I grew up on the west side of town by the airport, now named Fairchild International Airport. I used to babysit the Fairchild kids; their Mom and Dad owned the airport. Bill Fairchild crashed and died in one of his planes in my early adulthood; it was a sad day for the town. My brother worked for him for free flying lessons as a teenager. Townfolk used to use abandoned runways at the airport for target practice areas; I don't know if that is allowed today.
On 16th Street where we lived, life was magical. Times were different then: we roamed the countryside. I spent hours trapped in a tree at an old orchard because I was afraid of the cows. Sometimes it was near dark before I could convince myself to get out of the tree and head home. I jumped over old abandoned wells, climbed in and out of construction and water pipes, and went to a magical place of rocks and a waterfall where we swam or read books by the hour.
I sat in a Madrona tree in our yard and read for hours. Then I biked through the local Mountain View Cemetery, as the roads were paved and it was a great place for a kid to play. My brother and his friends tied a rope to a tree there and jumped out over the surf many feet above the water. It was an exciting place for a kid.
Going to Victoria, British Columbia, Canada from town was a treat then and now. The Empress Hotel, the Wax Museum, the pasties and teas and fine china in the shops - it was all magical. The boat leaves from the Port Angeles waterfront dock nearby where the Coast Guard permanently docks a boat. Be sure to check ferry schedules if you are interested in the trip. Both towns (Victoria and Port Angeles) offer much to see.
Uptown the old Family Shoe Store which saw four kids through school is still there. They used to have an x-ray machine we could play with and look at our foot bones while a sibling was getting new shoes (with four kids in the family, somebody was always getting shoes). Ask them; they still have it, but do not use it anymore. I'm sure we got more than an acceptable dose of radiation in those days!
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