In a seasonal version of Gig Harbor Now and Then, our last question concerned a turkey farm on the Peninsula in the 1940s. Question: Where was Slawson’s Turkey Farm located? Answer: On Burnham Drive, on the very spot now occupied by Sun Outdoors Gig Harbor, a recreational vehicle park. Ellwel and Charlotte Slawson owned a
Our most recent Gig Harbor Now and Then questions of local history involve Gig Harbor’s first big industry, logging. Specifically, they concern a single second-growth Douglas fir tree standing tall in the city of Gig Harbor’s Donkey Creek Park. They are: How old is the Donkey Creek Park fir tree? Answer: Between 50 and 100
A teenage Jim Langhelm manned the projectors the final two years before the Roxy Theater on Harborview Drive was closed in 1958.
At the end of our previous Gig Harbor Now and Then column, we invited readers to post their opinions on the Gig Harbor Now Facebook page, addressing the question of whether or not the city of Gig Harbor should take an active interest in correcting its very inaccurate little city park histories and its many
Gig Harbor Now and Then’s last question of local history turned into a foursome, all pertaining to the lost history of the city of Gig Harbor’s Ancich Waterfront Park site. On the Gig Harbor Now Facebook page, Tomi Kent Smith ventured a very close guess of Mato Ivanovich as the owner, before Peter Ancich bought
The previous history questions in Gig Harbor Now and Then were several. They concerned part of the old Jerkovich dock, which is now incorporated into the city of Gig Harbor’s Ancich Waterfront Park. It is used today only by seagulls and crows for breaking clam shells. The questions: Who paved the old dock? When was
The previous question posed by Gig Harbor Now and Then was: What two different sports were the girls’ teams playing in 1930 when Gig Harbor’s Union High School beat Vaughn Union High 17-15, then lost to Olalla 5-4; and in 1935 when Rosedale School beat Crescent Valley School 66-22? Answer: basketball and baseball, respectively. In
Today’s column took Clara and Wyatt through the rich history of Gig Harbor’s Old Ferry Landing, from its early days as a bustling transportation hub to its current status as a scenic viewpoint and public space. It also turned them into accidental trespassers. Oops.
Our previous question asked: What was the average size of the 32 squatters’ houses on Military Reservation 23, at point Evans, barely north of the Narrows bridges, in 1916? Answer: 215 square feet. However, Lillian Young apparently didn’t have a house, so perhaps the total square feet should be divided by 31 houses. That would
Our previous question of local history concerned a cash reward offered for the return of a critical piece missing from a Boeing B-17 bomber that crashed in Burley in March 1943. How long did the kids of the Burley/Glenwood/Purdy area search for the bomber’s missing part? Answer: All through the summer of 1943. During a
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