Seattle Sun Newspaper - Vol. 7, Issue 1, January 2003

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Haller Lake community club celebrates 80th anniversary

By LEAH WEATHERSBY

When 36 Haller Lake neighborhood residents met at the home of Mr. F.J. Hahn on July 29, 1921, they did so with some very specific goals in mind. They were organizing the Haller Lake Improvement Club now known as the Haller Lake Community Club thought to be oldest continuously operating group of its kind in Seattle. (The club officially formed in 1922.)

First and foremost, the Improvement Club wanted a neighborhood school, and they got their wish when the Haller Lake school house was completed in 1925. (The site was later purchased by Lakeside School.)

But Haller Lake's agenda didn't stop there. They wanted electric street lights, transportation for the kiddies and sidewalks and road improvements and they got started on all these projects in short order.

Early on, the Improvement Club also successfully fought a gravel company's plan to drain the lake for sluicing purposes.

In January 1924, the Improvement Club started a movement to create The Associated Clubs of the North End with other local groups. Only one month later that goal was realized.

However, the most obvious example of the Improvement Club's effectiveness is its clubhouse, located at 12579 Densmore Ave. N. The land for the clubhouse was purchased in June, 1923 for a mere $800, and construction was completed shorty thereafter.

For 25 cents per month, per member, residents got more than a say how their neighborhood was run. There were also clubhouses dances and, for the girls, the Haller Lake Ladies Social Club.

"A lot of people joined the club just for (the dances)," said Sybil Knudson, a long-time resident and member of the club.

Though the dances were discontinued in the early 1990s, the Community Club's advocacy on local issues continues.

In modern times, the organization was instrumental in acquiring and developing Northacres Park, determining the location of Ingraham High School, closing the N. 125th Street garbage dump and thwarting several proposals to build metro bus stations on Aurora.

The group also opposed, though unsuccessfully, the decision to turn N. 130th Street into an interchange for I-5.

Even more recently, the Club supported a member, Rick Barrett, in his winning campaign to shut down a costly incinerator at Northwest Hospital. The Club has also been an active supporter of Neighbors in Need, a Food Bank recently closed in neighboring Shoreline, and now lends its support to the Lake City based North Helpline Food Bank.

Though the Community Club is a mere 80 years old, the Haller Lake neighborhood can trace it's history back to the 19th century.

One of Haller Lake early settlers was Major Granville O. Haller, a United States army veteran who fought in both the Civil War and the in a border dispute in the San Juans. Haller died in 1889, leaving his son Theodore to plot the area around Welsh Lake in 1905 (renamed Haller Lake), where the family had large land grants.

Theodore Haller named several streets around the lake, although those names don't stand today. Currently, a group of four streets known as Chamberlain, Nichols, Camp and McKee are now known as Densmore, Corliss, 122nd and 128th.

The Haller Lake Improvement Club changed its name to the Haller Lake Community Club in 1995, but it certainly hasn't stopped its campaign to enhance its surroundings. Last year, the club completed a renovation of the clubhouse, making it accessible to those with disabilities.

Past-President Jo Dawson said the boundaries for the Haller Lake community are generally considered to be Aurora Avenue on the west, N. 145th St. on the north, 15th Avenue NE on the east and Northgate Way on the south. She added that there are several smaller neighborhoods within that area and that are no boundaries for membership in the club.