Since its founding, Enumclaw has enjoyed parties in summer. The earliest gatherings were organized by farmers in Wabash, Fir Grove, and Osceola, as recounted by Lena Morris Thomson in the April 20 & 27, 1939, issues of the Courier-Herald. Called a lyceum, their Sunday night gatherings consisted of homespun programs of debates, music, and recitations at the Fir Grove schoolhouse.
To observe their first anniversary, the Lyceum group decided to hold a Farmers’ Picnic which grew into an event celebrated for more than 40 years. Bands would play and songs were sung, with huge spreads of food served on red-checkered table cloths. In 1903, the Farmer’s Picnic Association was officially formed and three years later, 10-acres on the southwest corner of the Auburn highway and 228th Ave. S.E. was acquired. It’s now called Farmer’s Park and owned by the City of Enumclaw. The Farmer’s Picnic lasted until the 1940s when a new festival was imagined.
Enumclaw’s first Naches Trail Days was observed in 1949 when festivities moved to Pete Chorak’s pool and the adjacent King County Fieldhouse. The Naches Trail was originally a pathway connecting Yakama Native Americans in the east and Salish tribes in the west. In the 1850s, it became a main route for immigrant settlers to the Puget Sound region. The local event’s founding was likely influenced by the prevalence of Western-themed movies and frontier culture popularized by Hollywood. At the 1950 celebration held on August 18-19, Victoria Nearhood, left and Dottie DeBolt are dressed in period costume. The two are standing in front of the Enumclaw 5¢ and 10¢ store, then located at 1617 Cole Street, next to the current Rainier Bar & Grill.
Eventually Naches Trail Days “got a little out of hand,” according to John Selland, Mayor of Enumclaw from 1955-1960. He recalled, “horses, marching bands, and bagpipers made their inebriated way through taverns,” while “beer was illegally sold right on the street and beer bottles started flying.” That rowdiness eventually slammed the door on Naches Trail Days leading to a new occasion for jubilation – rodeos – to be featured in this column over the next two weeks. This photo comes courtesy of Lauri Hilberg and Reid Peterson of the Enumclaw Plateau Historical Museum, housed at 1837 Marion Street and open 1 to 4 p.m. on Thursdays and Sundays.
