5 years ago (1932)
A new business intends to get into the perfume crop industry by replanting a logged-off area with 20,000 true lavender plants from France.
70 years ago (1947)
An 11-gun …
This item is available in full to subscribers.
We have recently launched a new and improved website. To continue reading, you will need to either log into your subscriber account, or purchase a new subscription.
If you had an active account on our previous website, then you have an account here. Simply reset your password to regain access to your account.
If you did not have an account on our previous website, but are a current print subscriber, click here to set up your website account.
Otherwise, click here to view your options for subscribing.
* Having trouble? Call our circulation department at 360-385-2900, or email our support.
Please log in to continue |
|
The legend is that the emperor of China in the early 1860s sent two “tree of heaven” (Ailanthus glandulosa) saplings to San Francisco as a goodwill gesture. The ship carrying them was blown off course and ended up in Port Townsend, where the ship was repaired and crew treated well. One of the saplings was left behind and planted on the bluff between Water Street and the Washington Street hill. This is a photo from 1960. The tree was severely damaged by wind in 1997, and later cut to a stump. Leader Collection photo
Tree of Heaven, Bell Tower
5 years ago (1932)
A new business intends to get into the perfume crop industry by replanting a logged-off area with 20,000 true lavender plants from France.
70 years ago (1947)
An 11-gun salute greets Brig. Gen. D.A. Ogden as commander of Harbor Defenses of Puget Sound at Fort Worden.
Senior Bud Blevins, Port Townsend High School basketball team guard, is named second-team all-state as the Redskins win one and lose two at the state B tournament.
60 years ago (1957)
“The Chimacum Creek watershed project in Jefferson County has been cleared for immediate construction.” The federally funded project will deepen and clear the Chimacum Creek channel through Chimacum Valley to provide better drainage and farm irrigation.
20 years ago (1997)
An Easter Sunday windstorm knocks out electrical service to an estimated 15,000 homes and businesses across East Jefferson County.
“Port Townsend’s historians still cannot agree on the true origins of the Tree of Heaven. But we can now accurately mark the demise of about half of the historic tree that, according to legend, is the 130-year-old gift of a Chinese emperor.” A section of the tree on the bluff below Washington Street collapsed Easter Sunday, March 30, during a windstorm.
Under the direction of CEO Gary Tucker, Pope Resources is embarking on a program for Port Ludlow of “creating value from land and related resources for the next century.”
The Chimacum High School softball team opens its first season of fastpitch with four losses, then tastes victory with a 7-0 win over Quilcene. The Rangers have already been playing fastpitch.
“The Port Townsend Fire Department has changed its mind about proposing to become the manager of a new paramedic service elsewhere in the county.”
(Compiled by Patrick J. Sullivan. Sources: Leader Collection; Jefferson County Historical Society Museum and Research Center, 13692 Airport Cutoff Road, Port Townsend; Jefferson County Historical Society, 379-6673, jchsmuseum.org; jchswa.org, the online search site)
