Issaquah Celebrates Its Rich Heritage -- Come On Down: Festivities Honor `100 Years Of Greatness'

ISSAQUAH - Minnie Schomber, Issaquah's 94-year-old unofficial town historian, will be honored along with Lucy Hailstone, 93, as the oldest residents when the city holds its centennial celebration tomorrow.

Schomber is a rarity, not only in Issaquah but throughout the Eastside. Issaquah was only 5 years old when she was born there in 1897, and except for five childhood years in Seattle, Schomber has been here her entire life.

She was the sole member of the Issaquah High School class of 1914 and went on to become a schoolteacher, town clerk and finally bookkeeper for the B & R Coal Co. in nearby Newcastle.

Along with today's residents and visitors, Schomber will relive some of the town's history in what the Issaquah Centennial Committee describes as "celebrating 100 years of greatness in the shadow of magnificent Mount Issaquah on the silvery shores of ancient and mysterious Squak Lake."

In reality, Issaquah was born with the name Gilman on April 21, 1892, but the U.S. Post Office said the name was too similar to the town of Gilmer in Klickitat County. The name was changed to Issaquah in 1899.

Half a century earlier, James and Martha Bush were the first homesteaders here, and by 1862 the discovery of coal deposits along Issaquah Creek drew immigrant workers from throughout Europe. Dairy farms and lumber mills soon sprang up in the valley.

Many of the pioneers' descendants still live in the Issaquah area, including Katrina Peterson, the great-great-great granddaughter of James and Martha Bush. Her Brownie Girl Scout troop researched and wrote a profile on Martha Bush. Drafts of profiles on more than 40 Issaquah women will be presented to Mayor Rowan Hinds tomorrow at the noon ceremony at Depot Park.

Before seeing, hearing and reading about Issaquah's history, celebrants can stoke up for the day's events at the pancake breakfast at the Masons Hall - all you can eat for $5 - from 7 to 11 a.m. They then can walk a few blocks to the old Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern Railroad depot for the Wonders of Progress displays, open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

At 11 a.m., everyone is invited to Depot Park for the Issaquah Community portrait, followed by the Centennial Ceremony honoring Schomber and Hailstone as well as past living mayors (A.J. Culver, Herb Herrington, Alton Buckley and Keith Hansen), and the oldest continuously family-owned business in town - Lewis Hardware.

After a picnic in Depot Park, participants can head to Schoolhouse Hill for a reunion and family historical displays and refreshments until 2 p.m. The biggest display will be on the Bush family, put together by Sue Bush Cameron, and Dave and Nancy Horrocks

The celebration concludes with a 7 p.m. costume ball and box social at Tibbetts Creek Manor. Sponsored by the King County and Issaquah Arts Commissions, entertainment is provided by Sandy Bradley.