My name is David Cantrill and I am the chairman for archives of the Kirkland Heritage Society. I started in this position a little more than two years ago, and during that time I have had the pleasure to work on the KHS photograph collection.
When I began, the collection was an orderly drawer full of many donors' collections of photos from the late l800s to around the l970s. I looked upon the daunting task of sorting, cataloging and preserving these glimpses into Kirkland's wonderful past with hope.
Having lived in the Juanita area for 15 years, I realized that I knew little of the history of my town and the surrounding communities. I hoped that by working with the society I would find out more about Kirkland and its rich heritage. I am here to tell you that this journey has been the most wonderful adventure of my 50 years, so far.
I started working on the Arline Andre collection, which is comprised of around 450 photos. She spent a lifetime collecting these photos, which include some of the earliest pioneers to the region. I grew to love looking at these priceless glimpses of Kirkland.
They were just the first of dozens of collections, large and small that KHS has in its possession. Names like Barrie and Toman, French and Marsh began to be used in my daily work with these collections. I learned about the spread of Kirkland through these photos, and the people who made our city what it is today.
During the course of this work, I came to know and treasure one man in particular. His name was Peter Kirk. Peter came to the region from England in l886 and never left. He had a dream of founding a great city and building a steel mill that would rival Pittsburgh. In the course of time the town he began would be named after him.
San Juan surprise
In spring 2001, the Kirkland Heritage Society began the process of having a special day of remembrance for Peter. As we had only limited information about him, I took it upon my initiative to find out his birth date to propose the day we would like to honor him. An exhaustive search of records and the internet gave us no clues. We knew that he had moved to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. My search began there.
I soon was in touch with the curator of the local museum on San Juan, and she told me that there were relatives still living on the island! I went to Friday Harbor and met the great grandson of Peter himself, Jim Capron and his wife Barbara. This journey would soon unfold for KHS in ways we never would have expected.
Not only did the Caprons have much more information about Peter and his family, but they actually had some of his possessions. I went to his grave and found out his birth date: February 15, 1840. We now have a date when we could celebrate the memory of this man. Jim and Barbara shared with me their knowledge of the Kirks and let me look through Peter's sea chest, which was full of wonderful memorabilia.
I found some of the most interesting papers and artifacts. Too soon, the day ended and my wife and I had to leave, but not before some of these priceless artifacts were bestowed on KHS. This was but one of many trips to visit the Caprons, and I was to bring back more than 150 documents and 40 pieces of memorabilia from Peter and his family.
Back in Kirkland, work began on putting Peter Kirk Day together. After half a year's work it finally came to fruition and was a great success. I only hope that it will be the first of many, and that we will honor Peter yearly from now on.
I began the work of preserving all the documents, clothing and priceless items dating from the late l800s. I have spent the last nine months working on conserving these pieces. The people of Kirkland will now be able to glimpse the past and view what life was like in that era here in Kirkland. The work has been very rewarding, and I know it will occupy my time for years to come.
More family
Recently we have been in contact with another of Peter Kirk's descendants, Christine Bergman. She is the great-great-granddaughter of Peter Kirk. Christine visited us and brought many fine examples of memorabilia including an inventory of Peter's holdings at the time of his death in 1916. We were able to copy his U.S. patent for the hydraulic dredger, made in 1899, and now have one of his Workington Steel Mill stock certificates dated 1880.
We also were allowed to look through a banker's box containing papers dating from the late 1870s to the 1930s. We made copies of many documents from Peter and his family's life. These documents help to fill in the many gaps in our understanding of our cities founder.
As you may know, by now, the KHS plans to use the lower floor of the newly remodeled Heritage Hall in Waverly Park (see article, page 3). We will build an archives room to house all these wonderful items we have now collected. I hope to display a large portion of these objects and help people research Kirkland's history there.
Unfortunately, this undertaking comes with a cost that the society is hard pressed to cover. I am of the opinion that the end justifies the means, and we will eventually find those funds needed to complete this endeavor.
We are in the process of selling pavers to fill the front walkway leading up to the upper floor community meeting hall. These pavers will help us complete the renovations that are needed before we can move in.
We had hoped by now that would be a done deal, unfortunately the public, who would be the recipients of this wonderful hall, have not supported this venture as expected. We need to house and share these precious gifts from our past that continue to grow daily. I am constantly being given more photos and objects, and we need to place them in the Heritage Resource Center.
I began this adventure years ago, and it has blossomed into one of the most remarkable journeys of my life. It is all volunteer work, and I would not trade any amount of money for all the joy I have had in working with this history. I hope to continue on this well into my golden years and stay on the path of historical archiving, finding new and old pieces of Kirkland's past.
For more information about the Kirkland Heritage Society, call 828-4095.[[In-content Ad]]
