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.]]