Arlington welcome center traces area history
Published on Wed, Mar 10, 2010 by Beckye RandallRead More Communities
Michelle and Steve Heiderer of Arlington have joined forces with friends and fellow museum volunteers Dick and Shirley Prouty to build a welcome center on the grounds of the Stillaguamish Valley Pioneer Museum, and their four-year labor of love is finally coming to fruition.
The center, designed by Steve Heiderer, is reminiscent of Native American longhouse structures and features massive cedar supports with traditional Coast Salish carvings by Lummi tribal member and master carver Jewell James. The rafter tails are shaped like tribal canoes.
The centerpiece of the new structure will be a 5-foot by 10-foot hand-carved cedar map of the Stillaguamish Valley as it looked in the early 1900s. Bruce Morrison, a Twisp artist, has completed the carving and it is now in the hands of painter Rose Jones of Wenatchee. Over the next couple of months, Jones will add hundreds of historical details to the 3-dimensional map, documenting the lives of early settlers and Native Americans in the valley.
"The Native Americans were very helpful to the area's early settlers," said Steve Heiderer. "They fed them, helped bring their logs down from mining encampments along the rivers with their canoes. We hope to display examples of that cooperative effort here in the center."
The $90,000 project has received funding from the Stillaguamish Tribe, the Tulalip Tribes, the Snohomish County Historic Preservation Commission, the Murdock Charitable Trust, the City of Arlington, Pemco Insurance, Arlington Hardware, Oso Lumber and the Norcliffe Foundation.
"This center is the only collection of hand carved poles representing the Coast Salish people in the county," said Michelle Heiderer. "The carvings on the poles tell the story of the salmon from NW Native American history."
The welcome center sits next to Portage Creek, a salmon stream that connects to the Stillaguamish River.
Now that the supporting structure is nearing completion, the metal roof is scheduled to be installed over the next couple of weeks. A grand opening celebration is planned for sometime in June. To find out more, contact the museum at (360) 435-2729 or visit www.stillymuseum.org.
The center, designed by Steve Heiderer, is reminiscent of Native American longhouse structures and features massive cedar supports with traditional Coast Salish carvings by Lummi tribal member and master carver Jewell James. The rafter tails are shaped like tribal canoes.
The centerpiece of the new structure will be a 5-foot by 10-foot hand-carved cedar map of the Stillaguamish Valley as it looked in the early 1900s. Bruce Morrison, a Twisp artist, has completed the carving and it is now in the hands of painter Rose Jones of Wenatchee. Over the next couple of months, Jones will add hundreds of historical details to the 3-dimensional map, documenting the lives of early settlers and Native Americans in the valley.
"The Native Americans were very helpful to the area's early settlers," said Steve Heiderer. "They fed them, helped bring their logs down from mining encampments along the rivers with their canoes. We hope to display examples of that cooperative effort here in the center."
The $90,000 project has received funding from the Stillaguamish Tribe, the Tulalip Tribes, the Snohomish County Historic Preservation Commission, the Murdock Charitable Trust, the City of Arlington, Pemco Insurance, Arlington Hardware, Oso Lumber and the Norcliffe Foundation.
"This center is the only collection of hand carved poles representing the Coast Salish people in the county," said Michelle Heiderer. "The carvings on the poles tell the story of the salmon from NW Native American history."
The welcome center sits next to Portage Creek, a salmon stream that connects to the Stillaguamish River.
Now that the supporting structure is nearing completion, the metal roof is scheduled to be installed over the next couple of weeks. A grand opening celebration is planned for sometime in June. To find out more, contact the museum at (360) 435-2729 or visit www.stillymuseum.org.
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