Harstine Island

The Harstine Island Community Hall was built in 1914. Hilma Wingert’s father, Andrew Johnson, donated the quarter acre of land for the hall.

For the lumber, the men went along the beach and fell trees that were easy to get out. August Carlson also donated trees for lumber. Jim Edgbert, Arthur Wingert and Alan McKay used two teams of horses to haul the logs out of the woods. Then they were rafted and towed by the Marie, owned by Raymond and John Haskell, and the Levina, owned by Ed Cowan, to the sawmill at Taylor Bay. When the lumber was finished, it was towed back to the Island in a scow by the Marie. Horses and a wagon were used to haul it from the bay to the location of the hall.

The main carpenters were the Sund brothers, John, Bill, and Oscar, from Stadium (near Grapeview). Islanders taking part in the building were: Lee Carlson, Ed Wilson, John Wilson, Arlo Wingert, Arthur Wingert and Paul Hitchcock. This was just for the main hall. The dining room and kitchen were added later. Potluck picnics often went along with the work parties.

In 1916, the lean-to, consisting of dining room and kitchen, were added by Bill Sayers and helpers Tony Goetsch, Ed Wilson, Lee Carlson and several others. The old large black camp stove used in the kitchen for years was donated by Mark Reed of Simpson Logging Company. The kitchen was small and dark with a steep flight of steps going down the outside on the south end of the building and leading across a little stream to a couple of outhouses. There was no water in the hall and it was lighted by gas lamps. When there was a “doings,” we hauled water and wood from home or borrowed it from the neighbors. There were many doings in those good old days with people coming by boat from Agate, Stadium and Vaughn. All these dances were to raise money for our stage, sealing the kitchen and dining room, and a maple hardwood floor. The proceeds also later bought a 4-cycle gas engine light plant, which was underneath the hall. It popped away and quite often stopped and the lights would go out, to the delight of the dancers, but it wasn’t so good when it stopped in the middle of a school program.

It’s often been said, “It’s a wonder the hall didn’t burn down.” In fact, a Christmas tree did catch on fire in 1915 or 1916 from lighted candles. It could have been a terrible disaster. There were about 100 people in the hall and, the weather being cold, all the doors and windows were closed. (The door was originally installed to swing in but was changed to swing out shortly after the fire). Two quick thinking men, Paul Hitchcock and Arlo Wingert, were able to douse the fire in seconds, saving the hall and possibly a lot of lives.

Later, the ladies restroom was built under the building, with steps going down from the ante room. The ante room was often used as a little nursery where the children were put to bed while mother and dad danced.

This hall is a Community Hall and not a Grange Hall, as many people think. The Grange, for a number of years from 1924 on, had a “Harvest Home Festival” in the fall of the year, using pumpkins, grapes, corn stalks and autumn leaves for decorations. In those days, the dining room table was one long table from one end of the dining room to the other. It was always laden with the usual good food the Island ladies prepared. This event, which was free, included a program and dancing, besides the food, and became so popular that huge crowds came from all over, so it had to be discontinued.

The ceiling was built high in the main hall so that the building could be used as a community athletic center. Basketball and volleyball were often played. The hall was heated by a big wood heater with a lift-top lid, which could accommodate a huge chunk of wood.

The piece of land across the road from the hall was acquired later by Bill Goetsch. Community Club members wanted to make it into a community picnic park. Tables, benches and a covered kitchen were built at one time.

For many years the islanders worked to bring public power to the island and in the late 1940’s the hall was lighted by electricity. Money was donated by everyone for the wiring of the hall. Dances were held quite often to raise the $5.00 a month charge — whether the power was used or not. Then came the time to modernize, so a pump house was built, and a pump installed to provide running water for the hall. Then a sink and cupboards were installed. Restrooms were put in on the north end of the dining room. The dining room and kitchen were painted. The kitchen, which has seen many stoves through the years, now boasted an electric stove. Two oil burning stoves provide the main source of heat.

Many hours of hard work were put in by our island musicians, who often donated their musical talents to the dances held every two weeks to raise money to put in our beautiful hardwood floor. The island has been very fortunate through the years to have our own musicians and a variety of instruments — piano, saxophone, violin, banjo, accordion, and drums. 

The above info is from Harstine Island Community Club's website: https://www.harstinecc.org/community-hall-history/

Ferry service to Harstine Island began in 1922 with a county-owned 3-car ferry named Island Belle. It took 30 minutes to cross Pickering Passage. The Island Belle made 3 trips a day, 3 days a week and was free; special trips cost 50 cents. In 1929 Earl Harriman built a log ferry at his own expense. A short time later the county constructed the second log ferry which charged 25 cents per car. It was followed by Harstine I in the early 1930’s and Harstine II in 1945. Harstine II carried 8 cars and made 9 daily trips plus special trips as necessary. On her biggest day, July 4, 1968, she carried 249 cars on and off the island. The charge was 50 cents per car.    

In 1961 Mason County began investigating the possibility of replacing the ferry with a bridge. This involved county, state, and federal government agencies to approve the project. It took 5 years of bond issues and special elections to finally pass a bond levy in the amount of $450,000 on November 7th, 1967. This was the fourth time it had been on the ballot. It received 60.87% of the favorable votes, less than 1% more than the 60% needed for passage. The contract for building the bridge was awarded to Western Pacific Constructors of Seattle on April 28, 1968, for $1,005,471. Construction was financed by the $450,000 from the county-wide general obligations bond issue passed in 1967, $350,000 from the Road Improvement District formed by island property owners, and $300,000 from limited obligation bonds issued by the Road District to be repaid from its normal operating revenue. Construction took slightly more than a year to complete.  

On Sunday, June 22, 1969, a dedication ceremony was held. The last official run of the Harstine II ferry was from the island to the mainland at 2:00 pm with Captain Glen Yates at the helm. Following the ribbon cutting ceremony a large crowd of dignitaries and islanders formed a special cavalcade to proceed across the bridge. The Grand Marshall, John Hitchcock (honored as the person who had lived on the island the longest in 1969), along with Martine Goetsch and Hilda Wingert in the back seat crossed the new span in a horse drawn buggy followed by a number of antique cars carrying many pioneer islanders. The procession made a loop by the old ferry landing. Going up the hill from there the horse’s hooves slid on the blacktop. The horse jerked and the buggy broke away and started rolling backward down the hill. Martin Goetsch grabbed the brake, the buggy stopped and tipped over backward.  Fortunately, only the buggy was damaged. The procession then headed for the Community Club for the Bridge Opening Reception where refreshments were served to more than 400 people.    

The following day the Harstine II ferry was sold at public auction by the Mason County Treasurer for $9,000 to Norton Clapp of the Weyerhaeuser family. Mr. Clapp used the ferry to haul passengers and supplies to and from a family owned island in the San Juan Islands.

A Bridge Opening Dance was held on July 5, 1969 and netted a record profit of $306.45.

2009 marked the 40th anniversary of the bridge brought to public attention by Community Club President Mike Callahan. Arlen Morris, Community Club Vice President, Program Planner and Island Historian organized a recreation of the original opening ceremony of the bridge. Families of early settlers and residents were contacted and invited to take part in the parade and later gather at the community hall for an evening of story-telling and games.

A horse and buggy led the first parade – a search was set for a horse and buggy. Not finding such, Jim Harrah, who had an interesting wagon, offered to pull it across the bridge with his tractor. A surprise to all, Jim created a pair of large plywood horses which he attached to the sides of the tractor to simulate the original horses pulling a buggy. Families and residents came with vintage cars and trucks, modern cars, and yes, a bicycle. Oliver Chapman, nine years old in 1969, had ridden his bicycle across the bridge in the 1969 parade. Oliver brought his bicycle and rode again at the 2009 parade.

Gathering for the parade took place in the Latimer’s Landing parking lot. It was a grand reunion for many who had not been back to the island for some time. Flags, banners, and crepe paper were available to all who wanted to decorate their vehicles for the event. Folks who were not participating in the parade walked on, lining the length of the bridge to wave and cheer on the paraders. All were participants of this wonderful celebration of a bridge that at one time was a subject of great controversy.

There is a video of the parade and gathering at the hall filmed by Lee Strohm and Rocky Paprocki. Rocky later created a documentary DVD of the event, including some film coverage from the air. Ed Murphy arranged for a pilot friend and island resident to film the event with several flyovers. Rocky, an early 60’s rock and roll musician, added music of the time to the film.

The above info is from the Harstine Island Community Club's website: https://www.harstinecc.org/2021/12/29/harstine-island-bridge/