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Introducing Book IV

Magnolia: More Memories & Milestones

Book IV Cover

An online, ongoing collection in living color!

The Tale of Magnolia's Giant Pumpkin Patch

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by Greg Shaw

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On July 21st, 1969, while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were walking on the moon, I was living in a rented house on West Hayes Street in Magnolia, and my first giant pumpkins were gaining size in the front yard...

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Magnolia, Seattle: Pumpkin Patch.

Fire Station No.41 - A Unique Landmark

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by Monica Wooton

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My friend Brian says everyone loves a fire station. For many of us they represent safety. It is the place where you can get your blood pressure monitored, call to get your cat rescued from a tree, and have a too tight ring cut off safely...

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Fire Station 41

How Magnolia Got Its Street Names: Perkins Lane

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by Benjamin Lukoff

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Perkins Lane boasts one of the best views in all of Seattle—a completely unobstructed vista of Elliott Bay, Puget Sound, the Kitsap Peninsula, and the Olympic Mountains—if you’re fortunate enough to own property there...

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Perkins Lane

35 Years (and, Counting…) of People, Talent, and Glorious Music: the Magnolia Chorale

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by Patty McKeehan

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As weather goes, the evening of December 8, 1989, was fairly mild for Seattle. The temperature was about 45°F. It was cloudy, but remarkably there was no rain. So when a group of singers, in a fledgling choral group known as the Magnolia Chorale, made their way across the Ballard Bridge at rush hour... 

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Magnolia Chorale

Spending New Year's Eve at Magnolia's Gim Wah

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by Monica Wooton

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In the 1980s and 90s, the Gim Wah was among my family's first resolutions and rituals of the New Year! One seldom had to wait long in the entry area of the Gim Wah as smoke drifted by from the barely lit lounge to the left filled with the regulars there for bottomless Manhattans or gin and tonics...

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gim wah menu

A Grease Monkey in Camelot

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by Greg Shaw

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Camelot and Magnolia—idyllic places; and, I often think of Magnolia as my Camelot. But, both had undercurrents. Paul Muller and I were part of Magnolia’s...

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Chevrolet_Bel_Air_Convertible

Novel Solution to Soothe Magnolians' Nerves

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by Monica Wooton

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The creation of the Magnolia Boulevard was literally the concrete version of the Beatle’s song: “The Long and Winding Road." And, Mrs. Grace M. Burt had an idea to calm down all the ruckus that the building of the road brought with it...

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Pink Sidewalks

Wunda Wunda

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by Sherrie Quinton

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In the Magnolia of the 1950s and 60s, it was an occasional experience to glimpse a petite woman dressed in a colorful harlequin-style outfit, a dab of red on her nose...

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Wunda Wunda

 
Stay tuned for more stories about Magnolia! With our community of volunteer writers, we'll keep adding new content. Stay current with Magnolia history - sign up for our newsletter!

Content by the Magnolia Historical Society or used with permission by the credited authors or owners. Authors and photographers retain copyright, except for those works in the public domain. Photographs and illustrations are from a variety of sources and credited within individual image captions. Users must seek permission from the appropriate copyright owners to use material.

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Disclaimer: The views expressed in this book do not necessarily reflect the views of the Magnolia Historical Society. All writers are sole owners of their material and are responsible for content.

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