The city of Bonney Lake may only be 61 years old, but the Greater Bonney Lake Historical Society wants to remind residents that the history of this area goes back long before that with the release of their 2011 calendar.
From the photo of the Native American Sky Stone on the cover to a picture of four former mayors taken in the 1990s, the calendar features photos that span almost the entirety of the region’s history.
“The whole thing is to get people interested in the history of the area,” said historical society president Dennis Dhaese. “Hopefully they see there was something here before the Walmart and the Target.”
Dhaese personally picked out the pictures that are featured each month. The photos, some in color and some in black and white, were obtained from various local residents as well as the University of Washington’s Special Collections and Northwest Rooms as well as the Tacoma Public Library.
“Of the 11 months I had to get pics for, I already had six,” he said. “We even have one I took myself in there.”
Among the earliest photographs featured in the calendar is the January photo of “Winter on the Kelley Farm circa 1898” which shows workers stacking wood on one of the earliest homesteads in the area. There are also photos of a couple on Kelley Lake near the turn of the century and the building of the dikes that created Lake Tapps out of four smaller lakes.
There are also photos of a local Boy Scout Troop on a float in the 1938 Daffodil Parade, a Puyallup Fair produce exhibit from 1960 and even a photo of the skeleton of the “Bonney Lake Whale” from 1976, which was kept in the backyard of local wildlife photographers Alfred and Elma Milotte, whose work for Disney earned the couple a total of six Academy Awards.
“There are some great photos, I think,” Dhaese said. “We tried to get pics from many eras.”
Along with the pictures, Dhaese included dates of historical significance throughout the calendar, like Aug. 5, 1981 (Bonney Lake gets its own Post Office) or Oct 27, 1855 (Indian War of 1855 begins at Connell’s Prairie).
There’s also fun historical notes like “Ice cream cone invented” (July 23) sprinkled throughout the months and even a little bit of self referential humor, like the notation on May 19: “Leota Musgrave’s birthday.”
“She’s a definite character. She is one of Bonney Lake’s finest,” Dhaese said of the Historical Society member and beloved regular at the Bonney Lake Senior Center.
Dhaese said he hopes people who buy the calender come way with “a sense of community” and a greater knowledge of the history of their city.
“It didn’t just pop out of nowhere,” he said. “People have lived here a long time.”
The Greater Bonney Lake Historical Society 2011 calendar is available for a $10 donation at CJ’s Carryout Deli, the Bonney Lake Food Mart, the Bonney Lake Dog Haus and Amanda’s Floral and Gifts. The historical society is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
