Howard Royal and his family's Birdsview Stump Ranch

of History & Folklore
This page originated in our Free Pages Covering from British Columbia to Puget Sound. Washington counties covered: Skagit, Whatcom, Island, San Juan, Snohomish.

An evolving history dedicated to committing random acts of historical kindness The home pages remain free of any charge. We need donations or subscriptions to continue. Please pass on this website link to your family, relatives, friends and clients.

Site founded Sept. 1, 2000. Passed 5 million page views, 2011; passed 800 stories in 2012 — Mailing:

Noel V. Bourasaw, editor

810 Central Ave., Sedro-Woolley, Washington, 98284 where Mortimer Cook started a town & named it Bug

Links for Edward R. Murrow and Blanchard, Washington
and 2012 celebrations.

The 1925 Edison basketball team that won the state championship. Egbert was a member. Can you identify him?

Egbert Roscoe Murrow was born on April 25, 1908, in Polecat Creek, North Carolina, and he moved to Blanchard, Washington, at age five with his family. You will find in this section the most comprehensive collection of stories about Edward R. Murrow as a boy and as a young man.

April 29 Blanchard 104th birthday of Egbert R. Murrow We are celebrating Egbert's birthday (it would have been his 104th), while we also thank the Murrows for their legacy of integrity and ethics. We want to encourage taking the torch of ethics in journalism to include ethics in education, politics, economics, environment and agriculture, and we will have info tables at the Train Station Community Hall after the presentations at the Chapel. Then we will enjoy birthday cake, a dance around the Maypole, and live music with Smokewagon. This event will become an annual celebration during the last weekend in April. The Chuckanut Drive Merchants Association is working on broadening next year's event to include Edison, and the goal is to expand to the entire weekend with contests, driving tours, and more. The Schedule of Events: begins at 2 p.m. at the Blanchard Chapel. Our keynote speaker this year is John Paxson, currently News Director, Northwest Public Radio and Television, the broadcast operations of The Murrow College of Communication at Washington State University; past CBS News Vice President and London Bureau Chief, and past Lead producer for the CBS Evening News and CBS This Morning, and renowned author. At 3 p.m. we will walk north on the Murrow Block Walk (to the Train Station, pointing out Murrow's old home site), and then have a birthday cake and maypole from 3:15-4:30 p.m. See the attached pdf flyer with all details. Admission is free.

May 10 Peak of Their Professions: the Murrow Brothers The opening reception for this new show at the Skagit County Historical Museum in LaConner is scheduled for 5:30-9 p.m., May 10. Tickets are $35 per person. The Murrow Brothers, three boys from Blanchard. Edward R, Lacey, and Dewey. Each was very accomplished. Edward R Murrow you recognize from his great contributions to Communications, Lacey an engineer was responsible for the Deception Pass Bridge, the Floating Bridge in Seattle, was the Directory of Transportation for WA, and Dewey (true to himself) also very accomplished. For details she the attached pdf flyer. On April 27, 2008, Lynn Lennox of the Blanchard Wedding Chapel hosted the 100th Birthday Party for Egbert "Edward" R. Murrow

Links, background reading and sources Stories about Edward R. Murrow, Blanchard's favorite son

Our full 2010 profile of Blanchard town and family for which it is named. We have interviewed many descendants of the Blanchard pioneers and you can read their memories, including the memoir of 98-year-old Blanchard native and author Florence Smith Lowe. We profile Edward R. (Egbert Roscoe) Murrow, and the Coble, Smith, Henry and Pratt families, among others. Story also includes many photos of old-time Blanchard, pioneers and descendants. Includes many photos of old Blanchard and Fravel, along with pioneers and descendants
Edward R. Murrow's letters to Hermine Duthie. Letters that show the maturation of the young man into a hard-working journalist and give a glimpse of his first serious romance before meeting his wife.
Florence Smith Lowe's memories of Edward R. Murrow's mother.

Other stories about Blanchard and Fravel

Read the Journal profile of John Henry Fravel, Whatcom pioneer from the 1858 Fraser river gold rush, lineman for the original Puget sound telegraph line in 1864 and founder of the town of Fravel in 1871. After sharing the names of Fravel and Blanchard and various times, residents chose the name of Blanchard in 1913.
Help us identify mystery photos and caption them, and submit scans of your own photos for Paul Dorpat's new Washington book and our updated Mystery Photos section. Chapter One features Chuckanut drive, the Interurban and Great Northern, including the Blanchard-Oyster Creek area.
Story list for all our features about the Interurban and Chuckanut Drive and the Blanchard/Bow area, plus Dollar Way in Sedro-Woolley.
Links to all the Journal features about Murrow and the towns of Fravel and Blanchard.

Story posted on Nov. 6, 2005, last updated July 9, 2010, and April 10, 2012
Please report any broken links so we can update them

Getting lost trying to navigate or find stories on our site? Read how to sort through our 700-plus stories.		*See this Journal* Timeline website of local, state, national, international events for years of the pioneer period.**
Return to the new-domain home page	Links for portals to subjects and towns	Newest photo features	Search entire site
Our monthly column, Puget Sound Mail (but don't call it a blog) debuted on Aug. 9, 2009. Check it out.

See this Journal Timeline website of local, state, national, international events for years of the pioneer period.

Did you enjoy this story? Remember, as with all our features, this story is a draft and will evolve as we discover more information and photos. This process continues as we compile and collaborate on books about Northwest history. Can you help? And also remember; we welcome correction, criticism and additions to the record.

Please report any broken links or files that do not open and we will send you the correct link. With more than 700 features, we depend on your report. Thank you.

Read about how you can order CDs that include our photo features from the first ten years of our Subscribers Edition. Perfect for gifts. Will be completed in 2012.

View My Guestbook
Sign My Guestbook

You can click the donation button to contribute to the rising costs of this site. See many examples of how you can aid our project and help us continue for another ten years. You can also subscribe to our optional Subscribers-Paid Journal magazine online, which has entered its 12th year with exclusive stories, in-depth research and photos that are shared with our subscribers first. You can go here to read the preview edition to see examples of our in-depth research or read how and why to subscribe. Our research trips in 2012-13 depend on this income.

You can read the history websites about our prime sponsors
Would you like information about how to join them in advertising? We cannot emphasize how we need such support for our accelerated research journeys of 2012-13 for books and many more stories.

We are advertising for sale by readers, two fine historical books. The first is Theodore Winthrop's The Canoe and the Saddle, NY, American Publishers (c. Ticknor & Fields, 1862), a second edition, published circa 1890. And the four-volume set of The History of Washington by Lancaster Pollard and Lloyd Spencer, 1937. Please inquire by email if you want more details or want to make an offer. Also inquire about other offerings or if you request a specific book.

Our newest sponsor, Plumeria Bay, is based in Birdsview, just a short walk away from the Royal family's famous Stumpranch, and is your source for the finest down comforters, pillows, featherbeds & duvet covers and bed linens. Order directly from their website and learn more about this intriguing local business.

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

Check out Sedro-Woolley First section for links to all stories and reasons to shop here first
or make this your destination on your visit or vacation.

Are you looking to buy or sell a historic property, business or residence?
We may be able to assist. Email us for details.

Did you find what you were seeking? We have helped many people find individual names or places, so email if you have any difficulty.

Tip: Put quotation marks around a specific name or item of two words or more, and then experiment with different combinations of the words without quote marks. We are currently researching some of the names most recently searched for — check the list here. Maybe you have searched for one of them?

Links for Edward R. Murrow and Blanchard, Washington and 2012 celebrations.

Links for Edward R. Murrow and Blanchard, Washington
and 2012 celebrations.