Who Walks Here Still?
Posted October 7, 2015 at 5:50 am by Tim Dustrude
Lower Spring Street with Brown Island in the Background – SJ Historical Society photo
It’s time once again for the monthly History Column from the San Juan Historical Society…
“Whenever I take up a newspaper, I seem to see ghosts gliding between the lines.” Henrik Ibsen, Ghosts
What does local history have to do with ghosts? Plenty. October’s scary tales can have historical roots, evoking our curiosity about those who walked our streets before us. This undated Spring Street image records the existence of bakeries, a soda fountain, and a pool hall. Who worked in these buildings? Who were the finely dressed citizens on the street? Did any of them make it into a local ghost story? Why is a particular building said to have odd sounds at night? These are the questions that haunt local storytellers. And this is a time for storytellers.
This month, the San Juan Historical Museum invites you to free walking tours for Savor the San Juans month. On October 17, meet at the Roche Harbor Pioneer Cemetery for stories of little Ralphie Lincoln, Elisabeth the school teacher, Kendo Yasuda and many other lime works families. On October 31, Halloween, it’s a Friday Harbor Ghost Walk, with a downtown route starting at Memorial Park. Both are Saturday tours starting at 1:00 p.m., rain or shine. Come hear about the history of our island, sprinkled with local ghost tales originating from these historic sites. Details at www.visitsanjuans.com/savor.
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Categories: Around Here
2 comments:
2 comments...
Great photo! Got a date for when it was taken? And good job Historical Museum and Robin Jacobson for some very great tours in October.
The photo was donated to the Museum without description or date, but we are working on narrowing down the window of time. The car model and clothing styles are broad clues, as are the utility wires and street surface. But all ideas are welcome. Thank you, Sandy, for the nice words about this month’s historical tours.
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