A commemorative issue published by the Kent Reporter
May 22, 2015
Looking back: The original Kent Recorder newspaper office on South First Street, as captured by photographer W.S. Walbridge in about 1891 or 1892. COURTESY PHOTO, Greater Kent Historical Society
KENT CELEBRATES ITS RICH HISTORY, GROWTH REPORTER STAFF
Kent, you’re 125 years old. You started out as a small farming town of hops fields succeeded in time by lettuce crops and dairy farms. Now, hundreds of companies from a Starbucks roasting plan to Recreational Equipment Inc., (REI) to Boeing call you home. “Kent has come a long way since it was first incorporated on May 28, 1890, with a population of 793,” said Kent Mayor Suzette Cooke. “Now, as a hub of innovation with over 124,000 residents, we’re a globally-connected community with so much progress and history to recognize.”
The town, originally referred to as Titusville, first became permanently settled by westerners in the early 1860s along the banks of what was then the White River. Hops were shipped by rail or river from Titusville, though in 1889 folks were calling you Kent, after Kent County in England, a major hops-producing region. But in 1891, an invasion of aphids wiped out your crops. After the turn of the 20th century, you turned to dairy farming, and became home to a Carnation Condensed Milk plant. Flooding from the Green and White
rivers was a constant problem. In 1906, flooding changed the course of the White River, which reduced the flood hazard by half. You continued to have flooding problems until the federal government built the Howard A. Hanson Dam at Eagle Gorge in 1962 along the Green River. During and after the Great Depression, you were known as the “Lettuce Capital of the World.” After World War II, your population grew more rapidly. From 1953 to 1960, you grew twelve-fold. In 1965, Boeing opened a space center in Kent, followed several years later by other
aerospace and high-tech companies. That trend continues today with such companies as Blue Origin, owned by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, which aims to one day feature human travel to space. In 1992, the Greater Kent Historical Society formed to promote the discovery, preservation and dissemination of knowledge about your history. In 1996, the city of Kent purchased the historic Bereiter House, home of one of your early mayors, to serve as the Kent Historical Museum, where your 125-year history comes to life.
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Kent’s 125th Anniversary
How did Kent get its name? BY STEVE HUNTER shunter@kentreporter.com
Senate leaders joined Kent officials in Olympia to honor the city’s 125th birthday and proud history with a proclamation. At the April 23 ceremony were, from left: Gina Hungerford; Doug Levy; Sen. Karen Keiser; Brittany
Jarnot; Ronald Moore; Sen. Joe Fain; Kent Council President Dana Ralph; Kent Mayor Suzette Cooke; Michelle Wilmot; and Sen. Bob Hasegawa. COURTESY PHOTO
Senate honors Kent’s 125th anniversary FOR THE REPORTER
The state Senate recently passed a resolution, celebrating Kent’s 125th anniversary and its evolution from an agrarian community to an economic dynamo. Sens. Karen Keiser, D-Kent, Joe Fain, R-Auburn, and Bob Hasegawa, D-Beacon Hill, sponsored Senate Resolution 8671, which honors the city’s past and praises its growth as a resourceful and diversified community. Kent is known for creating the first lunar rover, designing next-generation rockets, and serving as a globally-connected hub of innovation and transportation.
“The Kent Valley is now the fourth-largest manufacturing and distribution center in the United States,” Keiser said. “Our economic engine generates $49 billion annually, oneeighth of Washington state’s total gross domestic product.” In the 1860s, the area was called Titusville, and it was a major hops-growing center. The city was incorporated as Kent in 1890, named after a region in England known for its fine hops. “Honoring Kent’s 125th anniversary really means honoring the many great people who make up the community,” Fain said. “Bringing together such a diverse community, including
people from many backgrounds, cultures, ethnicities and interests, has led to a unique place for many to call home.” “Kent’s 125,000 residents represent one of the most diverse and vibrant cultures in the state, speaking 137 different languages,” Hasegawa said. “With more than 43 percent of Kent residents speaking a primary language other than English, this is a community that stands as a testament to the increasing diversity of our wonderful state.” Kent Mayor Suzette Cooke, on hand to watch the passage of the resolution from the
KENT’S POPULATION
[ more HONOR page 11 ]
Source: U.S. Census
DID YOU KNOW? History
Kent is the state’s sixth largest city, is a culturally-rich destination, featuring diverse neighborhoods, award-winning parks and an exceptional school district. REPORTER FILE PHOTO
• During the 1880s the town discovered hops production as its major source of income. Owing to an aphid invasion that affected hops crops in Europe, hops from the Puget Sound area commanded high prices. Hops production in the White River Valley ended soon after its own invasion of aphids in 1891. • After the turn of the 20th century, dairy farming became a popular
Census
Pop.
%±
1890
853
–
1900
755
– 11.5%
1910
1,908
152.7%
1920
2,282
19.6%
1930
2,320
1.7%
1940
2,586
11.5%
1950
3,278
26.8%
1960
9,017
175.1%
1970
16,275
80.5%
1980
23,152
42.3%
1990
37,960
64.0%
2000
79,524
109.5%
2010
92,411
16.2%
2013
124,435
34.7%
industry. Kent was home to a Carnation Condensed Milk plant. • Flooding from the Green and the White Rivers was a constant problem. In 1906, flooding changed the course of the White River. The Green River continued to present problems until the creation of the Howard A. Hanson Dam at Eagle Gorge in 1962. • During and after the Great Depression, Kent was known as the “Lettuce Capital of the World.”
Hops farming disappeared many years ago, but it’s the reason the city of Kent got its name in 1890 from the Kent County in England, also a booming hops-growing area in the 1800s. As hops farming soared locally in the late 1880s, residents considered other names, including Titusville, after James H. Titus, a pioneer farmer and blacksmith, according to an article in the 1964 Kent News Journal. A hotel, post office and the community’s first Odd Fellows Lodge already had the name of Titusville, according to the book, “Kent - valley of opportunity: An illustrated history.” But Titusville didn’t exist in any directory. Current Kent Mayor Suzette Cooke read excerpts from the book at a recent City Council meeting, in celebration of the city’s 125th anniversary, to explain how Kent got its name. “Some say (pioneer farmer) Ezra Meeker from the neighboring Puyallup Valley first suggested the name of Kent envisioning a hops culture in White River Valley to rival the county of Kent in England,” said Cooke, quoting the book. “Others say the name came from a railroad employee who first dispatched box cars from Stuck Junction for White River hops.” Hop buyer Isaac Pincus also has been given credit for coming up with the name of Kent, according to the Kent News Journal article. “No matter how you look at it, hops were very directly related to us being called Kent and being named for our namesake of Kent County, England,” Cooke said. Aphids destroyed many of the hops crops in the 1890s, and farmers later put in numerous lettuce crops. Other names considered included Yesler, after Henry L. Yesler, Seattle’s first sawmill operator. Yesler bought property locally in 1884, a mostly wooded area where downtown Kent now sits from Gowe Street to Willis Street and First Avenue to Fifth Avenue. Residents were asked to pick a name by the U.S. Postal Service because it wanted a name that pleased most people after a strong debate between Titusville and Yesler. With its incorporation in 1890, Kent is the second oldest city in King County, behind only Seattle.
[ more KENT page 8 ]
Kent’s 125th Anniversary
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A Kent pioneer and his place: O’Connell legacy lives on BY MARK KLAAS mklaas@kentreporter.com
From his perch atop a small tractor, Tom O’Connell appears at peace, puttering about his family’s enduring farm. “I love this place,” said O’Connell, the 91-year-old patriarch of a family whose roots can be traced back to more than 140 years in Kent, and whose farm stands untouched by surrounding commercial development. Tucked away in the heart of the Kent Valley along the Green River, the O’Connell family’s 30acre farm on Frager Road South remains timeless, preserved, one of the last of its kind in a changing landscape that supports Boeing’s empire, corporate warehouses and other growing industry. [ more O’CONNELL page 8 ]
Right at home: Tom O’Connell has maintained the farm his family established more than 140 years ago. MARK KLAAS, Kent Reporter
CURRANlaw firm Serving the community for over 65 years
Founder Jim Curran
1948
Kelleher & Curran
1957
Curran & Ratcliffe
1961
Curran & Curran
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Curran, Kleweno & Curran
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Curran, Kleweno, Johnson & Curran
1983
Curran, Kleweno & Johnson
1997
Curran Mendoza
2007
Curran Law Firm
555 West Smith Street Kent, WA 98032 253-852-2345 www.curranfirm.com
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Kent’s 125th Anniversary
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Greater Kent Historical Society preserves, promotes local history BY HEIDI SANDERS hsanders@kentreporter.com
The Greater Kent Historical Society is all about preserving and sharing the history of Kent. The society, which was formed in 1992, operates the Kent Historical Museum, located in the historic Bereiter House, 855 E. Smith St. The museum is open Wednesday through Saturday, from noon to 4 p.m., and by appointment. Admission is a suggested $2 donation. “(The museum) provides a place where people can go and just gain information about Kent,” said Edmond L. Reitan Jr., historical society board member and a past president. Reiten said his parents were active members of the White River Valley
Historical Society, which rotated its monthly meetings between Auburn and Kent, before his mother, Rae, who served as Kent’s historian, suggested the city should have its own historical society. Reiten said his mother loved sharing the city’s history. “She used to give walking tours of downtown, and she used to go to the schools,” he said. “She had this old dress she used to wear.” After its creation, the historical society began meeting in City Hall, and in 1993, moved to a temporary home on West Meeker Street. In 1996, the city purchased the Bereiter House, and the museum moved in to the building in 1999 after several years of
Special place: The Bereiter House, site of the Greater Kent Historical Society Museum, is where the history of the Kent Valley comes alive.
The museum is one of Kent’s oldest and finest homes, a three-story 1908 craftsman style with carriage entry. HEIDI SANDERS, Kent Reporter
renovations. The Bereiter House was built in 1908 by Emil Bereiter, an owner of the Covington Lumber Com-
community before being interned during World War II, according to the Greater Kent Historical Society’s website.
pany and mayor of Kent in 1912. Later occupants of the home included the Saito family, members of the Japanese-American
The museum features seven period rooms that are furnished as they would [ more SOCIETY page 8 ]
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IMAGES OF YESTERYEAR
The Interurban Railroad was a popular way to get from Kent to downtown Seattle. The trip took only 25 minutes and followed the electric tracks through Tukwila to Seattle. The railroad started in 1902, connecting Tacoma and Bellingham.
The Interurban Station on Meeker Street, looking North, around 1902. The back side of building was under construction. Women sort through crates of lettuce as the men stand by crates at the Hogue Plant in 1934.
PHOTOS COURTESY, GREATER KENT HISTORICAL SOCIETY
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Kent’s 125th Anniversary
SERVING YOU: FOX PLUMBING & HEATING FOR THE REPORTER
America’s Pastime: A vintage photo of a Kent baseball team photo in the early 1900s.
Beginning in the 1930s, as the Kent Lettuce Festival, the event was a cooperative effort of several community service organizations, led by Kent American Legion Post 15 and Kent Lions Club.
Kent’s 125th Anniversary
For over the past 50 years, Fox Plumbing & Heating has been proud to provide premium plumbing, heating and air conditioning service to Kent and King County. Kent has helped to make Fox Plumbing & Heating one of the most trusted service companies in Kent, and it’s Fox’s privilege to provide quality service. To show that trust, Fox uses drop clothes, shoe covers, calls customers 30 minutes prior to arrival, and other techniques to ensure customers trust. David N. Brown, owner of Fox Plumbing & Heating, personally guarantees that, “If you ever have a problem with anything that we do, we’ll come back and make it right,” ensures that Fox will continue to serve Kent for another 50 years. When Brown began working for Virgil Fox in 1973, he had no idea that he would be the president and owner of Fox. Within six years, David was part-owner of Fox. During this time, he was still run-
ning calls and getting to know all the ins and outs of Kent, Seattle, Bellevue and the rest of King County. Today, Brown no longer goes out on calls, however, he still takes time to answer calls from customers and spend time with every member of his team. Brown believes that if you treat everyone honestly and fairly, then good things will happen to you. That’s why every tech at Fox Plumbing & Heating treats their customers as friends, neighbors and family. Having just celebrated Fox’s 50th anniversary, the Fox family is happy to be included in the city of Kent’s 125th anniversary. Fox was providing services to Kent when Boeing first opened its doors in 1965. And Fox is looking forward to providing that same standard of quality service to the families who will be arriving in Kent with Amazon and other great businesses in the future. “Congratulations to the city of Kent, and here’s to another 125 years of progress,” Brown said.
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[ KENT from page 3 ]
[ O’CONNELL from page 4 ]
Economy • REI, Oberto Sausage Company and Seattle Bicycle Supply (owner of Redline Bicycles) have their headquarters in Kent, and many warehouses are located in the city, due in part to its proximity to key transportation routes. Whirlpool Corporation and General Electric Appliances have regional distribution centers in Kent. • Kent is home to a large steel industry dating to the early 20th century. Steel and metal manufacturers include Salmon Bay Steel Company, Puget Sound Steel and TMX Aerospace. • The former headquarters for Boeing Information, Space & Defense Systems was in Kent. The Kent plant was responsible for engineering the wings on the Boeing/Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor.
Sports • In 2003, Kent was named Sports Illustrated’s Sportstown of the year for Washington. • The 2012 Skate America figure skating competition took place at Kent’s ShoWare Center Oct. 19-21.
Sister cities • Kent’s sister cities are: Yangzhou, China; Tamba, Japan; and Førde, Norway.
Notable natives Earl Anthony, professional bowler; Josie Bissett, actress who appeared in Melrose Place; Rebecca Corry, comedienne/actress; Daphne Loves Derby, indie-pop rock band; Ernie Conwell, Mike Karney and Jeff Jaeger, former NFL players; Rodney Stuckey, NBA player for the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers; and Courtney Vandersloot, WNBA player for the Chicago Sky.
All of which doesn’t seem to bother the good-natured O’Connell, a third-generation farmer, who once operated a producer-handler dairy outlet, a unique enterprise in the valley at the time. The large O’Connell family business – at its peak – managed as many as 100 cows daily – milking, bottling and selling fresh raw milk for families in the O’Brien community who would make the trip to the 85-acre dairy. “We sold it right on the farm,” said O’Connell, a fit, witty and sharp man who appears younger than he is. “Somehow we sold all of our milk. ... People would come here for their neighbors, you know, so they would only come once a month.” Operating a successful dairy for decades was just one side of a man who has lived a long, fulfilling life – a life of hard work, struggles, prosperity, duty, service and volunteerism. O’Connell said he has so
APPLY TODAY KentWA.gov/Police
many people to thank, foremost his wife of 71 years, Margie, his six children, extensive family and many friends for making it all happen. “You could say I had a good life,” O’Connell said. The O’Connells, long in retirement, enjoy 21 grandchildren and 36 greatgrandchildren.
A long family tradition O’Connell, a Kent pioneer, still maintains the same farm today that his grandfather, an Irish immigrant, established in 1872, and the same farm his father inherited in the 1950s. O’Connell hopes one day to pass the farm down to his two sons – Tom and Richard – who practically live next door. His four daughters – Eileen, Barbara, Monica, Kathryn – also keep close.
[ SOCIETY from page 5 ] have been around the time the house was built. “They try to maintain that look and feel of the ’10s and the ’20s,” Reitan said. The museum houses permanent exhibits, including a farming and agriculture display, kitchen and household chores displays and a community room, which showcases Kent history and culture, as well as rotating displays, which change every three to four months. “They try to keep it from getting too stale,” Reitan said.
“And I’m still living here, and I don’t know of any other farm in the whole valley that’s still under the same name,” he said. Born in 1923 in Auburn, O’Connell attended O’Brien Elementary and Kent Junior High prior to graduating from Kent High School in 1941 before the school merged with Meridian to become Kent-Meridian High. Out of school, he went right to work – on the farm and in the Seattle shipyards before serving in the Navy during World War II. Following the war, O’Connell worked on the Northern Pacific Railroad and the Briscoe School dairy before opening a family dairy business that thrived for many years. “(Farming) taught me persistence, not to give up,” O’Connell said. “If you had a job to do, you did it.” From 1966-86, O’Connell was Kent’s postmaster and served on many state and national committees before
retiring. O’Connell has been a part of the community through his work and volunteer efforts, namely with the Knights of Columbus, Elks, Rotary, and Toastmasters. He has done his share of hunting and fishing. He enjoys gardening and golfing. Away from the farm, the O’Connells have travelled far and wide, seeing many parts of the country, as well as Canada, Mexico and other countries. What’s O’Connell’s secret to longevity? “He has a good sense of humor, very affable, personable,” Margie said. “He has a good temperament ... and enjoys very good health.” Good health from a good run at life, he insists. “A wonderful wife ... we’ve had a great life,” O’Connell said. “Great woman behind me, and a great family. They say it takes a village. Well, our family is a village.”
The current display highlights Kent’s Titusville Lodge No. 34 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, which is celebrating its 130th anniversary this year. The museum hosts special events throughout the year, and Kent Chronicles, a discussion group that explores different topics, meets from 11 a.m. to noon the first Thursday and the Saturday after the first Thursday of every month. Anyone, from students in fourth grade or above, is invited to participate in the monthly discussions. The
most recent topic was Kent in the 1890s. The historical society will participate in various community events this year, including the International Festival on May 30, Kent Cornucopia Days from July 9-12, and Experience Kent History Day on Aug. 15, and will host its annual dinner auction on Oct. 3. The museum is available to rent for special events. For more information about the museum or to join the Greater Kent Historical Society, visit gkhs. org or call 253-854-4330.
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Festival remains big part of Kent community FOR THE REPORTER
Kent Cornucopia Days, as we know it today, has a history as an on-again, off-again summer festival in Kent for more than 80 years. Beginning in the 1930s, as the Kent Lettuce Festival, the event was a cooperative effort of several community service organizations, led by Kent American Legion Post 15. The Kent Lions Club, which was originated in 1938, began an active role in the community festival beginning that year. The festival emphasized the valley’s cash farm crop of lettuce, the area’s main farm product in that period. During the years from 1939 through World War II, the Lettuce Festival disappeared, only to emerge again in 1946 as the Kent Cornucopia Festival. Cornucopia, which is Latin for “horn of plenty” and symbolized by the horn-shaped basket full of fruits and vegetables, was the
festival’s new name because Kent had emerged as a producer of many farm crops besides lettuce and had a widely diversified agricultural base. The Cornucopia Festival existed in Kent until the mid1950s. During the late-’50s and into the 1960s there was an on-again, off-again Cornucopia Home Show during the summer, which was organized by one of the Kent Lions. In 1969, the Cornucopia Home Show disappeared, and a festival reappeared but under the name Ezra Meeker Days in honor of Ezra Meeker, an early entrepreneur and farmer who first brought hops to the Kent Valley, which caused the farming economy to boom in the 1880s and 1890s. Meeker had run a business not far from the festival’s location decades earlier. Meeker Street in Kent still bears his name. When the Kent Lions took
Kent was a center for vegetables and its first summer celebration was the Lettuce Festival. Part of that event was the creation of the “World’s Largest Salad.” Here, young beauties (in rubber boots) toss the mixed salad, shredded by the mechanical device to the left. COURTESY PHOTO, CIRCA 1934, GKHS
over stewardship and management of the summer festival in 1972, they shortened the name to simply Meeker Days. But, as many know, there was also a summer festival named Meeker Days (completely different event) in Puyallup. The first Meeker Days was a two-block street fair, located at the site where The Commons complex now exists at Smith Street and Fourth Avenue. In 1980, the Kent Lions
renamed the Kent summer festival Cornucopia Days, thereby reverting to local tradition and relieving the confusion with the Puyallup festival. Then, in 1981, the Lions made another slight name change to Kent Cornucopia Days. That name has remained unchanged ever since. Each year since 1970, Kent Lions have produced this summer festival during early July, including a large street fair, parade, carnival and numerous
athletic events, including soccer tournaments, skateboarding competitions, as well as 5K and 10K running events. In 2001, the Lions added a dragon boat racing event on Lake Meridian, which has grown to be the largest such race in the state and enabled a thriving community of dragon boating competitors in the city of Kent. Annually, more than 200,000 visitors attend various functions of Kent Cornucopia Days.
Celebrating 20 years! 19 year old Kent-Meridian graduate Tonya Goodwillie opened Allegro in 1996
Come join us for our
20th Annual June Showcases
222 Central Ave S, Kent 98032 • 253-813-9630 www.allegrodance.com
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June 17 - 19 @6pm ShoWare Center in Kent
Kent’s 125th Anniversary
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Kent has its landmark district BY MARK KLAAS mklaas@kentreporter.com
A historic Kent neighborhood glows today as a registered landmark, the first of its kind in South King County. The King County Landmarks Commission unanimously approved the Mill Creek Neighborhood Association’s nomination for official landmark designation at a public hearing at the Kent Senior Activity Center last November. The Kent Historical Museum and Mill Creek Neighborhood Council had been working with city and county officials to complete the steps necessary to designate a concentrated, lower East Hill area of historic homes as a registered King County Landmark District. According to the commission, Kent is the first city in
the county outside Seattle to earn the historic designation in about 10 years. After several years of action, advocacy, historic house research, tours and more, the neighborhood council was rewarded for its efforts. “It is terrific,” said Sharon Bersaas, the Mill Creek council vice president and homeowner in the district. “It’s very exciting. It makes for a bigger historic footprint.” Fifty of the 60 homes in the historic Mill Creek neighborhood agreed to contribute to the district from an area that was originally platted in 1890, Bersaas said. Those noncontributing homes have either been remodeled to the point where they no longer have original features or have moved into the district from different neighborhoods, she said. The historic district’s general boundaries are Clark Avenue North to the west, Hazel Avenue North to the east, Smith Street to the south, and a portion of Cedar Street to the north.
SERVING YOU: CARPINITO BROS, INC. local farms, including its Carpinito Bros own Green began back in the River Valley mid-'60s by two brothfarm. ers, Dan and Mike In late Carpinito. Mike and September, Dan attended KentCarpinitos Meridian High School opens the and were involved familyin Future Farmers of friendly America. Their farm pumpkin location was on Cenpatch and tral Avenue North in corn maze. Kent, where the store Through is now. December, Fifty years ago, seasonal things were much produce is simpler. The Carpinito Kent’s Carpinito Bros, Inc., is a successful family operation, handed down through available, brothers owned a few generations. REPORTER FILE PHOTO and for the acres along with other holidays the in the family business. Carpinitos farmers in the area. store is filled offers year-round, premium landInitially, they began selling just with fresh-cut Christmas trees, as scape bark, topsoil, compost and produce, but in the mid-’70s, the well as featuring Santa's reindeer. gravel products for the customer to Carpinitos extended their retail Today, the original Carpinito haul or for a home delivery. sales to nursery and garden, as well brothers and their sons continue to The store opens the first week of as bulk landscape supplies. Soon to operate all divisions of the company February, providing a wide selection follow would be wholesaling farm on a daily basis. of quality nursery and garden prodfresh produce and bulk and bagged Carpinito Brothers would like to ucts. The first week of June, the retail landscape material. thank the community for naming it store expands to the opening of the Today, Carpinito Bros, Inc., is Best of Kent in Nursery and Garden local farm fresh produce market. still a family-owned business. The Centers and for being named Carpinitos carries the finest family has expanded with Mike and Business of the Year by the Kent Dan’s family, with five boys involved quality fruits and vegetables from Chamber of Commerce. FOR THE REPORTER
Carpinito Bros. Family Owned & Operated For Over 50 Years!
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KENT’S MAYORS
Legion helps many in the community FOR THE REPORTER
A.T. Van De Vanter 1890-1891
J.H. Titus 1891-1892
W.H. Overlock 1893-1894
J.J. Crow 1895-1896
George Wood 1896-1900
B.A. Bowen 1901-1907
W.H. Overlock 1908-1909
M.M. Morrill 1909-1910
J.P. Calhoun 1911-1912
E.W. Bereiter 1912-1913
M.R. Hardy 1914-1915
W.H. Overlock 1916-1918
W.L. Fulp 1919-1920
Dave Leppert 1921-1924
A.N. Berlin 1925-1926
R.W. Murkar 1927-1930
Sidney Boucher 1931-1934
R.E. Wooden 1935-1942
Grant Dunbar 1943-1946
Dave Mooney 1947-1957
Alexander Thornton 1958-1968
Isabel Hogan 1969-1984
Daniel P. Kelleher 1985-1993
James White 1994-2005
Suzette Cooke 2006-present
The Kent American Legion Post 15 has been an integral part of the local community for over a half-century. With more than 400 members, representing the five military services, supporting Sons of the American Legion and the Women’s Auxiliary, this post is a hub of social and recreational activity. Located on Kent’s East Hill, at the east end of Earthworks Park, the Post is actively involved in youth and veterans activities. Kent’s Youth are annually helped via Boys State, the American Legion oratory contest, and
[ HONOR from page 3 ]
PHOTOS COURTESY, GREATER KENT HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Senate gallery, noted the state’s sixth-largest city had come quite a way since the days it was known as the lettuce capital of the world. “Kent has a lot to celebrate every year, but we have a significant milestone to celebrate this year: our 125th anniversary of incor-
through the support of Boy Scout Pack 406. Area veterans are directly served through the Post’s service officer, a specially trained individual who can offer financial and non-financial support. The post directly supports the Kent Food Bank and other selected charitable organizations. Veterans in dire financial straits are also assisted. The 250-seat meeting hall hosts a multitude of local functions for legion and non-legion members and can be rented for weddings, anniversaries and birthdays. The regionally renowned Post 15 Honor Guard provides full military honors to recently deceased service members thrice monthly at Tahoma National Cemetery.
poration,” she said. “The second city in King County to incorporate, we have grown from hops to aerospace and have become the sixth largest and most culturally diverse city in the state. It was an honor to accept a proclamation from Washington state Sens. Karen Keiser, Joe Fain and Bob Hasegawa in recognition of May 28, 2015, Kent’s 125th birthday.”
The American Legion Kent Post 15 + Chartered in 1919 + One of the Largest Chapters in the State + Over 400 members + Annual Memorial Day Service Hillcrest Cemetery @ 10am Rifle Salute by Kentwood ROTC + Tahoma National Cemetery @1pm Rifle Salute by American Legion Post 15 Honor Guard
+ Annual Veterans Day Parade in Auburn, WA + Large Memorial Hall available for rent that seats up to 250 people + Tahoma National Cemetery Our Honor Guard Salutes Fallen Veterans every other Wednesday
Veterans helping Veterans for God and Country ~American Legion Kent’s 125th Anniversary
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Serving Kent Since 1938 History of Cornucopia Days 1946 Cornucopia Queen
Events sponsored solely or partly by Kent Lions Service Organization
A world wide organization of volunteers dedicated to sight and hearing. In Kent, we specialize locally in youth, families, seniors and veterans. We also own and produce Kent Cornucopia Days and the Kent Farmers Market. Kent Cornucopia Days
Memorial Day Ceremony at Tahoma National Cemetery May 25, 2015 1954 Cornucopia Parade
Farmers Market (Oldest Market in King County) Saturdays, 9 am – 2 pm June 6 – Sept. 26, 2015 at Town Square Plaza Park
A Kent Lions Project Since 1970
Kent Dragon Boat Races
www.kentfarmersmarket.com
Cornucopia Days (Largest Street Fair in King County) July 8-12, 2015 www.kcdays.com
Cake-eating contest at Cornucopia Festival, Kent, July 13, 1956
Dragon Boat Races (One of the largest in the Pacific Northwest!) July 11, 2015
Photo courtesy of Dan Meeker
A Kent Lions Event Since 2001 Kent Farmers Market
Kent Lions Meeker Days July 1972, renamed Cornucopia Days in 1980, became Kent Cornucopia Days in 1981
A Kent Lions Project Since 2003
Serving Kent for 77 years 253-852-5466
kentlions@gmail.com
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Kent’s 125th Anniversary
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Winterfest December 5, 2015