Skagit River Journal of History & Folklore Subscriber edition
Covering from British Columbia to Puget Sound. Counties: Skagit, Whatcom, Island, San Juan An evolving history dedicated to the principle of committing random acts of historical kindness Noël V. Bourasaw, editor •810 Central Ave., Sedro-Woolley, Washington, 98284 Home of the Tarheel Stomp •Mortimer Cook slept here & named the town Bug

The photo on the right is of Marshall Jake Woodring, who was killed in the line of duty in 1903 while patrolling downtown Hamilton. We need information and newspaper articles about him to help nominate him for a special state medal. Can any of you help? Please email if you can.

The photo on the left is of the eighth grade at Hamilton Grade School in 1948, courtesy of readers Lois Pinelli Theodoratus and Bobbi Hendrix Bryant, who went to school upriver and have contributed much material for the website.       Front row, left to right is: Joan Jensen, Janet Willard, Cleo Bertelan, Roy Frizzell, Diane Lind, Donna Davis, Dorothy Telgenhoff, Lois Pinelli. Middle row; Eddie Evans, Bonnie Schultze, Mattie Fay Bates, Magdalene Cook, Annie Adams. Back row; Leland Metcalf, John Moody, Jim Drake, Thad Martin who was 8th grade teacher and also school principal.

The photo on the left is of the late Bill Soren's old service station that stood to the west of Hamilton, right where the pavement used to end. Does anyone have memories to share of Soren, the station, the highway and how and when it was built, and the settlers out in that area?

The photo on the right is of Bessie (Benston) Luton circa 1910-1915. Her husband was Edward Luton, who was killed in the line of duty in Hamilton on December 15, 1929, under very mysterious circumstances. After his death, Bessie took over as town marshall until a permanent one was appointed three months later. She also wrote the news of Hamilton for a Sedro-Woolley newspaper. She was pregnant with her youngest child when Ed was killed. Her historical ties run even deeper since she was the sister-in-law to William Munks, who deeded the first land in future Skagit county, and later moved to Hamilton from Anacortes. Ed received a posthumous state medal three years ago, and Don Kelly, Luton's descendant who went to school upriver, is helping us assemble information for an upcoming story. We need more information and newspaper articles about both Ed and Bessie and William Muncks to complete the story. Can any of you help? Please email if you can.

On May 14, 1912, smoldering embers near Birdsview flamed into a monster forest fire that wound up burning 32,000 acres from there to Hamilton and destroyed four logging camps of the Dempsey brothers and Ed English. This is a photo of the aftermath of fire. Can you help us with any family memories of this fire or identify the people in this photo?

This photo is of the 1944 Hamilton Grade School Graduation Class, courtesy of Lois Pinelli Theodoratus. Left to right, front row: Evelyn Bird, unknown, Shirley Smith, Jean Temple, Mary Rea Luton, Virginia Pinelli. Second row: Billy Eicholtz, Baxter Cook, Ted Drake, Leo Mayville, Howard Rathvon. In back Mrs. Bridge, teacher and principal.

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Please click on the email slot at the right to report any problems with these pages or to suggest ideas for future stories. Do you have scanned photos to share? Please attach them to this email address with a larger mailbox. If you have copies of photos or documents that you would like to share, our snailmail street address is: Noël V. Bourasaw, Skagit River Journal, 810 Central Ave., Sedro-Woolley, WA, 98284. Telephone: (360) 855-1805 (leave your email address with your message). Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to our online magazine for just $17.50 per year. This is how we fund our resource. As a paid subscriber, you will receive six yearly issues plus many rare treats between times, including scans of photos and documents that illustrate local history, before they are shared with anyone else. Look here for Subscription details. If you are a subscriber and want to purchase a gift subscription, you can order an unlimited number for the time being at just $7.50 apiece. The family rate is your subscription plus four gifts for just $40. If you're already a subscriber, you can order the four gifts for just $16. Just send your check to the address above and then email us. We will then send an email and link to the person you indicate. You can also advertise on our pages to help us continue our work. Email us for details.

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