Mill Creek Beacon - Your Hometown News Source

My second daughter lives near Silver Lake in south Everett. Actually, she lives much closer to Ruggs Lake, but nobody has heard of Ruggs Lake, and most are at least little familiar... — Updated 3/1/2022

Everyone knows about the Titanic. Almost no one has heard of the Sultana. The Titanic sinking claimed more than 1,500 souls. It was worldwide news. But 50 years earlier, the... — Updated 12/17/2021

Did you ever play post office? I never did, and had no idea of the rules until doing some research on local post offices. A town was measured by its post office, as much as by its... — Updated 12/10/2021

A number of years ago there was much complaining about a bridge to nowhere in Alaska. My story today is a bit different. It is about roads that would have gone somewhere useful in... — Updated 11/30/2021

I play pub trivia Tuesday nights at Shawn O’Donnell’s American Grill and Irish Pub. O’Donnell’s location is usually described as in south Everett, or maybe Mariner. It... — Updated 11/24/2021

Did Edmonds kids live in fear of "silk trains"? That question came to mind while visiting Easton, Wash., to help the people there who hope to organize a new historical society. We... — Updated 11/12/2021

At the Black Diamond Museum in King County, a memorial commemorates men killed in coal mines. They went to work to make a living for themselves and their families, and one day... — Updated 11/5/2021

Why does it matter that Seagen is now the sixth most valuable company in Washington, and who cares other than shareholders? Would the jobs at Seagen still be as valuable if the... — Updated 10/29/2021

Teresa A Anderson and I have been continuing to follow her father's travel journal from May 29, 1922. Herbert Anderson and Elias Gillette had driven from Queen Anne to Leavenworth... — Updated 10/15/2021

On May 29, 1922, Herbert Anderson drove with Elias Gillette from Seattle to Leavenworth. Herbert took photos and documented the trip in a travel journal along the way. His daughter,... — Updated 9/10/2021

Did you know 84th Avenue West to Five Corners and east to Edmonds-Woodway was originally part of what was called "Trunk Road"? Stick with me. We'll get to that. It was on a Monday... — Updated 9/3/2021

The name Diamond Knot is familiar to many residents of southwest Snohomish County. Many are acquainted with the brewpubs in Mukilteo and Mountlake Terrace, but few know the origin o... — Updated 8/13/2021

We spent a day chasing history. The first location was the Cleveland High School Memorial Forest. After World War II, Cleveland High School students bought 20 acres on... — Updated 8/6/2021

On July 4th I didn't do the usual ritual of going to Civic Park to watch the fireworks show, but I did get a chance to enjoy it in another way. And I wondered how the first July... — Updated 8/6/2021

The third quarter of 2017 showed the smallest gain for Washington companies in 2017. The largest companies in the state grew, but gains were less for smaller companies.... — Updated 10/4/2017

In college I had a professor of ancient history who was fond of poking fun at various societies’ creation myths. I wonder how he would regard Edmonds. Edmonds certainly has a... — Updated 9/27/2017

Many people associate me with ghost towns, especially Alpine, Washington. My interest is in historic towns. Some – like Monte Cristo, Alpine, Bordeaux and Franklin – are ghost... — Updated 9/13/2017

I am not a political junky so I usually don’t watch TVW, the state’s public affairs television network. But on a weekend morning as I was channel surfing I discovered a show... — Updated 9/6/2017 Full story

On Aug. 21, I got to see Venus and Orion before sunrise. Orion is my favorite constellation, and I seldom see it at this time of year. I usually only see Orion in the night sky in w... — Updated 8/30/2017 Full story

A few weeks ago I wrote about the Yellowstone Trail from Plymouth, Massachusetts, to Seattle. Because of that article, I discovered that there is a Yellowstone Trail Organization, a... — Updated 8/23/2017

The Seattle Mariners have finally decided to retire Edgar Martinez’s No. 11 jersey. Way past time. I have supported Edgar's candidacy for the Baseball Hall of Fame for 18... — Updated 8/16/2017

Forbes Magazine proclaimed Jeff Bezos the richest man in the world on July 27. His reign was brief: by the next day, Bill Gates was back in first place. This news flash was basicall... — Updated 8/9/2017

In June, I was disappointed to learn that Fortune Magazine didn't include Everett-based Fortive on its Fortune 500 list. But Forbes Magazine just produced its list of the 2,000... — Updated 8/2/2017 Full story

I recently drove a section of the Yellowstone Trail right in our own backyard. Now nearly forgotten, this was the first highway in the U.S. that ran from coast to coast. It started... — Updated 7/26/2017

Carl Lane Clemans is virtually unknown around here, which is a little surprising since he was once the coach of the University of Washington football team. Maybe that’s because... — Updated 7/19/2017