By CLAYTON PARK

Jim Neidigh, History Houseıs executive director since its inception in 1994, resigned his post, effective Dec. 1. The History Houseıs board of directors has named longtime staffer Paul Nordstrand as the new executive director.

While the History Houseıs board of directors, staff and supporters were sorry to see Neidigh go, at the same time, they couldnıt be happier about his reason for leaving.

Neidigh, 80, moved to Spokane to get married on Dec. 10 to his high school sweetheart.

The lucky bride is Charlotte Stone, 79, who dated Neidigh during his junior and senior years at North Central High in Spokane, but broke off their relationship when he went to college. She was a year behind him in school.

They eventually got married to others, but remained good friends over the years.

After Neidighıs wife of 59 years, Peggy, passed away on May 1 of this year after a long illness, he decided to take a trip to Spokane in July to visit friends.

Stone, whose husband, Bill, had passed away three years ago, insisted that Neidigh stay with her rather than rent a hotel room.

³We had a great time,² Neidigh said. ³We just had so much in common.²

In fact, Neidigh enjoyed it so much, he went back to visit Stone the next month, and again the month after that. In October, the two decided ³it might be nice if I moved to Spokane,² he said.

With encouragement from their respective families, the couple agreed to get married. ³I proposed to her four different times in four different places,² Neidigh said, with Stone answering ³yes² each time. He explained that each place had special significance to them. Neidigh grew up on Seattleıs Queen Anne Hill before moving to Spokane his junior year in high school. One of his best friends as a child was Hank Ketcham, a classmate who later became famous as the cartoonist who created ³Dennis the Menace.²

Neidigh went on to achieve a measure of fame himself in 1939 as ³the first of the big personality DJs on Puget Sound radio,² according to a book titled ³Puget Sounds: A Nostalgic Review of Radio and TV in the Great Northwest,² by David Richardson (1981, Superior Publishers).

But radio station KXA listeners didnıt know Neidigh by his real name. To them he was ³Stay-Up Stan, the All-Night Record Man,² host of a late-night music request show, which aired six nights a week. It became a smash hit.

Neidigh continued hosting the show until 1942 when he joined the Army to fight in World War Two. After the war, he resumed his job as ³Stay-Up Stan,² but left in 1948 to try his hand at a new medium: television.

He got a job selling commercials for Seattleıs first-ever TV station, KRSC, and was on hand to witness its inaugural broadcast: the state high school championship football game on Thanksgiving Day. In 1949, the station was sold to Dorothy Bullitt who renamed it KING-TV. Neidigh became KINGıs general sales manager, a position he held for 20 years. After a brief stint as partner in an FM radio station, he became general sales manager for KTNT-TV (Channel 11) in 1972. He left a year later to become executive director of the American Diabetes Association of Washington, which was located in Fremont.

It was there that he met Suzie Burke, who eventually became the associationıs landlord. Neidigh retired in the late ı80s, but approached Burke for advice on finding part-time work six years ago.

As fate would have it, Burke was looking for a director to head a neighborhood history museum she was trying to launch called History House.

Neidigh, with his experience managing nonprofits, had the skills for the job. He was hired, and under his leadership, History House officially opened two years ago.

Neidigh expresses pride in helping start History House. ³I think weıve done a marvelous thing in preserving the past,² he said, giving much credit to Burke and the rest of the museumıs board, as well as staffers Nordstrand and Scotty Sapiro, who recently retired from his History House post as curator. ³I was just lucky to be there and be a part of it,² said Neidigh. ³When I walk away, Iıll know Iıve been a part of building and developing something that will be there for a long time.²

Burke said of Neidigh: ³History House would not have happened without him and without his total commitment to make it happen. He pressed on regardless of the obstacles and believe me, there were plenty.²

At the Fremont Chamber of Commerceıs annual Christmas party, Neidigh was honored as a recipient of the Chamberıs annual Jim Daly (³Press On Regardless²) Award for service to the community.

Paul Nordstrand takes over

Paul Nordstrand, 46, gives Neidigh much credit for having done ³an awfully good job of preparing me for the transition.²

Nordstrand is a native of North Seattleıs Green Lake neighborhood, where his parents still live. He graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1973 and went on to take classes at Shoreline and North Seattle community colleges.

He left school when he got promoted to become manager of the Bon Marcheıs Hobby Shop department at Northgate Mall. At age 21 he got married and the next year went to work for The Boeing Co. ‹ a job that lasted all of two months. ³I was hired during a layoff period for Boeing and I got laid off,² he recalled. After a brief period of unemployment, he got offered a job to work as a security guard/night custodian at the Fremont Dock Co., the family-run business that owns the land beneath the Fremont Bridge which is now occupied by the Quadrant Lake Union Center. The late Joseph Burke, who headed the Fremont Dock Co. at the time of his hiring, was Nordstrandıs uncle.

On the same day he got offered the job to work for Fremont Dock Co., Nordstrand also got a call from Boeing, saying that they were ready to rehire him. He chose to turn down Boeingıs offer to work for his uncle because ³the security of getting a paycheck every month was greater than getting a larger paycheck,² but risk getting laid off again, he said.

Nearly a quarter-of-a-century later, Nordstrand continues to work for the Fremont Dock Co., although his job description has changed. In addition to serving as executive director of History House, he also serves as Fremont Dock Co.ıs resident electrician and plumber. With the help of his wife, Elizabeth, and some of their five children, Nordstrand also runs a business of his own on the side: a janitorial service called Standing Stone, whose clients include several of the Fremont Dock Co.ıs tenants as well as other accounts. Elizabeth also works as manager of a bookstore in Lynnwood called Bargain Bookland.

³I work seven days a week,² acknowledged Nordstrand, ³but itıs not as tough as it really sounds. I enjoy what Iım doing for the most part. Raising five kids is expensive, so you do what you have to do.²

Of course, it helps when you can be surrounded by family on the job. Nordstrandıs old job ‹ operations director ‹ at the History House has been turned over to his older brother, John, who recently joined the museumıs staff as well as the board of directors.

John Nordstrand, for many years, owned an art framing shop in Pioneer Square called The Prints and the Pauper.

³I want to host more events,² particularly more kids-oriented events, said Paul Nordstrand in describing his vision for History House as its new executive director. ³I also want History House to be more involved with the Fremont community and the other neighborhoods in the city.²

Nordstrand also wants the public to know that while History House is a museum, it is certainly not designed to have the kind of sterile environment that many people think of when they hear the word museum. ³One thing Iıve always envisioned for History House is the old barber shop where people could gather and tell old stories. I always thought that would be more fun,² he said. ³Iıve had people come in with their dogs ‹ that is, as long as theyıre well behaved. No rowdy dogs, though!²

Looking back on his career to date, Nordstrand says he has no regrets about having turned down Boeingıs job offer all those years ago. ³I enjoy what I do because I donıt know day to day what Iıll be doing,² he said. ³My job can vary from cleaning a sidewalk one day to wiring a movie studio the next. I enjoy the changes, which is something I donıt think Iıd get to do at Boeing!²

History House elects new board

History House also held board member elections at its meeting in December. The boardıs directors are now as follows: Suzie Burke, president; Dic Selin, vice president; Judith Harding, CPA, treasurer; Toni Leitner, secretary, and at-large members Marty Bluewater, Ian Edelstein, Nicholas Cirelli, Laura Corvi, Joe Corvi, Peggy Ganson, Jacquie Maughan, John Nordstrand and Paul Nordstrand. ³We will be adding board members throughout the year,² Paul Nordstrand added.

History House is located at 790 N. 34th, under the Aurora Bridge, in the Fremont neighborhood. Itıs open Wednesday through Sunday, from noon to 5 p.m. For more information, call 206-675-8875.