The wonders of Waterville

THE OLYMPIAN | • Published October 18, 2009

Comments (0)

photos Photos

WATERVILLE, Wash. - Tiny Waterville might seem like an unlikely place to have ties to astronomical events, yet the 50-year-old Douglas County Historical Museum has two meteorites, courtesy of the strange workings of the solar system.

The museum also houses a two-headed calf and one of the state’s largest rock-and-mineral collections with 4,500 specimens, all treasures in this small town surrounded by wheat country on the Waterville Plateau northeast of Wenatchee on Highway 2.

For travelers, it can be an hour’s stop or a chance to explore Central Washington with the Waterville Historic Hotel as your base.

Waterville’s two meteorites do give residents some bragging rights. The 73-pound Waterville meteorite was discovered in 1917 less than 20 miles from town. It was the first meteorite found in the state.

For awhile, the meteorite was kept at the entrance to William Schluenz’s hardware store. He offered to pay $1 to anyone who could knock off a piece of the nickel-iron space rock, said museum director Lori Ludeman.

“He never had to pay off,” Ludeman said.

The Washington State History Museum borrowed it to study but was not quick to return it. The county sheriff had to retrieve it, she said.

The 191/4-pound Withrow meteorite was found in 1950 about 15 miles away. Wheat farmer Walter Nollmeyer discovered it in his field and gave it to a friend who was into rocks and minerals. Hugh Godlove understood its significance, later loaned it to the museum and, after he died, his family donated the meteorite.

Less famous is the Schluenz collection of rock and mineral specimens from around the world, including agates and petrified wood. The collection stayed in Schluenz’s basement until he ran out of room, prompting the construction of a 30-foot-by-60-foot pumice stone structure, Ludeman said.

“He was offered a princely sum by the University of Washington, but he turned them down,” she said.

Schluenz and his wife, Etta, donated the building to the city and became founders of the museum, which also displays pioneer artifacts, farming equipment, American Indian artifacts and 30-by-40-inch panels on which local families can portray their family history.

AN ADVENTURE

Getting to Waterville can be half the fun if you opt to take the less-traveled roller-coaster Badger Mountain Road from Wenatchee, which climbs for many miles.

At the top of Badger Mountain, a short drive off the two-lane road, is a terrific view across the Waterville Plateau and its dryland wheat farms. Waterville, which sits at 2,650 feet, is the state’s highest incorporated community.

A gazebo at the top represents one of the projects created by President George H.W. Bush’s Thousands Points of Light initiative that encouraged community organizations “spread like stars throughout the nation” to do good works. An earlier volunteer force created a ski hill on Badger Mountain and its predecessors have maintained it for 71 years. The most difficult run is a steep 800-foot drop to the 3,000-foot base.

“The A Hill is legendary in Waterville,” skier and volunteer Jacque Clements said. “The saying goes that if you can ski A Hill, you can ski anywhere.”

A small lodge has food cooked by the Lions Club, including the Waterville Lions Burger. The food counter’s front is covered with old skis.

“My skis from the early ’80s are there,” Clements said.

People donate ski equipment that can be borrowed for free with a daily $10 – yes, $10 – ticket.

The land is owned by the city and Peterson Brothers Ranch. On a busy weekend, as many as 100 people will be at play.

WALKING WATERVILLE

Waterville is well-named. In the late 19th century, it had the only good supply of water for miles around, a valuable commodity that led to it becoming the county seat.

Cattle ranching created the economic base until the harsh winter of 1889-90, when the below-zero temperatures and snow drifts into April killed the majority of animals and destroyed the industry. Potatoes and wheat became the cash crops until dryland wheat farming took over as the economic engine.

The town of fewer than 1,200 residents can be perfect for a walk. The commercial district is on the National Register of Historic Places, along with the Waterville Historic Hotel and the Nifty Theatre.

On a recent sunny afternoon, 9-year-old Adysen Warner was walking her dogs, Hobie and Louise, while playing her recorder. Two women were handling the details of the large Historical Society Thrift Shop. And the Waterville Library advertised a performance by Carl Allen singing Woody Guthrie songs.

A large ice cream sign lured walkers into Mitchell’s Drug, Hardware and Floral. A barber pole stands outside the Waterville Parlor where owner Diana Phillips cuts hair. Adjacent to the barber shop is Bella Betty’s, offering lotions, soaps, bath salts and other feel-good potions.

Coyote Pass Café (there is no such pass) offers breakfast, lunch, homemade bread pudding and Washington wines. The Blue Rooster has two scoops of ice cream for $2.25.

Other stops on a walking tour should be the Waterville Pioneer Park, the eye-pleasing St. Joseph Catholic Church, and the Douglas County Courthouse, built in 1905. The tower spire and roof detailing offer a whimsical contradiction to the solid structure.

But where’s the action? There’s plenty of it in the summer with the Waterville Days (mid-July), the Demolition Derby and Fireworks celebration over the Fourth of July, and the Northwest Central Washington Fair and Rodeo (late August).

HISTORIC HOTEL

An advertisement in the Douglas County Press on Oct. 10, 1907, touts the Jacobean Revival-style Waterville Hotel (1903) as offering “first-class accommodations to the traveling public (with) hot and cold water.”

It’s now the Waterville Historic Hotel, owned by Dave Lundgren, who discovered it while on vacation in 1992 and bought it two years later.

“I was intrigued by the building. I thought, ‘This is a building that should be open.’ The hotel was one of the attractions of Waterville. Nothing was around it. It was built of brick on elevated foundations of basalt boulders hauled by wagon from five miles away.”

Lundgren has been restoring and remodeling the 12,000-square-foot hotel since, and will continue this winter.