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closeHappy Birthday Puyallup
Joan Cronk / for The Herald
Tuesday, Aug. 19 is Puyallup’s birthday. In 1877, Ezra Meeker platted our fair city, donating a large portion for community use. Washington became a state in 1889 and a year later, Puyallup was incorporated as a city.
In 1865, John Valentine Meeker carried the first hops to Puyallup, loading them onto his back and walking the entire distance. On his way home, he stopped by his brother Ezra’s house. Ezra took a bunch of the hops and planted them around his cabin. Neither man knew what they had started. John received $185 from his first crop and suddenly, everyone in Puyallup wanted to grow hops. Ezra planted 3 acres, then 5 and then 10 and in 20 years he had more than 500 acres planted in hops.
When the bottom fell out of the hop market, entrepreneurs in Puyallup turned to berry farming. As a way to celebrate Puyallup’s birthday, see just how much you know about the town in which you live.
Questions
1. In 1913, the “Valley Fair” was started as a venue for local farmers to show their animals and crops. It was renamed “The Western Washington Fair Association” in:
a. 1920 b. 1913 c. 1930
2. True of false: The Puyallup Board of Trade, an early ancestor of the Puyallup/Sumner Chamber of Commerce, once suggested moving the state capital to Puyallup.
True False
3. In 1900, when the “Valley Fair’ began, admission for all three days was:
a. 50 cents per person b. $1.00 per family c. 75 cents per family
4. In 1914, a new grandstand was built for a cost of:
a. $5,000 b. $2500 c. $3500
5. This past year, the Puyallup School District had ____ students enrolled, making it the ninth largest school district in the state.
A. fewer than 10,000 B. between 10,000 and 15,000 C. between 15,000 and 20,000 D. more than 20,000
6. Name the Puyallup local who is now a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox.
____________________________
7. Between 1950 and 1959, you could ride the roller coaster for:
a. 50 cents b. 25 cents c. 35 cents
8. Which “The Christmas Story” actor was a Puyallup High School graduate?
____________________________
9. The first Daffodil Parade was held in:
a. 1940 b. 1934 c. 1940
10. Name three early settlers to the Puyallup Valley.
__________________________________________
11. The early pioneers were desperately poor in the early 1860s, but flourished with the introduction of the hop industry. Production halted however with the introduction of:
a. Prohibition b. A wildfire that wiped out the fields. c. Hop lice.
12. The bulb industry got its start in 1924 when William Paulhamus gathered a group of farmers together, urging them to think about planting bulbs in the rich, Puyallup soil. How many bulbs a year were being grown by 1927?
a. 60 million b. 23 million c. 10 million
13. A Puyallup high school was named after which elected state official?
____________________________
14. What was Twinkle Lane and where was it located?
____________________________
15. Before the name Puyallup was picked, factory owner Alexander S. Farquharson suggested naming the community:
a. Meeker Center b. Meekerville c. Meekerstowne
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Answers:
1. (b) 1913
2. True
3. (b) $1.00 per family.
4. (c) $3500
5. (d) more than 20,000
6. Jon Lester
7. (c) 35 cents
8. Darren McGavin
9. (b) 1934
10. Ezra Meeker, James Stewart, Jacob Meeker
11. (c) hop lice
12. (b) 23 million
13. Washington State Governor John R. Rogers
14. seventh Avenue Northwest neighborhood where 35 homes were decorated. 15. (b) Meekerville