King County photo by Ned Ahrens
Last year the Northwest Railway Museum’s intrepid group of collection care volunteers completed rehabilitation of White River Lumber Company caboose 001. This year their efforts were acknowledged with the John D. Spellman award for outstanding achievement in restoration.
The Award is named for the first King County Executive John D. Spellman, who held office from 1969 – 1980 and later went on to become Governor of Washington. This year, the presentation was made by Congressman Dave Reichert in a ceremony held at the Meadowbrook Farm Interpretive Center in North Bend. Depicted in the photo l to r, Congressman Reichert, Caboose volunteers Dale Campbell, Martin Nemerever, Richard Wilkens, Dan Calhoun and Museum Executive Director Richard R. Anderson. Not present was Dickie Huntamer.
Five volunteers contributed over 75% of the efforts to restore caboose 001, a project that consumed over 5,000 person hours.
The Spellman Award acknowledges this significant achievement and its overall contribution to historic preservation in King County. It is given each year to outstanding projects in King County. Other recipients this year include the Interpretation of the Iron Goat Trail in Steven’s Pass performed by Volunteers for Outdoor Washington, David Cook’s reconstruction of the Cook Building in North Bend, and Peter LaHay’s adaptive reuse that created the Woodman Lodge in Snoqualmie behind the Snoqualmie Depot.
