EVERETT — A dime-size coin on the table says Mel’s Cafe, 3201 Rucker.
The cafe is now gone, but still is alive in Kathy Sexton’s mind.
In the 1950s, Sexton, then a teenager, used to hang out with friends at the cafe. It served a great milkshake and the best fish and chips in town, she said Sunday at Forest Park’s Floral Hall.
The hall was full of historic treasures on display, things you might not find in a museum butbits of community history and people’s memories: a coffee delivery bicycle, a restaurant menu, firefighters’ leather hats, photos, newspapers and more.
"Everything is interesting," Sexton said.
Historic Everett, a nonprofit group with about 80 members, sponsored the free Everett Memorabilia Fair for the first time on Sunday. Hundreds visited the hall, said Gail Chism, the group’s vice president.
As Everett grows, its rich history should be preserved, Chism said. Not only large buildings, but small, everyday items can represent the city’s history.
"You have to continue to educate people because things are changing so dramatically," said Chism, who has lived in Everett since 1964.
Larry O’Donnell brought historic items he has collected over the past 40 years. The items included a milk bottle glass from the Clover Leaf Dairy and a flier about a wrestling match at the Everett Boy’s Club in September 1951.
O’Donnell, 66, an Everett native, said he has an endless interest in the community’s history.
"Local history is like any history, it just tells who we are," O’Donnell said.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
