Dorothy Wilhelm - True Tales of Puget Sound

Published by The History Press
Charleston, SC
www.historypress.com

Copyright 2019 by Dorothy Wilhelm

All rights reserved

Front cover, top: Moorage at Sunset, Puget Sound, Washington. Steilacoom glows in melting colors that are surely too good to be true, which is a normal day on Puget Sound, whether the sun shines or not; front cover, bottom: That Old Gang of Mine. Milton in the 1930s, when a mule named Boston Curtis made his hoof mark on the papers and ran for the office of committeeman. These hardy residents must be eagerly awaiting the results.

First published 2019

e-book edition 2019

ISBN 978.1.43966.600.5

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018959003

print edition ISBN 978.1.46713.969.4

Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

DEDICATION

JOAN K. MARSHALL was the third of five generations in her family to serve in tribal leadership for the Steilacoom Indian Tribe. She faithfully served from 1975 until illness required her retirement, just before passing on from this world in 2006. Overseeing the development of the Steilacoom Tribal Cultural Center in the historic district of Steilacoom was just one of her many accomplishments.

It was from Joan that I first heard the story of the People of the Pink Flower.

SPECIAL DEDICATIONS

FATHER FRED MAYOVSKY, SJ

Who kept saying, Why dont you write something new? Nothing can be more new than history.

ED HAUGE and the My Home Town crew

Without you, this book could never have happened

Finally,

To my six kids, and all their families, the grandchildren and the greatgrands. Without you, Id never even have started this. We all love stories of the beginnings.

CONTENTS

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FOREWORD

In an age when everything we read is suspect, Dorothy Wilhelm wants you to know we need to fact-check the past as well as the present. In this collection, she ruthlessly wrestles to the ground some of the Northwests more persistent legends to find out what really spawned them and who these people really were.

Back in the days when social media was face to face, the user agreements were about the same as they are nowwhoever you shared your story with had the right to retell it endlessly. Then as now, there was always a much larger audience for the embellished version.

And given the eclectic mix of adventurers, warriors, hunters, fortune-seekers, ex-slaves and nomads who followed the Oregon Trail to the end, weve inherited some pretty memorable embellishments.

The real stories may not be as tidy as the legends they spawned, but then reality never is.

And so, summoning her inner Tomb Raider, Dorothy has tackled the following historical riddles:

Why a middle school teacher incorporated a dead pig into his Oregon Trail curriculum

Whether the Longmire Party really did kill their oxen and braid the hides so they could drop them safely down the mountain

Who is Elizabeth Mahon, why is her tablecloth so famous and how did she end up buried on a golf course?

How the women of Parkland used a cookbook to win back the right to vote

Why University Place near Tacoma has no university

Why Fox Island has no foxes but does have Clay Babies

Did the people of Milton really elect a mule named Boston Curtis as mayor? And how did he get along with the city council?

Is it true that the expression paint the town red originated in Eatonville, due to the high copper content in the Mashel River, which allowed the manufacture of the most durable red paint ever invented?

What happens when a train carrying a shipment of wine collides with a train carrying a shipment of swine (besides the best local headline ever)

Is the E.R. Rogers mansion in Steilacoom really haunted, and if not, why was E.Rs favorite rocking chair suddenly appearing in front of the window overlooking the Sound?

Whatever happened to Gig Harbors famous Nellie the Pig, who once appeared on every TV show from Carson to Leno and even had her own canopied bed in a house built with her earnings?

Whatever happened to life-size mannequins Barbie and Ken that for years sat together outside a Lakewood business, got married and had a mannequin child?

And for those of you whove ever had a Pie Goddess pie in Enumclaw, can Dorothy persuade her to reveal the long-rumored secret ingredient that makes the crust impossible to copy?

All of these are questions I never even thought to ask, much less fact-check. And its why this volume was urgently needed. I, for one, hope it inspires a new generation of quirky Northwest characters.

This is where the trail endedwhere restless people who didnt fit in anywhere else finally ran out of continent. But the farther we get from the pioneers who provided the raw material for these stories, the more we risk becomingdare I say itordinary. And that will not do for a land of glaciers, volcanoes, earthquakes, billionaires and salmon willing to die for sex.

This book reminds us that no one is going to remember a bunch of people who spent their social lives swapping emojis. But they will never forget your pie crust.

Dave Ross, radio host and commentator Edward R. Murrow Award Winner 2018

ACKNOWELDGEMENTS

History doesnt stand still. New history was being made as we finished our first cup of coffee in the morning, and of course, it goes back farther than we can trace. We couldnt write about it if many people didnt generously share the information they have about the shaping of this country and the passions they share. Whats amazing is how many folks are willing to share the pearls theyve discovered.

Anyone who knows me knows I am not a historian. Im a storyteller, definitely, a folklorist, maybe, but I couldnt begin to talk about history without help from those who have spent huge chunks of their lives researching it.

It wont be possible to mention everyone, but let me give it a try:

Thanks first to Karen Meador, who started me off on this journey with her great project on the Old Military Road.

Thanks to Living History tribute performer Ray Egan for his shared insights into the life of Father Rossi and old Steilacoom.

To Drew Crooks, distinguished historian, who has a special interest in the story of Fort Nisqually and DuPont. Drew was kind enough to point out errors and omissions, and if there are any missed, they are definitely mine, not his.

Thanks to Robert Cooksey, who has taught generations to live and love history.

To Don Trosper and the Olympia Tumwater Foundation for proving that history is most alive when its relative and to Karen Johnson, who was the first to point out to me that I am a folklorist and that theres no reason the truth cant be entertaining.

Special thanks to Dave Ross, who is just as kind and just as prescient today as when we occasionally shared a microphone at KIRO back in the 90s. Hes added a lot of Edward R. Murrow Awards since then, two more in October 2018. The man is unstoppable.