Ohop Bob was once a wonderful restaurant and place to stay for those heading to or from Mount Rainier. Judging by this postcard, the meals were pretty good. “Aren’t you jealous? (?) Just had a famous southern dinner there on our way home.”
Today, not much remains of the establishment that burned in the 1960s. Here a look at 1925 and today.
Photos courtesy of Diane Mettler.
Ohop Bob 2015 – at a distance
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May 2, 1953, Eatonville’s Swanson Air Field was officially dedicated. One of the things folks did to commemorate the event was send air mail, like this envelope from Eatonville to Long Island, New York.
If you would like to read about how the local loggers and budding pilots built the field, just click HERE.
Image courtesy of Diane Mettler.
Click on image to enlarge.
This is a wonderful shot of Elwin Haynes and the family dog Potlatch.
Potlatch is still remember as he was practically famous around the area as a hunting dog. Stories are still told (see Dixie’s comments below).
Potlatch may have gotten too famous. Family members say that the dog was eventually stolen.
Photo courtesy of the Haynes family.
Click on image to enlarge.
With a state full of of Seahawk fans, it’s hard to image that not long ago it was baseball that got folks excited. You didn’t just root your team on, you joined a team.
“Nothing unified a company town—or any other town in the early 1900s—like baseball. Virtually every company town and many family camps had at least one team. In some company towns prowess on the baseball diamond was a guarantee of employment.”
“As early as 1904, the McCleary, Washington, loggers and mill hands were vying against teams from neighboring towns.” (Company Town of the Pacific Northwest)
If you have names from some of our local baseball players, please share!
Image courtesy of Pat Van Eaton.
Click on image to enlarge.
The Kjelstad barn in Ohop Valley was built in 1910. Today it is part of the Nisqually Land Trust and looks just as grand as the day it was built. I hope they keep it intact for the community to enjoy.
Images courtesy of the Burwash family and Diane Mettler.
Click on images to enlarge.
Veora Rotter was postmaster at the Alder, Wash. post office from June 1, 1948 to August 4, 1958 and then again in 1966.
“A reporter on a Tacoma newspaper, when describing the town of Alder when it was about to move ahead of the advancing water, used flowery language. His paragraph from the Tacoma Sunday Ledger of October 3, 1943 on the post office is quoted:
The Alder postoffice has a pretty postmistress, Mrs. Veora Rotter, who had lived here since she was four. Her tiny office is so close to the highway the roar of trucks and passing trains muffles our conversation. Often a patron pauses at the window and says, “I want a” — , waits for a long truck to throb past, — “stamp.” The postmistress takes the cash and replies “Here you” — waits for the Milwaukee train to thunder through — “are”. Alder’s post office must be one of the few in the country with a rural mail box out front. Mrs. Rotter gets her mail in this box — all of the letters posted when the office is closed.” (Postmarked Washington: Pierce County).
The post office was located on Milwaukee Railroad on the north shore of the lake. The Alder post office was discontinued September 12, 1975 and mail now goes to Eatonville.
Photo courtesy of Carl Rotter.
Click on image to enlarge.
Mashell has changed some over the the last 40+ years, but not that much.
Photos courtesy of EatonvilleNews.net & Pat Van Eaton.
Click on images to enlarge.
Tents weren’t as glamorous back in 1970. The man on the left appears to be creating a stake for his tent at the Eatonville Rock Festival.
The event brought in between 10 to 30,000 thousand to the Flying M Ranch for a rock concert. It was hotly contested at the time.
“The Buffalo Party Convention and Pig Roast at Eatonville during the Fourth of July weekend was ruled illegal. With the arrival of thousands of rock fans and musical aggregations, the festival was held under the guise of a picnic. How can that happen? How is it possible for persons to willfully violate laws and get away with it?” (John Martin of The Daily Chronicle, July 16, 1970)
Photo courtesy of Jeff Morrison.
Click on image to enlarge.
Pretty soon farmers will be putting in their hay. This picture, taken of Steve Burwash haying on his farm (the Kjelstad farm), was taken some years back by Steve’s son Martin.
Here’s a much earlier picture of hay being brought in on the Kjelstad farm. The white-haired woman is Olava Kjelstad — Steve’s wife’s grandmother and Ohop pioneer.
Thank you Mary (Burwash) Chalberg for sharing.
Click on image to enlarge.
This postcard shows what I think was the Mountain Highway (Highway 7) back around 1917 or earlier. The cars would be come down the hill into Ohop Valley.
The deer an interesting addition.
The note on the back is unfortunately a sad one: Dear Brother and Family, Ben is much worse and is very helpless. We think he will never get up again and may go soon and may last several days. Your Sister Clara.
Images courtesy of Diane Mettler.
Click on images to enlarge.
