PRESERVING THE STORIES OF ISSAQUAH

A Memory Book Project of the

Issaquah Historical Society

Personal Bio

Name:

Ted Cowan

Birth Date or Year (optional): 

August 7, 1926

Your history in Issaquah/How long lived here, etc.:

Since 1949.

If you moved to Issaquah, why did you choose it?

My folks lived here.

If you have lived here all or most of your life, why did you choose to stay?

I owned seven and a half acres.

Issaquah or area school(s) attended:

None.

Education—Coming of Age

What memories do you have of Minnie Schomber, or another favorite teacher?

Wasn’t Minnie Schomber the Secretary of the town council?

Local businesses

What local businesses do you remember?  What items did you purchase there?  Who owned the business?  Where was it located?  What do you remember most about it?

The café on the front cover—good food at a right price.  Large dish of  ice cream for ten cents.

What barbershop or beauty shop did you frequent?  What do you remember about these places?  What were the popular hairdos when you frequented the beauty shop?  Did you do a lot of socializing at the barber and beauty shops?

The shop east of Hepler Ford.

What is memorable about Lewis Hardware?  What items did you purchase there?

All hunting and fishing stuff.

Where did you go to buy your groceries?  Did you go to Tony Walen and Johnny Hevco’s, or RR Grocery on East Sunset? Do you remember your favorite clerk?  Were there any items that these grocers specialized in?

Yes!!

Did you purchase things at the Grange Mercantile Building?  What type of things did you get there?  Did your family rent a frozen food storage locker?

Yes and Yes.

What restaurants or soda shops did you enjoy going to?  Did you go to Rena’s Café, or XXX Root beer?  What was your favorite food?  Were there memorable waiters or waitresses?

XXX used to be east of Stonebridge Chevrolet agency…..now a body shop.

Did you go to Boehm’s Candies?  What candies were your favorites?

Julius Boehm taught my two daughters to swim.

What saloons or local bars did you and your friends frequent?

None.

What do you remember about Grange Mercantile?

They had freezer lockers.

Local Politics

What important local political issues of Issaquah are memorable?  Do any particular politicians stand out?  Why are they memorable?  What did they accomplish while in office?

We said Mayor Flintoft would always win in the end.

The Great Depression

What are your memories of the Great Depression?  Did you have a job at this time?  What ways did you try to save money?  What did you eat?

Our family, Mom, Dad, my Brother and I, had a picnic every Sunday evening.  A fireplace fire, no electric lights, roasting hot dogs and marshmallows and had hot spice cider.  All to save money, but just for fun as far as I was concerned.

World War II

How did World War II affect the town of Issaquah?  Did you know men or women who went to fight in the war?  Did you leave Issaquah to join the war efforts?

We moved to Issaquah after the war.

Outdoor Recreation

Did you go swimming in the local lakes in the summer?  Or ice-skating at the Horrock’s Farm in the winter?

Yes!!

Logging and Sawmills

Do you remember the Monohon Mill, the Red Hall sawmill by the fish hatchery, the High Point Mill, the Preston Mill, or the Issaquah Lumber Company Mill on Front Street South?

Red Hall milled mostly alder (for furniture he sold to eastern manufactories), but also milled some maple burls.

Fraternal Organizations—Local Halls

Did you attend the Sportsmen’s Club?  Do you remember when it was built in 1937?  What did you do at the Sportsmen’s Club?

Joined in 1948 at the request of Bill Christenson, the contractor that built my house.  Floyd Erickson was president.

What types of events did you attend at the Volunteer Fire Department (VFD) Hall?  Did you use the shooting range located in the basement?

We (Issaquah Sportsmen Club) built a small bore rifle range in the Basement.  George Good got the ¼ inch steel plate for back stop.  There was a short range (25 feet) in the basement of Tony Walen and John Hevco’s store (now the Bahá’í office)

Did you attend dinners, dances, banquets, or other events in the upstairs Grange Meeting Hall?

Two or three times.

Churches

What church did you attend?  What memories do you have of this church?  Were there any pastors, reverends, or church leaders that stand out in your memory?

The Roadside Chapel four miles south of Issaquah at the Cedar Grove Road.  Pastor Stan started a Sunday School then grew to a full size church.

Additional Memories

AUTHOR of THIS MEMORY BOOK (signature and date)

Ted Cowan                       March 27, 2001