Gig Harbor Community Member

Gig Harbor Now and Then: Squatters were early adopters of tiny houses

Aug 14, 2023

Our previous question asked: What was the average size of the 32 squatters’ houses on Military Reservation 23, at point Evans, barely north of the Narrows bridges, in 1916? Answer: 215 square feet. However, Lillian Young apparently didn’t have a house, so perhaps the total square feet should be divided by 31 houses. That would

Real Estate: Home prices stopped a slow skid in July

Aug 10, 2023

After five months of slowly declining monthly median home sale prices in the Gig Harbor and Fox Island communities, the median home price was flat from June to July at $819,995, according to data from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS). Home prices, which include single-family homes and condos located between the Purdy and Narrows

Wellness Wednesday: Why you shouldn’t ignore skin inflammation

Aug 09, 2023

Your body has a smart way of communicating to you when it’s in distress — through your skin. The layers of your skin can often be a reaction to something deeper going on within your body. From diet to mental health to exposure, there are various internal and external factors that can result in your

Letter to the Editor: More questions about PenMet’s levy request

Aug 07, 2023

Editor’s note: Craig McLaughlin submitted this letter in response to our June 22 story, PenMet proposing levy lid lift renewal From 2017 to 2023, as property values rose at a greater than 6% rate so that the “rate” of taxation dropped below the 75₵, this did NOT reduce PenMet’s overall income from property tax levies. 

Gig Harbor Now and Then: The search for a needle (or a stabilizer) in a haystack (or Burley)

Jul 31, 2023

Our previous question of local history concerned a cash reward offered for the return of a critical piece missing from a Boeing B-17 bomber that crashed in Burley in March 1943. How long did the kids of the Burley/Glenwood/Purdy area search for the bomber’s missing part? Answer: All through the summer of 1943. During a

Rotary of Gig Harbor seeking potential exchange students

Jul 28, 2023

Editor’s note: The Rotary Club of Gig Harbor wrote this article and submitted it for publication. The Rotary Club of Gig Harbor is looking for parents who feel they have raised exceptional young people who are destined for great futures — and for young people looking for ways to leverage their learning experiences by going

Letter to the editor: Levy funds help Gig Harbor Fire protect the community

Jul 27, 2023

Ballots have been delivered and more than 10% of those in the Gig Harbor Fire & Medic One service area have already been returned to the County Clerk. As Fire District Commission Chairman, I hope the majority of these, and the ones still sitting on kitchen counters, are cast in support of the District’s general

Gig Harbor Now and Then: Gig Harbor Lumber Company wood built this home, but it’s not in Gig Harbor

Jul 17, 2023

Our last question concerned the lumber sawed at the mill of the Gig Harbor Lumber Company, which operated from 1888 to 1891. There is only one remaining building known to have been constructed with Gig Harbor Lumber Company lumber, a house built in Gig Harbor in 1888. Where is the Gig Harbor house built from

Gig Harbor Now and Then: The Vine, government land and unpaid sailors

Jul 03, 2023

Two weeks ago, the debut column of Gig Harbor Now and Then featured three questions of local history. All concern the schooner Vine, the second ship built in Gig Harbor. This week we provide the answers. They are as follows: Question 1: Where in Gig Harbor was the Vine built? Answer: The Gig Harbor Lumber

It’s a small world: Gig Harbor alums meet at Airborne training in Georgia

Jun 28, 2023

Two Gig Harbor High School alumni earned their Army Airborne wings on June 23, 2023, at Fort Moore (formerly known as Fort Benning) in Columbus, Georgia. Ethan Baker, a 2020 Gig Harbor grad and a rising senior in the Reserve Officer Training Corps program at Gonzaga University, and Zach Standifer, a ’21 Gig Harbor grad