Gig Harbor Now and Then’s question last time concerned the first ferry boat to serve on the Gig Harbor-Tacoma run, beginning in 1919. After only a few months, the City of Tacoma was taken out of service while a roof was constructed over its car deck. Why did the car ferry City of Tacoma need
Remember that time I wigged out after learning Gig Harbor’s famous Donkey Creek isn’t its real name, and that it’s not even a creek? And then I vowed to find out the origins of that naming catastrophe? Well, two months after I wrote about the so-called “North Creek” stream, we did a thing. But first,
Gig Harbor Now and Then’s last question of local history concerned a list of injuries, mostly broken or dislocated bones in the arm or wrist, from the 1920s to the 1940s. The three big clues given were that the accidents happened to far more men than women, were not seasonal and most often happened just
Our previous column’s subject transitioned from a failure to deliver fire to the successful delivery of ice. The Gig Harbor Now and Then local history question was: What was the name of the ice delivery man in Gig Harbor in 1931? Answer: Let’s see, what are the most obvious possibilities? Ice, Icicle, Cold, Chill, Cool,
Our previous column noted that in a unique event, a Japanese incendiary balloon designed to set the forests of the Pacific Northwest aflame landed on the Key Peninsula in 1945, near the end of World War 2. The topic generated three questions. Where did the Japanese incendiary balloon land on the Key Peninsula? Answer: On
Gig Harbor Now and Then’s question from last time concerned a major fire at the north end of Gig Harbor in 1923 that destroyed several waterfront buildings. A group of unorganized volunteers saved all the structures on the opposite side of the road. Question: What firefighting equipment did the unorganized Gig Harbor volunteer fire fighters
Partial digression resolution This week we’re starting off with our previous digression, where we asked two questions to which we did not have the answers. We have one now. It’s nice and appreciated that Lynn Kennard, a daughter of Proctor Peacock, took the time to confirm that the Harbor History Museum photo we linked to
Continuing the theme of “where was that store located?” our last question was: Where was Safeway’s original location in Gig Harbor? The easy answer is: Also at Point Fosdick Square, but closer to Point Fosdick Drive than it is now. The easy answer is also the wrong one. Yes, before the Safeway store’s present location,
What a year 2023 was. I know, I know. One could say that about any year. But for us here at Gig Harbor Now, it really was a BIG year. In 2023, readers clicked on our stories 1,151,300 times (through Dec. 26). Anytime a statistic hits seven digits, it’s a big number. But for context,
From a previous column, we know that Flamo, Standard Oil’s brand name for propane, was first demonstrated in Gig Harbor in 1930, in Berkheimer’s store. That led to the question: Where was Berkheimer’s store located? Answer: at 3118 Harborview Drive in Gig Harbor. Berkheimer’s first store in Gig Harbor was on the southwest corner of
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