Lake Stevens Journal - Your hometown newspaper since 1960
Articles written by Fred Cruger
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By Fred Cruger 
Granite Falls 
March 5, 2014 Feeling cranky? Maybe it’s the weather, or maybe not . . .
I had a few days last month when I realized that “everything that could go wrong, would go wrong”, including the weather. When my boss called and asked “How’s it going?”, I remained just sane enough t…
By Fred Cruger Granite Falls February 5, 2014 110 years of change – and still changing
In January 1904, Ordinance #2 was passed by the town council of Granite Falls, creating the position of “Town Marshal” (Ordinance #1 had created the Town Clerk position), along with a whopping…
By Fred Cruger Granite Falls November 6, 2013 
So, how tough was it to build a railroad? The first of a three part series
Shortly after the rails of the Everett and Monte Cristo Railway reached their destination in the gold fields of Monte Cristo, Chief Engineer S. B. Fisher wrote an article covering the details of the…
By Fred Cruger Granite Falls January 28, 2013 A Look Back
The Museum was recently forwarded a question (asked online): Who were the founders of Granite Falls Washington? It’s for a school assignment and I can’t find the answer anywhere! Well, this can…
By Fred Cruger Granite Falls January 7, 2013 A Look Back
Whew! The campaigns are over and the votes have been counted! I didn’t know many of the candidates personally (have met only two or three), but it got me thinking about politicians in general,…
By Fred Cruger Granite Falls December 3, 2012 A Look Back
John H. Curtis owned the Granite Falls Creamery and served as president of Granite Falls State Bank. His dad, John Curtis, served in the Civil War before bringing his family west from Wisconsin to…
By Fred Cruger Granite Falls November 5, 2012 A Look Back
The USFS and and Dept of Ecology will start the immense task of digging up contaminated rock from the slopes and flats of Monte Cristo, and burying it to protect the public from the dangers of mining…
By Fred Cruger Granite Falls October 1, 2012 A Look Back
Many readers may have already seen the blog posting created by Paul Dorpat, featuring Granite Falls, at www.pauldorpat.com. We’ve had a lot of fun tracing the history of our downtown, and gained a…
By Fred Cruger Granite Falls June 18, 2012 A Look Back
Steven Parr homesteaded 160 acres, spanning both sides of the south fork of the Stillaguamish River. Near the center of his homestead was a waterfall known as Granite Falls. On Dec 7, 1904, Granite…
By Fred Cruger Granite Falls May 7, 2012 A Look Back
Most people don’t realize we had a local coal mine in the early ’20s. The excitement of gold, silver, and even copper mines far outweighed the discovery of an excellent grade of coal near Jordan. The…
By Fred Cruger Granite Falls April 2, 2012 A Look Back
"Where Service meets Safety" was the slogan of the Granite Falls State Bank for decades. Built in 1907, the bank stands today looking much as it did when built, albeit with much nicer outdoo…
By Fred Cruger Granite Falls March 6, 2012 Creating a waterproof railroad
The recent heavy rains certainly directed our thoughts to flooding, washed-out roads, etc. Most of our bridges today are high enough and sturdy enough to withstand incredible floodwaters, but that…
By Fred Cruger Granite Falls January 30, 2012 Remembering Bob Miller
About twenty years ago, I moved to Granite Falls from the suburb of Machias, and made friends with Bob Miller while talking about antique cars. On Monday, Jan 9, 2012, Bob died after a multi-year…
By Fred Cruger Granite Falls December 30, 2011 What’s in a name?
No wonder fish can’t get mail! Even if they live and spawn in a single lake, people keep changing the name(s) of the lake! Sometimes, it’s a little hard to know when and why. Early in the…
By Fred Cruger Granite Falls November 29, 2011 My, how times change
In the “early days”, packhorses crossed the Stillaguamish near the Falls on a large log. Soon after the start of the 20th Century, a steel bridge was erected (well before there was a…
By Fred Cruger Granite Falls November 29, 2011 City and council need public help in making tough decisions
Last Saturday I sat through a City Council workshop covering the 2012 Budget . . . more importantly, it took a look over a five-year horizon to forecast the future as best as possible, given a reasonable set of assumptions about the national…
By Fred Cruger Granite Falls Granite Falls May 4, 2010 Mayor and city council should agree to disagree
Dear Editor, Let me preface my remarks by the statement “I like both the Chief of Police and the Mayor of Granite Falls —I believe they are both striving to serve our community as best they can and they both want a brighter, more prosperous…
