Redmond Historical Society

MAY 2010 • NEWSLETTER • Vol. 12 • NO. 5

Our PURPOSE:
To Discover, Recover, Preserve, Share and Celebrate
Redmond’s History

FB rom Farmer to
el Square Developer

Bellevue Square’s
anchor building
and parking lot
(top left) stand out
in this late 1950s
photo, which also
shows a school
where today’s
Downtown Park is.
(Photo is courtesy
of Eastside
Heritage Center;
Image #1997.21.13).

Any who’s who of Eastside movers

and shakers would have developer Kemper
Freeman Jr. near or at the top of the list. Join
us on May 8 as he reflects back on the family May
business started by his dad that turned a General Meeting:
strawberry farm into Bellevue Square.
Saturday, MAY 8
The family even has Redmond roots, 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 nooN
having lived in the 1950s on Marymoor Farm, Old Redmond Schoolhouse
today’s Marymoor Park, with Kemper Jr. and 16600 NE 80th Street

his sister raising dairy cattle.

1
History is happening in Redmond • May 2010
2010
Executive Board
Chris Himes • President
Judy Lang • Vice-President
W hat’s New
Online?
May is Historic Preservation
Miguel Llanos • Vice-President Month across the country, and
Joanne Westlund • Treasurer
City planner Jayme Jonas has a
Mary Hanson • Corresponding
Secretary Web page dedicated to this year’s
Beryl Standley • Recording Secretary theme “Old is the New Green.”
Board of Directors Check out: http://www.redmond.
Nao Hardy gov/insidecityhall/planning/
Jon Magnussen
John Phillips preservation/preservationmonth.
Doris Schaible asp.
Patti Simpson Ward
Joe Townsend
Mayor John Marchione will
Margaret Evers Wiese also be presenting us with a
preservation proclamation at the
Office Manager • Monica Park
May 18 City Council meeting.
Attorney • Charles Diesen
Library Liaison • Andy McClung
Our finances are public record and may
be viewed at the office. Table of Contents
PAGE

FREE Newsletter 1 Cover article: From Farmer

If you don't subscribe, please sign up.
Call the office at 425.885.2919 or email to Bel Square Developer
info@redmondhistoricalsociety.org.
State your preference of email or U.S. 2 What’s New • Online
Mail. (We prefer email as it's inexpensive
and photos show up better online.) 3 What’s New • Our Collection

The Redmond Recorder 4 Thank You’s

is published nine times annually.
Miguel Llanos • Editor
Patti Simpson Ward • Society &
Newsletter Graphic Designer
MAJOR
SPONSORS
5 Eastside Events
6-8 RHS News: Walking Tours,
Stitch Yourself in Time, In
Memoriam, and Elly Loftin
9 Order Now • Books, Cards
& Gift Ideas from RHS

10 Membership • Attendees

11 Membership • Form

12 Address & RHS Contact Info

2
May 2010 • History is happening in Redmond
 WHAT’S

W hat’s New in
Collection?
Our
NEW

Crew from the Society setting up the displays at the old Bill Brown Garage.

Our stated purpose as a society includes sharing and celebrating

Redmond’s heritage, so we jumped at the chance to do that by showcasing
part of our collection in windows at the old Bill Brown Garage ~ previously
Underhill’s Furniture and now the State Liquor & Wine store!
Among the items now there (and seen here) are the pot-bellied stove
that had been at the Redmond Trading Company (today’s Half-Price Book
Store). Volunteers Joe Townsend, Joanne Westlund, Thea Benjamin, Judy
Lang and Miguel Llanos (behind the camera! helped set up the displays
a few days after Judy, her grandson Dan Becker and neighbor John Gess
hauled the stove and other large artifacts from our office and her garage!
Thanks to all for helping share our heritage.
Swing by and check out the history for yourself! Each of the five
windows used represents a different theme: The Trading Company; a mid-
20th Century home (steamer trunk, furniture); logging; Bill Brown’s legacy;
and a huge aerial picture of Redmond in the 1960s.

3
History is happening in Redmond • May 2010
 THANK
YOU
TO . . . DORIS SCHAIBLE for donating the plant for last month’s
Society meeting door prize.

Brett Barker beside the beautifully

restored display case.

We thanked Brett Barker last issue for restoring the antique display
case donated by Clara and Jerry Hammersberg.
Now we’ve got a photo of him with the finished product, which sits
outside our office. Brett’s wife, Becky, is the daughter of Society members
Roxie and John Phillips.

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May 2010 • History is happening in Redmond
 EASTSIDE
EVENTS

Happy Valley: Emergency MAY

Preparedness Program 18
Location: Happy Valley Grange
ADDRESS: 19720 NE 51st Street, Redmond
Date/Time: Tuesday, May 18 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.
COST: FREE!

A re you ready if disaster strikes? If not, join the Redmond Police and the
Redmond chapter of the Community Emergency Response Team for tips on
preparing. Contact Alison Cook at 425.868.8480 for more information.

Bellevue: Colman Cold Case MAY

Location: Mercer Slough Environmental Education Center 20
ADDRESS: 1625 118th Ave SE Bellevue
Date/Time: Thursday, May 20 at 7:00 p.m.
COST: FREE!

Eastside Heritage Center presents Sherry Grindeland and Tom Hitzroth as they
explain the mystery, and theories, about an Eastside murder in the late 1800s. The
two have spent years researching the case, using the diary of Clarissa Colman to
recreate events leading to her husband’s murder.

Bellevue: Fraser Cabin Heritage Programs

Location: Fraser Cabin at Kelsey Creek Farm Park
ADDRESS: 410 130th Place SE, Bellevue
Date/Time: Saturdays ~ May 15, June 19, July 17, August 21, September 18;
Saturday & Sunday, October 9 & 10
11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
COST: FREE!

Could you have survived the late 1800s? Try your hand at settler life as the
Eastside Heritage Center opens up the log cabin lived in by the Fraser family over
100 years ago! For more information, contact the center at 425.450.1049.

5
History is happening in Redmond • May 2010
 R
RHS
NEWS edmond Walking Tours, 2010

When you drive or

walk along Leary Way you’re
passing through the heart of
Redmond’s history. Many of
those buildings are among
our oldest, but do you
know the stories they tell?
Like, which one was both an
undertaker’s premises and a Patti Simpson Ward’s painting of the Bill Brown Building.
bordello?
Tom Hitzroth will
educate and entertain Stitch Yourself Into
folks with another round of Redmond History
walking tours that explore We’re looking for 100 designs
those histories. of Redmond’s heritage to turn into
This year’s dates are (tours 100 quilt squares ~ and then into a
are not held if it rains): giant quilt that we can raffle off as
• May 16 a fundraiser in 2012 when Redmond
• June 20
turns 100!
• September 19
The names of all those
Tours run from 1:00 to 2:30
whose designs are used will
p.m. and walkers meet on the
be incorporated into the quilt’s
front steps of the Justice White
border so now’s your chance to be
House at 7730 Leary Way.
An $8 fee helps fund stitched into history! If you’d like to

Society research. Pre- participate, please contact Joanne

registration is required.
To register, phone the
Redmond Historical Society
office at 425.885.2919
or email them at info@
redmondhistoricalsociety.org.
Westlund at jmwestlund@verizon.
net or call 425.898.0399.
If you are willing to help with
the actual quilting, we would love
to hear from you as well! Squares
must be delivered by September.

6
May 2010 • History is happening in Redmond
 RHS

I n Memoriam: Dan Janus

A man dedicated to local public service and youth baseball, Dan Janus
NEWS

passed away on March 18.

Dan had served on the City Council from 1964-1969, including a stint in
1967 as mayor pro tem, and then served again as a councilman from
1972-1978. Dan was also instrumental in creating Hartman Park, and was a
devoted Little League and Babe Ruth baseball coach and umpire. A WWII
vet, Dan served in the Naval Air Command from 1943-1947, and later had a
career in Seattle as an operating engineer.
Survivors include his wife of 60 years, Diantha Rees Janus. “Danny and
Diantha enjoyed 60 years of marriage,” the family said in Dan’s obituary.
“They danced for 30 years at their club, loved to bowl, golf, camp and travel,
but most of all they enjoyed spending time with their friends and family.”

Dan and Diantha Janus, far right, with John and Patty Lawson enjoying one of their pastimes.

7
History is happening in Redmond • May 2010
 A
RHS
NEWS nyGuesses Who This
Might Be?
If you knew this gal you won’t be surprised when you find out. She
grew up on a truck farm in the Sammamish Valley and spent her summers
pulling carrots, swimming at Gateway Grove and hanging out with friends.
She was my neighbor, friend and my “protector.” I always felt safe when
she was at my side. She had “survival smarts,” didn’t seem to be afraid of
anything and was just plain gutsy.
Then the Army came to town and my protector left. She married,
moved away and started a family a long way from Redmond. Over the years
she faced many changes in her life and ended up in Arizona. There she has
farmed, mined and started a club for “snow birds” prospecting for gold and
probably a whole lot of adventures I haven’t been told.
Here’s where the centerfold comes in. The February issue of Arizona
Highways magazine featured her and her mining history in an article titled
“Alone on the Hill”. Who is she? Elly Loftin, though back home we all knew
Elly as Elinor Cerqui!
~ Judy Lang

Elinor Cerqui as a youngster

Elly Loftin in the Arizona

Highways magazine

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May 2010 • History is happening in Redmond
 ORDER
NOW
“Redmond Reflections”
$22 (INCLUDES TAX)*

FREE SHIPPING for RHS members, so if you haven’t joined or renewed,

there’s a form on page 11 to send in with this book order form.
Non-members, please add postage:
$3 for 1 book, $5 for 2 books, $8 for 3 or more books

ORDERING INFO:

NAME PHONE NUMBER

# OF BOOKS ORDERED AMOUNT ENCLOSED (CHECK PLEASE)

SHIPPING INFO:

name

street addRESS

city • state • zip

✂
Great Gift Ideas
for 2010
Need something special for someone
who loves our history? These items are
available at our Society office:

GREETING CARDS, MAGNETS &

NOTE CARDS
featuring artwork by local artists:
• Patti Simpson Ward
• Dorisjean Colvin
• Pat Dugan
Artwork of the Redmond Saturday Market featured
on this year’s Market Posters “Our Town”
Title: “Meeting at The Market” A history of Redmond, by Nancy Way
by fine artist Patti Simpson Ward
Our “View of History” DVD

9
History is happening in Redmond • May 2010
MEMBERSHIP
A pril 10th
Meeting Attendees
Were you at our April meeting? These folks were! First time attendees

are noted in BOLD CAPS:

Ray Adams Fred Stray

Dave Bartley Anne Tollfeldt
Elsie Bartley Harvey Tollfeldt
Tony Emmanuel Joe Townsend
Evelyn Gilbert Judy Turner
Charlotte Hahnlen Arlyn Vallene
Marge Hanson Rose Weiss
Mary Hanson Joanne Westland
Roy Hanson Devin Wulff
Clay Heilman DIONNE WULFF
Jordon Ingersoll Bob Yoder
Rosemarie Ives
Elaine Keeley
Bruce Kenyon Our Lifetime Members
Cheryl Kenyon Eric Anderson
John Anderson
Carol Kubby Barbara Neal Beeson
Judy Lang Brad Best
Miguel Llanos Marjorie Stensland Costello
Liz Carlson Coward
Daryl Martin Frank Garbarino
Eileen McCoskrie Edwawrd L. Hagen
Larry E. Miller Lucille B. Hansen-Bellings
Naomi Hardy
JANET MORGAN Patricia Weiss Jovag
Richard Morris Barbara Weiss Joyce
Alexa Munoz Glenn Lampaert
Roy Lampaert
Monica Park Judy Aries Lang
Mike Patterson Miguel Llanos
John Phillips Jon Magnussen
Charles Reed
Roxie Phillips Clare ‘Amo’ Marr
PAT RAMAN Daryl Martin
Allison Reed Morris
Patsy Rosenbach
Frances Spray Reed
LATHA SAMBAMURTI Vivian Robinson
Doris Schaible Laurie Rockenbeck
Margy Rockenbeck
Claudia Scott William Rockenbeck
Nina Schelden Doris Bauer Schaible
Gary Smith Fred Stray
Arlyn Vallene
Beryl Standley Don Watts
Jim Stensland Rose Weiss
Fran Stray Margaret Evers Wiese
James Windle

10
May 2010 • History is happening in Redmond
 J oin the
MEMBERSHIP

Redmond Historical Society

To Discover, Recover, Preserve, Share and
Celebrate Redmond’s History

Renewing Members, Please Send in Your 2010 Dues!

LEVELS OF MEMBERSHIP (✓ Check one only.)

$5.00
❍ TRAILBLAZER (Student)
$20.00
❍ PIONEER (Individual)
$35.00
❍ HOMESTEADER (Family)
$200.00
❍ ENTREPRENEUR (Supporter)
$250.00
❍ CORPORATE (Business)
$1,000.00
❍ HISTORY MAKER (Lifetime)
All contributions are tax deductible.

Please make checks payable to: REDMOND HISTORICAL SOCIETY

✉ Fill out the form below, cut if out and mail it with your check to:
Redmond Historical Society
Attn: Membership
ORSCC, Room 106
16600 NE 80th Street
Redmond, WA 98052

NAME

If FAMILY MEMBERSHIP, other names to be included

PHONE NUMBER

EMAIL ADDRESS

street addRESS

city • state • zip

birthday(s)

Newsletter deLIverY: ❍ Email ❍ U.S. Mail

✂ 11
History is happening in Redmond • May 2010
 May 2010 • History is happening in Redmond
Redmond Historical Society
16600 NE 80th Street, Room 106
Redmond, WA 98052
PHONE 425.885.2919
WEB SITE redmondhistoricalsociety.org
Email info@redmondhistoricalsociety.org
Hours Monday, Wednesday and Thursday:
9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and by appointment