From the Digital Archives: Happy Fourth of July!
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“First Prize Car in July 4th Parade” ca 1910s Full Record |
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“First Prize Car in July 4th Parade” ca 1910s Full Record |
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Ferol Tibbetts sitting on car ca. late 1910s Full Record |
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Ferol’s dog Max in front of the Tibbetts garage ca. late 1910s Full Record |
The following are excerpts from Ferol’s journals:
“Went to Rentonwith Walter and then drove the Pierce home. Sure felt fine driving it.” – Book I, Sunday, July 29, 1923.
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“Unloading Apple Boxes” Most likely Ferol Tibbetts in driver seat ca. late 1910s Full Record |
“Minnie Archembault and I went for a ride with Mr. Kinnybru in a Studebaker Six. We went to Preston, Fall City, and Tolt. I drove home from Tolt. Sure like to drive a Studebaker.” – Book I, Thursday, October 25, 1923
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Opening of Snoqualmie Pass ca. 1915 Full Record |
“The Chevrolet Company is running an endurance test of a 100 hrs. Clyde [Powell] was to drive from 2a.m. to 8a.m. Ruth was going with him so they asked me to go. I went to bed over to Ruth’s. It is about 10:45 when we went to bed. Got up at 1:15, had coffee and toast and got started about 2:15. Thurs 9. It was raining and blowing like everything and was pretty cold. He went to Renton, Newport, Kirkland, Bothell, Redmond, FallCity, North Bend, back to Issaq. Then from here to Newport, Renton and then home again. It was then 6:30. Clyde went to Rentonand then Kirklandand handed the car over to the Chevrolet man there.” – Book II, October 8-9, 1924.
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Ferol Tibbetts sitting on hood of a car ca. late 1910s Full Record |
In 1979, Josephine Cornick Ross was 77 years old and lived at the Issaquah Villa nursing home. A student with a tape recorder interviewed her for a school assignment. More than 30 years later, their 22 minute conversation found its way into the collection of the Issaquah History Museums. This recording is the only narrative we have about Josephine’s life that she herself created. Unlike Ferol Jess Tibbetts and Minnie Wilson Schomber, whose letters and journals share details of their lives with us, we have only Josephine Cornick Ross’s photographs and brief oral history. For that reason, we have many more unanswered questions about Josephine.
But, there are some things one can surmise even without a pointed narrative, and a fascination with automobiles is one of them.
Unlike Ferol, Josephine’s family did not have access to their own automobile, as she explained to her interviewer:
Gilman Town Hall
165 SE Andrews Street
Open Thurs-Fr-Sat, 11am-3pm
(425) 392-3500
Issaquah Depot Museum
78 First Avenue NE
Open Fri-Sat-Sun, 11am-3pm
Issaquah Valley Trolley
78 First Avenue NE
Open May 9, 2015