A new history book telling the stories about Battle Ground Lake before it became a state park will be introduced to the public for the first time during a book signing.
The event will take place from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 28 at Literary Leftovers book store, 813 W. Main St. No. 105, Battle Ground.
Louise Tucker, author and area historian, will be signing books during the event. Other General Federation of Women’s Club-Battle Ground members will be on hand to answer questions about the project.
The “Battle Ground Lake Before It Became a State Park” project began over a year ago when Park Ranger James Donnellan was guest speaker at a meeting of GFWC-Battle Ground. He mentioned that his office files had no information on the lake’s culture during the years it was a resort and entertainment center, a release from Tucker stated.
“Club members voted to fill the void,” the release stated. “After a 1949 photo of the lake in full swing was published in The Reflector and several Facebook posts were made, personal experiences and photos poured in from all over the West from those who had experienced the excitement. Nearly one hundred people contributed in one way or another.”
In the process of gathering research, Tucker, GFWC-Battle Ground’s chair, visited Olympia’s Washington State Archives building to discover the names of the original owners of the lake property.
Family members of the lake’s workers and managers were interviewed, and club members perused newspaper archives, the release stated.
“The resort was operated for about 55 years via leases between the Joseph and Amelia Wise Estate and the resort’s operators; first with Henry Blystone, followed by Steve LeRouge, Al and Irma Thomas and Virgil and Verna Dollar. All lessees were Battle Ground-area families with businesses,” the release stated.
The 60-page booklet will be available at Literary Leftovers. The booklet will cost $15. All proceeds will go to the GFWC club to support its many community service projects. The booklet will also be available at the Ladybug Bazaar from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 4 in the Battle Ground High School gym complex.
“The more I learned about the lake’s history, the more I wanted to learn,” Tucker stated. “At first, the vision was to place some basic facts and a few photos in a file folder [and] then give it to Ranger Donnellan for safe keeping. The content provided by the people who lived the legend became too fascinating to not share with the entire community.”
