I never liked history in school because it seemed to be all about memorizing the dates of events.
It wasn’t until much later that I realized that history is really all about people, what they did and why.
That’s why I like a new book by Everett’s O’Donnell brothers
— Larry and Jack — called “The Evolution of a Vibrant Everett Waterfront: A Story of Sawdust, Salmon & Speedboats.”
Commissioned by the Port of Everett and printed by K&H printers of Everett, it’s a local project all the way. The work is intended to be the platform for an upcoming interpretive history project focused on business development of the city’s waterfront and how it shaped Everett then and now.
For those who don’t know, Everett was the perfect example of a planned community. In the early 1890s, people backed by East Coast capitalist John D. Rockefeller planned to cut down the area’s virgin forests and create a booming industrial center starting with a nail works, a shipyard, a smelter and a pulp mill.
A massive dock was established on 14th Street, which would eventually include a rail spur and a large number of wood-products businesses. The first was a sawmill that could produce 25,000 feet of lumber in a 10-hour shift. A short time later came a shingle mill that could produce 250,000 shingles a day.
The O’Donnells have done a nice job of writing about the various timber barons, their successes and their disasters.
There are also some nice photos of the timber barons’ mansions that still exist, and of the working man’s cottages on 25-foot-wide lots that can still be found throughout north Everett.
In addition to timber barons, the new community attracted commercial fishers from Croatia and from Scandinavian countries, mostly Norway.
The first is believed to be Anton Mardesich from the former Yugoslavia, who arrived in the country at Ellis Island at the age of 17. A few years later, he was followed by a countryman named Paul Martinis Sr., the patriarch of what became a large family of purse seiners.
The commercial fishing part of the Everett story is my favorite, partly because I like to fish, but mostly because I find the people and their cultures fascinating.
Many of the people who came to Everett as immigrants have descendants who are integral parts of the community today. And their ethic of hard work, plain talk and plain clothes is still a common part of the community.
Some of those descendants continue to fish commercially, such as Mike Borovino, even though the fishing industry has dwindled dramatically. Others have moved to related careers, including John Martinis, who owns John’s Sporting Goods and is an accomplished recreational fisher for salmon.
The book also answers my questions about these weird-looking houseboats I still see in the Everett marina. Called Cruise-A-Homes, they were built in Everett for years before the company closed down.
Houseboats aren’t unusual, but Cruise-A-Homes are. They’re basically a houseboat of around 40 feet built on deep-V powerboat hull. So you get a home that moves through the water pretty fast.
It’s nice to see a few still around.
Mike Benbow: 425-339-3459; benbow@heraldnet.com.
Waterfront business book
You can read a copy of “The Evolution of a Vibrant Everett Waterfront” at the Everett Library.
If you’d like your own copy, you can buy one from the Port of Everett for $30 plus tax, or $32.76. A check is preferred.
Call 425-259-3164 for more information.
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