Articles written by Tim Raetzloff
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Traveling can bring discovery | History Files
There’s plenty of history in Edmonds, but 20 years ago my late wife and I, and our three younger daughters, took a trip of discovery to canyon country: Grand Canyon, Bryce... — Updated 2/11/2021
Life in 1889 Edmonds and beyond | History Files
In the past, I leafed through the 1889 R.L. Polk directory – which listed businesses – in the Edmonds Historical Museum. (The museum is currently closed due to the coronavirus p... — Updated 1/18/2021
Getting it right, and getting it wrong, on 'Jeopardy!'
Editor's note: Edmonds resident Tim Raetzloff, who writes the History Files column for the Beacon, was a contestant on a "Jeopardy!" episode that aired in January 1989. (His show... — Updated 1/17/2021
Game show memories: What is my 'Jeopardy!' experience
Editor's note: Edmonds resident Tim Raetzloff, who writes the History Files column for the Beacon, was a contestant on "Jeopardy!" in 1988. After the death of longtime host Alex... — Updated 1/11/2021
How the counties got their shapes | History Files
Have you visited Ferguson County lately? Maybe you just drove through and didn’t stop. Maybe the name just doesn’t sound familiar. That’s OK. Few people can rattle off the... — Updated 6/4/2020
Who knew? Washington's shared distinction in American history | History Files
Washington was admitted to the union Nov. 11, 1889, less than a year before Edmonds was incorporated. Every fourth grader in the state might be able to tell you that snippet of... — Updated 5/7/2020
Alpine and the Spanish flu | History Files
Author Mary Daheim sent me an email that her cousin Steve Shelley, who is also an author, sent her a message reminding her that during the Spanish flu in 1918-1919 Alpine,... — Updated 4/16/2020
Coronavirus: The stock market, 1987, and today | History Files
Back in the previous millennium, I was a stockbroker for seven years. I wasn’t a very good stockbroker because I rebelled against selling the high-profit products and that... — Updated 3/19/2020
The Stanley Cup and the Spanish flu | History Files
The Stanley Cup still bears evidence of the Spanish flu, more than 100 years after the event. A couple of years ago I asked my friend Billy Gleeson to take a picture of the Stanley... — Updated 3/5/2020
Technology Corridor: History worthy of remembrance | History Files
Driving near Paine Field recently, I saw a sign for the Technology Corridor. I didn’t realize any of those signs still existed. For the Technology Corridor is mostly forgotten,... — Updated 2/20/2020
History in perspective | History Files
In studying history, like art and architecture, perspective is paramount. An acquaintance sent me a note, probably paraphrased of what he had read in an old journal from an early... — Updated 2/6/2020
Lore vs. history | History Files
I have heard various people complain that the history they remember isn’t taught anymore. And to some extent that is true. Many voices had been left out of the historical... — Updated 1/30/2020
Our washaway coast, and the upcoming sea rise | History Files
I saw a high-school classmate posted a photo from Grays Harbor County on Facebook. It turned out to be the Moclips Hotel collapsing into the ocean. Before I read the caption I had... — Updated 1/23/2020
Protecting Puget Sound: The Triangle of Fire | History Files
Washington has some lovely state parks that were once a part of the coast defense system. Fort Casey on Whidbey Island was one of the forts. Also Fort Worden at Port Townsend, and... — Updated 12/5/2019
Snohomish County stock index: 25 years later | History Files
Twenty-five years ago, I began to calculate the Abarim Snohomish County Stock Index . My hope for the index was that it would shine light on Snohomish County companies that... — Updated 11/26/2019
The Cascades tilted, and population slid to the west side | History Files
I think we all realize that western Washington isn’t like what it used to be. The forests we have are different from the forests that were once here. To see an old-growth tree, yo... — Updated 11/21/2019
The Chimacum | History Files
If you take the ferry from Edmonds to Kingston, and then drive to Port Townsend, you will likely drive through Chimacum on Highway 19. A farm near Chimacum was the source of the... — Updated 11/7/2019
I'll take 'why should read history,' Alex | History Files
"You have no chance of winning. You are too old and your reflexes are too slow. These young people will all be faster." Such was the cheerful advice of Alex Trebek at dinner. One... — Updated 10/17/2019
The Seattle Spirit? Towns the railroad bypassed | History Files
I grew up in Seattle. Washington state history was in the curriculum one year; another year included U.S. history. One year in elementary school, we were taught Seattle history.... — Updated 9/12/2019
Railroads: What might have been
Thanks to William Russ, an article from 1907 in the Aberdeen Herald passed through my hands. The article reported the competing railroad plans to build belt lines around the Olympic... — Updated 6/26/2019
Railroads: What might have been | History Files
Thanks to William Russ, an article from 1907 in the Aberdeen Herald passed through my hands. The article reported the competing railroad plans to build belt lines around the Olympic... — Updated 6/21/2019
A few historic gifts from Edmonds’ past | History Files
People give me things because they know that I am interested in history. Some of the things are given to me as gifts for me, such as a set of photos of cabooses, or books about... — Updated 4/24/2019 Full story
Celebrating Edgar Martinez on Opening Day
The display on my phone came from the 509 area code. I almost didn't answer, and waited several rings before I did. A young-sounding man on the other end identified himself as... — Updated 4/5/2019 Full story
Edmonds didn’t record history well | History Files
"History is written by the winners." I have seen that quote attributed to George Orwell, Napoleon and, more recently, Dan Brown. The phrase itself represents how difficult... — Updated 3/20/2019
The deadliest natural disaster in Northwest history | History Files
Pop quiz. What was the deadliest natural disaster in the Northwest, in terms of loss? I bet I get a lot of Mount St. Helens answers. The infamous eruption of May 18, 1980, was a... — Updated 3/8/2019