Look on just about any map of mid- 20th century Lacey and you’ll notice that Pattison Lake is labeled as Pat- terson Lake. Talk to anyone who grew up here and chances are they may insist that Patterson Lake is the only right way to call it. So what gives? This was the question re- cently posed by a resident, so we looked into it. The area was settled by James and Jane Wiley Pattison (above with granddaughter Cora) who crossed the Oregon Trail in 1849 and took out a donation land claim on the southwestern side of the lake. A surveyor from the early 1850s made a spelling error on the documentation changing Pattison to Patterson. So...basic human error. But when does the mistake become reality? How long before it’s too late to right the wrong? This is exactly the matter that came before the U.S. Board of Geographic Names in 1978 when Deloris Downing, a Pattison family descendent, wrote a letter asking the U.S. government to consider officially naming the body of water Pattison Lake as it should have been all those many years ago. “It may seem a trifle thing now,” she wrote, “[but] you can see it means a lot to us.” The matter was referred to the Washington State Board on Geographic Names which held a public meeting on the issue December 8, 1978 at the Washing- ton State Historical Society. Letters were sent to the board expressing both sides of the issue. Descendants agreed with Melville Pattison who wrote: “We as Oregon Pattisons are delighted to learn that the lake...will possibly be changed back to the original name given to it by my great grand- parents so long ago.” Others who had only known it as Patterson agreed with Theodore Torve who said, “Obviously, one can sympathize with the errors of a Patterson Lake or Pattison Lake? founder that [the lake] should have borne the name of the per- sons at the time [who] would obviously deserve such recogni- tion. However, that seems to have been a problem that should have been taken care of back in the 1850s and not today when the name is so widely accepted and utilized in all official docu- ments, maps and recordations.” The Department of Natural Resources made known that they would go with the majority of public opinion. Unable to locate any documentation of that December 8th meeting, one can only conclude that many people in favor of Pattison showed up to share their views. In any case, Mrs. Downing received a letter on February 27, 1979 informing her that her request had been approved. Pattison Lake it re- mains. INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Honoring Kristina Trebil 2 Meet Educator Marisa Merkel 2 Midsummers Ice Cream? 2 New Acquisition Spotlight 3 Upcoming Events 3 New Website Content 4 LACEY MUSEUM Museum Musings SUMMER 2018 VOLUME 5, ISSUE 1 Save these dates! JULY is Lacey History Month! Story time at the Museum Saturday, July 21, Noon Historic Walking Tour Saturday, August 4, 10 am Lacey Museum Lacey Historical Society Annual Meeting Thursday, September 27 Lacey Community Center Detail, map of Lacey area lakes, c. 1960
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Transcript
Look on just about any map of mid-
20th century Lacey and you’ll notice
that Pattison Lake is labeled as Pat-
terson Lake. Talk to anyone who
grew up here and chances are they
may insist that Patterson Lake is the
only right way to call it. So what
gives? This was the question re-
cently posed by a resident, so we
looked into it.
The area was settled by James and
Jane Wiley Pattison (above
with granddaughter Cora) who
crossed the Oregon Trail in 1849
and took out a donation land claim
on the southwestern side of the
lake. A surveyor from the early
1850s made a spelling error on the
documentation changing Pattison to
Patterson.
So...basic human error. But when
does the mistake become reality?
How long before it’s too late to
right the wrong? This is exactly the
matter that came before the U.S.
Board of Geographic Names in
1978 when Deloris Downing, a
Pattison family descendent, wrote a
letter asking the U.S. government
to consider officially naming the
body of water Pattison Lake as it
should have been all those many
years ago. “It may seem a trifle
thing now,” she wrote, “[but] you
can see it means a lot to us.”
The matter was referred to the
Washington State Board on
Geographic Names which held a
public meeting on the issue
December 8, 1978 at the Washing-
ton State Historical Society.
Letters were sent to the board
expressing both sides of the issue.
Descendants agreed with Melville
Pattison who wrote: “We as
Oregon Pattisons are delighted to
learn that the lake...will possibly be
changed back to the original name
given to it by my great grand-
parents so long ago.” Others who
had only known it as Patterson
agreed with Theodore Torve who
said, “Obviously, one can
sympathize with the errors of a
Patterson Lake or Pattison Lake? founder that [the lake] should
have borne the name of the per-
sons at the time [who] would
obviously deserve such recogni-
tion. However, that seems to
have been a problem that should
have been taken care of back in
the 1850s and not today when
the name is so widely accepted
and utilized in all official docu-
ments, maps and recordations.”
The Department of Natural
Resources made known that they
would go with the majority of
public opinion. Unable to locate
any documentation of that
December 8th meeting, one can
only conclude that many people
in favor of Pattison showed up to
share their views. In any case,
Mrs. Downing received a letter
on February 27, 1979 informing
her that her request had been
approved. Pattison Lake it re-
mains.
I N S I D E T H I S
I S S U E :
Honoring
Kristina Trebil
2
Meet Educator
Marisa Merkel
2
Midsummers Ice
Cream?
2
New Acquisition
Spotlight
3
Upcoming Events 3
New Website
Content
4
L A C E Y M U S E U M
Museum Musings S U M M E R 2 0 1 8 V O L U M E 5 , I S S U E 1
Save these
dates!
JULY is Lacey
History Month!
Story time at the
Museum
Saturday, July 21,
Noon
Historic
Walking Tour
Saturday, August
4, 10 am
Lacey Museum
Lacey Historical
Society Annual
Meeting
Thursday,
September 27
Lacey Community
Center
Detail, map of Lacey area lakes, c. 1960
P A G E 2
“Volunteers like
Kristina are rare
and valuable gems!
I couldn’t do what
I do without her.”
-Museum Curator,
Erin Quinn Valcho
Meet Educator Marisa Merkel
When is a Midsummers Ice Cream?
Honoring Commissioner Kristina Trebil This year, the Lacey Museum and
the Lacey Historical Commission
recognized the extensive and
dedicated work of Kristina Trebil
as she retired from the Historical
Commission. Lacey City Council
presented her with a plaque at
the May 10th City Council
meeting.
Her journey with the Lacey Museum began in May 2013 when
she was appointed to the Lacey
Historical Commission by then-
mayor Virgil Clarkson. She served
for five years and six months, was
the Chair of the ad hoc policy
committee for four years, and has
logged an astonishing 800+
hours of volunteer work at the
Lacey Museum! She has helped
keep the museum open during
times when the curator was
unable to be there, and has
assisted on countless projects.
The Lacey Historical Society
requests her presence every
year at the annual meeting to assist Lacey School alumni
review and identify school
class photos.
Kristina continues to be an
incredible asset to the
Historical Commission and
Lacey Museum, providing
expertise in administration and
volunteer management.
Kristina remains a tireless
advocate for the museum and
Lacey’s history, and she does it
all with a positive “I’ll do any-
thing you need” attitude.
Unfortunately, due to a change in property
ownership next door, we will no longer be
able to use it for parking and access. As a
result, we will not be able to host the
popular A Midsummers Ice Cream event this
year.
We look forward to bringing you fun
family events like this in the years to come
at our new museum facility. For other
family friendly programming, check out
our Story Time at the Museum event!
Material Culture and Artifact
Studies from the University of
Glasgow, Scotland.
Before coming to the Lacey
Museum, Marisa volunteered
with the Olympia Historical
Society and worked as a Civic
Education Tour Guide at the
Washington State Capitol.
Marisa has also worked as a
Youth Programs Coordinator
and Tour Guide at the
Milepost 31 Museum, highlight-
ing the people, places, and
projects that have shaped
Seattle’s Pioneer Square
neighborhood.
While she has only been with us
a few months, Marisa looks
forward to bringing awareness to
the Lacey Museum and getting to
know the Lacey community at
large. While at the Museum,
Marisa will be working on
museum education, event coordi-
nation and planning, as well as
daily museum maintenance and visitor services.
Look for Marisa at local events
and at the Lacey Museum on
Fridays and Saturdays. We look
forward to seeing the results of
her hard work.
Welcome, Marisa!
Marisa is a born and raised
Washingtonian and proud of
it! She grew up in scenic
Bonney Lake and now lives in
Puyallup. Her interest in
history and education began
with annual marathons of
Indiana Jones, adopting as her
personal credo, “It belongs in
a museum!”
Marisa’s education began with
a Bachelor’s degree in History
and Political Science from the
University of Oregon in 2013.
She also recently completed
her Master’s degree in
M U S E U M M U S I N G S
Marisa at “Little Rock”
Courtesy of Ken Balsley
New Acquisition Spotlight P A G E 3 V O L U M E 5 , I S S U E 1
This photograph, taken in the early
1900s, depicts the Kenney family in
front of the ever-elusive Woodland
Hotel. Once dubbed “the finest
clubhouse in the Northwest,” the
Woodland Hotel began its journey in 1891 as a clubhouse for racing
enthusiasts at the Woodland Driving
Park. Boasting several spacious rooms,
a kitchen, three private parlors, and
twelve rooms, this must have been
quite the sight in rural 1890s Lacey.
Despite the high hopes owner Isaac
Ellis had for the clubhouse and
racetrack, all attempts at success failed.
Isaac's first attempt to sell it in 1896
proved unsuccessful, but what would become the Woodland Hotel was
finally acquired by Henry Schupp Octo-
ber 12, 1900.
Within weeks of becoming owner of
Woodland Driving Park and clubhouse
Schupp had sold half the interest to
local brewery owner, Leopold
Schmidt. Schmidt and Ellis then set out to make improvements to the
racetrack and clubhouse. It was dur-
ing this time that the clubhouse be-
came the Woodland Hotel and when
Thomas Kenney, of the Kenney fami-
ly (pictured left), makes his appear-
ance at the Woodland Hotel, becom-
ing manager from 1901 until 1904. It
even housed the Lacey Post Office
for a time, with his daughter, Eveline
Kenney, as postmaster.
A far cry from its beginning in 1891,
the Woodland Hotel began to de-
cline in the years following this peri-
od, and was eventually torn down in September 1939.