By Jeremy Crossland (he's on the right ;-)
Do you remember 'The Day?' You know, as in 'Back in the Day?' Well, back in the day,in my day, Kirkland was different. Not to say better or worse, just different. I grew up in Kirkland. My mom, brother and I rented a condo across the street from Juanita Beach all of my grade school and junior high years. Yes, I am a proud alumnus of A.G. Bell Elementary and Kirkland Junior High. I won't say what years I was there, but if this helps, the girls were still wearing oversized 'International News' sweatshirts and 'It Takes Two' by Rob Base and DJ EZ-Rock was popular when I finished at KJH.
Who remembers 'Turbo Tubes' in Totem Lake? What about the Boys & Girls Club that used to sit where Heritage Park is now? Any of you that were around in Kirkland during that era will appreciate my story of the change in Kirkland.
This might sum up one of the biggest changes we've all noticed. When I was about 10, I asked my mom why we didn't live on the water in Juanita. To which she responded, "Jeremy, those houses are $250,000. That is a ridiculous price to pay for a house!" Yes, that was a direct quote from 1985. Well, Mom, if I could find a house within 10 miles of the Kirkland waterfront for under $250K today, I'd buy two of them.
Wow-how Juanita has changed! I don't get back very often, but I was in the area about a month ago. I ate at a Thai restaurant near a condo building, all of which is sitting where an old grocery store was that we shopped at when I was a kid. I think that block is called Juanita Village now. About the only things that are still there from when I was young are the Pony Express on the corner, Juanita Beach Park and the Spuds across the street from the beach. And I can't forget the Super 24 where my brother and I used to play arcade games. It was 'Super Mario Brothers' and 'Excitebike' to be specific (yes, life before Nintendo). Who else remembers lining up quarters across the screen of arcade games..."I call next game!" Wow, I feel old. Instead of hanging out at Super 24, maybe I should have saved some quarters and bought a few shares of Microsoft when I was 10 (I'm a CPA now). Live and learn. If you ask me, spending the quarters was worth it. I had the high score on Excitebike for almost two weeks! Best two weeks of my life! Well, maybe not, but you get the idea.
One of my mom's best friends used to have a farm. Yes, a farm (about 2 acres) on top of the hill on 116th. And to be expected, a builder made an offer sweet enough so that houses now occupy that land. I'm not sure of the name of the development, but maybe it should have been called 'Sardines.'
When I was young, my mom used to have to explain to relatives out of town that we lived a few miles outside of Seattle. Recently, some co-workers of mine from Texas were in Kirkland to work with me. One of them asked, "Do you guys have Costco up here?" I said, "Do we have Costco? Maybe you've heard of the 'Kirkland Signature Brand'? You're standing in Kirkland." Yes, my friends, Kirkland is officially on the map and has been for a while now.
I'm not saying this change has been bad. I actually think most of it has been good for the area and for the town of Kirkland. But it sure has changed a lot since 'The Day.' I'm not a Kirkland resident now. I've lived in Seattle (Greenlake) for the last two years. Not sure if I'll ever decide to move back to Kirkland, but I know I'm going to keep a close eye to see if it changes as much in the next twenty years as it has in the last twenty.
So, What Happened to my Tricycle? Not to worry, I think I can buy a three pack of them at Costco. I'm sure my nephew would appreciate it.
*Jeremy is a guest blogger today. If you or someone you know has an interesting story about Kirkland that you'd like to share as a guest blogger, please email us at kirklandweblog@gmail.com
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