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In the 1960s you weren’t getting flowers at Dawn’s Floral, you were getting gas and buying cars. David Beane says, “My dad, Jim, bought Christensen Motors in 1959. It was a Dodge dealership and gas station on the corner of Mashell and Center [now Sears]. In 1964-1965 he built a brand new building for the…
This tiny church in Elbe, Wash, built in 1906, is only 18 feet x 24 feet. That’s not the amazing part — 105 years later it’s still holding services. The church’s website says the Elbe worshipers began meeting in their homes and town hall in 1893, but then built the church themselves in 1906. “A…
If I had been born about 100 years earlier, I might have had a crush on Elbe’s Mr. Levi Engel. From what I can tell, he was as extremely interesting — blacksmith, editor, justice of the peace and photographer. A real Renascence man! Levi died in 1934, at only 66. His obituary (below) reads: Levi Ernest…
Guest Blog by Abbi Wonacott, Educator, Researcher, and Author of “Where the Mashel Meets the Nisqually” and “Firm Foundation: The Formation of Eatonville, Wa.” The original natives of the Eatonville area were the Me-Schal or Upper Mountain Nisqually. While the villages closer to the Puget Sound had a greater population, the Me-Schal and other Nisqually…
This little garage stood on Mashell Ave., next to where Postnet stands today, and was owned by Charley Williams. In fact, that’s Charley Williams standing there in the doorway. The boy to his left is his son Ray Williams. The picture was taken in 1915 — the same year William Boeing took his first flight…
Constructing the Canyon Road not only took lots of man hours, but lots of dynamite too. Based on this picture, there weren’t too many safety procedures in the 1920s. There are sticks of dynamite lying around the box and at this man’s feet! This photo has some fabulous detail. If you zoom in you can…
Pictured here is Ray Williams driving his Banana Special in 1923. By the 1920s the automobile had become the most popular way to get around. And Henry Ford was putting out new and better models every year. The roads had to catch up. They were great for horses, but deteriorating with the use of automobiles.…
I was born on July 30, 1907, at home in Tacoma, Wash. My family moved to the Eatonville countryside when I was about a year old. My father, Kellar LeMaster, was a farmer and highway road supervisor and my mother, Susie, a housewife (she lived to be 92 years old). I also had three brothers.…
The guys who took Ag back in the 1915 weren’t just good at raising animals, they were also pretty good at raising barns. This barn was built and designed by the students. It stood North of today’s football field. In the second photo, these students tested the cattle for Tuberculosis. (Which is a rare disease today.)…
Eatonville High School has always had a great gym. Back in 1915 the Eatonville had a gym that was second to none. You could find: • An inside track around the balcony seats • A boxing ring • A swimming pool — 36′ by 18′ • All the latest equipment — rings, climbing ropes and…
On July 4, 1915, construction started on the new Eatonville High School and it was dedicated in 1916. This school would turn out be second to none. Articles were written about it and the town was extremely proud. Below are just a few pictures of the school that was said to be 25 years ahead…
It’s hard to imagine that getting a washing machine was a picture-worthy event, but this washing machine was Eatonville’s first. Maren Christensen sits reading a book — no more scrubbing each piece of laundry by hand. The Thor machine was quite high tech for the times. The makers of the Thor washer say: Widely hailed…
Eatonville To Rainier 