As we noted in our previous column, the Key Peninsula was named in 1931 through a contest organized by several local businessmen. The winner, Edward M. Stone of Lakebay, submitted the name “Key.” That, added to “peninsula,” of course resulted in “Key Peninsula.” Our new question has to do with the runners-up: What were the
E. E. may not have had all his Marbles, given his curious reaction to finding a shark on a beach near Rosedale in 1907.
The post office was in a well-known building at the corner of Harborview and Pioneer — for most of 1951, anyway.
Before addressing the answer to the question from our last column, it’s worth mentioning that if you haven’t seen Tonya Strickland’s 14 Names to Remember project, a tribute to the Peninsula’s WW2 dead, there’s plenty of time left to do so. It’s well worth seeing. Unlike the granite monument in Kenneth Leo Marvin
Gig Harbor Now and Then’s previous question concerns a specific piece of land inside the Gig Harbor city limits, granted by the federal government over 150 years ago for the exclusive benefit of education. The question is: What was the name of the government entity in possession of the land in 1872? Answer: The state of
The last three Gig Harbor Now and Then columns have not posed any questions of local history. We will return to that format this week, somewhat under duress. There’s a rumor floating around that unless we return to posting questions, we might be replaced by a new column. If you think we’ve been writing boring
With the 2024 NCAA women’s basketball championship game having been played Sunday, April 7, and the men’s title being decided tonight, it’s timely that today’s Gig Harbor Now and Then column is all about local basketball — over a hundred years’ worth. Revisiting early basketball scores Back on Sept. 11, 2023, we presented the true but
Although not scheduled for a new column this week, Gig Harbor Now and Then hereby presents either a bonus issue or three completely unnecessary pages, depending upon how it’s received. Traditionally, April First is for spoofing, tricking and practical joking. But we’re not doing any of that. We’re going to tell you up front what
Gig Harbor Now and Then’s question last time concerned the first ferry boat to serve on the Gig Harbor-Tacoma run, beginning in 1919. After only a few months, the City of Tacoma was taken out of service while a roof was constructed over its car deck. Why did the car ferry City of Tacoma need
Gig Harbor Now and Then’s last question of local history concerned a list of injuries, mostly broken or dislocated bones in the arm or wrist, from the 1920s to the 1940s. The three big clues given were that the accidents happened to far more men than women, were not seasonal and most often happened just
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