Edmonds Beacon - Your Hometown News Source

I watched a YouTube video presented by "The History Guy," who likes to specialize in forgotten history. The particular episode was about Camp Ellis near Ipava, Illinois. During... — Updated 6/30/2022

It was nearly a three-hour drive from Edmonds to Issaquah to Port Orchard. Later in the day, I reversed the route to come home. Why would I do that? In Port Orchard there were... — Updated 6/23/2022

I'm the Galloping Ghost of the Japanese coast. You don't hear of me and my crew. But just ask any man off the coast of Japan If he knows of the Trigger Maru. - Constantine N.... — Updated 6/15/2022

I was looking through my old files to find something that I could post on the "Remembering Alpine Washington" Facebook page. I found an old interview granted by Mary Daheim. I also... — Updated 5/26/2022

I moved to Edmonds in April 1988. Most of what I thought I knew of Edmonds history was taken from what my four daughters learned in third grade history at Edmonds Elementary. The... — Updated 5/17/2022

I mentioned a few weeks ago that celebrated local author Mary Daheim had died. She had been the voice for the ghost town of Alpine, Washington, a title I have inherited. I also... — Updated 5/5/2022

We all know the southwest Snohomish County of today. Edmonds, Lynnwood, Mukilteo, Mill Creek, Mountlake Terrace, and Brier are the municipalities. But what about 100 years ago? Wher... — Updated 4/21/2022

Two events happened to affect fans of Alpine, Washington, which I've written about extensively for this column. The first was that Mary Daheim died March 30. Mary had been the... — Updated 4/14/2022

In a recent article I mentioned attending a program at the Mercer Slough Environmental Education Center in Bellevue. While there, I met a man who is knowledgeable about the history... — Updated 4/6/2022

An Edmonds birdwatcher mentioned to me that there didn't seem to be any grebes around. The grebe has always been a very common bird. On any given day he might see hundreds. A few... — Updated 3/26/2022

I am a member of the Edmonds Historic Preservation Commission. I guess that means I am a commissioner. I think most people think that the Edmonds Historic Preservation Commission... — Updated 3/23/2022

The name of actress Swoosie Kurtz is familiar to many. Years ago, I assumed that Swoosie was a nickname of some sort. Wrong. Swoosie is really her name, and there is a Puget Sound... — Updated 3/13/2022

Have you visited Joyce, Florence, Beverly, Addy, Arletta, Amanda Park, or Lebam? Those are all towns in Washington named for wives, daughters, and lady friends. There are certainly... — Updated 3/7/2022

My second daughter lives near Silver Lake in south Everett. Actually, she lives much closer to Ruggs Lake, but nobody has heard of Ruggs Lake, and most are at least little familiar... — Updated 2/18/2022

Creation myths are common for many cities. I suppose the most famous is the story of Romulus and Remus, fed by a wolf when they were infants. Romulus later killed Remus and created... — Updated 2/10/2022

I have driven past the Wilburton trestle in Bellevue more times than I can count. I have driven under it more than a few times; I only learned last year that originally there was no... — Updated 2/3/2022

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth;... — Updated 1/20/2022

The greatest pleasure in digging up buried history is that you never know what you're going to get. Because you don't what, if anything, is buried. It's a bit like Forrest Gump's... — Updated 1/15/2022

I call Skykomish my home away from home. But due to COVID-19, I haven't gotten there as often in the last two years as I would have liked. Fortunately for me and others, there is a... — Updated 12/22/2021

Everyone knows about the Titanic. Almost no one has heard of the Sultana. The Titanic sinking claimed more than 1,500 souls. It was worldwide news. But fifty years earlier, the... — Updated 12/16/2021

Did you ever play post office? I never did, and had no idea of the rules until doing some research on local post offices. A town was measured by its post office, as much as by its... — Updated 12/9/2021

While viewing the early arrivals of white birdies near the tulip fields in Skagit County, I visited the sites of Florence and Skagit City. Florence and Skagit City were pioneer... — Updated 12/2/2021

A number of years ago there was much complaining about a bridge to nowhere in Alaska. My story today is a bit different. It is about roads that would have gone somewhere useful in... — Updated 11/23/2021

I play pub trivia Tuesday nights at Shawn O'Donnell's American Grill and Irish Pub. O'Donnell's location is usually described as in south Everett, or maybe Mariner. It wasn't... — Updated 11/18/2021

Did Edmonds kids live in fear of "silk trains"? That question came to mind while visiting Easton, Wash., to help the people there who hope to organize a new historical society. We... — Updated 11/14/2021