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Home My WebLink About2010 Issue 1 - Oral Histories and World War IIMarch 2010 Volume 41, Number 1 Continued on page 4 Oral Histories and World War II By Elizabeth P. Stewart Many members may not know that the Renton History Museum has a dedicated team of volunteers who have been conducting oral history interviews for years. Nancy Fairman, Marian Sutton, Sarah Jane Hisey, Marian Schultz, Lorraine McConnaghy, James Wilhoit, Charles Custer, Steve Anderson, and Carrie Bergquist have collected over 100 oral histories since the 1980s, creating a rich collection of ﬁ rst-person insights into the life of our city. Some members of the oral history team recently suggested that we occasionally feature portions of these interviews in our quarterly newsletters, so that researchers and others would know what a rich resource this collec- tion is. These oral histories cover Renton history from its earliest coal min- ing and logging days through World Wars I and II up to the Feys’ movie theaters and teenagers who cruised The Loop. Respondents talk about such signal events as the snowstorm of 1950, Harry Tra- cy’s escape through Renton, and the ﬂ ood of 1911. Although most are transcribed, we are only now entering them into our collection database with keywords for easy searching; the next step—we hope someday—would be to digitize the very fragile audio cassette tapes. One of the richest areas of discussion is the explosion of Renton’s population during World War II, and the challenges that went along with that. This subject serves as a good example of how oral histo- ries provide insights that cannot be gleaned from other sources, like letters, newspapers, and other publications. First-person interviews also provide multiple perspectives on the same issue. d Above: Members of the Renton Housing Authority, 1942 (#41.3506) MASTHEAD PHOTO: Dusalina Cavaletto remembered that the Sherman tanks built at PACCAR were supposed to be a war secret, in spite of the fact that they routinely tested the tanks on the hill above Greenwood Cemetery. (#1997.038.0967) Renton Historical Quarterly 2 Greetings, Members! February 8 was a historic day for the Renton Historical Society Board of Trustees. Most of us were there at City Hall, excited and perhaps a bit ner- vous. How would the Mayor and City Council respond to the complet- ed master plan? We loved it; would they? Gyroscope’s three consultants from Gyroscope Inc.—Maeryta Medrano, Don Pohlman, and Tim Phillips—had ﬂ own up from Oak- land that morning, had presented their plan to the Board and Master Plan Steering Committee, and were about to make their ﬁ nal presentation to the Mayor and Council. This was IT. I’m happy and thrilled to report that the presentation was enthusiastically received, concluding with celebratory congratulations all around. This was the culmination of months of hard work and everyone was pleased and inspired by the result. I want to thank Mayor Denis Law and the Renton City Council for generously providing the opportunity to bring this project to fruition. I also want to thank Terry Higashiyama, Administrator of the Community Services Department, for her participation and enthusiastic support. The City has been a valued partner over the years and this vote of conﬁ dence spurs us to ever greater accomplishments. So, as you may have guessed, this is not an ending. It is a beginning. And beginnings can create their own anxieties. In every issue of our newsletter, on the home page of our website, in every an- nual report is our mission statement: The Renton History Museum’s mission is to preserve, document, interpret, and educate about the history of greater Renton in ways that engage diverse people of all ages. Our vision statement, also visible in everything we publish, is more concise: Capture the Past, Educate the Present, Inspire the Future! Preserving, documenting, capturing, educating, inspiring is what we do. Tell- ing Renton stories, linking past Renton to present Renton to future Renton is our core value. It is central to the Master Plan, it is central to the work of the Board of Trustees, it is the passion of the museum staff. The mission of the Renton Historical Society is the same as it was in 1971 when its incorporation papers were drawn up. The community we call Renton, however, is vastly different from what it was in 1971. The challenge we face is in bringing our 1971 mission to the Renton of 2010, or 2020, or 2030. We now have a Master Plan to get us from there to here. Renton Historical Quarterly Susie Bressan, Graphic Design & Layout Louise George, Copy Editor Daisy Ward, Text Input & Copy Editor Karl Hurst, City of Renton Print and Mail Services Renton Historical Society Board of Trustees Laura Clawson, President Sandra Meyer, Vice President Elizabeth P. Stewart, Secretary Phyllis Hunt, Treasurer Robin Baches, ‘10 Betty Childers, ‘10 Larry Sleeth, ‘10 Vicki Jo Utterstrom, ‘11 Theresa Clymer, ‘11 Kristie Walker, ‘11 Kevin McQuiller, ‘11 Barbara Whitehurst, ‘12 Lay Chan, ‘12 Susie Bressan, ‘12 Michael Jacobs, ‘12 Terri Briere, City Liaison Museum Staff Elizabeth P. Stewart, Museum Director Daisy Ward, Administrative Assistant Dorota Rahn, Volunteer Coordinator Sarah Iles, Collection Manager Pearl Jacobson, Volunteer Registrar Louise George, Volunteer Secretary Renton History Museum 235 Mill Avenue South Renton, WA 98057 Phone: 425-255-2330 FAX: 425-255-1570 Board Meetings: Please call the museum for time and location. Hours: Tuesday - Saturday 10:00am - 4:00pm Admission: $3 for adults $1 for children Always free to members and to the general public on the ﬁ rst Wednesday and third Saturday of the month. By Laura Clawson, President President's Message 3 Renton Historical Quarterly This month’s President’s Report mentions that our Museum Master Plan is near- ly complete after six months of intense research, discussion, planning, and, yes, dreaming about what the Renton History Museum could become. If all goes well, the Board will vote to approve the plan at the end of March, and then we’ll launch our planning and fund- raising efforts. Our June newsletter will explore the plan in detail, but in the meantime, I thought I might whet your appetite. As part of our research, consultants from Gyroscope Inc. and I studied many other museums to learn how they’ve responded to the needs and interests of their visitors and mem- bers. We visited Wing Luke Asian Museum in Seattle, nationally known for involving Asian ethnic communities and youth in the creation of exhibits. We also saw an innovative traveling exhibit at the Frye Museum titled Old Weird America, in which artists interpreted themes in American history with fascinat- ing results. One photographer showcased the variety of Lincoln impersonators in the U.S., and another artist built a square-dancing machine right in the gallery. A companion exhibit showed history-themed artwork created by homeless people. One of our consultants, Don Pohlman, had helped start up the Science Gallery at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, and his experience bringing together science and art was instructive. The Science Gallery hosts highly interactive exhibits in which the public participates in the actual doing of science. In its three-month run, Infectious—Stay Away! attracted 45,000 visitors who, just by walking through the gallery, participated in a study about contagion and containment of disease. In its two years of operations The Science Gallery has hosted 500,000 visitors in two years in a museum not much bigger than ours. It was recently nominated for the 2010 European Museum of the Year Award. What do these successful examples have in common? They are interdisciplinary, involving history and art or science and art in ways that speak to more people. They are interactive, offering visitors the opportunity to help make the exhibit. And they are aimed at creating and preserving new knowledge, whether about the life experiences of different people, or infectious disease, or what history means to the homeless. They expand the role of the Museum out into everyday life, and that seems like a wonderful opportunity for Renton. gy Renton Museum Report By Elizabeth P. Stewart New Memberships Michael Conkle family Julia Harding Goodwin Harriet Krog Mark & Kim Mehlhaff family New Life Memberships Wesley & Velma Melville Shirley Phinney Nancy Fairman Membership Reminder Membership renewal notices were sent out in November. Please check your membership card and if not paid yet, please respond to save the expense of sending a reminder. You can also call Daisy afternoons at 425-255-2330 or email dward@rentonwa.gov to check. In December the Museum received a grant of $5000.00 from the Muckle- shoot Charitable fund. This grant will enable the Museum to bring Native American storyteller Roger Fernandes to every elementary school in the Renton school district, in conjunc- tion with our Coast Salish curriculum. Watch for a longer report in our June newsletter. ID b thM id Renton Historical Quarterly 4 Many of the interviewees who remembered World War II Renton talked about the difﬁ cul- ties in ﬁ nding housing, as new workers moved from distant states to work at Boeing, PAC- CAR, or other war industries. Jim Ashurst, former Renton Fire Chief who recently passed away, recalled this problem in a 2000 inter- view: “Several of the men that I knew and got acquainted with lived in more or less vaca- tion trailers. It was all they could ﬁ nd.” New housing constructed with government funding in the Highlands relieved this pressure, but not everyone was happy with this solution. Ashurst remembered: “We had a fellow that worked in the tool room [at PACCAR] for a while. He didn’t last very long. He came from Switzerland and moved into one of the homes up there. I remember one morning he came to work all upset. Come to ﬁ nd out he and his wife had gone some- where that evening. When they came back they couldn’t ﬁ nd their house…. He had been up almost all night looking for the house.”1 Because all the houses looked so similar, Ashurst’s co-worker and his wife could not remember exactly which one was theirs. Another interviewee, Frank Conklin, managed the Renton Housing Authority during the war, so he was able to give an insider’s perspective on the inﬂ ux of new workers. He recalled that on the eve of Boeing’s war-era expansion, Renton was a “tight communi- ty.” He believed that close-knit feeling resulted in resistance to the new residents, somewhat understandable because “the town was twenty-four or twenty-ﬁ ve hundred people, and we brought in ten thousand in the Highlands up there.” 2 In the churches and the service clubs, long-time Renton residents were sometimes disconcerted by the sudden presence of so many people they did not recognize. Boeing recruiters often re- ferred to the new workers as “Okies,” or worse, which outraged Conk- lin; he remembered that even his own Housing Authority staff had to be called on their prejudices occasionally. His job as mediator was not always an easy one, however: “There was an antagonism between the [new] people and the com- munity, basically, and you had to weed out the people in the Housing Authority working for you, who were antagonistic, and had to reach out and bend and pull the [new] people into you.” 3 Conklin saw good management of the Housing Authority as his contri- bution to the war effort, and part of that was ensuring that people treat- ed one another with respect. “The people who came in maybe didn’t have the same advantages, but they were still people,” he believed. 4 Above: Jim Ashurst remembered a co-worker who couldn’t pick out his Highlands home in the dark one night; the houses were too similar. (#41.3741) Oral Histories and World War II continued from page 1 Above: Family behind their federal housing duplex in the Highlands, ca. 1942-1943. (#1998.050.4809) 5 Renton Historical Quarterly Conklin talked about the expectations of the new workers, many of whom were promised “all electric” homes, and were dismayed to ﬁ nd out that most of the houses were outﬁ tted with coal- or wood-ﬁ red stoves. Highlands residents were also somewhat isolated, without cars or affordable bus service, so new churches were one of the ﬁ rst amenities that sprang up in the Highlands. In general Conklin had the highest regard for the Highlands residents, remarking that “the stories you hear about the housing projects, and these people not knowing how to conduct themselves as residents of a housing project—not knowing how to live—they’re just not true.” 5 Dusalina Cavaletto, a Renton High School teacher during the war, also dispelled stereotypes about the new residents. When asked whether the children of war workers were less well-prepared, she replied that the teachers never noticed that. “We’d get some from another area who were ahead of ours,” she recalled, “And then we’d get others who were not, depending on the type of school district they came from.” 6 She did remem- ber the housing project on the current site of Carco Theatre in particular as “a horrible mess,” and she felt sorry for those families. “So many people bunched together, people of all kinds coming here to work,” she said. “They were not nice [apartments], and of course they were not built for permanency.” 7 Cora Upshaw, interviewed in 1987, knew a thing or two about antagonism. Her family came to Newcastle in 1898 when her Afri- can-American father and grandfather were recruited from East St. Louis as strike-break- ers in the Black Diamond mines. They settled in the Renton area after the strike, and she remembered attendance at her little church in Kennydale revived with the inﬂ ux of African-American families to the housing project. She worked brieﬂ y as a “Rosie the Riveter” at the Boeing Co. and knew people who lived in both the Highlands housing and Holly Park war housing in Seattle. From what she heard, Renton was more hospitable to African American workers than Holly Park: “Nobody wants to give up power or places to live or whatever, and it’s always a struggle for the one that is outside to get inside… Eventually they did move in [to Holly Park], but I know there were a lot of [black] people that lived in the High- lands.” 8 All the new war workers were as disruptive for the local black community as for the white. “I remember before the war you could stand down on Third and Pike and any black person… you’d see you would know,” she recalled. “[Once the war started] most of the people you see you never heard of them. And they probably never heard of you neither.” 9 These kinds of information—what people were thinking, how they adjusted to new situations, how they treated one another—are the unique insights revealed by oral histories in the Museum’s collection. Many different perspectives help us understand history better, as not just a single narrative told by one voice, but the combination of many voices. If you or someone you know would be interested in giving an oral interview, please contact the Museum. 7 Above: Portable classrooms were set up behind Renton High School in 1943 to keep up with the inﬂ ux of new students. (#1980.096.1409) 1 James F. Ashurst Oral History, 21 June 2000, p. 9. 2 Frank Conklin Oral History, 4 November 1984, p.11. 3 Conklin Oral History, 4 November 1984, p.13. 4 Frank Conklin Oral History, 9 December 1984, p. 9. 5 Conklin Oral History, 4 November 1984, p.20. 6 Dusalina Cavaletto Oral History, 17 March 1985, p. 18. 7 Cavaletto Oral History, p. 17. 8 Cora Upshaw Oral History, 31 January 1987, p.15. 9 Upshaw Oral History, p.14. Renton Historical Quarterly 6 Swan Lake History By Craig Holmes Editor’s Note: Craig Holmes has been using our collection to research Swan Lake for quite a while. He wanted to share the fruits of his research with our readers, which also gives us a chance to remind you that our collections support the study of many other topics than just Renton. Many of us know the Lake Youngs Reservoir as a rural recreation trail that parallels a watershed perim- eter fence operated by the City of Seattle. This reserve lies to the west of Maple Valley, north of the city of Covington and to the south of Petrovitsky Road near Fairwood. On an early trek around the graveled trail I became curious about the origin of the watershed and what it was like prior to Seattle taking possession of the land. Passersby would never know that Swan Lake was the name given to this pristine lake in the foothills of Washington territory by a survey party for the swans that were seen swimming on the lake during an 1867 federal land survey. To the Native Americans it was known as blsxwuqid, “where there are swans.” A decade before this survey a trail was cut by the military just to the west side of the lake that eventu- ally went to Black Diamond, then across the Cascade Mountains as a means to protect the people of the White River Valley and greater Puget Sound region during the 1855 Indian uprising. Settlement began in the area surrounding Swan Lake in the 1880s. McElhow, Ranta, and Hering were among a few of the early homesteaders who ﬁ led patents near the lake. By 1891 the Swan Lake School began in a log schoolhouse a quarter mile west of the lake with ﬁ fteen students. Its new location in 1905 would have been another quarter mile west on Larson Road (148th Ave SE) across the street from the Army Reserve site and within the watershed boundary fence. The school was used for elections, a church, public assem- blies and it continued operations at this site until condemnation proceedings were ﬁ nalized in 1921. In addition to the residences built at Swan Lake there were business enterprises involved in harvesting the natural re- sources near the lake. The Covington Lumber Company incorporated in 1901 and maintained a large cutting crew camp on the southeast shoreline. A rail line ran the length of the lake from the north and continued south past the log camp to the sawmill site at Covington. Another logging company operation during the early 1900s was known as the Bowers Timber Company which was located at the northeast side of the lake. In 1917 a coal vein was discovered at the north end of the lake by Howard Allen. The Lake Youngs Coal Company operated the mine and remnants of the mining operation remained for many years with a trestle standing near the Old Petrovitsky Road until the 1970s. Reginald Thompson began exploration of Cedar River as a water resource for Seattle, and in 1897 the surveys were com- plete. The next year the city started acquiring properties. By 1917 condemnation proceedings were begin on properties at Swan Lake Reservoir. The building of the dams at the east side and south end were begun in 1922. Water from the Cedar River Pipeline was diverted into the lake, which is one mile wide and two miles long, increased to 790 acres from the original 548 acres and raised the level of the lake 20 feet. The following year Seattle water superintendent L. B. Youngs died and the reservoir was ofﬁ cially named for him by 1924. Near this time the perimeter fence was built and Lake Youngs effectively disappeared from public use. Today the lake can hardly be seen from the trail. I wonder even more about the tall timber, the early homesteads and pas- tures, or the noise of the logging operations surrounding the lake. Tours can sometimes be organized with the Cedar River Watershed, and one day maybe I will satisfy some of my curiosity and take a trip into yesterday. e f f th l h t d h ﬁld t t th lk 7 Renton Historical Quarterly Dear museum members and volunteers, The museum staff knows that we wouldn’t be able to operate and serve our com- munity without the involvement of volunteers. Our 65 volunteers, including 15 board members, committed 1,663 hours to the Museum in 2009, serving as greet- ers, docents, board members, helping document museum collections, recording oral histories, performing administrative work, renovating the Museum Annex, doing database entry and indexing, helping with exhibits and special events such as Renton River Days, and getting involved with many other activities at the museum. We try to show everyone our gratitude every day. Special occasions such as Valentine’s Day give us the opportunity to thank volunteers in a more tangible way. This year we held our Valentine’s Luncheon at the museum on the day after. Collection Manager Sarah prepared her award-winning macaroni and cheese. Everybody gathered over salads prepared by Daisy and Liz, had a lot of macaroni and cheese, croissant sandwiches, and cake. We celebrated Inez Edlich’s 90th birthdays and Bettijane Shepard’s 88th birthday, in addition to Valentine’s Day. Everybody had a good time chatting and sharing news. Thanks Volunteers!!! Spring 2010 Speaker Program Our Spring 2010 Speaker Program started on February 9 with a stunning re-enactment of Nettie Asberry by Eva Abram. Nettie Asberry was the only free-born African-American child in her family in the era of slavery. She came to Seattle in 1890 looking for a new life. Armed with a doctorate degree in music and love for her people, she committed her life to uplifting African Americans. She was involved in the events of the day, including the Alaska Yukon Paciﬁ c Exposition, the ﬁ ght against lynching, and the struggle for voting rights for women and Blacks. We will celebrate 100 years of Women Suffrage and Women’s Month at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 23 when two actresses, Barbara Collander and Toni Douglas (photo right), will present May’s Vote. A century ago, prim and proper Emma Smith DeVoe and outrageous, ﬂ amboyant May Arkwright Hutton worked side by side to win the vote for women in Washington. May's Vote presents Emma and May from their respective childhoods through the noisy public struggle that ended with success in 1910. Their triumph demonstrates that we do not always have to agree in order to achieve a common goal. Jack Hamann (photo left), author of the award-winning On American Soil: How Justice Became a Casualty of WWII, will present Speaking Truth to Power: Modern Lessons from Historic Injus- tice on Tuesday, May 4 at 5:00 p.m. Mr. Hamann’s presentation traces the remarkable story of the reversal of a historic injustice. In 1944 at Washington’s Fort Lawton, dozens of African-American soldiers were charged with rioting and the lynching of an Italian prisoner of war; they endured the longest Army court-martial of World War II. More than six decades later, the discovery of documents in the National Archives led to the rever- sal of their conviction and an unprecedented apology from the U.S. government. We will have a special treat for children and adults when Lora Chiorah-Dye, the Artistic Di- rector for LORA & Sukutai Marimba and Dance Ensemble, will present Rhythms of Zimbabwe on Saturday, April 10 at 11:00 a.m. According to Ms. Chiorah-Dye “There is no distinction between audience and performers in Zimbabwean culture. If you can walk you can dance. If you can talk you can sing!” Come and be a part of the fun as she engages fami- lies in storytelling, children's games, singing, and dances from Zimbabwe. Volunteer Report By Dorota Rahn, Volunteer and Education Coordinator y J a t r d t A d s g Renton Historical Quarterly 8 Storing Textiles Some of the most beautiful and showy pieces of the Museum’s collection are textiles. Wildly different in composition and size, textiles range from heavy and bulky to extremely delicate and fragile. You must take special care when storing textiles to make sure they will not be damaged by improper storage techniques. There are 3 main ways of storing textiles: rolling, ﬂ at storage, and folded. Folding textiles is the least ideal. Folding creates creases and also can rip deli- cate fabrics. If textiles must be folded, all the folds should be padded to reduce the strain on the fabric. Flat storage is great, but it takes up a lot of space and resources. Garment boxes are expensive and they take up a considerable amount of shelving. Rolling textiles is often the most space- and resource-efﬁ cient man- ner in which to store textiles. Flat textiles such as quilts, linens, and tablecloths are ideal for rolling. Previously, the Museum had two rolled textile units located high up on the top of shelves accessible only by ladder. The units effectivly stored the textiles, but their location made them very hard to access. As we renovated the Annex, the Burke Museum contacted us out of the blue and offered us a large textile rack they no longer needed. We jumped at the chance to receive this wonderful stor- age device and made the Burke very happy their old rack found a new home. Board member Larry Sleeth and volunteer Dennis Frink used Larry’s truck and trailer to haul the disassembled rack down to Renton. Once they delivered the pieces to the Annex, volunteer Norm Abrahamson single-handedly reconstructed the rack. The new rack greatly increased our capacity to store rolled textiles and allowed us to get rid of our old shelf-top textiles storage units. In early January UW intern Andrea Cohen began working on the Museum’s textile collection. She cataloged and photographed nearly all of our ﬂ at textiles. Once she completed the cataloging, we transported the textiles to the Annex for rolling and storage. Rolling textiles is at minimum a two-person job. Without Andrea’s help, the Museum would not have been able to ﬁ ll up our wonderful new rack! From the Collections Department… By: Sarah Iles, Collection Manager e Above: Crazy quilt made of cigar silks woven silks, cotton, brocade and velvet in multiple colors (RHM#1996.005.009) P o t B t a B t p t g c t g t Above: The new textile rack partially ﬁ lled. Above: Intern Andrea Cohen sews new labels on to textiles. She is a ﬁ rst year Museology graduate student at UW. 9 Renton Historical Quarterly Please Choose Membership Category & Any Donation You Wish To Make: ❐ Student/Teacher Individual ($12) _____ ❐ Senior Individual ($12) ________ ❐ Individual ($20) ________ ❐ Senior Couple ($20) ________ ❐ Family ($30) _________ ❐ Patron Benefactor ($100) ________ ❐ Business ($100) ________ ❐ Corporate ($100) ________ ❐ Life ($500) One Time Only ________ (partially tax deductible) ❐ General Fund Donation ________ ❐ Endowment Fund Donation ________ In Memory of: Total enclosed: _____________ Join the Renton Historical Society Today! Name: Membership Level: ________________________________________________ Business Name: ___________________________________________________ Address: ________________________________________________________ City:State: ___________________________Zip: ___________+ 4 ( ___ ) Please make checks payable to the Renton Historical Society. VISA/MASTERCARD # ________________________Ex.Date: _________ Your Signature: ______________________________________________ ❐ Please share your e-mail address with us: __________________________ ❐ Please send me a volunteer application form. (32/1) Mail To: Membership Secretary, Renton Historical Society 235 Mill Avenue South, Renton, Washington 98057-2133 General Contributions (under $100) Joe & Marjorie Avolio Jim & Char Baker William Bauder Doris Beedle Gerald & Janet Bertagni William & Patricia Borek Karen Boswell Helenanne Botham Terri Briere Harley & Cathy Brumbaugh Mary Chamblin Gene & Judy Craig Larry & Jeannie Crook Bert & Shirley Custer Don Custer Trudy Dasovick Phyllis Davey Hazelle DuBois Inez Edlich Gerald & Carole Edlund Jim & Carolyn Fenner Roy & Norma Fournier William Gaw John Giuliani, Sr. Agnes Hansen Shirley Hart Carol Hawkins Bruce & Sarah Jane Hisey Jean Hobart Derric & Irma Iles Alduina Kauzlarich James Klepach Tom & Marlys Leonard Judith Matson Nancy Monahan Paul Monk Rich & Becky Nickels Ralph & Peggy Owen w/Boeing Matching Gift Shirley Patterson Raymond H. Petermeyer Herb & Diana Postlewait David & Mary Pugh M. D. & Frances Remillard Sally Rochelle Harvey Sandahl Fred & Louisa Schlotfeldt Lawrence & Blanche Schott Marion Short Gary & Marley Shurtleff Shirley Skagen-Llewellyn Elizabeth Stewart Louis & Mary Sutter George & Frances Subic Carmela Tobacco Betty Warren Wayne & Janet Wicks Robert & Josephine Wixom Pearl Wolf Robert & Gilda Youngquist ($100 and over) Bea Mathewson Elizabeth Rivily Dan & Laura Clawson Shirley Moretti ($500 and over) Nancy Fairman Ila Hemm Lawrence & Rebecca Thomas Renton Historical Quarterly 10 Obituaries Collected denotes former Society member denotes former Society Life Member = November Alan Brown Gaius S. Buxton Margaret J. Dugovich Ray Erickson Marvin G. Evarts Raymond C. Ewings Gordon C. Mitchell Norman Sundquist Larry R. Weiss Rudolph Zaputil December John Bagnariol Vincent A. Becker Bette Williams Clark Maxine E. Grayson Lloyd Hall Bruce E. Hisey Clarence N. Jones, Jr. Luceile B. Sullentrup Mary Monaghan Williams January Ruth Richter Atkinson Ellen Bennett Bailey Robert L. Barrowman DeAnn Businello Richard Christensen Katie Gotti Detrick Molly Hightower Arthur R. Kenyon Elizabeth (Betty) Laviolette Nellie G. Rutman Robert Scoll Encarnacion (Connie) Tajon Benton G. Williams Alexandra (Sue) Resoff Wood February James F. Ashurst Mary Ann Ewing Clyde D. Smith = = = = Memorial Contributions (Over $100) John Baxter Sarah Baxter, Jerry & Barbara Shel- lan; Dawn Crnich, Mike Johnson Bruce E. Hisey Mrs. Robert Hendrickson Mary Monaghan Williams Shirley, Tom, Tim, Tony & Debbie Phinney (Over $500) (Class of 1941) Walt Dragin Joe Zanga Irma Zanga Isaiah Cugini Emelia Cugini Teela Cugini Donation from Olga Azzola Memorial Contributions (Over $100) John Baxter Sarah Baxter, Jerry & Barbara Shel- lan; Dawn Crnich, Mike Johnson Bruce E. Hisey Mrs. Robert Hendrickson y Mar y Monaghan Williams Shirley, Tom, Tim, Tony & Debbie Phinney (Over $500) (Class of 1941) Walt Dragin Joe Zanga Irma Zanga Isaiah Cugini Emelia Cugini Teela Cugini Donation from Olga Azzola gg We would like to acknowledge the tragic death of Molly Hightower, granddaughter of one of our museum volunteers, John Hightower. Molly was tragically killed during the January 12, 2010 earthquake in Haiti, where she was working with disabled and orphaned children. Molly was 23 years old. We would also like to acknowledge the sudden death in October 2009 of Nancy Ward, daughter of the Museum’s Administrative Assistant, Daisy Ward. Nancy was a friend and companion to her mother, and she will be much missed. Nancy was 49 years old. 10 We would like to acknowledge the tragic death of Molly Hightower, granddaughter of one of our museum volunteers, John Hightower. Molly was tragically killed during the January 12, 2010 earthquake in Haiti, where she was working with disabled and orphaned children. Molly was 23 years old. We would also like to acknowledge the sudden death in October 2009 of Nancy Ward, daughter of the Museum’s Administrative Assistant, Daisy Ward. Nancy was a friend and companion to her mother, and she will be much missed. Nancy was 49 years old. kldh idhfll 11 Renton Historical Quarterly RentoniansRemembered James F. Ashurst Greg & Carrie Berquist; Wendell & Cleo Forgaard Lee Poli Anderson Florence Murray John A. Bagnariol Carrie & Greg Bergquist; Dan & Gloria Cartwright Dorothy Bruce Harold Bruce Virginia Shook Busato James & Frances Bourasa Betty Williams Clark Gayle Jones Ella Conklin Raymond Petermeyer Bob Corey & Olive Corey Janet Henkle Bill Daly Raymond Petermeyer Katie Gotti Detrick Lynda DalSanto Maks; Ivona Little Charles DuBois Raymond Petermeyer Diane Ford Florence Murray Roy Fournier Gertrude Shafar Eva Goodwin John & Joyce Peterson Ann Poli Hamlin George Hannah Louise Hannah Florence Murray Bruce E. Hisey Don & Loraine Custer; Ernest “Milt” Swanson; Don Emmons; Gayle Jones; Wendell & Cleo Forgaard; Paul & Nancy Duke; Ed & Helen Iddings; Cou- lon Morning Walkers; Bob & Roberta Logue; Marian Sutton; Mr. & Mrs. Don Camerini; Betty Sipila; Richard Lu- cotch; Mr. & Mrs. Bill Borek; Dave & Dolores Sullivan; Marilyn Tharp Clise; Don & Judy Gunderson; Ruth Parrott; Dale Hughes; John & Eleanor Bertag- ni; Robert & Gilda Youngquist;Shirley Brooks Patterson; Donna Blanton; Elaine Wells; James & Carolyn Fenner; Attilio Franceschina Robert Hughes Rosemary Grass Faye Kielgass Michael Kielgass, Don Kelly, Jim Roper, Dave Newport, John Giuliani Jr., John Ivonich, Dick Betcher, Frank Donafrio, Bill Maas,Woody Kelly, Jerry Nonis, Doyle Ford, Ron Schelke, Art Shaw, Bill Kielgass, Oden Family, Kendall Family, Theresa Calabro, Pam Smith, Linda Podriznik, Schmitt Family, Johnson Family Bobbye Kolcz Lila V. Houser Betty Laviolette Louise George Marjorie Lotto Rosemary Grassi Angela Malmassari Raymond Petermeyer James Murray Florence Murray Marilyn Neu Gayle Jones Shirley Newing Hazel & Peter Newing Gloria Nichols Raymond Petermeyer Esterina Poli Barney Poli Dan Poli Florence Murray Elizabeth Potoshnik Harold Bruce Mike Potoshnik Fred & Fran Stray; Jean Tonda; McLendon Hardware; Harold Bruce; Renton High School Class 1940; Robert Richter Sam Pozzobon Renton High School Class 1944 Douglas Pritchard Anne White & family; Renton High School Class 1944; John & Eleanor Bertagni William Richter John & Eleanor Bertagni; Robert Rich- ter; Al & Shirley Armstrong Alex Rivily Donna Rivily Nellie Morgan Rutman Frances Subic Robert Scoll Wendell & Cleo Forgaard; Shirley Phin- ney; Don & Carmel Camerini; Richard & Louise Major; Jean Tonda; Mario Tonda; Victor Tonda Laura Shook James & Frances Bourasa Zelima Vidmar Rosemary Grassi Nancy Ward Elizabeth P. Stewart; Sharon & Ron Clymer; Anonymous Donor Larry R. Weiss Greg & Carrie Bergquist Mary Monaghan Williams Jack & Gary Morrison; Marilyn & Bob Ragle Renton History Museum 235 Mill Avenue South Renton, WA 98057 Nonproﬁ t Org US Postage Paid Renton, WA Permit No. 105 In Hindsight... Caption: Margaret, William, and Annie Lewis, ca. 1898-1900 (#2000.127.8523). Annie's bright pink blouse is now in the Museum's collection.