Monte Cristo Steward program seeks volunteers

A postcard of Monte Cristo from the 1960s -- 50 years later, there are few structures remaining on the town site. 

Monte Cristo has been a "ghost town" far longer than it was a bustling gold mining town, more than 100 years ago.

Located on the Mountain Loop Hwy between Darrington and Granite Falls, Monte Cristo's is a colorful history -- though there are few original residents left to tell its tale.

However, it does have a dedicated group of volunteers who steward it: The Monte Cristo Preservation Association.

Despite being one of many isolated destinations in the adjacent Henry M. Jackson Wilderness, the four mile hike to the town is also very popular. That's where the Volunteer Monte Cristo Stewards come in, providing tours for visitors and maintaining the town site, camp areas, information boards, registration boxes and trails.

The volunteer commitment is a minimum of three days during the summer, which in the rugged wilderness surrounding Monte Cristo is short -- but beautiful.

This year's steward training is scheduled from 8:30 a.m. to noon, Saturday, June 2 at the Verlot Public Service Center, 33515 Mountain Loop Highway, in Granite Falls.

For more information and an application contact Matt Riggen at 360-436-2333.

Whitehorse Trail on CTC agenda May 31

Northern Pacific bridge #10 crossing Deer Creek at Oso.

Now that the Centennial Trail is nearing completion, the Centennial Trail Coalition of Snohomish County is turning its attention to speeding up the completion of the proposed Whitehorse Trail between Arlington and Darrington.

May 31, the CTC will be presenting an afternoon walk and an evening presentation for those interested in the development plans for the Whitehorse Trail.

The afternoon event starts at 5:30 p.m. as a trail walk and tour at Cloverdale Farm, located 1/2 mile north of Hwy 530 on 115th Ave NE, near Trafton. The walk will view the stretch of the Whitehorse Trail between Cloverdale Farm and the “Tin Bridge,” just under a mile west of the farm.  

Following the walk, at 7 p.m., room 65 in the Trafton School building, 12616 Jim Creek Road, the CTC will host its general meeting, featuring a representative from Snohomish County Parks, and local residents who have been active in promoting the Centennial Trail.

With the Centennial Trail's last gaps now being filled in, the timing is right to get the Whitehorse Trail, once the Northern Pacific Railway's branch line connecting Arlington and Darrington, on the map.

Snohomish County has estimated some 500,000 walkers, hikers, horseback riders and cyclists are now using the Centennial Trail each year. The Whitehorse Trail, which branches off the Centennial Trail just north of downtown Arlington, would provide another 27.7 miles for recreational traffic (currently, approximately six miles of the trail is open from Darrington to the Swede Heaven Road; the trail is also now partially accessible from the original railroad switch just past Haller Bridge in Arlington).

But the Whitehorse Trail's potential is not just recreational; it's an economic opportunity that residents of northeast Snohomish County should take seriously. 

Early postcard of NPR tracks near Hazel, with Mt. Higgins in distance.

There are a number of small communities on the route -- including Trafton and Oso -- that became towns as a result of the route opening in 1901. Other place names we know today -- Cicero, Halterman, Hazel, Fortson and Whitehorse -- were also once bustling communities along the rail line. As the logging industry declined, so did the populations of most of these whistle-stops.    

When the Whitehorse Trail is completed it will bring in thousands of visitors a week, and with them, money to patronize local businesses. Merchants with the foresight to offer goods and services that cater to trail users are the ones that will probably benefit the most.

Considering the economic challenges our area has experienced over the last 30 years with the decline of logging, farming and fishing -- our heritage industries -- these recreational trails serve not only as a key to our future, they also would be a way to help honor and preserve our area's heritage.

For Memorial Day: A view of Lions/Legion Park

In honor of Memorial Day, here is an Ellis Postcard Co. real photo post card depicting Arlington's Lions Park in the 1940s, what we now know as Legion Park.

The top photo points north, showing a sign advertising Murphy's Feed Store, founded in 1892. Murphy's burned down some time in the late 1980s or early 1990s. The grain elevator and the Northern Pacific depot would have been to the left (west) of that building, just out of camera range; City Hall would be to the north of the feed store, if I recall correctly.

Today the one constant in both photos is the service memorial now maintained by the American Legion, hence the park's name.

Now the memorial is joined by the new gazebo, built almost entirely from donated material and labor, as well as the new Arlington Depot visitor's center, and the Centennial Trail. The park finally feels like a true community gathering place... but still stands as a place to remember our fallen service personnel.

'Because it's the one thing you can't replace'

First, I laughed; then I went and scanned in about a hundred old family photos and historical postcards.

[Warning: NSFW language]

Spend a day in Darrington May 26

Postcard view of "downtown" Darrington, exact date unknown, probably early 1900s.

If you're planning to stick around the area over Memorial Day weekend, you might consider a day trip to Darrington May 26 for their annual Darrington Day event.

Described by the Darrington Area Business Association as "Darrington's annual celebration of wildflowers, waterfalls & outdoor adventures,"the event also celebrates the 121st year of the town's existence.

But for history buffs like me, the town's self guided history and trivia tour is the main attraction. A couple bits of trivia to tempt you:

• According to the 1910 census, the town had 250 residents & 14 pianos. 

• Many homes and business buildings were once part of the Sauk River Logging Camp and were constructed on railroad flat cars, a mobile camp that moved its location five times before becoming part of the town. (Source: Darrington Historical Society)

More history related events take place at the Darrington Senior Center, where there will be a historical logging display by the Darrington Historical Society, and a number of historical photos needing identification.

Ellis Postcard Co. postcard view of Darrington, probably 1940s.

Mountain Loop Books & Coffee will host author Aaron Young, signing his new book about the waterfalls of the Mountain Loop Highway, as well as author Brenda Ballard signing the latest book in her series "The Boy From Granite Falls," set during the 1930s in the Mountain Loop area.

Events take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 26. There will be various opportunities to learn about outdoor recreation and wildflowers along the historical Mountain Loop Highway and the adjacent Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest; also on the schedule is the Darrington Open Air Market and live music at Old School Park by the Whitehorse Musician's Guild from noon until dusk.

For more information about the town, visit Destination Darrington Washington.

Centennial Trail link completed in Snohomish

A postcard view of a Northern Pacific train and an Interurban car crossing paths in Snohomish, postmarked 1914.

Great news: The Everett Herald reports that the Centennial Trail is one step closer to completion with the opening of a two-thirds of a mile stretch in downtown Snohomish.

The city will celebrate starting at 9 a.m. Saturday, May 19, at the intersection of Lincoln Avenue and Third Street, near the Snohomish Library, with guest speakers, a small health fair and an opportunity for people to walk or ride the trail section. At 10 a.m. city officials will participate in an official dedication ceremony.

Snohomish spent the past 15 years working on acquiring property, repaving the trail and doing landscape work to connect the city's two-thirds of a mile trail to the existing Centennial Trail, project manager Ann Stanton said. 

"It's good to see the former Indian trail return to a walking trail after 120 years as a railroad corridor," Stanton said. 

The city had to buy land from the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad and also paid for surveys. The city had help with only paying about $100,000 of the $2.5 million project, with the rest coming from federal funds, Stanton said.  (Source: The Herald)

With the completion of the Snohomish gap, 21 of the 27 miles of Centennial Trail are now accessible — the last leg of the project, getting underway this summer, is filling the gap between Bryant (north of Arlington) and the Skagit County line.

Social media, circa 1945

We talk about the "revolution" of social media, and yet, if you peruse the archives of any small town paper from the 19th or 20th centuries, you'll find social media has been around much longer than we give it credit.

In this clip from the Feb. 22, 1945 Arlington Times, we have reports from Oso, Darrington, Cicero, Greenwood and Silvana. Previous pages include "news" from Lakewood, Bryant, Victoria and Edgecomb. Some of these places still live on, some are ghosts of what they once were; and others, like Greenwood and Victoria, have faded into obscurity.

Note too the familiar family names -- Giebel, Armstrong, Wangsmo, Hershaw, Husby.

1945's version of social media may have not had the immediacy or interactive qualities of our electronic age, but remember that life wasn't quite as speed-of-light as it is today -- and yet, this six page edition of the Times is crammed full of the same kind of news we share with each other today via Facebook, Google+ and other virtual communities.

Here in Arlington, the adage properly applies: "The more things change, the more they remain the same."