Shore Club
Organized approximately 1955 to alert the residents to inclusion of Lake Burien in sewer expansion plans by Southwest Suburban Sewer District (SWSSD). Prime mover in organizing lake residents was John Ellison, a dynamic and imaginative transplant from West Seattle whose interest ranged from innovative designs for catamarans, kids’ coasters and automatic lawn fertilization systems to involvement in State and national politics, and everything in between. Ellison was mostly concerned that sewer main trenching circling the lake as close as 20’ from shore would destroy the integrity of our "clay saucer" and permit water leakage into the subsoil thereby significantly lowering water level. Armed with an impressive report prepared by a Midwest hydrologist (coincidentally a cousin of Ellison) and backed by the awakened citizenry, John was able to bring about modification of construction plans whereby all clay strata removed in ditching (15’ - 20’+/-) would be carefully replaced to restore original soil structure. Our cause was not weakened by the presence of lake resident Bob Lee as Commissioner of SWSSD. Although Lee was scrupulously ethical in conduct of his office, his advice as to what channels to pursue through government, engineering and contractor bodies was very valuable. The completed sewer system has performed well since completion and has corrected the previous problems of pollution from drain fields. Lake residents came out way ahead financially as their expensive work was assessed at prevailing District frontage rates and they actually received easement payments besides.
Footnote: A modern parallel to the situation just described was the 1983 crisis brought on by Metro’s plan to send Eastside effluents directly from the huge Renton treatment plant to a salt water outfall via a tunnel under Lake Burien. Although SWSSD was only trying to do its job for the ultimate benefit of local users, Metro was attempting an "unfriendly takeover" by condemning whatever land it wanted for the benefit of other and often more-favored communities ("affluent effluent", as they say in the industry).
Originally, in 1981, the plan involved routing the line to Seahurst Park and set off a strong protest movement among Seahurst and Three Tree Point residents who formed a group calling itself "Citizens to Save Puget Sound", eventually including 66 citizen and governmental groups. The Shore club was among the early endorsers.
In 1983, when Metro found the Seahurst Park route unfeasible due to the presence of aquifers, it shifted its route to SW 156th with the intent of boring a 12’ diameter tunnel under the lake and emerging on Seahurst slope with cut-and-cover beyond. Joe Wozniak—president of Shore Club and a professional in construction of major public and private engineering projects—quickly recognized the threat and was able to mobilize the lake residents in opposition. No arming of citizenry occurred, but legal funds were raised and Joe’s team, combined with the Puget sound forces, attacked the plan so convincingly that Metro finally decided to go down the Duwammish where the natives didn’t play so rough. (A rather humorous aspect of the episode reveals that Wozniak’s home was astride the proposed tunnel route. Joe calculated that a 12’ column of water 4 miles long traveling at "x" speed would—if abruptly blocked—erupt with a force of 14 megaboorns, hurling the family home into orbit.)
Stimulated by its new existence as a community entity and flush with $100 or so left in the legal fund, the Shore Club decided to start having some fun, thus giving rise to the 4th of July festivities and a few years later the Christmas boat event. The first breakfast was at Bob and Betty Lee’s house (now Holland’s) and started the now-traditional pancake - bacon/ham - juice and coffee menu priced at 25 cents. After breakfast was a decorated boat parade which then and for years thereafter consisted of kid’s inventions and participation (a far cry from today’s accent on adult boating, but in those days probably half the lake population were youngsters who—born too early to reap the joys of TV and seldom possessing their own cars—had to find their simple pleasure in water activities.)
The boat parade was followed by a spirited soft ball game on the Ruth School land adjacent to 152nd after which all returned home to prepare for the afternoon aquatic events. These events were based at mid-lake between 2 log booms about 25 yards apart. Rowboats and canoes were tethered here and contestants engaged in various swim races—all segregated by age and gender except the "family relay" - a 3-lap event whose only rule was that all members of each team must be from the same household. This substantially favored teams such as Ellison and McEacherns (Janet Wosniak) with athletic teen-agers but worked an obvious hardship on groups that had to include a parent (and in one instance the family dog - there being no rule to the contrary). Rowboat and canoe races, followed by the crucial sailboat races, concluded events much as today.
Mid-lake log booms continued as the aquatic site for some years until the sheer effort of staging plus recognition of risk and lack of comforts for viewers prompted relocation to suitable beach sites, usually where 2 lots could be combined.