A winter scene shows the architecture diversity of Olympia. Olympia Hotel, was the pride of the Capital City shown upper right. ~Courtesy Craig/Smith private collection.

The Liberty Theater later became the Olympic Theater, and is now the Washington Center For the Performing Arts, circa mid-1940. ~Jerry Craig photograph.

From left, Ray Beetle, Bob Wohleb and Irv Flotree review plans for the new city hall, circa 1960s. ~Vibert Jeffers photograph; courtesy of Harry T. Johnson private collection.

Donald Long sits on the running board of a pickup holding a double-ender rowboat built for the U.S.S. Unimak icebreaker. Beside him is his brother, Roy A. Long. They and three unidentified men are in front of H.A. Long Boat Works on Jan. 28, 1942. ~Courtesy of Henry Long Jr. collection.

This shows the construction phase of the new city hall, located on Plum Street and Union Avenue. ~Merle Junk photograph; courtesy of Harry T. Johnson private collection.

This photo shows early construction of the Seventh Street railway tunnel, circa 1880s. ~Courtesy Craig/Smith private collection.

Bathers enjoy Capitol Lake's opening day. ~Washington State Historical Society.

The Sandman, owned by Arthur Weston, is a well-known tug. ~Courtesy Craig/Smith private collection.

This is a view of the Northern Pacific Railway Express station and the Seventh Street railway tunnel nearing completion. ~Courtesy Craig/Smith private collection.

Capitol Lake in the summertime. ~The Olympian Files.

Our Memories; continued

Ramblings

Ramblings

Jerry F. Craig wrote the following letter to help jog some memories:

The following ramblings are meant to jar the memories of those who grew up in Olympia. Helping me dredge names from the past were Marge Craig and Dick Smith.

First the news. I worked around the Olympia News in the late '40s as a freelance photographer, working for free. Remember Dean Shacklett? He was a hard-nosed reporter than later became editor. Those were the days of "give them hell no matter who they were," and Shacklett was one of the best at doing it, along with C.J. Walker, Dick Lawrence and even Vicky Draham Friend. The first full-time Olympia newspaper photographer was Bill Conser.

My grandfather, Claude Weston, was the first City of Olympia business commissioner and the youngest. He also started one of the first drayage companies, using a horse and buggy. He died in office at age 36 in 1910. According to a front page article in The Olympian my grandfather "died of smoking."

Uncle Arthur Weston was the original owner of the popular Sandman tugboat. He had been in the sand and gravel business in those early, early years, but lost that business in a card game to another well-known Olympia family.

Uncle J.F. Forbes owned Forbes Paving and was probably one of, if not the first, road oilers in the state. He and his crew went throughout the state oiling roads. His business was later sold to Pacific Sand and Gravel.

My father, James E. Craig, worked for the Railway Express in Olympia for 21 years after World War I. Those were the days when we had a train service in Olympia. The train ran daily between Aberdeen and Tacoma, coming across what is now Capitol Lake to the station at Seventh and Columbia.

At first the train had steam engines, then a flat-nosed diesel that went through the Seventh Street tunnel over the high bridge. It went through Lacey to Nisqually on to the spur line to Tacoma. I can even remember that sometime during the war President Roosevelt's train was rerouted here. There was a problem on the main tracks and here it came full bore through the Olympia station. I'd never seen a train move so fast through town.

My father, who was known as Jimmie, was known for promoting wrestling matches at the old American Legion Hall during the '20s and '30s. The Hall had been many things over the years, including an ice skating arena. My dad owned the Brotherhood Tavern in the Labor Temple during the war. It was a great longshoreman's hangout.

Grandfather Oscar Craig Sr. was the first bartender in the city (pre-1900) at what was known as Doane's Oyster Bar on Fifth Street. I guess there was a reason why I bought the Olympia Oyster House from Phil Brown many years later. When my father worked at the express company he would use a horse and buggy to haul Olympia oysters, which were iced and packed in wood boxes for shipment across the country.

My mother, Marjorie (Weston) Craig, told me there was an opera house in Olympia before the Liberty and Capitol theaters. The opera house, which burned, was on Fourth Street, where there now stands a large bookstore, Orca Books.

Let's now take a mental tour of Olympia. See if you remember any of the following:

- The old Schmidt Olympia Brewery tucked down on the side of the hill in Tumwater. It was one of the best employers this area has ever seen.

- The Capital Park Building, owned by Lee and Bud Dawley was the center of activity in the 1930s. The large auditorium later became Capital Lanes. My Uncle Harold Weston taught dancing lessons in the studios upstairs. He had danced professionally in Los Angeles with such stars as Ginger Rogers, then later returned to Olympia.

- The smoke-filled committee rooms on the fourth floors of the Senate and House gallery areas. Wow, those were the times when the booze flowed freely in and out of committee rooms. I know because I worked one session in the mid-40s as an elevator operator in the House.

- The Brown Derby and its great burgers.

- Then there were Harris Dry Goods, Sevolds Ice Cream (which later became Miller's Dept. Store), J.C. Penney, Leroy's Jewelers, Olympia Flower Shop, the Ideal Cafe, Crane's Cafe (it had one of the state's first liquor licenses), the five-story Kneeland Hotel and the three-story Mottman's Mercantile Store, Kay's Cafe, Bettman's Men's Store, Gottfeld's Men's Store, The Spar, Ben Moore's, 107 Tavern and the Rexall Drug Store, which was owned by Carleton Sears, who went on to become a senator.

- And we can't forget the theaters: The Avalon Theater on Fourth, owned by W.B. McDonald; the Capitol Theater, owned by the Zabel family; and the Liberty Theater on Washington Street.

The Liberty was an old vaudeville theater that later ran talkies, and was managed by Harold Murphy during the war years.

- Remember the grill and beer joint next to Vibert Jeffers Studios? That was the place for the "in crowd" to go during the war years. The original Farmers Market was at the end of Legion Way and had great peanut butter.

Grocery stores included Heye Brothers Grocery, Klingbeils Meats, Cunninghams, Evergreen Market, Newmans Meats, Apex Grocery and Ralph Storman's original grocery store and bakery on Legion Way.

- Reliable Welding built small military vessels during the war. And remember the U.S.S. Hollandia, a CVE that was parked at the port for a long time?

Yes, Virginia . . .

Rosemary Shattuck wrote the following:

Yes, Virginia, there really is a Sasquatch.

According to a friend, who I'll simply call R.P. (he still wants to remain anonymous, even after all these years), Sasquatch is more than just a fantasy. Nearly 25 years ago, he saw the elusive, big, hairy, ape-like creature we commonly call "Big Foot."

R.P. and Jeff Greenway (now deceased) headed to Capitol Lake at about 11 p.m. with bows and arrows in hopes of securing a goose to barbecue. There were no geese, but there was a solitary figure that made them scurry for cover. The two watched as the figure came toward them, taking loping strides of approximately 5 feet in length.

As it came closer, the boys saw it was about 9 feet tall, weighed between 300 and 500 pounds and had shoulders that were almost 4 feet wide.

Its body was covered with 4 to 6 inches of dark brown hair that went over its head, down its short neck, onto its back and hung down under long arms that reached well below its knees. It moved humped over, with knees bent.

The hairy figure moved quickly along the area between the Westside Bridge and the elegant brick house built alongside the railroad tracks, then made its way across the Parkway and toward the lake. It continued toward the Marathon Park's lit facilities by the lake, where the boys were hiding motionless behind a small tree. R.P. thinks the creature smelled their presence because it suddently pivoted and hurried back to the Parkway road.

When it reached the high bank next to the road, the huge creature was up and over it with only one and a half strides.

The figure disappeared into the woods, leaving no tracks that the boys could find when they searched the following day.

The two didn't broadcast their terrifying experience, however. When the boys' families wouldn't believe their tale, R.P. and his friend decided to keep the story to themselves.

However, they shouldn't have been too shy about telling their story about seeing a great hairy beast. Over the years it's been seen and identified by several names: Big Foot, Ape Man, Sasquatch, Abominable Snowman, Evil Genii, Skookums.

During 1847, it was spotted by Mount St. Helens Indians and also by early miners, then old-timers near Oakville reported seeing it in 1912, and many others after that.

So, R.P., you and Jeff weren't the only ones who saw the hairy figure skulking through the woods around Washington. There are those who would believe your tale and become believers in the great Sasquatch.

The Olympian Copyright 2000

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