History is Happening in Redmond!
The Redmond Recorder
Our mission:
To discover, recover, preserve, share and celebrate Redmond’s history
16600 NE 80th St, Room 106, Redmond, WA 98052
www.redmondhistory.org
Office hours: Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday, 1-4pm, or by appointment
President’s Corner
Redmond Bicycle Derby 2004
awarded us the “Community Spirit
Award” for our entry in the parade. Our
special thanks to Butch Kent for
providing us with two 1947 vintage Ford
fire trucks as our entry. Members
spreading the “community spirit” and
riding on the trucks were Eileen
McCoskrie, Jo Ann Ingersol, Naomi
Hardy, Beryl Standley, Patsy
Rosenbach, Daryl Martin, and drivers
Butch and John Kent and myself.
Cheryl Magnuson and Miguel
Llanos quizzed the crowd with Redmond
trivia. Steve and Doug Rowe, Amo
Marr’s grandsons, carried our banner.
See Page 6 for a group photo.
Janice Armstrong Mayer,
Eileen McCoskrie, Jean Etta Dudley,
and Mary Montgomery kept our office
open for visitors afterwards.
For many of us growing up in
Redmond, the Derby has been a longtime
interest. Something you just wouldn’t
want to miss. This was the first time Jo
Ann had ridden in the parade and now
she is hooked. There is just a special
feeling being part of it.
You can join this “community
spirit” and “history happening” by
visiting us at our next general meeting
Sept. 11th at the Old Redmond
Schoolhouse Community Center at 10:30
am. Hope to see you there.
Judy Aries Lang
The Redmond Recorder 9/04
September 2004 Vol. 6, No. 7
Redmond Historical Society
425-885-2919
redmondhistory@msn.com
A Tale of Two Parks
County forsakes Marymoor, City dedicates Perrigo
With dozens of Perrigos
present, the City on July
31 dedicated Perrigo
Community Park and
the plaque at right --
providing a great place
to play and connect
to our heritage.
Just a few miles away at Marymoor, however, King
County Parks has turned its crown jewel into a cash cow,
milking it without regard to heritage. How so?
Evicting Marymoor Museum in 2003 to make way for a
concert promoter;
Dissecting the historic area around Clise Mansion with a
cyclone fence and green slats for concert events;
Continued on Page 2
September 11 meeting and sawmill tour!
Siblings Lorraine and Duane
Isackson will take us back to rural
Redmond, with Lorraine talking
about the Happy Valley Grange
and Duane about his family’s
sawmill, the last on the Eastside,
and his great-uncle’s 1887 log cabin,
the second oldest structure in the area.
Duane will also take folks on a mill
tour afterwards, from 12.30-2pm. Take
Redmond-Fall City Road to 244 Ave
NE, then right about 50 feet.
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History is Happening in Redmond!
2004 Meetings
All @ 10:30 am
Old Redmond Schoolhouse
Community Center
16600 NE 80th St.
Second Saturday of the month
Sept. 11, Oct. 9, Nov. 13
_________________________
2004 Executive Board
Judy Lang, President
Naomi Hardy, VP
Miguel Llanos, VP
Teresa Becker, Treasurer
Margaret Wiese,
Corresponding Secretary
Beryl Standley,
Recording Secretary
Board of Directors
Terri Gordon
Tom Hitzroth
Amo Marr
Doris Schaible
Veronica Smirnov
We need…
Office help
We need someone to staff
our office Thursdays 1-4
p.m. from Oct. 21st to Jan.
2005.
And we’ll continue to be
closed Mondays unless a
volunteer comes forward.
Archive help
Our archive notebooks
need to be updated. Can
be done at your leisure; no
experience needed.
Videos, oral histories
Transfer videotapes to
CDs; tape interviews.
Call Judy Lang
at 425-823-3551
The Redmond Recorder 9/04
A Tale of Two Parks
Continued from Page 1
Destroying the original gate pillars to Clise
Mansion, seen at right along West Lake Sammamish
Parkway before the deed.
The County has also angered those who see
parks as a sanctuary from urban life by opening RV
camping spots and signing a deal for a fast food
franchise shop inside the grounds.
Society board member Tom Hitzroth, a past
president of the Marymoor Museum, won a battle
over the fence but since it had already been installed
King County Parks was allowed to keep it this year.
A few weeks later, he learned that the pillars
had been destroyed. “I am saddened and angered by
the loss,” he said. “After surviving out there for 99 Photo by Tom Hitzroth
years the gatehouse pillars are gone.”
Park Program Manager Norah Gaynor, in an e-mail to Tom, said she had
contacted the Eastside Heritage Center but it didn’t want the pillars and they
were “disposed of” since “the posts were not in the historic area so I don’t
believe we had any requirement to consult with (King County) Cultural
Resources on their disposal.”
EHC Director Eden Toner doesn’t recall being contacted, and the entire
episode doesn’t sit well with Tom. “The County’s attempt to resolve the entrance
gate issue with Eastside Heritage Center was a token gesture,” he said. “The fact
that the County felt no obligation to really see if preservation was an option
demonstrates their ambivalence to historical issues.”
The City of Redmond, on the other hand, has shown that heritage and
parks work together to build community. Mayor Rosemarie Ives, several city
council members, City parks officials and retired Parks Director John Couch
were among those on Perrigo Community Park dedication day – a day that will
be remembered for preserving our heritage, not destroying it.
Photo by Miguel Llanos
Perrigos and others listen as Mayor Rosemarie Ives dedicates Perrigo Community Park and the
plaque honoring pioneers Warren and Laura Perrigo, and William and Matilda Perrigo. The
park is on 196th Ave NE between NE 95th (aka Conrad Olsen Road) and Union Hill Road.
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History is Happening in Redmond!
Our Condolences
To relatives of Woody Reed and
Colleen Perrigo Tosh Willis,
Society members who passed
away this summer.
City seeks info on
Sammamish River
Have you got personal histories,
old photos, surveys, articles, etc.,
about the river, or slough, as
some prefer to call it? If so, the
City’s Division of Natural
Resources would love to get a
copy for its river records. Contact
Peter Holte at 425-556-2822 or
pholte@redmond.gov.
Can you help clip
newspaper obituaries?
We’ve collected, scanned and
indexed 500 obituaries of folks
who contributed to Redmond’s
history. But we need a volunteer
to clip obituaries from current
King County Journal, Redmond
Reporter, Seattle Times and
Seattle P-I newspapers.
Also, if you have any old
family obituaries, we’d appreciate
photocopies of them. Newspaper
name and date are helpful.
Contact Margaret Wiese
at mew@nwlink.com or 425-746-
0472 if you can help!
Photo correction
Duane Isackson and Tony
Emmanuel point out that the
truck shown with Tony’s story in
the June newsletter is not the
truck Tony wrote about. Both
were owned by Henry Isackson,
but the one photographed was
bought for parts and never driven
by Henry.
The Redmond Recorder 9/04
Lampaert Lane Dedicated
Glenn and Roy
Lampaert as well as
relatives and friends were
on hand to dedicate the
City’s first historic street
signs on July 5.
On 160th Ave NE
just across from the library
and bank, two signs mark
the fact that this area used
to be the Lampaert
family’s cattle operation,
the dirt road to which was
known as Lampaert Lane.
Mayor Rosemarie
Ives pushed for the street
signs, and a series of nine
more are in the works. At
the dedication, City
Council President Nancy
McCormick thanked the
Lampaerts for their
family’s contributions to
our heritage.
Photo by Miguel Llanos
President Bush in Redmond
Katherine Ganter / Redmond Reporter
It’s true, after a fundraiser at a Yarrow Point home, President Bush spent the
night at the new Marriott on Aug. 13. His motorcade is seen here turning into
Redmond Town Center. He made no speeches, but we’re sure he got a good’s
night sleep in our fair city. Have any other presidents visited Redmond? See
Page 6 for the answer.
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History is Happening in Redmond!
East Side Journal
April 21, 1927: Redmondiscing…
Yvonne Conway, daughter of Vonal (Tac) and Margaruite (Perky) Johnson,
sent in a wonderful biography of her life. Here’s the first of several excerpts
we’ll publish over the next few months:

My grandparents were Mark and Mable (Perrigo) Johnson. Their home still
stands on Avondale Road where my cousin (their granddaughter) resides
today. Mable and her twin brother attended the first Redmond School.

Mark was well known for his hunting abilities and his hound dogs. Farmers
could count on Mark and his hounds to hunt down the bear and cougars that
killed their farm animals. Everyone in the area looked forward to the Old
Timers Picnic Mark and Mable held at their home each year in June.

East Side Journal

Oct. 28, 1926:

Perrigo family collection

Mark and Mable Johnson are in the lead car, starting out in 1923 for faraway Maine.

In their younger days, they sold beef, pork and chickens in Seattle’s Pike Place
Market. They traveled there by horse and buggy to the Kirkland ferry, which
took them to Madison Park and then they traveled to the market. Because it
was snowing one day, Mark hitched up the sled. When they reached Madison
Park there was no snow. Mable walked all the way to the market because she
was too embarrassed to be seen in a sled that was shooting sparks from the
metal runners.

My parents were Vonal and Margaruite Johnson but everyone knew them as
Tac and Perky. My first grade teacher asked each one of us to state our name
and our parents’ names. I said my name was Yvonne Johnson and my parents
are Tac and Perky. My teacher said she believed those were their nicknames,
and asked, what are their given names? When I got home, the first words out of
my mouth was, “Mama, what is your name?” Mother’s brother called her
Perky as a small child. Dad played on the Redmond football team, was a good
tackler, hence the name Tac.

The Redmond Recorder 9/04 4

History is Happening in Redmond!
Thank Yous!
A heap of historical thanks to these great people for donating treasures, expertise, time and energy!
Amo Marr and Rose Weiss for staffing a Society booth at the
Linda Swanberg for facilitating our receipt of City
Issaquah Chorale Society performance.
records of building permits, sewer permits, etc. These
contain lists of virtually everyone in town with their Duane Isackson for the square nails from his family's 1887 log
addresses -- a great research resource. cabin.

Nancy Glines for photos of dredging the Sammamish
River, Addie's Cafe and Red Sundblad.
Katherine Forgue Barker for allowing us to copy
Her family photo album.
Patsy Barker for photos of Dan Hager's interview with
Clarence Barker, Daryl Martin and Dick Radtke and
for arranging her brother’s visit.
Richard Grubb for a framed picture of the Justice White
House, political ephemera and legal papers from his battles
to save agricultural land in the Sammamish Valley.
Frank and Miye Yoshitake for SVN copies.
Ray Haines for "On the Ways" articles.
Shirley Haines for a photograph of Syse's Bear Creek Service
Station.
Melna Skillingstead for a golf ball found on the old Redmond
Golf Links course.
Tony Emmanuel for the J.J. Welcome Construction pamphlet.
Eric Erickson for the US Geological map showing Eric’s
research of Siler’s logging operation.
Daryl Martin for working in the office this summer.
Carol Trapp for her help with the Derby display.
Jackie Norris for displaying her apple collection in the
hallway display case and for donating, in conjunction with the
Tolt Historical Society, Edna Isackson's graduation certificate
from Redmond High School, Class of 1926

Tom Hitzroth for representing us with speaking engagements. The Saturday Market volunteers.

Were You at our June 12 Meeting? These folks were:

Alexander, Margo Marr Hanson, Roy Moffett, Ben*
Anderson, Betty Buckley Hardy, Jerry Moffett, Leena Koskinen*
Ballisty, Sharon Hardy, Naomi Montgomery, Mary
Barker, Bill* Hitzroth, Tom Murphy, Ed
Barker, Katherine Forgue* Ingersoll, Jo Ann Norris, Jackie
Becker, Teresa Lang Isackson, Duane Rosenbach, Patsy
Bellings, Lucille Hansen Isackson, Joanne* Stoneback, Phyllis
Blair, Dusty Watts Lang, Judy Aries Standley, Beryl
Call, Mardy Leicester, Norma Sugden, Charlene Johnston
Cash, Romni Leland, Bea* Sugden, Mark*
Cisneros, Nancy Llanos, Miguel Sween, Faye
Dudley, Irene Magnuson, Cheryl Tollfeldt, Ann
Elduen, Violet Magruder, Joan Tollfeldt, Harvey
Emmanuel, Tony Mann, Ellie Truss, Colin
Frey, Stan Marr, Clare (Amo) Truss, Pamela
Garland, Lillian Martin, Daryl Turner, Judy Gilbert
Gilbert, Evelyn King Mayer, Jan Usibelli, Helen
Glines, Nancy* McCormick, Elma Watkins, JoAnn
Gordon, Terri McCoskrie, Don Weil-Piechenick, Shlomit
Goshorn, Jean Etta Dudley McCoskrie, Eileen Weiss, Rose
Groen, Luke Mellquest, Gerry Radtke Wiese, Margaret Evers
Hall, Pat Mercer, Betty Willis, Colleen Perrigo Tosh
Hansen, Tom Miller, Larry *First-time attendees
Hanson, Marge

The Redmond Recorder 9/04 5

History is Happening in Redmond!
Derby Days 2004 Parade
Old Town Walking Tour
Tom Hitzroth will walk you
through Leary Way and its
history. Sign up now, as the
group is limited to 10 people.
Tom uses jokes and trivia to
make it lively.
Dates: Sept. 19
Time: 1:00 to 2:30
Cost: $6
How to sign up:
E-mail Tom at thitzroth@msn.com
Or call office at 425-885-2919
For a who was who in our parade entry, see Page 1.

Other Presidents in Redmond? Newsletters via E-mail

William Howard Taft stayed at the Hotel If you have e-mail please consider receiving our newsletter that
Redmond. Some accounts have Teddy
Roosevelt visiting as well. As for a well
way in order to save on mailing costs. To sign up, e-mail
known photo of then Mayor Chris Himes redmondhistory@msn.com. If it doesn’t work out you can always
greeting President Jimmy Carter, that was at go back to US Mail.
Boeing Field.

Join the Redmond Historical Society

Please pay 2004 dues ASAP!!
And help discover, recover, preserve, share and celebrate Redmond’s history!

Levels of Membership Please make checks payable to:

(Check 1 only) Redmond Historical Society
Trailblazer (Student) ............... $ 5.00
Pioneer (Individual) ............. $ 20.00 Mail To:
Homesteader (Family) ......... $ 35.00 Redmond Historical Society
Entrepreneur (Supporter) ... $ 200.00 Attn: Membership
Corporate (Business).......... $ 250.00 ORSCC, Room 106
History Maker (Lifetime) $ 1,000.00 16600 NE 80th Street
All Contributions are Tax Deductible Redmond, WA 98052

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If you would like a short, one-liner on your name tag (e.g. Charter Member, or Pioneers Since 1903), enter it below:

The Redmond Recorder 9/04 6