The November 2003 issue of Snohomish County Seniors, a Supplement to the TRIBUNE published by Mach Publishing of Snohomish has an article written by Christine Ermey, Staff Writer, and I have obtained the permission of Becky Reed to copy that article to these two rootsweb sites. The title of the article reads: The way it was ... Snohomish oldsters reminisce By Christine Ermey, Staff Writer and is quote in full as follows: Ah, the good old days! ( I used to hear that expression when I was a youngster about the days when my family was telling of their times! Including those of early Snohomish! And so it goes. - CC.) At the Oct 14 meeting of the Snohomish County Historical Society, (sic.) several oldsters gathered to reflect on their memories of growing up in the hamlet of Snohomish. Ahandful of seniors discussed issues ranging from the climate of the city in World War II to city police officers of the past to the creation of creation (sic.) of State Route 9 in the 1950s. "I remember when a plane crashed into the river in 1940," said Snohomish resident and environmental conservationist Bob Heirman, as others nodded in agreement. "Two Navy pilots had engine trouble and hit a power line and crashed into 12 feet of water. They tried to launch their parachutes. But they both died." Carroll Clark shared some of his memories of Byccle Jim Wright, a Snohomish Police officer for 18 years beginning in the 1920s. Clark began his descriptions by setting the scene of the day in the city of Snohomish. "There was a tavern up Frist Street. When the loggers came into town from the woods," Clark began, "their recreation was to beat the living tar out of one another." Clark described how Wright patrolled the city's streets on his bike, because he never learned to drive. "He always marched the suspects to jail," he said. Clark also described a story in which Wright apprehended a suspected bank robber by overtaking his Model T, while on his bicycle, jumping onto the car's running board, drawing his revolver and ordering the suspects to pull over. "He marched them down first street to the city hall and jail," Clark said. "He was also feared by grizzly loggers. They had great respect for him." Betty Morse Greenlee's father, O.D. Morse, was the Snohomish Police Chief and Wright's supervisor. Morse Greenlee shared her memories of her father and his work in Snohomish. "He could handle people with just a look," she said. "The residents who lived here at the time were fine people, but there was a lot of drinking going on in those days. My dad was on the job every day." Heirman shared some of his scrap books and photos and some of his poetry from his book, Snohomish, My Beloved County: An Angler's Anthology. "When I was a kid, it always seemed like winters here were cold as cold could be," Heirman said, as he held up a old photo of Blackman Lake surrounded by snow. "I remember the winter of 1949-50 we skated on Blackman Lake alll winter long." He added that in his day, he and his friends always referred to the lake as Stillaguamish Lake. "Back then we used to drink the water straight out of the lake," he said. "Nowadays. I wouldn't drink the water out of that lake for anything." Heirman displayed photos of some of his neighbors and friends who lived near him on Blackman Lake during his youth. Along with the photos came short stories about the neighbors. "Lon Myrick was one of the biggest moonshiners in Snohomish County," Heirman said. "But he was always kind to me." He added that before Myrick died he gave Heirman some of his tools, which he still has today. Heirman said he laments some of the growth and development in the Blackman Lake area. "Im the last of the Mohicians," he said. "I'm the last guy with big timber. I've got three and a half acres. I'd be environmentally bankrupt if I cut it down." End of the quoted article from Seniors as printed. * * * I need to make a few comments about the article and about the evening we shared at Snohomish Historical Society held at the Waltz Building (formerly my old Band Room which was moved from Snohomish High down to its present location on Avenue B right next to the Blackman House Museum sponsored by Sno. Hist. Soc). I know that Christine Ermey meant well in her written account, but I need to clarify a bit. The account of Bicycle Jim Wright's arrest should be clarified like this: In the wee hours of morning when officer Jim Wright got off duty and was on his way home from his duty, he came upon one or more individuals trying to break into Ralph Tronsrud's home on Cedar Street, a half block away from my home where I could hear Jim shout something to the effect "Stop in the name of the Law or I will shoot!" -the person(s) ran and climbed back into their panel truck and tried to get away, but Jim Wright fired several shots into the panel truck because I could hear those shots, and they were LOUD. Jim Wright carried a .45 caliber pistol and he was a "dead eye" a "Crack shot" i.e. he was noted for his markmanship with that gun. The approx. year of the incident was say 1940(s), the truck was not a Model T. but a heavy metal panel truck which could have been a Dodge, Chevy, Ford, or whatever but that metal was thick, heavy steel, rounded in the rear and the size of those large bullet holes had to have been a .45 . He didn't kill anyone but Wright arrested the culprit(s) on the spot and off to the hoosegow they went. The resident, Ralph Tronsrud and family was spared the robbery in progress. It is unknown if the incarcerated were bank robbers. When Bob Heirman told of the plane that went into the drink and the two pilots were lost, it reminded me of the time when fighter pilots training for power dives did so just south of the town of Snohomish during WWII. The planes would power fully as they gained altitude and when they got up to their target height would practice doing power dives which had a very familiar sound as they dove toward ground full bore, then at a given point pull out of the dive, making for a very distinct pattern of sound combinations which we as residents got used to hearing regularly and often. Upon one such power dive I, at my home on 2nd Street across from what is now Star Building Antiques, but in that day was our WA National Guard Armory Bldg, I heard the usual acceleration that I had been used to hearing but suddenly there was just a puff (stopping of the dive)and the pilot didn't pull out of the dive - I knew what that meant. Since I was confined to bed with illness at that time, I couldn't go to see what the site looked like but a friend of the family did and he brought back a small piece of thick aluminum and he said that was the largest piece he could find. >From what I can recall that plan plowed approx. 30 feet into the ground as a result of that power dive. Bob Heirman suggested that the plane was a P-38, but I reminded him that the P-38 was a double fuselage plane but this one a single type fighter - don't know if it was a P50, P51 or what - the story is probably in the Herald Archives. I reminded Bob that the P-38 came out later in the war time as I watched P-38s practice "dog fighting" or near acrobatic type maneuvers firing at at a trailing target over Tacoma in later times during WWII. At the time I thought that the P-38 was the latest and greatest in aircraft for a prop plane. The winters of 1934, 1935 were heavy snow winters. As I recall, I visited Blackman's Lake and saw the lake frozen over but rather dangerous for those who got a rude awakening when they ditched through the ice. That is about the time I got a sled that was given to me by my family doctor, Dr. James A. Durrant. It had been his son's sled - an American Flyer and had the initials D.A. D.(Dudley A. Durrant) burned into the bottom of it and it still contained the grease pencil purchase price next to the initials $4.50 - I still have that sled to this day and treasure it and its memories, and that of the Dr. who had given it to me. His son was an ocean liner sea captain at the time that I was presented with the sled. His ship traveled over seas and it was a well known shipping company of its time, but I can't recall the exact name of it today. He was my birth Dr. and all through my early life until he passed away. The stories abound, and it is hard for younger persons to relate to those things of the past just as it was for us when our parents told of THEIR early times. * * * ATTENTION Diane Hettrick - I can recall in the late 1920s, possibly very early 30s my Mother taking me down to Kenmore in her 2-door Maxwell sedan with the wooden spoked wheels. She took me to see the Christmas extravaganza -beautifully lighted and huge displays of things related to Christmas - a spectacular sight. I can recall going around that near 320 degree highway turn before entering Kenmore. I have no idea when Kenmore became a town, but I do recall that event of Christmas displays, obviously large and well lighted - seems that some of them were moving but a very spectacular sight. Another fond memory is of my Mother stopping at the Baker's Chocolate Store in Lil' Ol' Lake City in those early times mentioned above with the Maxwell. There she would buy the various marzipan, colorful candies made of almond paste and formed into various pieces of vegetable, fruits, figures, etc. That and the wonderful chocolate selections which that store had. It was on the Interurban line and one could get off, shop, and catch the next Interurban headed for Everett?Snohomish or Seattle bound cars. I was so impressed with these events that I told my wife many years later when we were first married about the times I'd go through Lake City and Kenmore which was the route my Mother took in her Maxwell to and from Seattle. I made sure that I took my wife to the Baker's Chocolate Store that I had gone to as a child, and though she doesn't care for the marzipan stuff, she is a chocoholic and that is p a r a d i s e for those people! I like chocolate, but she has me beaten by far when it comes to chocolate preference. I swear that she gets the DTs unless she has chocolate often any time of the day or night ! Carroll in Snohomish * * * 30 * * *