The Kenmore Heritage Society was founded in 1998 by a group of volunteers seeking to fill a need in the new city (incorporated the same year) for research, preservation, and promotion of the colorful history of the community settled in 1901 near a shingle mill at the head of Lake Washington.
More than 50 people turned out for the society’s organizational meeting. Officers were elected: Tom Traeger, president; Priscilla Droge, vice president; Patsy Telquist, treasurer; Jeanie McBee, secretary; and trustees Bob Bannister, Cliff Foster, Char Crawford, Cindy Rowley, Ed Straw, and Roy Telquist.
The new organization’s first project was to publish a book about the history of Kenmore. It also identified as a long-range goal the establishment of a museum and interpretive center. The book, Kenmore by the Lake, was published in 2003 and won two national book awards for best community history. Also published were three editions of The History of Kenmore for Kids, written by Jack Crawford, Kenmore’s first mayor.
