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May 20 – Parkland School 115th Birthday Party

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PARKLAND — On Saturday, May 20th, the Parkland Community Association is hosting a Birthday Party for the Parkland School, to celebrate the history of the community.

When:Saturday, May 20th from 12:00 noon to 3:00 p.m.

Where: Keithley Middle School, 12324 12th Ave S, Parkland, WA 98444

What: There will be door prizes, food, live music and entertainment for the whole family. We will also have speakers sharing the value the school has had to the community, an update on efforts to save Parkland School, and facts and visions for its adaptive reuse.

Why: Parkland School is an historic landmark, located on Pacific Ave and 121st Street South, that has been a part of the Parkland community for over 100 years. The school was built in 1908 and served as an elementary school to thousands of students. Since that time, it has housed university classes, provided space for family services, and served as the campus for a local private high school. In 2022, the school was threatened with demolition in order to build apartments. The Save Parkland School community members have been working hard to save it, but have less than a year to do so.

The Save Parkland School community group is part of a non-profit organization that is dedicated to preserving the school and turning it into space that serves the community, young and old. Namely, Parkland is an area fraught with suburban sprawl that does not have a town hall, community center, museum, senior center, or events center.  A community center would be an anchor place for people of all ages to come together and enjoy a variety of activities. The community center would provide a much-needed space for community events, activities, and after school programs. It would also be a place for people to gather and connect with neighbors.

The Save Parkland School community group is asking for your help to make this dream a reality. Please join us for the event on May 20th and learn more about the historic school and how you can help save this historic landmark.

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115th birthday for Parkland School @ Keithly Middle School

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May 20th, Saturday, 12-3pm, Keithley Middle School. Hot dogs, cake, fresh fruit, entertainment and fun!

All are invited. Everyone belongs here. Come celebrate the Parkland of today, past and future!

Clink link for more info https://fb.me/e/2nn64lJBT

Spanaway Cemetery cleanup May 24

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Four congregations of youth from local churches are coming to the historic Spanaway cemetery this year on May 24th, to clean up prior to the Memorial Day Weekend.  They’ll be arriving at the Cemetery at different times between 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.  Some youth and leaders will be arriving in the evening between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. 

A very generous man from a local has mowed the grass twice, then yesterday for the 3rd time prior to the service project.  Both the Protestant and the Catholic sides of the cemetery will be involved in the project.

The pictures below are from previous years the LDS churches have done this cleanup.

Thank you for helping take care of our historic family graves.

You know it as Eastgate Road, but…

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By Marianne Lincoln

One of my favorite annual events is taking the tour of Fort Lewis put on by the Nisqually Tribe. Amazing history, great snacks and good company. Although the tour enters and exits from a normally locked gate on the reservation, much of the driving is along Eastgate Road. It is called that because is exits on the east side of the military base onto SR507. It is also not far from where Muck Creek crosses SR507. There is good reason for that proximity.

Flipping through an historical society page on diversity and monuments, I found this one, listed to be modified for diversity and inclusion. I thought I should give some of that context.

“Historical Road Number One: This street from railroad crossing at American Lake Station, thru Camp Lewis to its intersection with Lewis Drive-follows the Hudson’s Bay Co. trail established in 1833 between Nisqually House and Muck Creek. In 1889 this became a legal state highway, designated Huggin-Gregg Road. In 1917 the roadway was paved and named Clark Way. | This monument erected in 1918 by the Washington State Historical Society”

Animal trails often become paths for humans, in this case, the indigenous people of the area. When Fort Nisqually was sited, it was near the Nisqually settlement, but on the bluff above the mouth of Sequalitchew Creek. Due to the need for workers, the Fort employed many Native Americans. Some worked a day or two, some stayed around for years, a few married the men at the Fort. They were paid in food, supplies or blankets. This was before any treaties or reservations were established. The local people were nomadic to a small extent. In different seasons, they travelled from the waterfront, to camps in the prairie, to the mountains for berries, or over the mountains to the Yakima area.

Of course, one of those routes was a road from Sequalitchew Creek to the prairie to pick camas and hunt elk and deer. Fort Nisqually established their first farming station near where Muck Creek crosses SR507 and the road there was eventually called Huggins-Gregg Road. Huggins was the last man in charge of Fort Nisqually. The Puget Sound Agricultural Company had sites in Spanaway (Spanueh Station) and Parkland (Sastuk Station) as well.

The prairie area that is now the artillery impact zone, was once an area where the native people like to race horses. It is a wide open and flat space from the road to Nisqually Lake. The hillside nearby has an Ampitheater for the military to watch munitions tests. It was likely a great lookout for the Indian families to watch horse racing too. It is a stop on the annual Leschi-Quiemuth Honor Walk.

Next time you drive over Eastgate Road. Understand there is really quite a lot of historic significance as far back as the glaciers that carved the prairie lakes and swamps. in our communities.

Garfield Street Fair absence sprouts alternative

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In 2023, the Garfield Street Fair in Parkland is not happening. So the newly established Parkland Community Association took matters and the date, as an opportunity to talk about how much the community could benefit from a new community center in the form of the old Parkland School building at a rally August 19, 2023.

The Parkland Community Assoc. is a 501(c)(3), non-profit, charitable corporation, formed this year in response to community need. They have written grants, gotten legislative support, and worked out a purchase agreement with the administration at Pacific Lutheran University. Now, they are working to raise enough to secure the purchase by November 3, 2023, so they can begin building upgrades and lease arrangements with community services and organizations to make the building serve the neighborhood once again.

If you are looking to leave your mark on the community of Parkland, this editor suggests that there are going to be opportunities to NAME that community center and possibly various rooms inside, for the generous benefactors and supporters of this community. My own, author’s favorite is Mutual Material’s Community Center at Parkland School. It IS a concrete block building in a community where Mutual Materials opened over 100 years ago… hint, hint. All it would take is a small investment of $2.85 million to make naming rights happen. IF you prefer your name, please contact the PCA. They will certainly welcome your call.

While the community is waiting for you to make up your mind to be their hero or heroine, they will be hosting a rally around the Parkland School site on Saturday, August 19.

 “SAVE PARKLAND SCHOOL” rally and clean-up event. It’s going to be a day filled with community spirit, positive action, and making a real difference. So, mark your calendars and join this gathering.  Let’s come together and create an unforgettable day for a great cause! 

  • Saturday, August 19th at 10 AM – NOON 
  • meet at Trinity Church Park (corner of 121st and C St)  
  • wear red
  • bring your signs in support of saving the school
  • bring yard tools (we have permission from PLU to trim the hedge, etc.)

After your polar plunge, try a first day hike

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Washington State Parks have a new tradition, First Day Hikes. Besides being a great way to get some exercise, the parks provide staff led a self-guided tours with some history of the park. As well as the history, you can get a pin, showing you participated. Go to the link and look for a park where you would like to go, there are more than 40!

Here is the scoop from the parks site:

“Ring in the New Year with Washington State Parks! First Day Hikes offer an experience for everyone to get outside and enjoy our beautiful state parks.

Participate in ranger and staff-led hikes, bike rides, snowshoe excursions and more offered at 40+ parks on New Year’s Day. When you are done, don’t forget to pick up your free, collectible Washington State Parks 2024 First Day Hikes pin!

All hikes are free and a Discover Pass is NOT needed to park on state managed lands on Jan. 1, our first Washington State Parks Free Day of 2024. However, you may need to register for some events with participation limits and/or purchase the appropriate Sno-Park permit. Please read hike descriptions carefully and check the park’s event descriptions to make sure you are registered and have what you need! Enjoy your New Year’s Day State Parks adventure!”

Credit to Cheryl Evans for the photos from last year’s hike at Saltwater State Park in Des Moines, WA.

Opinion: Linda Carlson, Parkland

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TO: Parkland Community Association

FR: Linda Carlson, Parkland School student, 1956-1963

I am a Parkland School graduate and a member of a family that has been in Parkland and associated with Parkland School since the early 1930s, so almost 90 years. I am writing regarding the value of the Parkland School structure and its grounds in community history, as a portal to the neighborhood, and to the county’s own comprehensive plan regarding the value of historic structures and the need for open space and parks in the Parkland area.

I draw your attention to a March 2015 publication titled Pierce County Comprehensive Plan, Parkland-Spanaway-Midland Community Plan Background, 5BFacilities and Services Element 6-26 Attachment B to LUAC Staff Report , available online at https://www.piercecountywa.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/817?fileID=1007

As this document points out (pp. 7-8), among the earliest white Parkland settlers were Thomas and Agnes Tallentire, whose Donation Land Claim of 640 acres is dated 1852. They are important to us as the donors of the land on which the current Parkland School stands. According to “Historic Flows, Flow Problems and Fish Presence in Clover Creek—1924-1942: Interviews with Early Residents,” written by Fred L. Tobiason in 2003 and available on the Pierce County website at https://www.piercecountywa.gov/DocumentCenter/View/70533/Chambers-Clover-Historic-Flows, the Tallentires established their home on acreage between 121st St South and 138th St South. 

A frame school was first constructed on this site in the late 1800s. Mrs. Tallentire died in 1876 so it is likely the site was donated prior to that. An earlier school was located due east, across what is now Pacific Avenue. That may have been the school attended by the Tallentire children, who were born in the 1850s.

This means that Parkland School, which was formally established as a single-building district of its own from at least 1888 until consolidation in 1949, predates the Pacific Lutheran Academy which did not open until the present day Harstad Hall was completed in 1894.

Parkland School’s impressive masonry is important as an example of turn-of-the-century school architecture and its 1937 addition is to my knowledge the only Works Progress Administration structure in Parkland today and perhaps the only significant one in Pierce County. That addition is typical of WPA projects, which added many gymnasiums and auditoriums to rural schools.

However, what I also want to address is the importance of historic structures of all kinds that Parkland, Midland and Spanaway residents discussed long before the current controversy regarding demolition of the school. On page 31 of the county’s own 2015 comprehensive plan document, there is a summary from surveys of residents done by the county. Let me quote:

 “The residents of Parkland-Spanaway-Midland recognize the importance of preserving historic resources. To ensure that the historic character and features of the area are maintained, redevelopment and renovation of historic structures will occur so as to preserve the integrity of those structures. Productive and attractive uses of historic buildings will be encouraged while new developments will be consistent with historic sites and structures.”

Moreover, on p. 97, the survey summary points out the inequity of parks and open space in the Parkland area: “While it appears that the Parkland-Spanaway-Midland Communities Plan area contains a high number of parks, many of these facilities are large, regional-level facilities that are concentrated in one Spanaway location and thus there is a perceived lack of equity in distribution. There is a strong desire to have more neighborhood and community level parks (that contain picnic areas, walking trails, and small playgrounds) spread evenly throughout the communities. ..These park areas should create a balance between active recreation uses and natural open space areas and when possible, incorporate historical or educational components. …Finally, in these times of lean government expenditures, finding funding sources for acquisition and maintenance of new park facilities is a challenge. However, …Public and private partnerships for development of parks should be encouraged, and where feasible, incorporated into publicly funded community development or block grant housing projects. …Existing parks and any new park sites that are acquired should be adequately protected, through a conservation easement or covenant, so that they will remain in such capacity in perpetuity.”

What this report does not state, but what we all know, is that the same inequity applies to meeting spaces. Parkland has few public gathering spaces and access to information about public services, such as could be provided with a community center, are limited—perhaps nonexistent.

In conclusion, what you hear is that saving Parkland School is important for many different reasons, among them a long-ago voiced concern by the larger Parkland-Midland-Spanaway community for the preservation of historic structures. This parcel also offers the opportunity to rectify the inequity of open space, playgrounds, park space and gathering spaces that currently exists in the Parkland area.

[Editor Note: I went to the State Archives in Bellevue and discovered Parkland School was started in 1879. The building the PCA is trying to rescue, the first portion was built in 1908.]]

Donate now, a matching donation is available

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Right now, if you donate to the Parkland School purchase, your donation will be matched by a local philanthropist. Please give to the cause so Parkland can reopen this building as a community services center.

PLU has generously offered to lower the purchase price by $350,000, if the PCA can raise another $500,000 toward the purchase by January 31! They need each person in Parkland to give $5 or $10, more if you can. Lot and lots of donors, small and large are needed to make grant applications look better. Each of you needs to give something, no matter how small, if you can. The long run benefit to the community will be astronomical.

Parkland Community Assn. (PCA) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit so donations are eligible for tax donation. The group meets on Tuesday nights at Trinity Lutheran Church at 6 p.m. The diverse community of Parkland needs to be represented in the decisions about how to raise money and use this building. Please join, donate and bring your ideas!

Please donate to the Parkland School <– at this link. [The link at the top of the page is for the Pierce Prairie Post.]

The plans for the building include recreation (gym), leasing of classrooms for social services, mental health, community meetings, a business incubator, providing safe spaces for youth, seniors, and community to gather and share multicultural experiences. It will support access to health, nutrition, wellness resources, recreation, fitness, theater, performing arts, language, classes and resources for workforce preparation and business incubator.


Immediate need for saving Parkland School

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By Gayle Carlson

The Parkland Community Assn. (PCA) is raising funds to purchase the school from Pacific Lutheran University (PLU).  Our goal is for the building to become a community center for youths, families, and seniors.

In November the PCA made a $25,000 deposit into escrow as required by the Purchase and Sales Agreement. We did not make our goal of raising $1.5 million by November 3rd.  PLU has offered an amended option which the PCA voted to accept. If we meet the new requirement of $1 million by January 31st, PLU will lower the price by $350,000. The legislature awarded us $500,000 of which most can be used towards the $1 million needed.  We have received many donations and now we still need $346,100.92 by January 31st.  We have been applying for grants and have received some. We have state and county representatives supporting us and we hope they will be able to award PCA funds during the short session. We are hopeful the purchase can be completed and the building slowly renovated one area or floor at a time.  The most important need is repairs to the roof.  We already have offers of help with the roof and flooring from local companies.

Once we have possession of the school, we qualify for additional grants that would enable us to make repairs and ready the building for occupancy.

One huge asset of the building is the wonderful gym that was updated by Mt. Rainier Lutheran High School during the 3 years it occupied the building.  There is also a stage that could be used for community productions. See the picture of the current condition of the gym.

The PCA is a 501(c)(3) and all donations are tax deductible.  All donations, no matter how small, are appreciated. Donations can be made using the QR code shown. Please spread the word that PCA needs help to make this community center a reality. Sign up for email updates at www.saveparklandschool.org and/or follow on Facebook: tiny.cc/saveparklandschoolfb. Contact PCA at saveparklandschool@gmail.com. The PCA thanks you for your interest and support. 

Rally to save Parkland School, March 9

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We need to keep our visibility of our effort going!  We haven’t rallied for awhile.  Plus, PLU is having a Track invitational that will bring extra traffic to Parkland.  
WHEN:  Meet at 9:30 AM
WHERE:  Parkland Transit Center 121st St S and Pacific Ave S.
BRING:  Wear red, bring a yard sign if you have one, or other rally sign.

Come join the rally RAIN OR SHINE!  See you there!





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