Snohomish Historical Society

06/10/2026

Summer jobs for teenagers were plentiful in the 1950s and '60s, whether it was a paper route, milking cows, working in the canneries that stretched along Maple Street, toiling away in the corn and pea fields, picking raspberries and strawberries.

June was strawberry time and in my neighborhood (I, being Mac Bates), a rickety decommissioned school bus would pick us up at the ungodly hour of 6 a.m. and deposit us out at the Pilchuck Berry Field, which I believe is now a huge soccer complex on the way to Granite Falls.

If you were disciplined, focused and efficient, you could pick 10 or more flats a day. I lacked all those skills and spent my first day lollygagging, eating as much as I picked, tossing berries at Butch Messman, until he walked over, picked me up like a rag doll and threw me over four rows of berries (I loved it!).

I managed one flat that day, picked up my 50 cents and was told by the row boss not to return. In the parlance of berry pickers, I got canned.

Today scores of U-pick berry farms can be found around the Snohomish Valley, and people think its fun. Go figure.

06/08/2026

Another great Snohomish parade in the books. It’s so fun to see the community get together! Thank you and our joyful, welcoming members that represented the Snohomish Historical Society!

06/06/2026

82 years ago today, Allied forces stormed the beaches of France, D-Day, the beginning of the end of the war in Europe. Weekly newspapers rarely ran articles of international or national interest. There was just too much going on in the community; let the dailies cover the big stories of the day.
Two days after D-Day, the Snohomish Tribune did run an article on the massive assault. The article mentioned that flags were flown. and sacred and patriotic songs blared from the loudspeaker in the steeple of St. John's Episcopal Church. Mention was made of the number of Snohomish citizens serving in Great Britain how many of those young men might have been involved in the invasion. It also said, "An air of solemn expectancy gripped local residents. There was no celebrating."
A year later, a month after Germany's surrender, the front page of the Tribune was filled stories of young servicemen: bronze star, purple heart, an appointment to West Point, one leading a charge against the Japanese in the South Pacific, the return of a prisoner of war, and one soldier who had died in action. And there were also stories about baseball games, the latest spinach crop, and as had been the case since the start of the war, no firecrackers on the Fourth of July.

05/30/2026

We’ve been doing “This Day in Snohomish History” posts for one year! There are many more stories to tell of big events and day-to-day life in Snohomish’s past, so stay tuned for more photos, maps, articles, and narratives from yesteryear. Missed some of our previous posts? We’ll be featuring last year’s in our Stories as the date circles around again, or you can check them out anytime in our This Day highlight on Instagram.

05/30/2026

We have made a lot of progress on our basement restoration project! Flooring currently going in. We are so grateful to Washington Trust for Historic Preservation for this grant and excited to have a proper Archive and Research Room!

05/16/2026

Sneak peek at tomorrow’s goodies!
We’re so excited to showcase even more of Snohomish’s talented citizens at Saturday’s “Three Fingers” book talk with Malcolm S. Bates at The Waltz Building

One lucky attendee will win this personal custom cheesecake, while everyone will receive one of two versions of gorgeous Three Fingers cookies in their “provisions bags” — the perfect mountain adventure treat!

These beautiful creations were made by young baker Megan Morales, a Snohomish High School graduate. We love shining a spotlight on our local talent!

Don’t miss your chance to join us tomorrow at 3 p.m.! Tickets are still available — last chance!

05/15/2026

Last chance to grab tickets for Saturday’s event
at The Waltz Building !

Don’t miss your chance to hear Snohomish native Malcolm S. Bates kick off his book tour series with stories from his fully revised and expanded history — “Three Fingers: The Mountain, a Lookout, and Its Lookouts” — the ONLY book ever written about this iconic site..

All $20 ticket proceeds support the interior restoration of the Waltz Building. Tiicket link in comments. Attendees get a free "provisions bag", raffle entry, author meet and greet, and chance to grab a signed copy!

Check out Mac"s interview in the Snohomish County Tribune:
https://www.snoho.com/news/2026/may/13/new-book-tells-of-three-fingers-lookouts-history/

(Event is tomorrow at 3 p.m. — and nearing sell put)

SNOHOMISH — The Three Fingers lookout has sat improbably on the mountain’s southern peak for almost 100 years. It’s a well-worn, well-loved shack that offers views from Vancouver Island all the way to Olympia for those who complete the 4,200 feet of elevation gain.

05/02/2026

We’re a day late—but this one is worth pausing for. On this day in Snohomish History...

On May 1, 1865, Mary Low Sinclair arrived by steamer to join her husband, Woodbury Sinclair at a place then known as Cadyville. She stepped into a rough clearing along the Snohomish River that was only just beginning to take shape.

Mary wasn’t new to frontier life. She had come west with her family in the Denny Party in 1851 She brought that hard-earned experience with her.

Within weeks of arriving, she endured the loss of her infant son, Alvin. Despite this, she helped move the settlement toward permanence. In 1869, she opened her home for one of the town’s first formal school sessions, even helping translate for children of Indigenous families who spoke little or no English.

What she helped build here wasn’t defined by a single “first,” but by something far more lasting.
Mary’s story is one of continuity—bringing experience from earlier settlements, adapting to a new landscape, and helping create the structures that allowed a community to take hold.

You can find her story at Stop #4 on the Snohomish Heritage Trail (pictured). The interpretive signs were written and designed by Warner Blake—local historian, author, artist, and past president of the Snohomish Historical Society.

First image: Lowe family circa 1860 Mary is lower right. From A. A. Denny, Pioneer Days on Puget Sound.