After making it through a decade of economic depression followed by a world war, Kirkland was more than ready to let off some steam. In the summer after the war ended, they did just that:

• ANNOUNCE PLANS FOR SUMMER FESTIVAL - 5/30/46
• SUMMER FESTIVAL BUTTONS ON SALE - 6/27/46
• HERE ARE CANDIDATES FOR SUMMER FESTIVAL QUEEN - 7/18/46
• PORKERS PRODUCE PUBLICITY; PIG SWIMMING CONTEST ATTRACTS NEWSMEN - 8/1/46
• MORE THAN 200 BABIES ARE ENTERED IN EAST SIDE PHOTO CONTEST - 8/8/46
• PIG RACE ON RADIO NETWORK - 8/15/46
• ROSE OF NORMANDIE WINS PIG SWIMMING RACE AT LOCAL FESTIVAL - 8/22/46
• FESTIVAL IS BIG SUCCESS - 9/5/46[note: more on this event can be found here: When Pigs Swam]

Life was good in Kirkland, but for young adults buying their first homes on the G.I. Bill, things were quite a bit different than in the Kirkland of a generation past. Less than 20 years ago, most headlines in the East Side Journal reflected upon a rural community. Somewhere along the way, a city had sprung up:

• PUBLIC HEARING ON REZONING PLANNED - 6/20/46
• COMMISSION STUDYING ANNEXATION; COUNCIL TO SEEK BIDS ON CITY HALL - 8/8/46
• NEW CITY BUDGET BIGGER THAN EVER - 10/10/46
• CIVIC CENTER OPEN HOUSE THIS FRIDAY AND SATURDAY - 4/3/47
• NEW CITY HALL TO BE DEDICATED THIS SATURDAY - 7/31/47
• NEW STRUCTURES DOT DOWNTOWN - 5/5/49

Connections to Seattle which were traditional to Kirkland were also changing:

• FERRY LEASE UP NEXT YEAR - 11/21/46
• LOCAL FERRY WILL CONTINUE OPERATION - 11/6/47
• CITY OF KIRKLAND WILL OPERATE FERRY - 1/22/48
• ANOTHER FIGHT TO KEEP FERRY LOOMS - 6/3/48
• TO LIFT TOLL ON BRIDGE, GOV SAYS - 1/27/49
• $10,000,000 BRIDGE - TOLL FREE SATURDAY - 6/30/49
• DECLINE IN FERRY REVENUES AND PASSENGERS CITED BY HAUN - 7/28/49
• FINAL FIGHT FOR FERRY IS FOMENTED - 1/26/50
• FINAL FERRY PAYCHECKS (PHOTO) - 9/7/50
• DISMANTLING FERRY DOCK STARTED HERE - 8/2/51

Along with the loss of the ferries, another vital marine industry was rapidly diminishing. After the war, contracts for the Lake Washington Shipyard became nonexistent. The Houghton yard was not within Kirkland city limits, yet much of Kirkland's revenue came from the people who worked there. Kirkland started talks with the U.S. Navy to provide moorage, even though Kirkland had no claim to the property:

• HOUGHTON RESIDENTS OPPOSE NAVY MOORINGS IN MASS MEETING - 7/5/45
• STILL GOOD CHANCE FOR MOORAGE HERE - 8/2/45
• HOUGHTON PEOPLE MAY INCORPORATE - 5/8/47
• HOUGHTON IS NOW INCORPORATED CITY - 7/10/47

Houghton was now a city of its own, but Kirkland did not let this get in the way of its own growth and development:

• ROSE POINT WILL VOTE ON QUESTION OF ANNEXATION - 9/18/47
• ROSE POINT ANNEXATION IS APPROVED - 10/30/47
• NEW ROSE HILL AREA SEEKING ANNEXATION - 3/31/49
• PART OF ROSE HILL IS ANNEXED BY CITY - 5/5/49
• HOUGHTON ANNEXING ACTION IRKS KIRKLAND - 1/11/51
• AREA EAST OF CITY STUDIES ANNEXATION - 3/8/51
• ANNEXATION WILL 'HOP-SKIP' SOUTH OF HOUGHTON - 9/4/52

Much of Kirkland's growth was due to annexations, but most of the East Side was experiencing a large influx of new residents. Now that a bridge crossed the lake, downtown Seattle was just a short car ride away. Housing prices in Kirkland and other communities were very desirable, and the bucolic setting was perfect for raising a family.

• BRIDGE TOLL ELIMINATION, HIGHWAY SEEN AS BOON TO LOCAL REAL ESTATE - 6/2/49
• BIDS ARE CALLED ON CONSTRUCTION OF NEW HIGHWAY - 1/17/52
• GROUND BREAKING FOR NEW CHURCH HELD HERE LAST SUNDAY AFTERNOON - 6/25/53
• 1953 POPULATION 5,400 CENSUS DATA REVEALS - 7/23/53
• $7696 IS MEDIAN VALUE OF KIRKLAND 1-F HOME - 8/13/53
• THRIFTWAY OPENS SUPER MARKET ON KIRKLAND AVENUE - 11/5/53
• KIRKLAND WATERFRONT TOPIC OF MAGAZINE PICTURE STORY - 10/14/54
• LOW PRICES, FRIENDLINESS DRAW TRADE TO KIRKLAND - 3/24/55
• NEW APARTMENTS PLANNED ON LAKE - 12/13/56
• OLD LOG HOUSE BOWS TO PROGRESS; MAKES WAY FOR RANCH-STYLE HOMES - 3/21/57

People moved to Kirkland to raise families, and raise families they did. For years, smaller schools like Central School were more than able to handle the amount of students that smaller towns produced. With more students on the way, more schools became necessary:

• NEW HIGH SCHOOL OPENING TUESDAY - 12/29/49
• CONSTRUCTION WILL START THIS SUMMER ON JUANITA'S NEW SCHOOL - 1/26/50
• 4175 PUPILS ENROLLED IN SCHOOLS; IS 401 INCREASE OVER LAST YEAR - 9/18/52
• 20 SCHOOLROOMS ARE SOUGHT HERE - 1/15/53
• TWO NEW SCHOOL SITES PROPOSED FOR NORTH KIRKLAND AND JUANITA - 1/21/54
• NEW ROSE HILL GRADE SCHOOL (PHOTO) - 3/4/54
• WORK STARTS ON LAKEVIEW GRADE SCHOOL (PHOTO) - 5/6/54
• LAKE WASHINGTON SCHOOL DISTRICT ANNUAL PAYROLL OVER $1,000,000 - 8/26/54
• NW BIBLE COLLEGE SEEKING LOCATION IN STEWART HEIGHTS - 10/13/55
• STUDENTS NUMBER 4865 IN DISTRICT; ALL-TIME HIGH - 9/13/56
• NORKIRK, JUNIOR HIGH BUILDINGS DEDICATED HERE - 10/25/56
• SCHOOL DISTRICT BUYS HEIGHTS PROPERTY - 2/20/58

Suburban life may have been good for many of these new residents and their children, but the same worries that gripped other Americans invaded Kirkland also:

• CIVIL DEFENSE STAFF CONSIDERS TAGS FOR YOUNGSTERS IN AREA - 1/11/51
• THINGS TO DO IN CASE OF A-BOMB ATTACK ARE LISTED BY CIVILIAN DEFENSE - 1/18/51
• TWENTY-FIVE CITY EMPLOYEES HERE MUST SIGN LOYALTY OATH BY JULY 1 - 6/28/51
• ANOTHER COUNTY-WIDE AIR RAID TEST SCHEDULED HERE ON JUNE 6 - 5/28/53
• IF BOMBS FALL CHURCH DORCAS SOCIETY READY FOR ACTION - 12/2/54
• ALERT BLASTS TO BE SOUNDED HERE IN MOCK ATOM ATTACK - 2/4/54
• NATIONAL GUARD UNIT TAKES OVER AIR DEFENSE VIGIL AT AAA GUN SITE -12/23/54
• NEARBY GUIDED MISSILE INSTALLATION UNVEILED - 10/20/55
• HOW DO KIRKLANDITES FEEL ABOUT RUSSIAN SATELLITE - 10/10/57
• RESIDENTS URGED TO WELCOME MOTHERS SEEKING CIVIL DEFENSE INFO - 11/6/58
• FREE! WIN YOUR OWN FALLOUT SHELTER (AD FOR TRADEWELL) - 11/2/61

The Cold War loomed as the area experienced unprecedented growth, but life in 1950's Kirkland went on, just as it did in Anytown, USA:

• TELEVISION, MIRACLE OF MODERN SCIENCE, HERE ON THANKSGIVING - 11/18/48
• HOT RODS ROAR AND RESIDENTS RAVE; TURN DOWNTOWN STREETS INTO TRACK - 7/14/49
• "TYPICAL DAD" CONTEST WON BY ED ROSENTHAL; COMPETITION WAS KEEN - 6/25/53
• DO DRUGGISTS CONDONE BAD LITERATURE? (LURID MAGAZINES) - 6/25/53
• EGG WITHIN AN EGG IS STORY OF WEEK - 8/6/53
• FLYING SAUCERS YET? ODD SIGHT SEEN HERE - 2/25/54
• DR. MCKIBBEN, PHYSICIAN 50 YEARS, TO BE HONORED - 6/10/54
• 'DRIVE-IN' CHURCH FILM-SERMON SUNDAY - 7/15/44
• POLIO VACCINE TO BENEFIT 900 LOCAL CHILDREN - 4/14/55
• KIRKLAND TROOP AMONG FIRST TO CAMP OUT WITH TENT-EQUIPPED TRAILER - 6/30/55
• YES, THAT FELLOW DOING THE CHORES IS NONE OTHER THAN GRAMPS FISHER - 7/28/55
• TEEN CANTEEN OPENING SET - 9/1/55
• STAN BORESON HEADLINER FOR ROSE HILL CARNIVAL - 10/27/55
• WUNDA WUNDA, TV STAR, IS FEATURE ATTRACTION AT JUANITA PTA CARNIVAL - 10/27/55
• "BARNEY BIG-EYES" OWL ... NOW IS PET OF MRS WIGGINS KINDERGARTEN - 3/8/56
• COLORFUL MAIL BOXES, NEW BALL-POINT PENS, LATE P.O. INNOVATIONS - 9/13/56
• GRAVEL-PIT TABBY RESCUED FROM ATOP POWER POLE - 12/6/56
• FLAME STEAK HOUSE - "SWANK" FROM PATIO TO PALETTE ROOM - 3/21/57
• WHAT WOULD BE TOWN WITHOUT GOOD OLD-FASHIONED SODA FOUNTAIN - 4/4/57
• NATIONAL GOLF CHAMP TO BE HONORED TONIGHT (GUNDERSON, JO ANNE) - 9/5/57
• TEACHER NOW 90 STILL HEARS FROM FORMER STUDENTS (MILLER, LAURA) - 10/9/58
• 'SUBURBIA TODAY' MAGAZINE TO RUN IN JOURNAL BEGINNING SEPTEMBER - 8/20/59

And as the decade waned, more changes were on the horizon:

• CHAMBER TO HEAR AUTHORITY DISCUSS VITAL HIGHWAY BILL - 5/10/56
• BRIDGE HEARING SET NEXT WEDNESDAY- 1/31/57
• HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT ALLOCATES $300,000 FOR NEXT SECTION OF 2-A - 2/14/57
• CHOICE OF EVERGREEN SITE SPURTS EAST SIDE GROWTH - 1/31/57
• SIX LANE HIGHWAY TO LINK KIRKLAND AND BELLEVUE SOMEDAY - 5/5/60
• NEW LOCATION PLANNED FOR CITY'S REDMOND HIGHWAY APPROACH - 10/5/61
• EVERGREEN START (PHOTO OF BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION) - 12/21/61

The New Frontier and Beyond

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