Published: Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Stilly map, welcome center complete
Coast Salish-style longhouse erected at the Pioneer Museum in Arlington
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Michael O'Leary / The Herald
Steve Heiderer (left), Bruce Morrison and Rich Simonsen lift the center panel of a cedar relief map of the Stillaguamish River watershed into place at the new Welcome Center on the grounds of the Stillaguamish Valley Pioneer Museum.
ARLINGTON -- You are welcome.
To Arlington, that is, and especially to the new $90,000 Welcome Center on the grounds of the Stillaguamish Valley Pioneer Museum.
After four years of hard work, primarily by Arlington volunteers Dick and Shirley Prouty, and Steve and Michele Heiderer, the new center is ready for visitors. The center is situated along 67th Avenue NE, just southeast of downtown.
The gazebolike structure resembles an open-air Coast Salish longhouse. It shelters a 5-foot-by-10-foot carved cedar relief map of the Stillaguamish River watershed as it was in 1910, when Arlington was the cedar shake mill capital of the world.
Metal fish on the map represent areas where Stillaguamish tribal encampments and fishing grounds were located 100 years ago.
The map also shows pioneer communities, mines, logging operations, dairies and the locations of old roads, schools and cemeteries. It's based on the Snohomish County plat map of 1910, one of the first maps that detailed land ownership in the county, said Michele Heiderer.
Twisp sculptor Bruce Morrison worked nearly four years to cure and carve three thick old-growth cedar planks to make the map. Rose Jones, a Wenatchee painter, plans to apply the last of the color to the map this week.
The map and its roof are held up by cedar story poles carved by Lummi artist Jewell James, based on the salmon story of the Stillaguamish Tribe. The tribe also provided help by determining the location of two dozen historical tribal sites for the map, Heiderer said.
"It's a beautiful historical attraction and a great learning tool for local students," she said. "The interest from the tribe was great. They also paid for about a third of the project."
The official dedication of the welcome center is part of the annual Stillaguamish Valley Pioneer Picnic set for Aug. 15 at the museum.
"We're very pleased with the map and the center," Heiderer said. "It really is eye-catching, and once the city reconfigures the street, it will be even more noticeable and accessible."
Yet to come are some thank-you signs the Heiderers plan to pay for and install. The signs will note all the volunteer work and the organizations and individuals who contributed to the project.
Among the donors were the Snohomish County Historic Preservation Commission, the city of Arlington, the Stillaguamish Tribe, Murdock Charitable Trust, Norcliffe Foundation, Pemco Insurance and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad.
Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427; gfiege@heraldnet.com.
To Arlington, that is, and especially to the new $90,000 Welcome Center on the grounds of the Stillaguamish Valley Pioneer Museum.
After four years of hard work, primarily by Arlington volunteers Dick and Shirley Prouty, and Steve and Michele Heiderer, the new center is ready for visitors. The center is situated along 67th Avenue NE, just southeast of downtown.
The gazebolike structure resembles an open-air Coast Salish longhouse. It shelters a 5-foot-by-10-foot carved cedar relief map of the Stillaguamish River watershed as it was in 1910, when Arlington was the cedar shake mill capital of the world.
Metal fish on the map represent areas where Stillaguamish tribal encampments and fishing grounds were located 100 years ago.
The map also shows pioneer communities, mines, logging operations, dairies and the locations of old roads, schools and cemeteries. It's based on the Snohomish County plat map of 1910, one of the first maps that detailed land ownership in the county, said Michele Heiderer.
Twisp sculptor Bruce Morrison worked nearly four years to cure and carve three thick old-growth cedar planks to make the map. Rose Jones, a Wenatchee painter, plans to apply the last of the color to the map this week.
The map and its roof are held up by cedar story poles carved by Lummi artist Jewell James, based on the salmon story of the Stillaguamish Tribe. The tribe also provided help by determining the location of two dozen historical tribal sites for the map, Heiderer said.
"It's a beautiful historical attraction and a great learning tool for local students," she said. "The interest from the tribe was great. They also paid for about a third of the project."
The official dedication of the welcome center is part of the annual Stillaguamish Valley Pioneer Picnic set for Aug. 15 at the museum.
"We're very pleased with the map and the center," Heiderer said. "It really is eye-catching, and once the city reconfigures the street, it will be even more noticeable and accessible."
Yet to come are some thank-you signs the Heiderers plan to pay for and install. The signs will note all the volunteer work and the organizations and individuals who contributed to the project.
Among the donors were the Snohomish County Historic Preservation Commission, the city of Arlington, the Stillaguamish Tribe, Murdock Charitable Trust, Norcliffe Foundation, Pemco Insurance and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad.
Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427; gfiege@heraldnet.com.
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