Vol 2 No. 1 - October 2007

Well folks, we finally “got ‘er done!” July 17 th we culminated most of a year's effort by signing a lease for the Packwood Elementary School building. Now begins the real work of starting a museum. It'll take many hands and more hours to put it all together. And a good bit of advertising to bring it to the attention of the community. Can we do it? As some of our members would exclaim, “You bet!”

We held our very first meeting in the school on Monday July 23 rd . Nineteen people crowded into the third grade room to celebrate the occasion. One of the distinguished guests was Buddy Rose, free-lance reporter for the East County Journal. Buddy honored us with an article in that week's newspaper.

The very next day a number of us attended the 18 th Annual Kosmos Reunion Picnic. Once again, Buddy Rose came and gave the gathering some press attention. Norma Benson became the new mayor of Kosmos, succeeding outgoing mayor Kay Armstrong. Ruby Amondson took the honors for oldest attendee.

The meeting itself was quite the deal. More than 30 folks crowded into the 3 rd grade room. The after-meeting entertainment was a powerpoint presentation/report on the plans for the abandoned Packwood Ranger Station by Forest Service Archaeologist Rich McClure, and Cowlitz Valley District Ranger Kristi Miller. We heard some interesting history, plans, and caught it all on video tape for future reference.

The museum was open to visitors from 3 until 6 P.M. September 20 th . The monthly meeting commenced at 6 P.M. in what we now call the conference room (the room across the hall from the 3 rd grade room). The after-meeting entertainment was Forest Service retiree Joe Kulig with a slide show of his recent visit to the Goat Rocks Wilderness. Very good photos; very well received presentation. All reviews were excellent! We hope to book Joe for other showings in the future.

Our final notable action for the last reporting period was the September 26 th video interview of 95-year-old Kosmos resident Mildred Dunaway. Arranged by Fred Little and attended by Fred, Jan Grose, Norma Boren and the cameraman. We now have captured Mrs. Dunaway and her daughter, Sharon Milbrath of Mineral (along with her husband Bob) for posterity.

Acknowledgements

As noted above, Bill Thacker made a special A-board to advertise the “Museum Open.” Martha sketched the letters thereon and Bonnie Hanson painted the sign.

Also, Mr. Thacker – bless his heart – has nearly finished making the bases for the display cabinets. Presently they are all parked on a tarp in the 5 th grade room, getting dressed for their public debut at the October 13 th Grand Opening of the museum.

Bonnie Hansen has done us proud by enlisting her son, David Owens, in building us a sign for over the school entry way. A large aluminum sign with fancy lettering – White Pass Country Historical Museum - on a white background; it also expects to be attached in time for the grand opening. This sign will augment the other signing provided by David Owens: two small campaign-like “Museum Open” signs, a large “ White Pass Country Historical Museum ” banner, and two Grand Opening banners. Doesn't Bonnie have just the nicest son?

Not an issue goes by without our noting the contributions to the society of Marge Lloyd. Every time she comes to Packwood she brings a load of goodies for the museum. I disremember exactly what it was she brought September 17 th , but they are either in the display cases in the 3 rd grade room or awaiting inventory in the 1 st grade room. And come the next work party, we hear she has another load for us.

We wish to thank Buddy Rose for coming to some of our meetings and providing us with press coverage. It seems quite difficult to get newspaper mention, and Buddy has been an invaluable link to the East County Journal.

We appreciate Edna Fund and Sandy Crowell bringing “The Land Called Lewis” to our booth at the Morton Jubilee. Not only is Edna a member of our group, she is also a member of the Lewis County Historical Museum and writes the “Today in History” feature in The Chronicle.

Thanks go to Bob Baker, our insurance agent, for his donation of a complete bound set of “Packwood On The March,” the report of the Packwood Community Study Program in 1954. Quite a treasure there. Also included in Bob's donation was a wooden box where his father kept the receipts for Bob's Trading Post.

nd thank you very much, Dave Bunting, for the audio tape featuring Ralph and John Moorcroft visiting with you at the Highway Shopper.

From the Big Bottom Bugle

The Northern Pacific Railroad Company made a preliminary reconnaissance through part of the Big Bottom Valley as early as 1867 when Carlton came through Skate Creek and crossed over the summit at Carlton Pass. After a hiatus of several years, they were back doing more reconnaissance in the years 1878-1880. Home seekers, spurred by the promise of a railroad, trekked to the remote valley in search of land. By 1886, there were enough settlers (actually squatters – the land was not surveyed yet thus not eligible for homesteading) to warrant the establishment of a post office at Vance, across the Cowlitz River from present day Randle. It was another four years before a second post office was opened at Cora, and not three weeks later, on June 30, 1890, a third was located at Sulphur Springs.

In rural areas at that time, post offices were located in the home of the postmaster, and accordingly moved when a new postmaster was appointed. Sulphur Springs post office was originally located in the home of John Blankinship about five miles east of the Cora post office. Twenty-seven years and three postmasters later, Walter Combs moved the Sulphur Springs post office to his homestead at the present site of Packwood.

In 1907 the Valley Development Company began work on a huge power project at Packwood Lake . They planned to divert water from the lake around the north side of Snyder Mountain and 1700 feet down to a generator at the base of the mountain. The activity of this company, with its crew of over 100 men and large demand for supplies, was largely responsible for the growth of a community around the homestead of Walter Combs. Since the name Sulphur Springs had lost its significance with the 4½ mile move from its original location, in November, 1910 the post office was renamed “Lewis” in honor of John Lewis, president of the Valley Development Company.

The company promised a bright future for Lewis. Unfortunately, the available capital was soon spent, and operations suddenly ceased in 1911. The community scarcely had time to absorb this shock when another crisis developed. The settlers had formed a telephone company and strung line between Randle and Lewis. The Forest Service, just beginning to make its presence felt in the valley, built a parallel telephone line and brought suit against the settlers to remove their line from government land.

The settlers outrage reverberated all the way to Congress, with the result that the Forest Service was obliged to release 1500 acres to settlement. Hopeful settlers converged on Lewis, poised for the land rush to begin May 1, 1914. At the appointed hour they raced off to stake their claims. More than two dozen new families were thus added to the community.

Life settled down thereafter, with hunting, trapping, shinglebolt harvest and moonshining probably the more profitable and pleasurable pursuits. Many of the settlers worked “out” and improved their homesteads during the remainder of the year.

In the early 1920's, a movie outfit spent part of two summers in the mountain southeast of Lewis filming such immortal classics as “My Country,” and “The Phantom Trail” with a local boy, Fred Hall, playing a part.

Another milestone was reached about 1924 when at long last a gravel road connected Lewis with the outside world, making the drive to Randle an adventure instead of an ordeal. Hesitating only briefly as the Depression descended, progress was again spurred on by development of the highway to Mount Rainier and Yakima , and increased Forest Service presence, as the growing community entered perhaps the most active decade in its history.

To enter this promising period, the community needed a bold new name. Not only had Lewis lost its significance after the demise of the Valley Development Company, but with the increasing importance of Fort Lewis , the postal service very often misdirected mail bound for Lewis. The citizens reached far back into history and decided to honor “Uncle Billy” Packwood, one of the quartet of white men to first see the area back in 1861.

The Civilian Conservation Corps came to Packwood in October, 1933, establishing winter quarters for the Upper Cispus Camp. They were not yet fully settled when the “granddaddy of all floods” transformed the entire valley into one vast lake, with Packwood itself reported to have water eighteen inches deep in the center of town. The CCC men erected many monuments to their industry: a suspension bridge across the Cowlitz River at Packwood (since replaced with the James Frankland bridge), the La Wis Wis Campground, the first five miles of road up Johnson Creek, plus many lookouts and other buildings.

Packwood flirted with the big time when Yakima interests began development of the Davis Coal Mine up Summit Creek. They invested much capital and labor in the venture just before World War II only to discover it had too much shale to extract profitably.

Packwood was never a one horse town. The horse-packing business, for years an important part of the community, probably reached its peak during the 1930's. Outfits packed supplies for the Forest Service and wilderness visitors.

The introduction of power saws and motorized equipment spurred the budding timber industry during the early years of World War II. The Kerr Brothers, who had started the first commercial sawmill in 1935, sold out to Packwood Lumber Company in 1944. A number of small “gypo” operators also thrived in the area. In 1949, one tree cut near Burton Creek yielded enough lumber to build 26 houses, a harvest not matched since in Lewis County , perhaps in the Pacific Northwest even.

Natural events had taken a back seat since the big flood of 1933. Probably exasperated with so little respect, nature visited Packwood with a triple whammy: the largest earthquake in recorded Northwest history on April 13, 1949; a 360-acre forest fire which nearly incinerated the town on June 15, 1949; and the “blizzard of the century” on January 13, 1950.

Many decades in construction, the White Pass Highway was finally dedicated August 12, 1951, connecting Packwood with Yakima and points east. Completion of the highway increased the importance of Packwood as a tourist destination and led to the development of the White Pass Ski Area. White Pass , with elevations ranging from 4500 to 6000 feet, may not have the best snow conditions in the world, but it did produce two Olympic medalists during the 1984 Olympics.

In the early 1960's, the Washington Public Power Supply System (WPPSS) completed the Packwood Lake power project begun in 1907 by the Valley Development Company. The project was much smaller than the earlier vision, but it can provide enough power to keep Packwood lit.

As private timber sources became depleted, the Forest Service increased the supply of public timber, creating considerable activity throughout the 1960's and 1970's. Timber harvest and milling became a significant part of the local economy.

May 18, 1980 dawned idyllic over Packwood. From the west a great cloud arose, painting the hills as if with snow. Mount St. Helens had erupted! The entire valley was plunged into darkness – probably reminiscent of the massive forest fires of 1902 – as tiny bits of mountain rained down for the better part of a day. Four inches of ash was deposited over everything. The ash had the consistency of cement mortar and was every bit as stubborn to remove.

Perhaps the eruption of Mount St. Helens was a portent of dark days to come for Packwood and all communities with heavy investment in the timber industry. Environmentalists convinced the federal judiciary to put vast areas of the National Forest off limits to logging. The state-of-the art mill at Packwood closed in December, 1998, eliminated maybe 250 jobs. The last doctor left Packwood in 2001. The Packwood Work Center – formerly the Packwood Ranger Station until 1998 – closed in September, 2003, ending over 90 years of Forest Service presence in the community. The Packwood Elementary closed in June, 2004, ending 95 years of local primary schooling.

But all is not gloomy. There is plenty of construction going on as urban folk discover Packwood as a place for summer or vacation homes. The huge Labor Day Flea Mart, which turns Packwood into a raging metropolis, continues and has been joined by a smaller Memorial Day sister. Indeed there are brighter days ahead.

PACKWOOD LAKE

A 452.3 acre lake at the headwaters of Lake Creek between Snyder Mountain and Three Peaks Ridge. The lake was created about 1100 years ago (c800 AD) when a massive slide from Snyder Mountain blocked Lake Creek. The name honors Billy Packwood, who discovered it about 1862. Packwood's son Noah also has some claim to the honor; apparently he was with his father at the time.

An Indian legend says that "An old Indian devil lived in Packwood Lake ; if any fisherman took more than his share, the old devil would immediately come up and swallow him." Sometimes the mournful cry of a loon is heard across the lake; Indian legend explains it as the wandering soul of an old squaw who drowned in the lake.

From 1907 until about 1912 the Valley Development Company invested much manpower and money at the lake. One cabin, built in 1908, remains from this period. The power project was finally abandoned about 1920, revived in the 1950's and finally completed by WPPSS (Washington Public Power Supply System) in 1964.

Packwood Lake and Lake Crescent were the only lakes in Washington known to contain a certain species of rainbow trout. An eyeing station was intermittently maintained at the lake from 1916 until 1951. Eggs from Packwood Lake were transplanted to streams in British Columbia and became known as Kamloops trout.

A map from 1908, another from 1909, two water rights dated 1916 and 1917, and a 1924 Lewis County map show the alternate name of AcKushnesh Lake .

M.O. Higgins started a concession on the lake in 1921. The second owner, Ralph Neeley, built a lodge beside the lake in 1936; it burned October 23, 1972. The concession was terminated in 1989 when the owner could no longer comply with updated sanitation standards.

On November 9, 1963 Robert Morris and Martin Nowotny drowned when their boat capsized as they were returning from a hunting trip.

Sisteh's Give Dem Fish

Packwood lake, which is a beautiful body of water in the Cascade mountains in the extreme southeastern Lewis County , 80 miles from the railroad, is a famous fishing resort. In fact, it is believed that there is no body of water in Washington which affords such splendid sport to the angler as does Packwood Lake . How fish came to be in such a place, and in such numbers, is a subject of wonderment to sportsmen. The Indians have a pretty story explaining the secret. We give the legend below as related to a lady friend with whom Lucy Tumwater, an Indian woman living in eastern Lewis county, near Vance, had become well acquainted and to whom it was told as they rode side by side through the woods:

“Long time ago, ‘fore white man, ‘fore Indian, dey five sistehs, this sister (counting on her fingers) and this sisteh, and this sisteh, and this sisteh, and this sisteh; dey came awful long way over mountains and dey all carry baskets of fish. When dey come to lake little sisteh say, “I's tired, I wants res'.” Oder sistehs say, “No, we don' wan' stop here, we goin' on to big water.” Little sisteh say, “I's tired, I goin' down in lake to res'.” So little sisteh go down in lake and empty her basket, her back so tired carrying heavy basket, and when she go down in lake, her spread all out on top of water. Oder sistehs see how pretty her hair look so dey all go down and empty their baskets and spread their hair out on top of the water. Bine-by, oh awful long time, Indians come. He hungry, nothin' to eat, no berries, no fish, nothin'. Indian starving. He stand on high rock by the lake and see sisters down in water. He call out, “Sistehs, I's hungry. I want fish.” Sistehs say, “Go down where little creek comes out lake – throw leaves, as many leaves as fish, on top of water, den fish come.” So Indian go down, he threw awful lot of leaves in little creek and den he gets fish, just as many fish as leaves.

After a moment's silence, “I didn' use to believe it, but my fahder and grandfahder say it's so. Dey been there, sistehs give dem fish.”

In Passing

Harvey Norton Shipley , born January 22, 1924, died July 15 , 2007. Harvey 's wife, M. Joyce (Lagerquist) Shipley died December 23, 2006.

Jackie LaVerne Heinrich , resident of Packwood since about 1950, was born August 9, 1917. She died July 9, 2007 at the age of 89. She was one of the last remaining people to work on “Packwood On The March.”

George L. Greb , 85, a long-time resident of the Big Bottom valley, was born February 22, 1924. He died August 8, 2007. George's first wife, June, is buried at Rainey Valley Cemetery . His widow, Betty, lives at home in High Valley .

Our sympathies go out to the families of these folks. We trust they had good lives, and left many fond memories for their kin and friends.