A Valley museum full of Liberty Lake history?

October 31, 2019
0
Share

I’m often asked if the Spokane Valley Heritage Museum has any Liberty Lake history, and the answer is, “Absolutely!” In fact, in a historical context, Liberty Lake is part of Spokane’s “Valley,” which stretched from the Rathdrum Prairie in Idaho all the way into modern-day Spokane. We have always viewed Liberty Lake as an important part of the Valley’s history chronicled at the museum.

To that end, we have literally hundreds of Liberty Lake-related items, from a handwritten letter written by Steve Liberty, to doors and bathing attire from the original bathhouse on Wicomico Beach, to a wealth of historical photos of the community. Liberty Lake history most certainly lives here! In fact, our 2019 Heritage Program was dedicated to the topic: “The Legacy of Liberty Lake” was shared at our annual event Nov. 9, 2019.

This is just one of the ways that we live out one of our favorite phrases around here: “We can connect you!” Some people want to be connected to the history of their community, but we also have a vast database of genealogical data for those interested in Spokane area family history. As the museum has grown, it has truly become a regional repository, with archives of historical and genealogical data spanning the entire Inland Northwest.

We would love to have you visit and discover more about your connection to Liberty Lake, your family and our region.

Jayne Singleton
Director, Spokane Valley Heritage Museum

NOTE: A version of this article first appeared in the 2019 Liberty Lake Yearbook.

Nail your next coffee shop order!

CLICK HERE to sign up for the free CoffeeJosh newsletter and immediately receive our “Owners’ Orders” PDF, featuring coffee and food selections so tempting, they are what local coffee shop owners make for themselves.

Related Posts

Throw Down cancelled for 2020

August 7, 2020
0

The second annual Liberty Lake Throw Down, a cornhole tournament that raises support for two of the community’s premier nonprofits, is the latest in a series of COVID event casualties. The event was set to return Aug. 29 to Orchard Park.

Note: The text below was written before the event’s cancellation but sheds light on the nature of and spirit of the Liberty Lake Throw Down. Well received in its inaugural year, organizers hope to see the event return. …

The Throw Down is put on by Friends of Pavillion Park and the HUB Sports Center to raise funds for those two organizations.

For Joe Frank, president and CEO of Greenstone Homes and president of the FOPP board, the tournament is a true celebration of how a community comes together. Since its founding in 1992, FOPP has helped build many Liberty Lake amenities and now focuses on “strengthening the sense of community in Liberty Lake by providing safe and affordable opportunities for recreation, education, entertainment and the arts.”

“When we build communities, our goal is to build a socially connected community, not just a collection of houses,” Frank said of Greenstone. “This social connection is the part of community that is ongoing, even after development is done. FOPP has taken on this role for Liberty Lake, and it is a big reason why Liberty Lake continues to be one of the most desired locations in the region.”

After featuring around 100 teams of two in its inaugural year, the 2020 Throw Down hopes to double to 200 teams this year, Frank said. Team registration is open and sponsorship information is available at pavillionpark.org. Divisions have been added this year to “better help us differentiate between competitive players and social players,” Frank said.

“The 2019 event came off better than I could have ever hoped for,” he said. “Starting a new event, you never know how it will be embraced, but we got a lot of great feedback after last year’s event and we hope to see attendance and support grow in 2020.”

Frank said his personal favorite memory from 2019 was the final from the Mini Bagger Division.

“The championship game was back and forth the whole game, and you had a lot of the adult teams make their way over to this court and cheer on the younger players,” he said. “It was awesome to see.”

NOTE: A version of this article first appeared in the 2020 Liberty Lake Yearbook.

Feature photo from 2019 event courtesy of Victory Media.

Four decades of love for Liberty Lake

November 20, 2020
0

When she moved to Liberty Lake with her family some 40-plus years ago, Shelley Crump was 12. She couldn’t have known it then, but she had arrived in a community she would happily invest her life in.

The oldest of 11 Demars children, Shelley played in the open, undeveloped fields and made lifelong friends with families that remain a part of the fabric of Liberty Lake.

“The circle of friends I hung out with then I consider some of the finest people,” she said. “And the way those people raised their families set the footing for how this whole community would develop. It’s an example, a standard that was set.”

Shelley’s own family includes her three children with husband, David Crump, who served on the City Council for the first decade of the city’s existence.

Like Shelley, her children all went through Central Valley High School and were immersed in the Liberty Lake experience, from embracing all the outdoor amenities to seeing Dr. Scott Ralph for orthodontic needs (and having their winning smiles featured in many of his advertisements).

“I love the community feel here and the dedication to strong families,” Shelley said. “I love that it’s so important everyone is outdoors and using the trail systems.”

And when you love something for so long, it’s easy to want to invest in it, something the family has done through church, organizations and municipal leadership.

“We have been dedicated to Liberty Lake because we want to see it continue to grow in a way that is family oriented and strong business oriented,” she said.

Shelley has built her own business in Liberty Lake. As a tax accountant with 20 years of experience, she works with individuals, corporations and small businesses with a specialty in making money matters stress free.

It’s just one more way she can invest in a community that has meant so much to her for more than four decades, a community that still reflects the values of strong families, unity and recreation that she experienced as a girl.

“Actually, our kids are still running in the same fields we played in as kids,” Shelley said. “Today, those fields are just called Pavillion Park or called Rocky Hill.”

NOTE: A version of this article first appeared in the 2020 Liberty Lake Yearbook.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

© 2020 Peridot Publishing. All Rights Reserved.

Newsletter Subscribe