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closeFive museums five days
Joan Cronk / for The Herald
Not too many locations in Washington are lucky enough to possess the kind of history that East Pierce County has. The Puyallup and Sumner areas are home to five historic structures, which see a steady stream of visitors strolling through at various points of the year. The Fred Oldfield Western Heritage Center, Karshner Museum, Puyallup Fair Museum, Ryan House and the Meeker Mansion are pillars of the community that have entertained residents and educated visitors over the past several decades.
KARSHNER MUSEUM
In an effort to cope with the grief after the loss of their only child, Paul, at age 17 from polio, Dr. Karshner and his wife Ella traveled the world.
While touring the British Museum in London, they noticed groups of schoolchildren strolling through the museum with their teacher. Suddenly they had the idea of a museum in their hometown of Puyallup, a place where children could freely roam among artifacts the Karshner’s had collected on their adventures. The museum would serve as a tribute to their lost child.
“Their idea was that kids could come and see things that they might never get a chance to see otherwise. They could touch things,” said Beth Bestrom, curator of Karshner Museum.
The museum began at Puyallup High School and moved to its present location in 1965. It is jam-packed with a multitude of items to ooh and aah over.
Kindergarten through fifth grade students in the Puyallup School District visit the museum as part of their curriculum.
“The purpose of the museum is to educate the children,” said Bestrom, who proudly showed off a corner for the first graders that included binoculars to find birds in a nearby tree. Second graders learn about dinosaurs and third graders are allowed a visit inside the huge tepee.
Fourth graders sit in an old classroom with the “school marms” for an hour and the fifth grade students go to Ft. Karshner, a room set aside to depict what it would be like to take off and head down the Oregon Trail. The kindergarten students learn about artifacts and, more importantly, proper museum behavior.
The museum’s newest addition is an internment cabin for junior high and high school students, showing them what it was like at the Puyallup Fairgrounds when Japanese residents were held there. Bestrom said the students always discuss “could this happen again?”
RYAN HOUSE
Ryan House in Sumner began as a cabin in the 1860s and was added on to when George Ryan bought it in 1872. The original kitchen, which was detached in case it caught on fire so it wouldn’t spread to the existing house, was remodeled in the early 1900s.
George Ryan was married to Lucy Wood and he owned a sawmill in Sumner. They lived at Ryan House with their five children. The house today allows visitors a look back in time as they wander through the parlor, dining room, kitchen and upstairs bedrooms to see how the Ryan family lived.
To honor the 75th anniversary of the Daffodil Festival, museum Curator Vicki Connor said they are displaying photos and information of all the princesses and queens of past years.
“This is our permanent display this year,” Connor said.
The dining room has an exhibit of the newest Daffodil Court’s photos.
At 2 p.m.. April 6, Ryan House will host a tea. The newly crowned Daffodil Queen and our local princesses will be in attendance and there will be lots of time for visitors to chat with the Royal Court and to take photos.
Ryan House was used as the Sumner Library until 1979.
MEEKER MANSION
Andy Anderson, president of the Ezra Meeker Historical Society, said that Meeker Mansion, “is a memorial to the golden age of Puyallup.”
Puyallup was on a steady uphill climb from 1888 to about 1893, he said.
“Things kept getting better and better,” he said, “and then they walked over the edge of the cliff.”
This was because of the hop louse taking profits away from the hop industry and the panic of 1893.
When visiting Meeker Mansion, expect to see a home from the 1890s that has been restored. The Mansion fell on hard times and served as a retirement home and then a nursing home. After years of work, the Mansion today showcases life as Ezra Meeker and his wife knew it when they built the house in their 60s — a large home for two people. The size of the home, Anderson said, “had to do with their standing in the community,”
Anderson has an obvious love for the Mansion.
“For my money,” he said, “the handcrafted woodwork and the stained glass are things that overwhelm you when you go in, but best of all of that is the hand painted ceilings.”
Throughout the years, those ceilings were covered with over 13 coats of paint.
“We had no idea what was underneath,” Anderson said.
The process of restoring the ceilings is ongoing, and more than half of them have been done to date. A stroll through Meeker Mansion will give you a bird’s eye view of how Ezra Meeker and his wife lived in the early 1890s.
PUYALLUP FAIR MUSEUM
One of the best-kept secrets in Puyallup is The Puyallup Fair Museum, open only during the Spring and Puyallup Fairs.
Karen LaFlamme, spokesperson for the Puyallup Fair, said that admission to the museum is free and it is located just inside the Blue Gate.
“We have just had so many people donate items and The Fair has owned items over the years,” LaFlamme said.
The museum is filled with memorabilia from past Fairs and folks can see photos of the early Fair days and some of the equipment from that time. Several pieces from the internment camp are also on display.
FRED OLDFIELD WESTERN HERITAGE CENTER
And finally, the Fred Oldfield Western Heritage Center is located near the Red Gate at the fairgrounds.
The Center was a dream of Oldfield’s daughter, Joella, who longed for a spot to showcase her father’s paintings.
“I hated it when they were sold because it was like giving away some of our heritage,” she said.
Joella struck a deal with The Puyallup Fair and they partnered up right away in an effort to bring her dream to reality.
The Center opened on a shoestring. In addition to displaying Fred Oldfield’s paintings, art classes for kids are offered, as well as summer and spring camps.
Fred Oldfield, at nearly 90 years old, is still going strong.
“He goes down and paints with the kids,” Joella said. “He drives all around the country and is younger than most of my 60-year- old friends!”