Mitch Starkovich Interview

Title

Mitch Starkovich Interview

Interviewees

Mitch Starkovich

Document Type

Book

Interviewer

Krueger, Frederick

Contributor

Suncadia (Resort), Suncadia Fund for Community Enhancement

Files

Download Mitch Starkovich interview index.pdf (796 KB)

Description

Mitch Starkovich discusses his Croatian roots, mentioning his father (Frank Starkovich) and mother (Palona) and their marriage in 1911. He describes how his parents immigrated to Cle Elum, Washington, where his father began working at the Northwestern Improvement Company Mines No. 7 and No. 3 (the Peanut Mine). He talks about the Prohibition era, the Great Depression, home brewing, and local schools. He describes the geography of Cle Elum, touching on the Tollmans' coal mine, Lizard Lake, the Goodrich Mine, the Peanut Mine, the Curry Mine, Gallegher’s Mine, Vic Segles' cabin, the Paridee homestead, Cobo’s brickyard, the Country Store, Balmer’s green house, mill operations, and local restaurants. Starkovich describes his work in the No. 5, No. 9, and No. 8 Mines, and explains why he left mining to work in the woods. He talks about logging in Tanum, Lake Kachess, Cabin Creek, and Keechelus. He also describes ecology changes before and after logging.

The cover image shows Cle Elum in January 1916. The viewer is looking south toward the South Cle Elum Ridge. During the early months of 1916, Kittitas County experienced one of the heaviest snowfalls in its history. Twenty-eight feet of snow was reported to have fallen in the Cle Elum and Roslyn area. Railroad travel came to a standstill and stranded, snowbound residents eagerly awaited spring.

Publication Date

6-12-2003

Subject

Oral history, Cle Elum (Wash.), Immigrants--United States--History, Coal mining, Northwestern Improvement Company

Rights

Educational use only; no other permissions given. Copyright to this resource is held by the content creator, author, artist or other entity, and is provided here for educational purposes only. It may not be reproduced or distributed in any format without written permission of the copyright owner.

Language

English

Mitch Starkovich Interview
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