July 29, 1971 Shelton Mason County Journal | ![]() |
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everyone passims thcough Belfaix, " Belfaix who served as ~oceman and completed until the ~ollowh~g
the old Chalet school building, project superintendent .on the year when the gymnasium was
will be completely gone from the
schoolground by the time school
reopens in the fail.
Hartstrom Brothers
Constructio~l ot Bremerton were
low bidders for the demolition
job, at $3,412.50, and were
contracted by the North Mason
School Board to have the job
done by August 21.
Built during the depression by
WPA labor, it was truly a unique
building. Logs which were used
for building support, for
partitions and for the "beamed
ceiling" effect throughout, were
donated from local forests by
timber companies. Three-fourths
of the shakes used on the roof
were locally cut and donated,
construction job.
Even the thousands of rocks
which were used for walls both
inside and out didn't cost a cent.
"We had an old Model A Ford
truck on the job and men would
drive out and bring back a
truckload of rocks for the
building," said Newkirk. He Said
some were gathered from beaches,
others from the railroad grades.
He estimates that eighty per cent
of the cost of the erection of the
Chalet went into labor, only
twenty per cent for materials.
The Chalet, which replaced a
grade school located near the
Union River bridge at the
beginning of North Shore road,
was opened to classes in the fall
finished.
Four classrooms, a library, an
office and the large gym with a
stage were included in the Chalet•
Within a few years it was
outgrown and partitions separated
the gym into additional
classrooms. When the new
elementary school was built in the
forties (now referred to as the
"old elementary" building,) the
lower elementary students moved
to the new building and the older
children attended classes in the
Chalet.
Violation of too many fire
safety rules caused the Chalet to
be abandoned for school use in
1967. It was in the 1950's that
the School Board was first advised
IT TOOK A TALL LADDER to do any work on the roof of
the Chalet. Photo courtesy Alma Sundstrom.
A FAMILIAR LANDMARK in Belfair, the Chalet had been
unused as a school building since 1967 when this recent
photo was taken.
Page 4 - Huckleberry Herald section of Shelton-Mason County Journal - July 29, 19711
in the t'xfties an estimate of
$100,000 was made as the cost of
bringing the building up to "safe"
standards. Labor and materials
weren't as cheap as in the thirties
when, as well as Newkirk can
remember, he thinks the total
cost of building the Chalet was
around $9,000•
Once the heat from the old
Donkey boiler was turned off for
good, because the school wasn't
being used anymore, a problem
which had always plagued the
Chalet became worse. That was
one of moisture coming up
through the floors. With no heat at
all the past few years there would
• sometimes be a layer of water lying
building.
Last week many people
visited the Chalet, some with
nostalgic memories of other days
when they had been there, some
getting their first glimpse at the
rustic interior, to browse through
objects which had been in the
school and were being offered for
sale. Old books, old school desks,
even panelling off the walls or
insulation were carted off by the
shoppers. Part of the proceeds
went to the PTA which ran the
sale and the rest was turned over
to the North Mason School
district.
There are many residents of
the area who were saddened by
KIDS HAVEN'T CHANGED any since 1937. Along comes a
nice day, and new school or not, they like to play outside
during recess time. Photo courtesy Alma Sundstrom.
FOUR TEACHERS handled the students in the eight grades
taught in the Chalet when it opened in the fall of 1937. Left
to right are Alma Sundstrom, (grades 1 and 2), Irene Baker,
(grades 3 and 4), Frances Gladwin, (grades 5 and 6), and
Aaron Masters, principal, (grades 7 and 8.) Photo courtesy
Alma Sundstrom.
to teat tlae o16 "o~d~.u~ d~o~ru,
decision which was based on the
fact that the school district x~as
spending $1,000 a year for
insurance, which, by law, had to
be carried on the building whether
it was being used or not. Two
years ago, when the subject of
possible demolition of the Chalet
was first brought up by the
School Board, a group of citizens,
operating through the local
Historical Society, asked for a
reprieve on the decision to give
them time to figure out a way to
save the landmark. It was hoped
that it might be eligible for
federal funds to preserve it as an
historical landmark which might
be used as a museum for Mason
County historical items.
But the funds were not
forthcoming and the cost of
remodeling, renovating and
bringing it up to modern safety
standards was way beyond the
means of the historical group.
Newkirk, who had played an
important role in the erection of
the Chalet, was one of those most
active in trying to find a way to
preserve it.
But now time has run out. By
the time this issue of the Herald
comes out, the Chalet will
probably be no more.., just a
pile of rubble composed of rocks
originally from the beaches of
Hood Canal and from the hills
above Belfair, of polished logs and
thousands of shakes, which, in the
early 1930's, were evergreen trees
growing in the woods around
Belfair.
I~IIL~~ i~ i~ " ~ ~
CONSTRUCTION OF THE CHALET was done by WPA
labor with 80 per cent of the cost going for labor since so
many of the materials were gathered locally at no cost. Photo
courtesy Marion Newkirk.
~~~~~~~~~u~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~u~~~lull~~~~u~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~u~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!~~
POLISHED LOGS placed upright to support the floor,
panelled walls and log beamed ceiling of the stage at the
north end of the Chalet in the gymnasium carried out the
rustic theme seen throughout the building. Recognize anyone
you know? Photo courtesy Alma Sundstrom.
By JULI PRESTON --CR 5-6288
~~u~~~~u~u~~~~u~~~~~~~~~~~~~u~~~u~~~~~~u~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~u~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Ill~~~~~~~~~l~~~~~~~~~|llIlt
M r and Mrs. Garlan
Crosswhite recently returned
from a three week trip by camper
to Alaska. The road was rough a
great deal of the way and was
either very muddy or so dusty, it
was necessary to drive with the
lights on. They arrived at Eagle
Alaska and then on to Fairbanks
from which they traveled to
Circle, the farthest point north
one can tra(,el by road.
The Crosswhites found either
ice from lakes or snow on the
ground for their icebox They also
found it very strange to have
daylight 24 hours around the
clock, but a native of the area said
she found it more difficult to
adapt to having it dark all the
time during the winter.
During the whole trip they
spotted only one black bear, but
spotted a large herd of wild sheep
on the mountain side. They also
counted nine moose and two
moose calves• which is an unusual
sight
After traveling back to
Anchorage and down through
Seward and Valdez the
Crosswhites took a six hour ferry
ride from Haines to Juneau• Here,
at the capital of Alaska, they
toured a museum and received a
pin and certificate of lifetime
membership to The Order of the
Alaskan Walrus for visiting the
state• Then they boarded the
ferry for a remaining twenty-five
hour ride to Prince Rupert. From
there they traveled back to Belfalr
and were glad to be home!
Traveling down our South
Shore, one may notice that some
of our "residents are fixing up
those old, but necessary, eye sores
known as mailboxes! They can be
purchased ready decorated, but a
little paint, stick-em flowers or a
decorative stand adds to our
scenic route along the canal•
For those who rarely travel
past Twanoh State Park, it may
be news to learn that the road is
• being resurfaced now. This makes
for minor inconvenience in
following the lead truck on the
one way lane, but work is going
rapidly and will make for easier
and better traveling when it's
finished•- Reminder - 40
m.p.h.!
South Shore residents past
Twanoh are welcome to call and
add news to this column. The
long distance charge is relatively
low and your news would be
more than welcome!
Cars
Inlury
in area
Several persons were injured
in automobile accidents in the
North Mason area during the past
three weeks.
On July 8 at 1:25 p.m., a
2-car accident in the Thriftway
parking lot in Belfair resulted in
Mrs. Virginia Rommen being
taken to Harrison Hospital by the
Be l fair Aid Car with a neck
injury• According to Trooper
Dodd of WSP who investigated
the accident, Mrs. Rommen,
travelling east in the parking lot,
pulled in front of a car driven by
S~_ o~,~la DeLong of South
,,ore, wlao was headed south. A
collision resulted, with Mrs.
Rommen's car being spun around.
No damage was suffered by
Miss DeLong's '66 Chev. but
damage to Mrs. Rommen's '68
Renault was estimated at $600.
Another 2-car accident, on
July 14 at 10:15 a•m., at the
curve entering South Shore just
south of Belfair, damaged both
cars and left the driver of one,
Mrs. Helena Robbins, 81, of
Seattle, with a possible broken
left elbow. A report by Trooper
Hanson of WSP indicates that
Mrs. Robbins, headed east, failed
to negotiate a curve to the right,
crossed the center line and struck
a westbound car driven by Sheryl
Rennet, 21, of Tacoma, head-on.
Damage to Mrs. Robbin's '62
Rambler. was estimated at $500;
to the other vehicle, a '66 Ford,
$600.
The first of two accidents in
the area on July 17 was a "family
affair" with Phyllis Senf, 29, of
Bremerton taken to Harrison
Hospital by the Allyn Aid Car for
treatment of bruises and multiple
abrasions. Mrs. Senf, driving a '62
Mercury sedan which was
totalled, had been following her
husband, LeRoy, 38, who was
driving a '66 Chev. pickup; when
Senf slowed down for some dogs
on the highway about a mile
south of Allyn his truck was
struck from behind by his wife's
car. Senf was treated by a private
physician for a laceration of the
forehead and left arm and a son
of the couple, Thomas, age 7,
who had been a passenger in his
mother's car, escaped with only a
bloody nose. Damage to the
pick-up was estimated at $400 by
Trooper Hanson of WSP,
Less than an hour later
speeding on South Shore caused a
spectacular one-ear accident in
which the driver, Roger L. Harris,
21, of Kent received a laceration
on the side of his head. According
to the report of Trooper Close of
WSP, Harris was westbound on
South Shore about seven miles
south of Belfalr at a high rate of
speed when he came into a left
curve. His car spun around going
broadside for 206 feet, struck a
large pole, flew through the air
for sixty feet beer a twenty foot
bank, struck a fence and came to
rest in a private yard. The
accident, which occurred at 4:15
p.m., resulted in $500 damage to
his '66 Corvette convertible.
July 29, 1971 - Huckleberry Herald section of Shelton-Mason County Journal - Page 5