River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1903-02-19
Washington Letter.
Puyallup, Wash, Feb. 7, 1908

After almost four years residence
in this out-of-the-Way corner of the
earth, feel thoroughly qualified tc
keep my promise II to give you
through the JOURNAL, our opinion
of the country.
Being, in direct line, but seven
miles from Tacoma, her prosperity
is ours. Our River Falls friends
who "had been there" and assured
US that the city was dead" 1abored
under false impression. She has
now entirely recovered from the
anaesthetic influence of the C1eve-
land administration, is wide awake
and is fulfilling the prediction that
this year would witness the greatest
building rush since the palmy days
of the big "boom. Of course you
know about her wonderful harbor
which will insure TO her the most of
the China trade. We have ceased
to smile at hearing her called "The
City of Destiny The great ware
houses built by the N. P. K. R.
along her tide flats only foreshadow
what is to come.
Some ask me can man make
money farming in the Puyallup
valley. If a man is Industrious and
in vigorous health he can become
rich on a Wisconsin farm quicker
than on western Washington
berry-patch. Any man who desires
wealth in this state, west of the
Cascades, should bring sufficient
Eastern capital to enable him to
start a sawmi11, develop a mine or
go into politics. However, on the
down-hill side of life, man needs
but little here below, nor needs
that little long" With that spirit
of content one can find more plea
sure here than in Wisconsin. One
can live almost in the glare of the
electric lights, have his conversa-
ton interrupted by factory and
train whistles, have handy four or
five churches and a school which
gives instruction to six hundred
children and yet in his spacious
backyard a crop may be growing as
remunerative as that of an eighty
acre farm in Clifton. To add to
his bliss he can have a fine view of
Mount Rainier Whenever the clouds
1ift-enough of itself TO make one
happy. He can view his apple
orchard when the brilliant fruit
calls to mind the stories of the
Nights and the trees loaded
with jewels. He can eat as deli
cious cherries as ever grew, and
egg -plums, prunes and pears from
his own garden. Frosted window
panes will be such rarity as to ex-
cite wonder. He can see green
grass all the year round and month
1y roses blooming out of doors at
new year. We have such beautiful
flowers here. They only ask the
removal of persistent grass to give
luxuriant masses of daffodi1s, mar
cissus, English hawthorn, Scottish
broom and all the rest.
You ask, what of the rainy sea-
SOM" We enjoy it. Winter has
many days of sunshine. Boys love
the shelter of the home in the dark
rainy evenings. They pity the
tramps, of which there are so many,
and study hard lest they should
sink to so low an estate.
The most remarkable thing about
this wonderful country is the facil-
ity with which we stumble against
people we meyer thought to see
again in this world. l failed to
recognize the imposing white-haired
lady knocking at my door one day,
till, looming up in the background,
l saw her husband, Dexter Wads-
worth, looking just as when you
saw him last. Among others whom
we have seen lately are Mrs. Elder
Gibson and son Frank, Charles
Stephenson and family, Ed. Get
che1l, John Smith and family,
though Charles is now in California
and Lincoln on his way to Alaska,
and Mary Row1ey Ridge whose hus-
band is an important factor in our
berry growers association, which
in 'O1 marketed for it's patrons
$4,000 worth of fruit. James
Little, formerly of Mann Valley, has
just bought a home here. Will
Nye Gin whose company were COM
pounded some of the best jokes of
his cousin Edgar, before the world
had recognized the latter's wit and
begun to call him "Bill'') was down
from Seattle while ago, said to be
seeking berry patch in which to
spend his declining days. Our
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