Thank you for Julie Muhlstein’s thoughtfully researched piece on Snohomish County’s “last motorman,” Walt Shannon, which appeared in the Nov. 30 Herald.
Her article was both a celebration of Walt’s life and a celebration of the Interurban railway system. Electric trolleys carried commuters between Everett and Seattle for 20 years during the early 20th Century in a style that some of us 21st Century commuters look on with envy.
Just to add a brief footnote: Walt Shannon was the grand marshal of the first Lynnwood Trolley Days Parade in 1997.
The Trolley Days Community Festival was discontinued following the 1999 celebration. Perhaps, when local residents have the opportunity to visit Lynnwood’s new Heritage Park early next year, they will see the important role trolleys played in the early history of their community, and the festival may be resumed.
Of course, if we had public transportation as fast, convenient and comfortable as last century’s trolleys, maybe we would have more time and energy to plan and participate in community celebrations.
Lynnwood
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