Transcript
Speaker: Welcome to Beneath the Evergreens, where murder, mysteries, and mayhem lurk in the shadows of the Pacific Northwest. I'm Jess. And I'm Anna. From haunted forests and unsolved disappearances, to true crime cases buried deep in the moss and the mist.
Speaker: We're digging into the dark secrets hiding under the evergreens. Each episode will explore real cases, eerie encounters, and the legends that keep the Pacific Northwest up at night.
Speaker: So grab your flashlight. Lock your doors and join us beneath the evergreen.
Speaker: one Welcome back, Welcome back. Welcome back from our hiatus a week off. Yes. Yes. We definitely needed it. I don't know about you, but this summer has been crazy for me.
Speaker: Yes. I feel like I haven't actually stopped and taken a breath in 1.2 million years. i feel like every summer the weather gets nicer and i just think oh i need to do everything that i haven't done all year and i'm jam-packing all of my like social things in and then when september rolls around i'm exhausted and i think maybe next year i shouldn't do that exhausted but in love i've already watched uh hocus pocus and um the spooky season's here man it's my favorite freaking love it but
Speaker: I'm lighting up all my candles. I'm i'm stoked. Yes, I'm stoked too. What's your favorite ah fall candle scent?
Speaker: Pumpkin spice. Pumpkin spice? No, not even like pumpkin. Not necessarily pumpkin, but like a spice. Like some cloves, some nutmeg. i love i love it. Yeah. I'm kind of of ah of that genre too. Or like a heavy cedar sandalwood. Ugh.
Speaker: Ooh, I'm not like the wood scents are not always my favorite. I kind of come and like okay i'm in and out of those. i ah could bathe in them, quite frankly.
Speaker: Well, I'm excited for my Friday story. What is it? So this is actually very fall-like. So Jess, when you think of fall in Washington, what are a couple of things that come to your mind?
Speaker: Oh, God. Don't put me on the spot like this. um Fall in Washington. um I'm going to say leaves, pumpkin patches, aliens, ghosts, and demons. Okay.
Speaker: That's not exactly where I was going with this. So I guess it's not necessarily fall, but it's like leading into fall. Oh, we did. The fair. The fair. Oh, yes. the Duh. That is where someone I know is at right now.
Speaker: Literally. do. I mean, I know you've gone to the fair. Like, do you have any like fun fairest fair stories from growing up? I for sure do. So my birthday falls in the time of the Puyallup fair. but If you're a true OG, it is the Puyallup fair. It is not the West Washington fair.
Speaker: In fact, I have that theme. You can do it at a trot. You can do it at a gale. If you can do it real slow, it's so your heart don't palpitate. Just don't be late. Do the Puyallup. Like literally, this was my childhood. So My birthday September 13th. So every year, me and a bunch of friends would go to the fair and we would just cause a ruckus.
Speaker: Oh my God. And there's this one booth at the fair always that was karaoke. And we would scream at the top of our lungs. It's my party and I can cry if I want to. Not really realizing the the moral of that song, but just because it was my birthday, we would sing that song.
Speaker: Yes. That is absolutely amazing. i i My favorite memory of the fair is the s scones. like Oh, of course. i I will eat fair scones until I am sick.
Speaker: I love fair scones. What about the the the chocolate chip cookies that like are the size of your face? Those are good, but they don't compare to a ferris cone. So I went to school out of state. My grandmother would literally get me a dozen scones, zi put them in a Ziploc bag, freeze them, and then mail them to me. ah And all of my friends at school did not – they didn't have ferris cones, right? I didn't realize they were specific to Washington. I'm like, oh, I got ferris cones, guys. And they're like, what are you talking about? And I gave a couple sparingly out to people, and they're like, oh, these are great. I'm like –
Speaker: I know. Why do you think my grandmother should be these? They're obviously not terrible. You send an email to your grandma. I'm going to need 36 more. I need to train these people in what a fair scone Yes. Oh my God. just Now they do fair scones um every Tuesday by the fair though.
Speaker: So it's no longer just a fair thing. Yeah. I feel like there's something like so nostalgic about you go, you wait in a long line, you get like, well, my family, we get like two dozen scones. And then it's dark. It's a little chilly. You walk back to your car and then for breakfast the next morning you have scones. fuck.
Speaker: Yes, it is delicious. Also earthquake burgers. Ooh, yeah. holy And the hot dogs. Or that's not the hot dogs. The corn dogs. corn dogs. Yeah. Yes.
Speaker: And the the lemonade. I like the lemonade too. That's like not lemonade. It's really like alien piss. Oh my God. i love it so much. Do you remember doodah birds? Doodah birds? What is that?
Speaker: There was like a, there were like a bottle, like a glass bottle, kind of like a, like a Mexican Coke glass bottle. And you would fill it with sand. Tell me why I was just about to say that. Are you serious? Yes.
Speaker: I used to get one every year and I had like ah a whole ass shelf full of them. I love those. I went to a birthday party once as a kid where we made those and it was the greatest thing ever. Yeah. I, I always call them doodah birds. What are they called? Oh, I have no idea. i have a switch call to call them the glass things with sand.
Speaker: Oh, I just call them doodah birds because they look like doodah birds. I think that might actually be their name. next so i'm Obviously, we're going to the fair this year and I want to make one. I want to see if they're still there.
Speaker: Yes, the fair is fun. ah So many memories. It's classic. I have a ah lot of actually really fun facts about the fair that I want to share with everyone because while they're not all like dark or scary facts, I think the fair is such an integral part of Washington culture that I would be remiss if we didn't start fair season by talking about the fair.
Speaker: And just for some context, well, you're probably going to give it the context, but... there is is it Is it Washington State as a whole or do you think it's just Western Washington that's like obsessed with?
Speaker: I feel like it's Western Washington. Western Washington, okay. I feel like it's like the Puget Sound area. Okay. I'm going to shut up so you can give us the backstory because I was about to go into it for you. So the fair actually started in 1900.
Speaker: have had 126 the fair in so we have had a hundred and twenty six years of the fair in the pualaberia So it actually started as the Valley Fair in June of 1900. And it was basically just a but a group of locals that wanted to um basically advanced agriculture horticulture daring up all the like i was like farming type things that were in the piala valley so it started off relatively small um it was like a 4-h started off as like a 4-h before there was 4-h okay initially started and it was only it only costed one dollar per family for all three days to come to come to the fair per family per family yeah yeah okay
Speaker: That's, compared the prices now, that's insane, right? ah with Hot essentially, it it opened up as just this, like, pretty small area. You could look at the livestock. You could, like, share best practices. And that was kind of the end of the, actually, there's also um some areas to look at what what they call, like, ladies work. um Or, like, more, like, household things, like crafts and things like that.
Speaker: So then the second fair was extended a little bit longer. So it wasn't a couple extra days. And it was held in September fourteenth through the 17th of 1901. So the fair has really been going on more or less in September every single year since 1901, which is, isn't that? crazy i mean september is the best month ever i mean obviously of course um but for the second fair they actually purchased a 10 acre lot on the corner of ninth avenue southwest and meridian and at this fair they introduced horse racing which was really big and kind of a more fun like interactive thing yeah interesting was the track pretty big or was it
Speaker: I guess that's going like Katie Downs size. I think it was Emerald Downs. Emerald Downs, Katie Downs. I think Katie Downs is the restaurant. Did you know Katie and Emerald were sisters?
Speaker: it's That's a lie. You say that with such conviction, but I know that you push it.
Speaker: Oh my gosh. Sorry. Continue. So people would then come from everywhere to watch this like horse racing go on. And then the next year, 1902, parking lots were established because the automobile started becoming more popular.
Speaker: And in 1905, the fair actually became a six-day event. Admissions brought in – excuse me. In 1908, admissions brought in like $5,500, which nuts for that time.
Speaker: yeah i of nuts for that time And people actually started taking, like, coming from all over to come to the fair. It wasn't just, like, residents of Puyallup or, like, surrounding areas. People were coming from Seattle and Tacoma just to see what was happening. So it really only took, like, eight to ten years for the fair to really become a Puget Sound whole event.
Speaker: That's cool. And then, 1910, they purchased five more acres of land. And then 1915... nineteen fifteen The Fisher scone um stop became available at the fair.
Speaker: Oh, your favorite. My favorite. ah What I'm hearing is 111 years of scones, which that's why they're so good. They have just perfected the recipe. I i was going to say, do you think they ever changed the recipe or it's the same since 1911? Yeah.
Speaker: I imagine they changed at some point, like with the Great Depression and all that other stuff going on. I would imagine the quantity they make is also forced them to change a little bit. because they change Oh, yeah. They make so many. That would actually be an interesting deep dive. How many scones per year are actually purchased?
Speaker: Oh, okay. I'm going to research that. Next week, I'll come back with an answer for you. Yeah, yeah. It's probably a disgusting amount, and I can guarantee that my family gets a good chunk of that. They go through like 1.2 tons of jelly.
Speaker: I have a weekend. I don't know about other people's scone buying habits, but the conversations that me and my extended family have are like, Oh, well, like how many dozen are you getting? You're getting three. Can you pick me up too? It's a little obscene.
Speaker: ah It's all in great fun though. It's all in great stomach fun for sure. Oh my God. Yes. So, like I said, Fisher's Scone started in 1915.
Speaker: And then after that, we come into the the the times of the World Wars, right? So World War I hits. um And at that time, the 1917 fair was actually pushed out a month. So it happened in October. Okay.
Speaker: And then, but after like after that, the fair came right back. And it was even more prosperous. In 1919, the fair's attendance was at 75,000 people. That's a lot of people for a small town.
Speaker: Right? Because Puyallup is not a big, it's not a big place. No. And you can tell that by the traffic on 167 trying to get down to the fair. It's backed up for miles.
Speaker: So then that was the end of the 1910s. And then heading in to kind of the future of the fair from there. In 1923, the first carousel was brought into the fair.
Speaker: um And it's now located in the exposition hall of the fair, but it's it was horse-drawn. So, like, actual like horses moving the carousel around and around and around, which is so sweet, and I absolutely love that.
Speaker: I didn't realize they were actual horses. Yeah. um That was my daughter's favorite ride when we used go. There's nothing more, like...
Speaker: well Magical. ha Magical and just like like sweet than a a carousel. It is, yes. I love it. Me too. Do you ride the horses now? i I haven't gone on a carousel in a while. I feel like, i don't know, I get a little self-conscious about going on a carousel by myself. I feel like need little kid with you.
Speaker: So if anyone wants to let me borrow their little kid to go on a carousel, I'll let you borrow me. i'm technically a little kid. i At my big age. ah ah ah But also, I don't know how much, how well I will hold, like, I can ride rides anymore. um A couple years ago, we went to the fair with some friends and we did, the you know, the big slide where you're on the potato sack.
Speaker: oh when i I was like leaning back and I was like, oh my God, my body hurts right now. And then we went on this, um the the big coaster. Yeah.
Speaker: And it was me my husband and another couple. And my husband's a lot bigger than I am. And so we're sitting in this thing together. It's like tight on his legs. It is not touching my legs at all.
Speaker: And I'm over here like, I have made such a big mistake. I love my doing i'm going to die flying out the top i am like death grip on his arm as we're going and i'm like if i fall out of this thing i'm fucking one i'm pissed at you it and we this and we do it it's it's so much fun but then i'm like oh man my neck kind of hurts my god when did i get so old i know didn't even do the fair fair rides fair rides are a reality check on how old you really are i remember being little and my aunt would take us and she we were going on like the you know the bear ride yes yes i also love that none of the rides have changed since i was a small child yes they're all the same yes yes So we're on the bear and she was like getting really nauseous and we get off and we're like, ah, she's so sick. That's so funny. And now I have so much like respect for her for even attempting that with us. Yes. The teapots are not. Oh, man. And like any of the spinny things. Yeah. I i don't know if that's for me.
Speaker: Yeah. But so anyways, we are out after out of World War one We're heading into World War II. And this is where the history of the Piala Vericana takes a bit of a dark turn.
Speaker: Okay. So i am I'm not sure how common knowledge this I remember hearing about it in element or in middle school and thinking like, oh my gosh. But during World War ii The Pialop Fairgrounds were actually essentially an internment camp for Japanese Americans. So Japanese Americans, after and we went to war with Japan, tensions between Americans, the might Americans and Japanese were pretty rough, right? And a lot of that tension was taken out on Japanese Americans. And so the Pialop Fairgrounds, of course, were turned into a what was called Camp Harmony. Essentially, it was an internment camp.
Speaker: for Japanese Americans while they essentially waited awaited processing for larger camps. So the yeah of the camp at the Puyallup Fairgrounds is not meant to be a long-term camp. um I'm just saying that's like such a happy name for such a horrible thing right and I can't tell if it was like a tongue-in-tongue-in-cheek kind of thing or if it was like an attempt to make it sound a little bit better i feel like all of those like government things that are actually horrendous have like the happiest names that were like Camp Harmony MKUltra or just yeah yeah
Speaker: So the, essentially the, it so in the United States, 110,000 Japanese Americans, um, or excuse me, on the West coast, 110 Japanese Americans who were sent to these camps. And in the Seattle Tacoma area alone, 7,500 people went into camp harmony, um, and were processed there.
Speaker: Um, essentially they're trying to move a lot of people from the, from the coast into the center of the U S and, it was very, i mean, was very hard time obviously, but a lot of people that were in these camps tried to make the best of it. They were working different jobs at the camp, trying to one, keep each other entertained. Um, but also kind of make a bit of a living for themselves because they lost pretty much everything when they were moved here. Yeah. Um, but a lot of what they remember is just, there just was nothing to do. People were very bored. These are very bright people that were, you know, they'd worked for a long time. Um,
Speaker: And conditions weren't necessarily like horrible. Like it wasn't like what was going on in other countries during world war two, but it still was not a good time. Right. You were pulled from your home. You were made to stay in this place. um Again, temporary places. It's Washington weather, you know, it's rainy. It's too cold. It's too hot. And it's just, it was a horrible time.
Speaker: Yeah. So ah during this time they're was not any, there was not any fair going on. It was not a good time to be at the fairgrounds. Yeah. um However, after that in 1946, the fair eventually did come back.
Speaker: So then moving into some later, more current times, the, in the seventies, There was a big fair, or not big fair, a big fire at the fair where um restaurants, grandstands, part of the roller coaster, and a bunch of other buildings in the fairgrounds were destroyed.
Speaker: Like the white roller coaster? um I don't know which roller coaster, just that part of a roller coaster. Damn. Okay. But the loss was estimated at like 1.25 million. Jeez, back then?
Speaker: yeah in the 70s. Holy cow. That's a lot of money. Yeah. um A lot of, a lot of things were kind of replaced with like tents. So instead of like full on buildings or like booths, yeah it was in temporary tents. Just try to open things up to recoup some of those cops costs. Right. yeah Cause especially at this, I'm like, I imagine the fair is like a huge moneymaker for a lot of people.
Speaker: Like, For sure. i never see an earthquake burger or like the cow drop cookies anywhere. like that, that is their thing right there at the fair. Okay. They used to have an earthquake burger actually. Really? South Hill, there used to be an actual like earthquake burger where the Best Buy is now.
Speaker: Oh, okay. And it closed down. It wasn't a Best Buy there. It was like a grocery store at the time that this was Earthquake Burgers. And for some reason it closed, I think because they sold that whole shop shopping center. And that is when it became a fair-only place. So there's some lore for you.
Speaker: Oh, interesting. And they used to have the best milkshakes in the world. I forget that I'm almost talking to a Puralafarian native. Yes.
Speaker: But anyway, moving into the 100th year of the fair, over 1.3 million people came to the fair that year. That's crazy. That's a lot of ass. That's a lot of people.
Speaker: That's what I say. That's a lot of ass. What the hell? It was actually one of the like the um say highest attendance fairs. um And that is when we started seeing a lot of the more standard things that we think of today, right? We have like the cattle drive, the rodeo, um all of that fun stuff. And then they've also now upgraded all the parking and just everything. Like the fair is such a bigger production than I think anyone can like imagine that it would be way back in 1900.
Speaker: Yes. But a lot of the more modern pieces – started in like the 90s into the 2000s. Yes. Now you have like Ice Cube performing at the fair, which is crazy. Oh, yeah. They have like Frank Sinatra come like ah they have some big names come to Puyallup. And I always ah find it funny because every concert I've gone to, you know, the singer will say like, oh, like, hey, Seattle. They try to say Puyallup and they go, hi, Puyallup, Puyallup.
Speaker: Yeah, look how he's going. but I went to a concert once where the singer was like super excited. She's like, oh I've been practicing the name. And then she said it wrong. And I was like, and everyone's like, boo. No, kidding. ah It was just very, very sad.
Speaker: It is. It is an odd word to try to get your mouth around for sure. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. um So that's kind of the history of the fair. And then I'm going to end our episode today with a couple of fun facts about the fair.
Speaker: Love it. Did you know that the Puyallup Fair, the Washington State Fair, what whatever want to call her. it is the Puyallup Fair. That will be the title of the episode. it is one of the top 10 largest fairs in the U.S.
Speaker: I did not know that. Yeah. That was eye opening to me. ah Yeah. So top 10 biggest fairs in the U S which I think is crazy that it's in Puyallup of all places.
Speaker: Which makes also makes a lot of sense because every time I go to other fairs, I'm always a little disappointed. Like when I was in – 1,000%. Like in Pennsylvania, everything was so small. I was like, you're telling me you can't spend a whole day here? i can't be walking around doing my little arts and crafts and finding – like eating all these good this good food, maybe a couple rides, do some games. Yeah.
Speaker: No. It was the same when we went to the Thurston County Fair. No shade to the Thurston County Fair, but I was like, this ain't no Puyallup Fair. Nah. At least they had the Fisher Scones, though. They did. They did have those.
Speaker: And you best believe I got one. Surprised you didn't get a bag. ah I was trying to restrain myself. I'm trying to be better. um But also, another interesting fact about the fair. So...
Speaker: If you look at the website for the fair, it is literally the fair.com, which is the most Seattle thing and like rise of the internet. Like same with like the Woodland Park Zoo. It's just zoo.org.
Speaker: And I think that's just, I just, if nothing like solidifies Seattle as like a tech city, I don't know what does. We were the first that got the website. So that's where we are the fair.
Speaker: Yes. Yes. love that. And I, I just love that he'll were to search the fair. They come across Puyallup and they're like, wait, what, what is this? What is going on? I like that. Who knew? I had no idea. It was like one of the top 10.
Speaker: yeah the other one's higher i think there's like texas or like yeah texas um maybe minnesota uh wisconsin um but we're pretty close yeah that's really cool yeah well that was a lovely story thank you for reminiscing about the fair with me absolutely Yes. Well, just a shout out to everyone that's in the area. Make sure you go to the fair and continue to support this lovely endeavor because, I mean, let's, I hope it's around for another hundred years. Like, I hope that it just, the fair is always there and it's always just this perfect, like, childhood memory for every single person. Yes.
Speaker: It's got to be. Well, that's it to for today's dive into the dark corners of the Pacific Northwest. If you love the stories or shivered a little, be sure to subscribe and follow so you don't miss what's lurking beneath the evergreens next time.
Speaker: Thanks for joining us on Beneath the Evergreens. We appreciate you diving into the mysteries with us. Until next time, keep your eyes open and doors locked.
