Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
Dedicated to the citizens of Mason County, Washington since 1886
The crowd listens to presentations.
Washington State Parks Director Diana Dupuis speaks at the centennial celebration. More than 700 people attended the centennial celebration of Schafer State Park on Saturday.
Dewey Skaggs traveled from his home in northern Idaho to attend the centennial celebration. Skaggs served as a Schafer ranger from 1962-1965. He lived in a house just outside the park and paid $30 a month rent, he told the Journal. He left Schafer to work in Pacific County at Fort Canby, now Cape Disappointment State Park, where he lived in the lighthouse keeper's residence. "You couldn't get promoted unless you moved," Skaggs said. He worked there for eightyears, went on to become the Southwest District ranger and eventually retired after holding the WSP head law enforcement position.
The ranger desk.
Schafer State Park celebrated its centennial Saturday, July 20, with food, games, storytelling and discussions about the past and future of the park.
Around 700 people attended the event, according to Shafer Park Ranger Angela Galli, who told the Journal it was "a great turnout."
Galli said officials originally planned for 300 attendees.
Trina Young, president of the Friends of Schafer and Lake Sylvia State Parks (FOSLS), put attendance at around 800, and said more than 50 Schafer family descendants attended the event, according to a FOSLS Facebook post.
The park, along the Satsop River in western Mason County, officially became a state park in 1924, but its origins date to 1872, when the Schafer family from Wisconsin settled there.
The Schafer Bros. Logging Co. later gave the land to the state of Washington.
The park was recognized as a state and national historic site of statewide importance in 2010.
FOSLS formed in 2009 when a number of state parks were chosen for closure, including Schafer and Lake Sylvia, due to budget shortfalls.
Community members organized to save the two parks and sent a petition to the Legislature with over 10,000 signatures asking that the parks stay open.
"We had about 40 FOSLS volunteers and a fantastic state parks staff team, all working to keep Schafer State Park on the map and ready for the next 100 years! Thank you so much to all the fantastic volunteers and thank you to all who attended this historic event to help us celebrate!" Young wrote.
FOSLS member Stet Palmer told the Journal people can send in their Schafer memories at Fosls.org to be included in a 100-year time capsule that will be sealed some time this year.
Schafer recently added 30 camping sites, making 68 total, a new visitor center, a new restroom building, a free electric vehicle charging station and improved Wi-Fi, in the first phase of four planned upgrades.
On July 27, the park will host a presentation by Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo about bats, including a bat field observation, according to the WSP website.
For more information about the park, go to http://www.parks.wa.gov/find-parks/state-parks/schafer-state-park.
Reader Comments(1)
MatlockNews4Me writes:
Thank you June for a wonderful write up about our beautiful Schafer State Park! We encourage the public to visit our park and to share in the next 100 years of its history! Thank you! - Trina Young, Friends of Schafer and Lake Sylvia State Parks
07/30/2024, 11:22 am
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