouls called. The home team was handicapped greatly on account of the slippery waxed floor; also Eatonville’s star forward, Mr. Frank Petersen, was out of the game on account of a broken leg which he received at the Eatonville-St. Leo’s game. The team will have to be remodeled now, on account of Petersen’s injury; and there will be no game next Friday as the team is going on an excursion to Tacoma. The home team will journey to Enumclaw, March 1st. Eatonville ranks first as yet in the City league and they ought to have a chance at the State High School title. Herman Hekel, Mgr. of the Eatonville High School Basket Ball Team. (This is an abstract of an article from the Eatonville Dispatch posted on the Pierce County Genweb site.)
For more information, including a better photo and names of the team, click HERE.
It looks like there may have been some injuries. Frank Petersen is in a cast.
The coach’s son is holding the basketball.
Photo courtesy of the Parnell family.
Click on image to enlarge
Each day I’ve been posting one of letters of the alphabet from Eatonville’s Mashell Telephone Company’s switchboard that went out of commission in the early 1950s. Today is E, which is especially interesting because of all the businesses listed.
One especially interesting business is the Eatonville Lumber Company and the different numbers associated with it.
If you remember any of these back when, please post a few memories.
• Eatonville Beauty Salon, 471
• Eatonville Hardare, 182
• Eatonville Dispatch, 502
• Eatonville Drug Co., 123
• Eatonville Fire Dept., 365
• Eatonville Grade School, 2-3301
• Eatonville High School, 2-3302
• Eatonville High School Supt. Office, 991
• Eatonville Hotel, 472
• Eagle Lodge, 243
• Eatonville Lumber Co., Office, 781
• Engine Room, 422
• Log Dump, 424
• Market, 8r3
• Store, 8r2
• Eatonville State Bank, 5R1
• Eatonville Welding Works, 791
• A. G. Elliott, 2-4752
• George Elaton, 2-3334
• Glen Emery, 2-3540
• O. Enwall (Swan Lake Dairy), 3911
• Jack Estes, 2-3651
• Ray C. Etherington, 2-3841
Photo courtesy of Roni Johnson.
Click on image to enlarge.
This is a big year for Eatonville High School. It marks the 100th high school graduation.
The 1914 class was a particularly small one — two students — Ed Christensen and Susan Van Eaton. There is no picture of the two together because Ed and Susan refused to have photos taken together because they thought it would look like they were married. The two students graduated and went on two very different paths.
Ed Christensen
Soon after the graduation, in July 1914, World War I broke out. Not long after Ed graduated, he left to fight with the troops. He was one of the lucky ones and made it back home.
On September 12, 1919, Eatonville threw a “Welcome Home” for all the men who had returned from service. That day, Ed was one of the 33 men who “fell into line at the upper end of Mashell Avenue and T. C. Van Eaton was there to give the “Welcome Home” address. Unfortunately, Ed’s life was cut short, much too soon. Just two years later, in June of 1921, Ed died tragically from electrocution while “repairing a motor at Camp Lewis.”
Susan Van Eaton
Susan, the daughter of T. C. Van Eaton led a much different life.
Her nephew, Pat Van Eaton says, “Susan met a young electrical engineer assigned to the building of Eatonville High School fell in love with him a married him soon after graduating.”
Susan raised and family and her daughter, Rose Steiner, is still alive and living on Whidbey Island.
Classes
Today we’re used to calculators and computers in the classroom, not to mention the amazing teaching tools available on the web. In 1914 is was literally “old school” — chalkboards, books, pencils, paper and inkwells.
If you’re curious what you would have been studying at EHS back in 1914, here is a list of the classes from the school’s catalog:
Freshmen: English, Algebra, Physical Geography, Agriculture
Sophomore: English, Plane Geometry, Botany or Zoology, Latin
Junior: English, Algebra 1-2 year, Higher Arithmetic 1-2 yr., English History, Physics Senior: English, American History and Civics, Chemistry, Review of Com. Branches In addition, each year a student could choose an elective.
They could pick from:
• Ancient History
• Medieval or Modern History
• English History
• Agriculture or Horticulture
• Physiology • German • Sociology
Extra Activities
EHS had a vibrant athletic department, including not only baseball, but also both girls’ and boys’ basketball teams. And don’t forget the top notch EHS debate team, which in 1913-14 trounced Roy. Congratulations EHS!
For a century teachers and staff have worked and devoted their careers to preparing students for the life ahead. And congratulations to the class of 2014. Go out there and make history!
Sometimes it feels like Mashell Ave. has been photographed more than any other street in Pierce County. Here’s another shot of Mashell Ave. looking up toward the high school.
This photo was taken around 1917. Amazingly, it still looks much the same 97 years later.
Photo courtesy of Pat Van Eaton.
Click on image to enlarge.
This picture of Eatonville ran in a paper September 1, 1946.
Caption with Picture: Eatonville, named for T. C. Van Eaton, who platted its townsite in 1888, was in early days surrounded by dense, virgin forest. Its location on the line of the old Tacoma Eastern Railroad made it one of Washington’s most important lumber-producing and log-shipping centers. The largest part of the merchantable timber has been logged, off, however, and Eatonville it today largely dependent upon agriculture for revenue and employment, although some logging and lumbering operations still continue to the present.
You can zoom in and really see the details like the school, the mill, Mashell Ave., Washington Ave. etc.
The year 1946 is an important one to my family. My grandparents bought the dairy in Ohop Valley (not pictured) from the John and Lena Malm that year.
Photo courtesy of Diane Mettler.
Click on image to enlarge.