Snoqualmie Falls & Lodge Postcard by Smith-Western Co., Inc. – CT-2069

It’s time for another beautiful postcard featuring Snoqualmie Falls and Snoqualmie Falls Lodge in Snoqualmie, Washington. Smith-Western Co., Inc. produced this card containing an aerial photo of the magnificent 268-foot waterfall and surrounding area. I love seeing these images as I get to play the game, “When was this photograph taken.?”

SNOQUALMIE FALLS & LODGE POSTCARD BY SMITH-WESTERN CO. INC. – CT-2069 | FRONT

The front of this postcard by Smith-Western Co., Inc. contains an aerial view of Snoqualmie Falls in Snoqualmie Valley. Perched above the 268-foot waterfall, you’ll spot Snoqualmie Falls Lodge, a roadside hotel that first opened in 1916. The hotel would later be expanded an renamed in 1988 to the Salish Lodge.

You can also see the former covered observation area overlooking the falls.

On Tuesday, June 18, 1968, 200 people attended the dedication of the new park including Washington state Governor Dan Evans; Ralph Davis, president of Puget Power; and King County Commissioner John Spellman. The Noon ceremony marked the completion of the $150,000 renovation project which began in spring 1967.

“The major feature of the renovation is an observation platform built on steel beams cant-levered from a concrete slab anchored in rock at the top of a cliff and affording a fine view of the 268-foot falls. The roofed platform was completed in the fall and has already proven to be a popular addition to the park for off-season tourists and visitors,” according to a Snoqualmie Valley Record article from June 20, 1968.

Further in the distance, the Snoqualmie Falls Lumber Company, later Weyerhaeuser Lumber Mill, is seen the shadow of Mount Si. This was the location of both the Packard Saw Mill and the Twin Peaks Sheriff’s Department. Parts of the mill remained operational until May 30, 2003. Today, Dirtfish Rally School operates on the property.

Knowing this information, I assume the photograph was taken sometime after 1968 but before 1987. If I ever find a cancelled postcard, it may help refine the actual publishing date.

SNOQUALMIE FALLS & LODGE POSTCARD BY SMITH-WESTERN CO. INC. – CT-2069 | BACK

The back of this postcard contains an inscription along with publishing details. The card, with catalog number CT-2069, was manufactured by Smith-Western Co., Inc. located in Tacoma, Washington. It was printed in Ireland and contains an additional code in the stamp box – 2US WA 93-B.

The inscription reads:

SNOQUALMIE FALLS & LODGE, WASHINGTON
Located just off U.S. Highway I-90, twenty-six miles east of Seattle. This world-famous dining facility overlooking a 268-ft. high waterfall is one of the major tourist attractions in Washington. The falls are fed by perpetual snow and ice fields from the high Cascades.
A photographer’s delight.
Color by Kyle S. Smith

I found a second similar card containing the same catalog number, CT-2069, but was printed in Italy. This card has a slightly different inscription:

SNOQUALMIE FALLS, WASHINGTON
Located just off U.S. Highway I-90, twenty-six miles east of Seattle. The 268-ft. high waterfall is fed by perpetual snow and ice fields from the high Cascades. A photographer’s delight!
Color by KyleS. Smith

The first card might have been sold in Snoqualmie Falls Lodge.  The second card may have been sold in shops in Washington state, since it doesn’t contain a reference to the roadside lodge once known for its famous country breakfast.

WHO IS KYLE SMITH OF SMITH-WESTERN, CO. OF TACOMA, WASHINGTON?

Kyle Smith (1917-2014) settled in Tacoma, Washington following World War II and founded his postcard and tourist merchandise company in 1947. From the trunk of his car, he began by selling postcards adorned with images of towns and landmarks found in the Washington and Oregon.

“I went into every town. I went into the main business, usually a drugstore,’ Smith told C.R. Roberts in an article from The News Tribune on Apr. 29, 2007. “I’d just go in and ask ’em what would they like in the way of postcards. I’d ask for a tour. By then, the guy was a friend!”

The postcard business grew to include decals for car windows, luggage or bicycles; collectible plates and spoons and more.

At one point, early on, Kyle approached the National Bank of Washington for a $25,000 loan he told Roberts. The banker asked what the collateral might be.

“Postcards,’ Kyle said. “You gotta be kidding,” replied the banker. During the first full year, the company had gross sales of $14,000. By 2007, Smith said, “We ship more than that per day. When I started out, people didn’t know how to spell ‘tourist!”

Kyle, Sr. and Kyle, Jr. – or Skip to friends and associates, took many of the images found on their postcards for decades. In an article by Susan Gordon for The News Tribune on Aug. 24, 1987, she shared how Skip flew the small aircraft while his dad took photos.

“Focusing on some of the state’s most popular sights, the company’s vice president mans the controls of a Cessna 206, a single-engine, six-seat airplane, while the president sticks an old-fashioned Speed Graphic camera out the window and snaps away,” wrote Gordon.

But the late 1980s, the Smiths only took about 10 percent of the images found on postcards they distributed. They bought most of the photographs that appeared on the approximately 1,000 different postcards in distribution. By the year 2000, Skip was running the business after spending “nearly three decades learning the finer points of merchandising, design, manufacturing, sales, finance, human resources and all the other skills necessary to succeed.”

The company is still in business today as the “nation’s premiere supplier for the tourist and attraction industry.” Sadly Kyle, Sr. passed on Mar. 3, 2014 at the age of 96, just three weeks short of his 97th birthday. Kyle “Skip” Smith continues serving as President / CEO of the company.

See more high-resolution postcard images from the Real Twin Peaks on my Flickr account.