HDCA kicks off historic plaque program

CHELAN - Historic Downtown Chelan Association held their annual membership dinner on March 23, at Andante Restaurant in downtown Chelan with over 50 in attendance.

Special recognition was given to outgoing board Barb Wadkins for her dedication and for all she has down for downtown Chelan.

Board members are: Linda Van Lusen, president; JoAnne Strandberg, vice-president; Lynda Kennedy, secretary; Kirk McGovern, director; Shannon Eller, director; Erin Briggs, director and Dustin Thomas, director. Servando Robledo serves as the City Liaison.

Introductions and thanks was given to the 2017 B & O contributors: City of Chelan, Coldwell Banker, Campbell’s Resort, VIP Slaugenhaupt Agency, Cashmere Valley Bank, Spirals, Ruby Theatre, Shaw Plumbing, North Cascades Bank, and TFS Advisors.

The highlight of the evening was the presentation of the HDCA’s Historic Plaques by HDCA President Linda Van Lunsen and Ron McGaughey of the Lake Chelan Historical Society. Linda Cox, Senior Warden at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church accepted for the church; Eric and Tom Campbell of Campbell’s Resort accepted for Campbell’s Resort,  Larry Hibbard and Mary Murphy, owners of the Ruby Theatre accepted for the theatre; and Chelan Mayor Mike Cooney and city council member Servando Robledo accepted the plaque for the The Old Bridge (Woodin Avenue Bridge). 

Larry Hibbard commented during the presentation that is was great to see that all four were still be used for what they were originally built  for.

• The Chelan Hotel (Campbell’s Resort) was built in 1901 by Caroline and C.C. Campbell. The sand dune property cost $400 in 1898. When the hotel open, a nights stay was 50 cents. There were only 16 rooms. In 1914 the downstairs restaurant was added. The resort is still owned and operated by the Campbell family.

• The Ruby Theatre was built in 1941 by the Kingman brothers of Chelan and was named for the first manager’s daughter. The theatre’s auditorium is essentially as it was originally constructed. The early silent films were accompanied by piano and photoplayer until ‘talkies’ became popular in the late 1920’s. Traditional film was replaced by digital projection in 2013 for regular shows, but the Ruby maintains its old film projector. The Ruby Theatre is the oldest continuously running movie theatre in the Northwest United States. 

• Chelan’s log church was built in 1898 when Washington was still a territory. The logs for the church were cut uplake and rafted to Chelan. It was a missionary church of the Episcopal Diocese of Spokane, and its pastor served other congregations in the area, often raveling on horseback to the areas of Brewster, Winthrop and Twisp. The first service was held Christmas Eve in 1898, which makes St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church the oldest structure in Chelan.

• The Old Bridge was built in 1927 over the Chelan River in the State of Washington. This concrete bridge replaced an older bridge that had carried horse and foot travel for almost 50 years. It is know as the ‘‘old bridge’ to distinguish it from the ‘‘new bridge’’, which was built in 1977 downriver, above the dam. The light posts were paid for by local individuals and businesses. Cost for construction of the bridge was $60,000.

HDCA Volunteers of Month  are Cathy Sand and Nancy Thompson who came to HDCA with a desire to enhance the holidays in downtown Chelan. They gave a presentation on their plan for Small Town