10 Years Ago 1997

Marysvilles Historical Society will gain a corduroy-bound collection of valuable first-person accounts from the citys earliest settlers and close to 60 new members when the Pioneers Association votes to merge Sunday, April 27, 1997. The combination will bring together a group dedicated to the history of Marysville and a group representing that history. They are interested in preserving the history of Marysville and so are we, said Steve Edin, the president of the Historical Society. The Pioneers have about 60 members, who will join close to 100 Society members, although some are members of both. The immediate efforts of the Society will be focused on the proposed museum. The Pioneers, founded around 1910, is made of members who have lived in Marysville at least 25 years. The group meets once a year in a largely social gathering in which they honor a pioneer and add to their extensive collection of historic photographs. The Pioneers are holding their annual meeting Sunday to officially vote on their nuptials with the Historical Society. This is important, especially with the possibility of the proposed museum, said Association President Mary Kirkland. At its March meeting, the Society chose to approve the union, and Kirkland expects the same when her group gathers at the library Sunday, she said. The preservation of Maryvilles history has been the driving force for both organizations, and the museum has given them reason to combine their efforts, Edin said. Kirkland took over the presidency of the organization last year. In addition to the paper cups left over from the previous years meeting, she was handed a box with a bound book, she said. Opening the box, she found a corduroy-covered, leather-backed, 500-page book containing hand-written and typed biographies of Marysvilles earliest settlers and families, including Frank Comeford, whose mother was the citys first schoolteacher, and whose father gathered the signatures to incorporate the town. The photographs and the bound collection share the fate of the bulk of what the Historical Society has collected. Many of the historical artifacts and the recorded pioneer histories are spread around town, Edin said. The collections held by members of both organizations hide in closets, basements, attics and under beds. The Pioneers will essentially be absorbed into the Historical Society, Kirkland said. Her group asked for only one provision, she said. The Historical Society will continue a Pioneer tradition of honoring a 25-year Marysville resident each year. The Historical Society will offer a seat to a Pioneer on their board of directors, Edin said. They are just as excited about the reality of [the] museum as we are, Edin said. Indeed, the proposed museum has brought several of the citys groups together. The efforts toward an historical museum have attracted a local Rotary Club chapter in addition to the Pioneers. The new group will continue to exist under the Historical Societys name.

25 Years Ago 1982

It isnt only the sanitary conditions of a large parcel of land immediately west of Interstate 5 and north of 116th Street which have neighborhood residents worried, as a concerned area citizen points out. Ralph Merkel, who owns a 40-acre farm adjacent to the undeveloped property on the Tulalip Reservation, says he is worried that one day a stray bullet may fell one of his cows, or worse. He donned a radio speaker one day recently to simulate a soldier in the barren battlefield, then surveyed a series of bullet-ridden automobile bodies in other parts of the property. Besides being used as a shooting range, the area also serves as a motorbike riding course and as a garbage dump for such things as wrecked autos, fridges, stoves, washers and dryers and other refuse. The Snohomish Health District in Everett, when contacted about the problem Monday, said it would dispatch one of its personnel to the area to investigate. Health District director Charles Mangum said area citizens should contact the Health District if they see anyone dumping refuse on the land. Merkel says he has called the police regarding the disturbances in the area, but says nothing seems to be done. Its quieted down, for now, for awhile, but, give them time and theyll be back with their guns and bikes, Merkel said. The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Department, which has jurisdiction over the area, has responded to calls. County Sheriff patrolman Bob Williams says the North Precinct has had several calls regarding disturbances in the area but says he department has had difficulty apprehending anyone. By the time we get out there, theyve gone. Grace Goedel, one of the propertys owners, has requested, in letter form, that the Snohomish County Sheriffs Department arrest and convict any trespassers. No trespassing signs are posted around the property.

50 Years Ago 1957

Sunday a record number of opening day anglers on the many lowland lakes of the area had their spirits dampened somewhat by rather unsportsmanlike weather that reached storm proportions by evening. The largest number of fishermen ever were at the lakes of their choice as the day broke on the first day of the 57 season. But after about two hours of heavy rain and a south wind that reached velocities of over 35 mph on occasion, about half of these scurried for shore, packed up their gear, loaded the boats and headed for home. About 9 a.m. the sun fought its way through the clouds for a short time, giving some encouragement to remaining anglers but the gusty wind held on, making boat fishing a rather risky and difficult task. Despite natures rather nasty greeting, a majority of those who stuck it out caught their limit of trout averaging eight inches or longer on some lakes. My fishing partners, Brad, 4-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Warren Quast; Susy, brother Whiteys offspring, also 4-years-old, my [Sal Gairdneri] number one son, Gene, age 7, number two son Steve, age 6, and Doug Larsen, age 9, didnt seem to mind the weather so long as the fish were biting and were loath to leave until they had strangled all the trout the laws allowed. We spent the night in dads (Ole Lundstedt) cabin on Lake Loma and Sunday was a picnic compared to spending the night with five excited kids full of soda pop and hot dogs. A rather unfortunate mishap due to Sundays storm was the loss of a 23-foot cabin boat belonging to Bob Gilbert. The boat drifted aground while the Gilberts and their guests were digging clams on Camano Head. When the craft, which had been anchored a short distance off shore, was observed to be drifting into the rocks, prevalent along the beach at the head, Gilbert made an attempt to rescue it but the force of the wind and the waves proved to be too great and he had to abandon her, taking only what personal gear he could carry. The boat soon healed over as she took in water from her stove-in sides, leaving the Gilbert party stranded. Walking a considerable distance to a highway store they called a Maryville man who drove over to bring the castaways back to their home port. The largest fish caught on the weekend was undoubtedly the 2,200 pound mud shark, displayed for a time at Robinson Marina. The shark was caught in a net off Hat Island by an unidentified commercial fisherman. The shark was 17 feet long.