2024 September
Wow! Did August fly by or what? Please continue to take care of yourselves and use your time wisely. Don’t use up all your energy in one day, spread it out throughout the week. And remember to sprinkle a little kindness wherever you go.
Here is a couple things you may have been thinking about.
Many cruise lines hold ceremonies in which a bottle of champagne is smashed against the hull of a new ship. If the bottle does not break, the vessel will – according to superstition – have bad luck. These days, cruise lines use mechanical devices to ensure that the bottle breaks.
In 1971, an English teacher, a history teacher and a writer decided to open a coffee shop in Seattle. But what to call it? They wanted the name to be a nod to early traders transporting beans by boat. One co-founder suggested Pequod, after the ship in Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick. When that didn’t appeal, the group researched old mining camps in the region, hitting on one called Starbo near Mount Rainier. That brought to mind Starbuck, the Pequod’s first mate. They tacked on an s, and a coffee legend was born.
Ballard
In 1887, three main investors, Captain Ballard (for whom Ballard was named), Mr. Burk and Mr. Leary formed the West Coast Improvement Company.
The legacy of Ballard springs from its status as an independent city, the City of Ballard, was set up in 1889.
Ballard is separated from Seattle by the Salmon Bay Waterway. Ballard’s transportation infrastructure was, and still is, an ongoing issue. Due to their proximity to water, boats were an important form of transportation when Ballard was founded. Ballard’s first wagon bridge was built in 1889 and the first railroad bridge went up in 1890. Ballard had its own stop on the railroad. In 1890 a private trolly company, the West Street Electric Co., started trains between Ballard and Seattle. Eventually the network for trolly tracks running through Ballard was extensive. Traces of these tracks can still be seen on some roads in Ballard today and explain why some streets in Ballard are much wider than standard.
The City of Ballard prospered primarily because of its lumber and shingle mills along the industrial waterfront. Ballard was the ideal location for timber mills. Captain Ballard convinced Mr. Stimson to build Stimson’s Mill on Salmon Bay. Ballard’s topography slopes down to the water and its virgin forest was cut, rolled down to the mills and boards and shingles were carried away by ship. The Seattle Cedar Co. followed in 1890. By 1905 more red cedar shingles were being produced in Ballard’s ten shingle mills than in any other community nationwide, earning Ballard the nickname “Shingletown.” Ballard was also referred to as the “Shingle Capital of America.”
In the early 20th century, Ballard’s fishing and boat building industries, begun by small family operations, grew in importance. The Ballard Locks, built in 1912-1917, and the Ship Canal project, 1911-1934, provided a sheltered harbor for the fishing fleet. In 1914 Fisherman’s Terminal was set up on the south shore of Shilshole Bay. Its facilities continued to support one of the largest fishing fleets on the West Coast and its supporting maritime industry has provided livelihoods for generations.
The City of Ballard was incorporated in 1890. It was the first community after Washington State achieved statehood in 1889. Ballard’s city council and jail were both found in Ballard City Hall at the north end of Ballard Avenue. The bell still hangs and rings in its original place today though the building it topped is gone (1965 earthquake damage). In 1904, Ballard built the first Carnegie Library in the greater Seattle area, now privately owned but still standing. Ballard has its own hospital and own fire department. Ballard also had many bars and, according to urban myth, an equal number of churches many of which are still standing along 20th Avenue NW. Although the population increased rapidly, north Ballard was still relatively rural. In 1903, the Cow Ordinance went into effect prohibiting free roaming cows south of 65th Street but north of 65th cows could still roam free.
Like other communities on the outskirts of Seattle, Ballard quickly outgrew its resources.
Seattle’s water source was the Ceder River. Ballard was not so lucky. In 1907, primarily due to lack of adequate water for its population of 15,000, Ballard citizens voted to be annexed to Seattle to ensure a good water supply for the area. Although Ballard’s City Hall was draped in black that day, Ballard did not lose its identity post-annexation.
Ballard’s housing stock grew as Ballard consistently topped all other Seattle neighborhoods for pre-World War II growth. Early Ballard houses were often farmhouses with room for large gardens, which were later filled with more houses. Single-family lots of 50 by 100 were actually double plat so that each lot was allowed to have two houses. This is why many Ballard streets have eclectic housing styles with Victorians next to Post-War Boxes, though some streets do have consistent architectural styles in a row. Today in Ballard you can still see pioneer farmhouses, company (mill) cottages, Victorian, Classic Box, Craftsman/Bungalows, miscellaneous: Tudor Cottage, Misson Cottage, Mench homes, Prairie Homes, Swiss Chalet, Italian Renaissance, Post War and Mid-Century. Wood was abundant and cheap. Many of Ballard’s older homes are built from old growth timber, superior in quality to second growth or farmed lumber.
In the late 1990s the concept of creating Urban Villages throughout Seattle was implemented to concentrate growth near commercial districts and prevent sprawl. Because Ballard is an attractive place to live close to downtown Seattle, by 2015 Ballard had exceeded predicted population growth by over 300 percent. Houses in the up-zoned residential area appointed as the Urban Village core are being replaced by new apartment buildings and town houses at a rapid rate with little regard to their historic context. There is currently no comprehensive inventory of the historic homes and buildings of Ballard. So terribly sad.
Notice:
Beginning on Friday evening, September 13, 2024, and continuing through Monday morning, October 21, 2024, the Ballard Bridge will be closed for a planned five weekends to make repairs and complete maintenance.
The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) announced that the closure of the bridge over various weekends would allow crews to proactively keep and preserve the bridge, which is 107 years old.
Public transportation riders should expect longer travel times as buses take alternate routes.
SDOT does not plan to close the bridge to pedestrians, bicycle traffic or boats passing underneath.
At this time, no changes to the schedule are expected but the work is dependent on the weather.
SDOT said that the work is important to extend the life of the bridge as it goes through dramatic weather changes and to prevent damage in case of a major earthquake.
Detour signs will be posted to help vehicle traffic get around the construction.
OK, time to have some fun.
My husband and I asked our 4-year-old grandson to describe his grandpa. “Bold” he answered. I praised him for such a kind compliment. Then he held his bangs back at his hairline and asked, “Am I getting bold?”
A blonde walks into a bank in New York City and asks for the loan officer.
She says she’s going to Europe on business for two weeks and needs to borrow $5,000. The bank officer says the bank will need some kind of security for the loan, so the blonde hands over the keys to a new Rolls Royce.
The car is parked on the street in front of the bank; she has the title, and everything checks out. The bank agrees to accept the car as collateral for the loan.The bank’s president and its officers all enjoy a good laugh at the blonde for using a $250,000 Rolls as collateral against a $5,000 loan. An employee of the bank then drives the Rolls into the bank’s underground garage and parks it there.
Two weeks later, the blonde returns and repays the $5,000 and the interest, which comes to $15.41.
The loan officer says, “Miss, we are very happy to have had your business, and this transaction has worked out very nicely; but we are a little puzzled. We checked you out and found that you are a multimillionaire.
What puzzles us is - why would you bother to borrow $5,000?”
The blond replies:” Where else in New York City can I park my car for two weeks for only $15.41 and expect it to be there when I return?”
My boss pulled up in his brand-new BMW today and I couldn’t help but admire it. “Nice car,” I said as he got out. “Well,” he said, noticing my admiring looks, “Work hard, put the hours in, and I’ll have an even better one next year.”
After the honeymoon, the new wife told her husband, “I think it’s time for you to stop playing golf. In fact, you might as well sell all of your clubs.”
The husband replied, “You’re starting to sound like my ex-wife.”
His wife looked at him crossly and said, “I thought you said you’ve never been married before?”
The husband responded simply, “I haven’t.”
A boss tells his new employee, "I'll give you fifteen dollars an hour starting today and in three months…., I'll raise it to eighteen dollars an hour. So when would you like to start?"
"In 3 months," the employee replies.
Boy aged 4: Dad, I’ve decided to get married.
Dad: Wonderful; do you have a girl in mind?!
Boy: Yes... grandma! She said she loves me, I love her, too....and she’s the best cook & storyteller in the entire world!
Dad: That’s nice, but we have a slight problem there!
Boy: What problem?!
Dad: She happens to be my mother. How can you marry my mother!
Boy: Why not?! You married mine!
I told my wife that a husband is like a fine wine: we just get better with age. The next day she locked me in the cellar.
An old cowboy walks into the barbershop for a shave and a haircut and he tells the barber he can’t get all his whiskers off because his cheeks are wrinkled from age.
The barber gets a little wooden ball from a cup on the shelf and tells the old cowboy to put it inside his cheek to spread out the skin.
When he’s finished, the old cowboy tells the barber that was the cleanest shave he’s had in years.
But he wanted to know what would have happened if he had swallowed that little ball.
The barber replied, “Just bring it back in a couple of days like everyone else does”.
I often see people my age out there climbing mountains and ziplining.. and here I am feeling good about myself, because I managed to get my leg through my underwear without losing my balance.
When I was young, I set a life goal for myself: I will buy a Lamborghini when I retire. This year, I’ve finally achieved half of the goal. I retired.
I’ve reached the age where I can’t tell.. whether I have sustained an injury, or that’s just the way I am now.
I just don't know how to act my age.
I've never been this old before.
A customer in an Italian restaurant is so please with his meal that he insists on telling the chef personally. The owner proudly leads him into the kitchen. “Your pizza is superb.” The customer tells the chef. “I spent a month in Italy, and yours is better than any I ever had over there.” “Naturally.” The chef says, “Over there they use domestic cheese. Ours is imported!”
Have an awesome day and know that someone has thought about you today.
Live life for today.
Look for a single moment of joy each day.
Pray for tomorrow.
Cherish your blessings.
And visit with your precious memories often.
Thank you for visiting and we hope to see you in 2026.
Your Ballard High School Class of 1966 Reunion Committee.