Above Ground Tour

  Born 22 Apr 1898 Death 25 Jul 1989 (aged 91) Port Townsend, Jefferson County WA USA Greenwood Cemetery Author of the Still and I, From Trash to Treasures, Hadlock Hill During the Great Depression Mr. Kivley ran a moonshine still in Stanwood Washington to help make payments for his family's farm and was arrested. He was sentenced to one year in jail to be served in Jefferson County. While in jail he improved his English skills and volunteered for any duties. The local Sheriff had a summer place on Indian island that Melvin turned into a self-sufficient farm that ended up feeding the local prisoners. Upon his release from jail he and his wife Ann rented a farm near Hadlock, Washington and turned a dilapidated bunkhouse into a secondhand store he rented for $2 a year and began trading. Their first business venture was selling eggs. Every Sunday they would walk several miles carrying 2 milk pails filled with 12 dozen eggs to sell for 20 cents a dozen. In his book From Trash to Treasu...

A Southbound Siemens-built S70 car Artist concept of Shoreline South/145th Station to be completed 2025 and presently under construction. Courtesy of Sound Transit At the turn of the 20th Century Broadview residents worked on farms, fishing or in lumber mills and a roundtrip to downtown Seattle was a grueling 8 hour buggy ride. Automobiles were scarce, and trains were plentiful when Seattle commuters were tempted to try the Puget Sound Electric Railway: “Hourly service… Baggage Checked Free… Low Rates.. Fast Time.. No Cinders… No Smoke”. Then in 1910 a commuter could board an electric rail car at 5th and Pike and be whisked sixteen miles north to Forest Park [now Lynnwood] in 45 minutes for 40 cents! The Seattle - Everett Traction Company’s Interurban train cars slowly traversed Westlake and Phinney Ridge until North of 85th St where it reached speeds exceeding 60mph through old growth stands of Doug Fir and tiny communities such as Groveland, Bitter Lake, Ronald and Forest Park. The I...

Wealthy, Tompkins King, Dutch Mignone, Roxbury Russett apples harvested from Pipers Orchard in Carkeek Park   2020 will undoubtedly be the year that shatters fruit harvest records in Broadview if such records are actually kept.  City Fruit recently harvested apples at Pipers Orchard in Carkeek Park for the #GreatSeattleFruitHarvest and a local backyard tree produced over 576lbs of apples.  Fall in Broadview has meant apple harvests since the 1890s when the Piper family homesteaded here. The Pipers originating from Germany planted European Apples Bietgheimer, Gravenstein, Tompkins King, Dutch Mignone also American varieties Esopus  Spitzenburg and Wealthy. European apples have complex flavor profiles such as Beitgheimer which is slightly sour. Esopus Spitzenburg originated in New York and was Thomas Jefferson’s favorite apple. The commonality between these original apples at Pipers could be their use in baking as they had both a bakery and confectionery in downtown ...

  We spent a summer afternoon pruning trees in Pipers Orchard when Bruce a fellow volunteer asked have you seen the waterwheel? Having lived in the neighborhood for many years I had not even heard of the legendary waterwheel. We finished our chores and quickly made plans for a trek. A small trail leads into the woods from the orchard where we store tools and then we set out above North creek enjoying the shade of the forest. Soon the trail ended, and we were presented with dense brush and steep climbs one hiker even turned back. Scaling a steep bank using sword fern fronds as hand holds, I noticed a series of holes which Bruce pointed out as entrances to Mountain Beaver caves .                                                      Blazing trail above North Creek August 2018 photo Hannah Murray A bit further along we reached a plateau where the cree...

  2019 Festival of Fruit Pipers Orchard Over 300 people attended the 13 th annual Piper's Orchard Festival of Fruit in Carkeek Park Seattle, Washington on October 5 th 2019. Attendees enjoyed Master gardeners, fruit tasting, cider pressing and orchard tours. For the first time in many years two apple trees were planted in the orchard. After volunteering at the Festival since 2008, I was excited to become a member of the tree planting committee until I found manual labor was involved as Paul Brookshire handed me a shovel indicating where to dig. Soil in the orchard is a hardpan glacial till similar to quick dry concrete. While digging a nearby anthill boiled ants while squirrels dropped horse chestnuts from a nearby tree! Ah these are the joys of volunteering. Our first tree, donated by Bob Baines, was an Ashmead Kernel in a 10 gallon pot. Soon a crowd formed to witness this auspicious occasion and discussions on planting apple trees and soil amendments ensued. Bob’s theory is...

  We will never forget                                                                                September 11 th 2020   Edmonds Washington Fallen Firefighter Memorial            On Friday September 11 th I took the day off and visited the Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Edmonds Washington to remember the first responders. I found flowers and a note “ We will never forget” on a steel girder recovered from the World Trade Center. Surrounding the memorial are four panels with the names of 343 first responders A Chaplain, Firefighters, EMTs, Chiefs, Capt...