Issaquah’s Field of Memories: A Century of Heartbeat & Heritage
- Page Saurs
- Oct 6
- 8 min read
Updated: Nov 10
Next time you pass by Veterans' Memorial Field in Issaquah, pause for a moment. What are your memories here… pony rides and three-legged or snail races on Fourth of July; watching the DockDogs or printmaking with dead fish during Salmon Days; or that time you laid in the field on a warm August night watching for shooting stars? All of the above for me. On an ordinary day you’ll likely spot dog walkers, joggers, kids romping around the train-themed playground, a game of bocce ball on the new court at the Senior Center, and games of catch in the field. What you don't see are stumps, steer wrestling, and the cheering crowds of a bygone era. This unassuming park has a surprisingly rambunctious past, a story that starts with a group of firefighters and ends with a modern-day community hub.
From Mining Magnate to a Barbed-Wire Cage
But let’s back up a bit. Before it was a sleek, manicured park in the heart of downtown, most of the land on which the park sits today was a stump-filled field belonging to the German owners of the Issaquah & Superior Coal Mine Company. When acquired by the company in 1912, it was envisioned as homesites for their employees in this growing coal town.
Progressive German Baron Gustav Konstantine Alvo von Alvensleben owned the mine, and he had the connections, plans, and resources needed to fuel the town’s growth. High on the mining magnate’s list, was a decent pay and quality of life for his workers. Company investments featured not only homes, but a grand hotel, along with plans for a golf course and a briquetting plant to manufacture fertilizer and develop fire clay resources. Issaquah’s high-quality coal was confirmed as suitable to produce some 200 different chemicals that Germany sought for munitions and various industries. Von Alvensleben’s backers had raised the then enormous sum of $1,000,000 to build a chemical plant in Issaquah as soon as the mines were fully operational.
In 1914, the mine produced 81,000 tons of coal in the first seven months and business was booming for everyone. Until that fall when the world went to war—and the lavish investor became the enemy. Suspected by some of being a German agent with financing from the Kaiser, in 1917 von Alvensleben was arrested and interned at Fort Douglas in Utah.
His vast fortunes in Vancouver BC (his primary residence) and Issaquah were confiscated by the banks as enemy property—including his Issaquah land holdings, home, and mine company. Mysteriously, the German funds never made it to Issaquah. Can you imagine if it had? History debates where those funds went, but according to Bagley’s History of King County, Washington (1929), Germany’s Central Powers “made necessary the use of all available funds in the defense of the Fatherland.”
When von Alvensleben was released after the war, he returned to Seattle where he remained until his death in 1965. He never regained his prior status or property, but in 1939, he was naturalized as an American citizen.
A Volunteer-Powered Beginning
For a town that had had a uniformed baseball team dating to the 1880s, in 1918 Issaquah was a town with a big spirit but a small budget and it still didn’t have a playfield. What it did have was a defunct real estate plat in the middle of town left by the German-owned mining company when the US got involved in WWI. Stepping up to the plate… the Issaquah Volunteer Fire Department (IVFD).
The firefighters’ long established baseball team played miners and teams from other towns in whatever vacant field was available. Badly wanting a permanent playfield, the IVFD decided to take on the bankers, lawyers (and objections of certain bankers and lawyers), and the stumps. To oversee this effort, the Playfield Association was formed between the firefighters and miners. One group fighting against them was the Issaquah Development Club, who tried to get control of the playfield by selling stock. Noted in records belonging to Issaquah History Museums, per Playfield Association member Joe Yourglich, some believed the KKK may have been behind those efforts.
As a kickoff to their efforts, the miners assessed themselves a day's pay; IVFD used monies collected from their many dances, ball games, etc.; and the association was left borrowing approximately $4,000 from the bank—all to secure the funds needed to pay off the mining company’s mortgage and buy the land outright. With the title in hand, the group began the heavy lifting of clearing and leveling the surface. When the miner’s strike hit in 1920, miners found even more time to dig into developing the playfield—grubbing out stumps with heavy tools and dynamite, blowing up and burning stumps and logs, and clearing sapling trees on the site.
This wasn't some grand, city-funded project; it was a grassroots effort fueled by community spirit and a desire for local recreation. These young men were seeking a permanent playing field to support their efforts to participate in organized baseball. What they got was so much more.
The Wild Rodeo Years
To help pay off the debt, the Playfield Association came up with a brilliant idea: a rodeo. In 1924, Issaquah's first annual Let 'Er Buck! round-up kicked off on Labor Day weekend. It was a wild, roaring success that cemented the field's place in local legend. Cowboys and cowgirls from across the region—and even as far as Canada and Mexico—rolled into town to compete.
This wasn't just a bull-riding contest. The round-up was a full-blown spectacle:
Steer wrestling and calf roping.
Wild cow milking, a crowd-pleasing, often chaotic event.
Chariot races, bringing a taste of the ancient Roman games to suburban King County.
Parades, carnivals, and fireworks, turning the whole town into a party.
Grandstands got bigger, more corrals were built, and a racetrack was added. The rodeo became such a huge local event that it was eventually moved to the Fourth of July weekend (1927) to accommodate the regional rodeo circuit. As promised (and according to the Issaquah Press) it was the biggest and best of all shows—”a perfect success.” New features were entertaining, the stock was all good, the steers the best ever on the grounds, and the performers above average. From a financial standpoint, they had taken in approximately $8,000, which just about covered expenses.
Year-over-year, the rodeo grew—but so did the mounting expense of putting on the show. Profits were little to none.
In 1929, the Playfield Association brought in outside help. A deal was made with the Rodeo Association—a group of four men from Washington and Calgary—to handle the expense of advertising and staging, while the Playfield Association managed concessions only, ensuring they made enough to pay off their debts.
Then in 1931, Einer L. "Strawberry Red” Wall took on the rodeo expenses alone. “Red"—whose name came from the color of his hair—was a renowned cowboy from Calgary and founder of the Rodeo Association. Profits improved, but it turned out to be Issaquah's last rodeo. At just 35 years old, Wall died unexpectedly on March 26, 1932. And while we don’t know for certain if his death ended the rodeo, nobody else stepped up.
A New Identity for a New Era
With the cowboy era in the dust, the field returned to its roots—as a hub for local sports and home field for Issaquah’s town team. In 1934, with fresh energy and a vision for the future, the IVFD built Firemen’s Hall right at the park's edge, nestled between the railroad tracks and the field. The huge wooden structure effectively became a town favorite: part gymnasium, part dance hall, and part locker rooms for the spirited Issaquah Alpine Dairy Football Squad and whichever rival rolled into town that week.
After years of effort to secure the playfield, the summer of 1937 brought another turning point. The Playfield Association assumed the remaining $526.32 on the mortgage and gifted the land—clean title guaranteed—to the Town of Issaquah as a community playfield. The timing couldn’t have been better. By Labor Day 1939, the field was buzzing with activity during the three-day State Golden Jubilee Celebration. Governor Clarence Martin gave a speech, there was a barbeque, basket picnic, horseshoe and bocce ball contests, bicycle races, a dance sponsored by the local chapter of the Veterans of Foreign War (VFW). And a top highlight? The crowning of Issaquah’s first Labor Day Queen, Miss Carmen Skamfer. It was a big to-do—the kind of celebration that brought the whole town together!
But when World War II began, the mood shifted. Town celebrations paused, and the tower atop Firemen’s Hall took on a new role. High school students and adult volunteers manned it day and night, scanning the skies for enemy aircraft. The field, once a place of play, became part of the war effort.
Celebrations revived in 1945, and so did the momentum when improvement from the newly formed Issaquah Athletic Club began taking shape. That same year, the playfield was first designated “Memorial Field,” a living tribute to Issaquah’s war dead. The VFW erected a monument in their honor, beginning with the name of 23-year-old Peter Erickson—the first to die in service on August 10, 1918, in Bordeaux, France.
In 1947, the field became home to high school baseball and football games (a tradition that lasted until 1965). Fencing was added, bleachers and playground equipment were installed, and field lighting turned the games into a local exhibition. Former City Councilman Rod Anderson recalled, “It was the first lighted field on the Eastside after WWII, so they had night high school football.”
The Issaquah Eagles added a flagpole in 1950, and a project to build a new grandstand—this time with reinforced concrete, steel, and plumbing—was started. The new era was well on its way, hosting everything from football and baseball games to carnivals, concerts, horse shows, fire demonstrations, kiddie games, and community barbecues.
And beginning in 1969, Issaquah’s first “Salmon Festival” was celebrated—replacing the town's big Labor Day celebration. Renamed “Salmon Days Festival” in 1970, it's been going strong ever since, with the old playfield garnering the label: Field of Fun. Nowadays, approximately 200,000 attend the two-day festival held the first weekend in October each year.
It wasn’t until 2005 that the City formally designated the area as Veterans' Memorial Field, giving the space a more dignified and permanent identity—honoring those who served while continuing to serve as a vibrant community gathering spot.
The Field's Latest Chapter
It was a love of baseball that led to one of the firemen and miners biggest achievements, but the story of the playfield is still being written. Just recently, as part of the Anchor Parks Project, the area has seen new development. In late 2024, construction began on new pedestrian plazas and improvements to the nearby Senior Center. The project was completed in August 2025 with a dedication ceremony held on September 15. These upgrades aim to create multigenerational spaces and improve connections for everyone who uses the park. The project also includes new hardscapes, landscaping, and a pavilion, ensuring this historic spot continues to serve the community for decades to come.
So, the next time you visit Issaquah’s Veterans' Memorial Field, take a moment to appreciate its journey. First cleared of brambles and stumps in the early 1900s, it has been the center of the community for more than one hundred years. It’s a testament to Issaquah’s volunteer spirit, a reminder of the town’s wild rodeo days, and today, a center of fun for everyone from kids to seniors and one that’s bustling with activity on any given day. A shining example of how a community space can evolve while staying true to its roots. From a simple playfield built by firefighters and miners to a premier park at the heart of the city, the story of Issaquah’s Veterans Memorial Field is as entertaining and vibrant as the city itself.
Sources:
A Chronological History (1890s to 1950s), by Harriet Fish, January 1982
The Play field, author and date unknown / IHM archives
Excerpts from: 14th Annual Labor Day Celebration Program, 1958
Journal America: Issaquah Centennial, April 22, 1992
Various materials in Issaquah History Museums' archives
Issaquah Press, issues re the rodeo: 6/27/1924, 8/29/1924, 8/28/1925, 9/4/1925, 8/13/1926, 9/3/1926, 7/8/1927, 6/29/1928, 6/6/1929, 7/4/1929, 7/11/1929, 5/28/1931, 7/2/1931, 3/11/1932
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