The logo on the cap above is for Rainier Beer, naturally brewed since 1878 by the now defunct Rainier Brewery in Seattle, named, of course, after Mt. Rainier.
Something called Rainier Beer is now produced by the Pabst Brewing Company.
I was born in Renton, southeast of Seattle, the home of the Boeing Aircraft Company, but largely raised in Kent, about 10 miles further south.
From either town, actually all of the Puget Sound area, you could always look up on a clear day to see Mount Rainier, providing a feeling of stability, like a big security blanket and on warmest of summer days, 75 or 80 Farenheit, a cooling effect.
Mount Rainier, only the third highest elevated peak in the United States, actually has the highest topographic prominence in the world. Prominence, according to wikipedia "characterizes the height of a mountain or hill's summit by the vertical distance between it and the lowest contour line encircling it but containing no higher summit within it. It is a measure of the independence of a summit."
So, there was Rainier Beer, but also, the more popular Olympia Beer from Tumwater and something called Lucky Lager.
In my youth the Rainier Brewing Company was owned by Emil Sick, who also owned the Seattle Rainiers, a Pacific Coast League baseball team that played at Sick's Seattle Stadium.
For you historical purists, Mount Rainier is the "white man's name." Native Americans, the Puyallups, referred to the mountain as Ta.ho.ma, meaning "mother of waters" with the Carbon, Puyallup, Mowich, Nisqually and Cowlitz Rivers all initiating in the mountain's glaciers.
Mount Rainier, only the third highest elevated peak in the United States, actually has the highest topographic prominence in the world. Prominence, according to wikipedia "characterizes the height of a mountain or hill's summit by the vertical distance between it and the lowest contour line encircling it but containing no higher summit within it. It is a measure of the independence of a summit."
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| Grandpa Barton in 1982, playing the saw as a musical instrument, accompanied on piano by Grandma Barton |
In my youth the Rainier Brewing Company was owned by Emil Sick, who also owned the Seattle Rainiers, a Pacific Coast League baseball team that played at Sick's Seattle Stadium.
For you historical purists, Mount Rainier is the "white man's name." Native Americans, the Puyallups, referred to the mountain as Ta.ho.ma, meaning "mother of waters" with the Carbon, Puyallup, Mowich, Nisqually and Cowlitz Rivers all initiating in the mountain's glaciers.
Good stuff, Jim. There were few minor leagues with the history of the old Pacific Coast League. I saw my first major league baseball game in 1958 at Seal Stadium, the old home of the San Francisco Seals, between the S.F. Giants and the L.A. Dodgers. The Giants won, 3-2, but Duke Snider hit an opposite field home run. Joe Dimaggio and Ted Williams were just a few of the greats who owe their development as ball players to the Pacific Coast League. Just right about your memories and impressions and you will always have a faithful reader in me. I worshipped baseball as a kid. Now I can hardly watch a game.
ReplyDeleteProbably about '58, we were acquainted with a family whose breadwinner was a San Francisco Seal, likely supplementing his income with other work. His wife served us our first tacos, taking the lettuce, tomato, etc. from a vinegary salad she'd already made. She fried the tortillas hard and I still remember the taste of vinegar. .not bad, actually.
DeleteYes, Ted Williams. I caught the last of his career along with his rival Stan Musial on black and white TV, both getting a huge ovation with every at bat. Williams took the "seal of approval" thing with Sears-Roebuck very seriously. My aunt, who worked for Sears, told me Williams angrily rejected some items Sears wanted him to grace with his "seal."
DeleteGreat Story Jim. The Rainiers are not forgotten.
ReplyDelete