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Skagit River Journal

of History & Folklore
Free Home Page Stories & Photos
The most in-depth, comprehensive site about the Skagit
Covers from British Columbia to Puget Sound. Counties covered: Skagit, Whatcom, Island, San Juan, Snohomish & BC. An evolving history dedicated to committing random acts of historical kindness

Noel V. Bourasaw, editor

810 Central Ave., Sedro-Woolley, Washington, 98284
Home of the Tarheel Stomp

Mortimer Cook slept here & named the town Bug

Northwest Washington History Detectives:
First Meet-Up March 21, 2010, Sedro-Woolley

Civilian Conservation Corps workers like this labored on projects all over Skagit County, from camps as far as part as Lyman and Anacortes. And some married local girls. The CCC was the subject of the American Experience TV program tht was the focus of the first KCTS History Cafe Meet-up we attended in Seattle. The January 2010 feature will be the Influenza Epidemic of 1918, the "Spanish Flu" that killed many people in Skagit County. This Meet-up gathers on the third Wednesday of each month at The Pub at Third Place Books, 6504 20th Ave. NE, Seattle, WA 98115, (206) 523-0217.

Update: the first Detectives meeting will be conducted in Sedro-Woolley on Sunday, March 21, from 1:30-4 p.m. The location is Linda Dennis' new gathering place and lending library that is in the backroom of the Mailbox Depot building, which is in the 800 block of Metcalf. The entrance is via the alley to the west. When you come into downtown, turn south at the alley that is just east of the post office. We will be featuring railroad history at this Meet-up launch and several authors will be there to talk about their books or planned books and many of the books will be for sale. Weather permitting we will have a walkabout to the locations of several of the five depots of Sedro and Woolley. This will be pot-luck, so please bring a dish to share with others. You do not have to RSVP but it would help planning if you would join the History Detectives at this link and tell us yes, no or maybe about attending. We urge you to bring a friend or few. And please bring scrapbooks, documents or photos that others would find interesting.

Introduced by Noel V. Bourasaw, Skagit River Journal Fellow history-lover Dan Royal introduced me to Meet-ups last year when we attended the KCTS History Café in Seattle. We were so impressed with the concept and possibilities that we have launched the Northwest Washington History Detectives, which will be based in Sedro-Woolley, but will go on the road wherever the interest is.
You can learn more about the group by visiting this website, http://www.meetup.com/NWHistory/. There you will learn the goals of the group and how to join and meet with fellow history-lovers and detectives. Here are the goals of the group.

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History authors will be attending, showing their books and signing them if you want to purchase. And, weather permitting, we will have a walkabout to the nearby old depot sites for the three railroads that crossed in the triangle north of old Woolley. We are working to get railroading experts there and we hope people attending will bring railroad documents and photos, timetables, articles, etc. for members to see.
At various shows we have presented for schools, community centers and groups over the past 18 years all over Washington, people who have attended have asked if we could meet on a regular basis to share historical information we have all discovered and review and discuss books about history, especially about Washington state and the Pacific Northwest.
We would like to restore the kinds of meetings that groups like the Territorial Daughters of Washington and others. We especially want to encourage people of all ages to share family scrapbooks and photos that have historical interest. We would not expect "experts," but rather would encourage those who love history, regardless of your knowledge level.
There will be no tests, nor will you be judged. There would be no hierarchy, no officers planned, just meet-ups and sharing. I have a location in Sedro-Woolley that can accommodate up to 40 people. And I can envision meet-ups in other cities as folks show interest, including hikes to the Cascades and field trips to Seattle, the Islands, Olympia, etc.
During the good-weather months, I can see having hikes and tours of historic locations as the feature of the meet-up, including the streams and rivers of the Northwest, fisheries, hatcheries, ghost-towns, etc.
We will work with other Northwest authors and researchers, such as Dan Royal and his stumpranchonline.com website, and invite them to meet with us and share their discoveries and plans for future books, articles and meetings.
There would be a small donation of $2-3 per meet-up to pay for refreshments and administrative costs. We have a pizza place right down the street that will deliver.
I'd like to do this for selfish reasons, because half of the ideas for the Skagit River Journal website come from history-lovers who share the kernel of an idea or a discovery and we pursue it from there. And we have many guest-writers. This kind of group could produce many more of them. In return, the meet-up members would learn first about new discoveries, about new books on the subject and about other outlets for your interests. This will be a place where writers can test-drive ideas with fellow history detectives.
I will set up the first meet-up when we have a dozen people interested in attending the first one. Please email us at (nwhistorydetectives@gmail.com) or (skagitriverjournal@gmail.com if you have questions, or go to our Meet-up webpage (http://www.meetup.com/NWHistory/), where you can learn more details and join the group. You, too, can be a detective.

Story posted on Jan. 4, 2009, updated Feb. 14, 2010
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Our newest sponsor: Cygnus Gallery, 109 Commercial St., half-block uphill from Main Street, LaConner. Open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 11 am to 5 p.m., featuring new monthly shows with many artists, many local. Across the street from Maple Hall, 1886 Bank Building and Marcus Anderson's 1969 historic cabin. Their website will be up in early 2010.

Oliver-Hammer Clothes Shop at 817 Metcalf Street in downtown Sedro-Woolley, 88 years.

Peace and quiet at the Alpine RV Park, just north of Marblemount on Hwy 20, day, week or month, perfect for hunting or fishing
Park your RV or pitch a tent by the Skagit River, just a short drive from Winthrop or Sedro-Woolley

Joy's Sedro-Woolley Bakery-Cafe at 823 Metcalf Street in downtown Sedro-Woolley.

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Northwest Washington History Detectives: First Meet-Up March 21, 2010, Sedro-Woolley

Northwest Washington History Detectives:
First Meet-Up March 21, 2010, Sedro-Woolley