Some Old Vashon Photos

This is the old Burton Dock. The building on the left was where Casper and Fannie Middling lived when they first moved to Vashon sometime between 1910 and 1914. The building contained a barber shop and bakery which Casper was a business parter in with Mr. Leslie. The foundation of this building still lays on the beach.

Guest Spotlight - Tina Middling

I'm Tina Middling, the daughter of Wesley and Ruth Middling. I am the third to the youngest out of twelve children.

Tina and Shelly

I still live where we all grew up, along with my youngest sister Shelly, Gloria (Beano) the seventh in line, and her oldest son Steve.

Shelly, Tina, Beano, and Steve

It keeps you busy, mowing the grass, pulling weeds in the flower gardens, planting a few vegetables and dahlias in the summer garden. We have to dig the dahlia bulbs up each year because he ground gets too wet and the bulb will turn to mush. All this, along with just your everyday housework.

I have worked for K2 Sports for 39 years. I have been in their Art Department for the last 22 years. I work on the top graphics for skis and snowboards (K2, Ride, Morrow, 5150, and Kissmark). They are all done on the computer. I've been a commuter for the last three years, since K2 moved the business to 6th Avenue in Seattle. I work four 10-hour days, so it makes for a long day with the commute.

We still try to keep the families together by gathering for holidays at our house. On Easter, we have a big easter egg hunt, then potluck dinner. We also do Christmas Eve and Santa comes, then a Christmas Day Dinner. We also celebrate all the birthdays and special occasions in between, like anniversaries, graduations, etc.

Staying on Vashon?

If your planning on staying the night on Vashon for the reunion there are plenty of beautiful places for rent. Check out www.vashonchamber.com or www.vrbo.com for listings.

Some Strom Family History:

Alfred Gustav Strom (1884-1960) and Annie Teressa Lindberg (1901-1986) were married on August 1st, 1919. They lived on Vashon Island, WA.


Alfred and Annie with Lewis Ruth and Anna (click to enlarge).

Their first child, Ruth Louise Strom, was born June 3rd, 1920. She married Wesley Casper Middling June 12, 1936. See our post on Middling Family History for more information.

Their second child Lewis E. Strom was born in 1922. Lewis was nearly seven feet tall. He wore size 16 shoes and had huge hands. He had to bend over to fit through doorways. Uncle Louie was liked by everyone. He worked out of the Teamsters Hall and as a Longshoreman. He never married nor had any children.



Anna and Lewis


Anna Linnea Strom was born June 17th, 1924. She was married to Kenneth Tietge. They had three children Sharon, Karen, and Kenneth Jr. Ken was in the Army and served in Korea. He also worked as a carpenter and for Washington State Ferries on the Point Defiance - Tahlequah run.

Alfred Gustone Strom was born August 13th, 1935. He was married for a short time to Linnea. He served in the Navy. He was in the Construction Battalion and was stationed in the Philippines. He later worked for the King County Roads Crew. He met his second wife Ellie while commuting to work. She brought two sons to the marriage John and Bill.

Al Alfred and Ruth

After recent discussions at the Middling House we discovered we were misinformed about Wes and Ruth's wedding date. We searched and searched and FINALLY found their marriage certificate. We have corrected the information in the previous posting, and here's a copy just for fun!

Some Middling Family History

Casper Wesley Middling (1885-1934) and Fannie Belle Fisher (1884-1943) got married about 1907 in California. Sometime between 1910 and 1914 they moved to Vashon Island, Washington.









Their first child Gertrude M Middling was born Feb 23, 1909 in San Francisco County. She passed away sometime before Casper and Fannie were recorded in the 1910 census on April 30, 1910. Our only records of her are a photograph (left) and a California birth record.






Their first son, Russell Benjamin, was born May 15th, 1914 on Vashon Island. Russ opened the first Tavern on Vashon after the prohibition. He also lived in California for a time managing a hotel and driving Taxi Cabs. Eventually he moved to Spanaway living with his youngest brother Bob and sister-in-law Mary.

Wesley Casper Middling was born May 13th, 1918 on Vashon Island. He married his childhood sweetheart Ruth Louise Strom, June 12th, 1936 in Port Orchard, WA. Yes really 1936 they were 18 and 16 years old! That’s something unimaginable to most of us. Against all odds, they went on to have a total of 12 children, Jack, Janet (Sis), Barbara, John, Frances (Snooks), Jennie, Gloria (Beano), Karla, Michael, Tina, Richard, and Shelly. From those children they had nearly 30 grandchildren and even more great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.


Robert John Middling was born October 6th, 1923 also on Vashon. Bob worked as a Mechanic and he enlisted in the army. He participated in WWII, enlisting for the Hawaiian division. He married Mary Milver Erickson June 23rd, 1948. She brought two children to the marriage, Gene and Shirley. They had a son together, Donald. They lived in Spanaway where he ran an automotive repair shop out of their home and helped Mary take care of her horses.


Left to right: Wes, Bob, and Russ



We have more family history to post in the next week or so, and over the next few months – if you have any interesting facts, photos, or anything else you’d like to share please let us know. Also, if you’re interested in writing a guest spotlight on a family member or members or even yourself we would be happy to put it up for all of us to share.

Welcome

Welcome to the website for the Middling Family Reunion 2010!

Save The Date postcards were mailed out today, hopefully everyone will be receiving theirs soon. It's been nearly 30 years since the last reunion. We've all experienced so many changes since then, it's past time for us to catch up!

Did you know...?

Did you know that Vashon and Maury Islands were discovered in May of 1792 by Captain George Vancouver. It was named in honor of his friend, Admiral James Vashon.

It was originally inhabited by the S'Homamish Indians, who were mostly driven out by pioneers in the mid to late 1800's.

S.D. Sherman along with his wife and four children settled on Vashon in 1877. That same year, other settlers included the John Gilman family and the Daniel Price family. More settlers followed in the next years.

By 1892 the only drydock north of San Francisco was established at Dockton, and construction of the Vashon College and Academy at Burton had begun. The first Island news paper was also published that year.

In 1907 the first automobile was brought to Vashon. In 1915 Vashon's first 24 hour electrical service began. It was around this same time that Portage was filled in officially connecting Vashon and Maury Islands - and the Middling Family first moved to Vashon.

The date has been set!

Big plans for a summer 2010 family reunion have been put into motion! The date has been set for July 31, 2010 on Vashon Island. Save the date - there will be more information to follow soon.

We're currently trying to collect names and addresses of extended family. If you have anyone to include you can email us middlingfamily@gmail.com or find us on facebook at facebook.com/middlingfamily.