My collection of Snoqualmie Falls and Salish Lodge & Spa postcards continues growing. This pair of postcards contains photographs by Ben Harrison complete with awesome 1990s graphic designs bathed in purple.
SNOQUALMIE FALLS AND SALISH LODGE POSTCARDS
This Snoqualmie Falls and Salish Lodge postcard is one of a pair of cards that contain complementary graphic designs which scream early 1990s. This image contains an exterior image of the resort’s entrance shortly after its 1988 remodeling project.
The shot is reminiscent of a nighttime shot first seen in episode 1.005.
The back of the postcard has a catalog number of CT-4412 and a description that reads: “Snoqualmie Falls, Washington. Stately Salish Lodge overlooks Snoqualmie Falls, which plunges 268 feet to the river below.”
An late 1980s logo for Salish Lodge and Snoqualmie Falls is found printed on the back.
You can see that same graphic used on advertisements from 1988 when the remodeling of Salish Lodge was completed. This framed collage with clippings was found hanging near the lobby restrooms in the Lodge.
The complementary postcard features a full image of Snoqualmie Falls and Salish Lodge with a magnificent rainbow. A cropped shot appears on the sister card.
The catalog number for this card is CT-4647 and the description reads: “Snoqualmie Falls, Washington. Salish Lodge overlooks Snoqualmie Falls, which plunges 268 feet to the river below. The Falls and the sun join forces to create beautiful rainbows in the afternoon, to the great delight of photographers.”
Both cards were published and distributed by Smith-Western Co. in Tacoma, Washington and they were printed in the U.S.A. They also published this postcard of the Mar-T Cafe in North Bend, Washington (known today as Twede’s Cafe). The company is still in business today.
Most likely, these cards were sold in the Salish Lodge gift shop since they were branded with their logo.
PHOTOGRAPHER BEN HARRISON
I’ve seen several of my postcards with images by Ben Harrison. So I did a search for this photographers work. There is another Benjamin Harrison located in the United Kingdom. If these images were captured in the late 1980s or early 1990s, then the U.K. photographer is too young.
Digging deeper, I searched – “Ben Harrison” snoqualmie falls – and discovered this obituary for a Benjamin Harrison from January 21, 2018. This Mr. Harrison was 92 years old and lived in Issaquah, Washington, which is near Snoqualmie.
It stated that he attended University of Washington School of Forestry, receiving his B.S. in 1966 and spent years “workingwith Weyerhauser [sic] in Federal Way, supporting and planting the forests in the Snoqualmie National Forest.” Ben worked as a private contractor helping individual owners manage their timber after his retirement.
Then his obituary stated, “His love of photography often saw him with his camera around his neck, at the ready to catch the scenes of nature.” The fact his love of photography was highlighted leads me to believe that this World War II and Korean War veteran was the “Ben Harrison” who took spectacular images of Snoqualmie Falls.
I wish I could have met him.
