Blog Posts

Blast from the Past Puyallup, WA

You already know that Puyallup, WA is a great place to live. This month the Willow Hill Blog is bringing readers a little bit of our towns early history. Ezra Meeker is widely considered to be one of the founding fathers of our town. Born in Ohio, his family moved to Indiana while he was still young. It was in Indiana that he met and married his wife, Eliza. Ezras dream was to become a farmer; Eliza supported his plans to travel out west. Ezra and Eliza made a treacherous trip on the Oregon Trail before arriving in what was then known as the Oregon Territory. Eventually, the Meekers settled in Puyallup, WA. It was Ezra Meeker who gave our town its name. Eliza organized the citys first library, and Ezra was Puyallups first mayor.They dedicated their lives to the town, always looking to improve and build upon the city. Ezra eventually became a successful hop farmer, but his dedication to his frontier past fueled his true passion preserving the Oregon Trail. Ezra Meekers life is a testament to the entrepreneurial spirit, determination, and fire of Puyallups residents. You can visit the Meekers home, known as the Meeker Mansion , today. Admission is only four dollars for adults. If you would like to buy a membership at the Meeker Mansion, prices range from twenty dollars for an individual membership to a thousand dollars for a lifetime membership. You can sponsor the Museum as a Pioneer, Founder, Investor, or Preservationist. The Museum is run by the Puyallup Historical Society at Meeker Mansion. The Societys mission is to restore and preserve Meeker Mansion, to preserve and promote the historical aspects of the Puyallup Valley and its links to the Oregon Trail; to provide students and other visitors with programs, exhibits and events for a greater appreciation of local history and community; to serve as an education resource and repository for historical artifacts. Other great places to visit if youd like to learn more about Puyallups early history are the South Hill Historical Society and the Sumner Historical Society. The City of Puyallup also has a great timeline of our citys past. We hope youve enjoyed learning a little more about Puyallups history! Have you ever visited the Meeker Mansion? Tell us about it in the comments!

Keep Reading Puyallup Public Library

This month Willow Hill Blog is featuring the Puyallup Public Library! The Puyallup Public Library is a great place to spend a summer afternoon relaxing and reading. We want our residents to know a little more about what they can do at the Puyallup Public Library, besides just checking out books. This month were covering the librarys programs and special services. The library holds special events and programs each month. One of the librarys programs, History at Your Fingertips !, gives residents access to historic materials once a month. This month the program is opening on Wednesday, July 27th. This program allows volunteers to act, as guides to the photograph collection, past City Directories, Puyallup High School yearbooks and a wide range of other materials that have historical significance to the community. Materials available date back to the early 1900s. The library also offers basic computer classes for patrons to participate in. Computer Basics for Adults is a two session class that teaches attendees, the basic skills necessary for using a computer. The library asks that you attend both sessions, [s]ince each lesson builds on the previous one. The other computer classes offered are Introduction to Microsoft Word and Technology Tutor . Want free admission to Tacomas hottest museums? Youre in luck. The library lends out special passes each month for patrons to use at the Museum of Glass, Tacoma Art Museum, and Washington State History Museum. For more information on this pass, visit this site . If youre wondering whether the Puyallup library has your favorite title, you can check their online catalog. Recent library purchases show up on their New Book Alerts page (with reviews!), and you can request materials for the library to purchase using a Purchase Suggestion Form online. We hope that youve enjoyed learning a little bit more about the Puyallup Public Library. Have you ever attended one of the librarys programs, classes, or special events? Have you used one of their special Museum passes? Leave us a comment and let us know!

Summer Movie Marathon

This month Willow Hill Blog has five movies for you to watch for your next summer movie marathon. Because of Winn-Dixie (2005) India Opal Buloni (AnnaSophia Robb) is new in town. When she finds Berger Picard Winn-Dixie at the local Winn-Dixie supermarket, she thinks its fate. Her new dog helps her make new friends, connect with her father, and adjust to life in a small town. This is a heartwarming tale of friendship, love, and loss. The Karate Kid (1984) Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) trains high school student Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) in karate. Daniels been having trouble at school with the members of the Cobra Kai dojo. Mr. Miyagi prepares Daniel to fight against the Cobra Kai students in the Under-18 All-Valley Karate Tournament to end the bullying once and for all. The Sandlot (1993) Scotty Smalls (Tom Guiry) is the new kid in town. Fitting in with the other kids means joining the neighborhood baseball games at the Sandlot. During this eventful summer, Smalls learns the value of honesty, friendship, and not judging a book by its cover. This iconic film is chock full of quotable lines like, You call that pitching? This is baseball! Not tennis! and Youre killing me Smalls! Grease (1978) Danny (John Travolta) and Sandy (Olivia Newton-John) have the perfect summer romance, but staying in love during the school year turns out to be more difficult than they thought it would be. Danny and Sandy navigate the tricky waters of high school romance while the T-Birds and Pink Ladies sing, dance, and battle it out with their rival gang, The Scorpions. This classic movie musical is perfect for a summer sing-a-long. The Parent Trap (1998) Annie and Hallie (Lindsay Lohan) have never met, but theyve got a lot in common. When their parents (Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson) send them to the same summer camp, they develop a fierce rivalry before discovering that theyre twins. In attempt to get to know their estranged parents, the twins decide to switch places for the rest of the summer. When Annie discovers that their father is about to marry his horrible girlfriend, Meredith Blake, the twins hatch a scheme to get their parents back together. We hope that youve enjoyed our recommendations! What are your favorite movies to watch for a movie marathon? What should we watch next? Let us know in the comments!

Museum of Glass

Washington is the home of some of the greatest glass artists in the world, including internationally recognized artist Dale Chihuly. Tacomas Museum of Glass celebrates the citys proud history of glass artistry through live glass making, incredible exhibits, and a visiting artist program. Entering the Museum from the city, you will pass under the Chihuly Bridge of Glass. The Chihuly Bridge of Glass introduces visitors to the powerful art held by the Museum by exposing them to the art of one of Tacomas greatest artists: Dale Chihuly. This bridge is composed of three installations: Chihuly Bridge of Glass, Crystal Towers, and Venetian Wall . This exhibit is meant to whet visitors appetite for glass art before entering the Museum of Glass. The Museum has two other outdoor art pieces Martin Banks Fluent Steps and Howard Ben Tres Water Forest. Right now the Museum is putting on four different exhibits. David Willis: Daisies adds on to the Museum of Glass Picking Up What Im Putting Down, a forest of large-scale flowers meant to make the viewer feel as though they are roaming through a floral forest. #BeTheCurator gives visitors the opportunity to decide which pieces of art the Museum puts on display. The Museum used Facebook to track which pieces of art got the most response from the public; those pieces are now on display. Every Soil Bears Not Everything celebrates the collaboration between Washington artists Joey Kirkpatrick and Flora C. Mace. Their works are an interesting blend of wire and glass; you wont want to miss their eye-opening exhibition! The Museums Hot Shop Live! lets visitors watch the museums artists and visiting artists at work. You can ask the artists questions while they work to learn more about the craft. Visiting artists give Hot Lunch Lectures where youll get a little more insight into each artists process and art. These are just a few things you can see and experience at the Museum of Glass this month. Have you ever been to the Museum of Art? What was your favorite exhibit? Let us know in the comments!

The Beginners Guide to Doughnut Shops in Puyallup

Full disclosure? We are always in support of diets and eating healthy here, but we also support the moderate consumption of a good doughnut every now and then. June doesnt just bring with it the promise of summerits also home to national doughnut day. Below, weve decided to highlight a few of our favorite doughnut stops in town for residents of our Willow Hill apartments in Puyallup. Epic Doughnuts With a name like that, youd better back up the claims with some edible action. Whether its their pop tart donut, chocolate mud donuts with gummy worms, banana split, and so many others. Its easy to see why they picked outer space as a themebecause their creative and traditional donuts are all out of this world. You can browse pictures taken by locals and read through their glowing reviews over here . Happy Donuts Blueberry fritters, pumpkin spice donuts, cinnamon rolls with decadent cream cheese frosting, soft and fluffy chocolate sprinkle donuts, or a classic bunch of donut holes. This is the place locals go to drink coffee, read the newspaper, talk sports, and get a start to their weekend. Prices here are affordable, and even visitors from all over the country seem to have nothing but good things to say about Puyallups Happy Donuts. You can read more about them over here . British Bites Puyallup itself has other donut options in grocery stores, but we thought wed throw in this local fixture for good measure. British scones and jams, tarts, shortbread, crumpets, pastries, imported candy from overseas, and even more full-fledged geographic meals are featured here. If you live here, this place is a definite must-try. You can read through reviews over here and explore their menu online here .

The Beginners Guide to Trails Near Puyallup

National trails day happens this month, and what better way to celebrate this month than via the myriad of available trails in the Pacific Northwest? Yeah, thats what we thought too. Whether youre new to the area or have lived here a while, you might be looking for some places to get your feet set right on the welcoming nearby dirt pathways. Below, we highlight a few of our favorites for residents of our Willow Hill apartments in Puyallup. Point Defiance Park Point Defiance Park is a classic place to hike in town, in part because of the diverse views it offersall so close to the city itself. There are different ways to branch off to explore the different aspects of the park itself, but, for the most part, the five mile loop is pretty straightforward. Youll get glimpses of beautiful flowers at the entrance, towering trees, and coastal views. They also have lots of places to stop and have a picnic. You can read more about the park itself over here . Dash Point State Park Whether youre looking for a place to explore towering sequoia trees, or want to walk alongside the beach when the tide is out to explore tidal pools, this is a must-see for locals. Federal Ways Dash Point State Park itself is almost four-hundred acres in size, and features up to eleven miles of hiking trails to explore. You can read through different types of plants and animals you can expect to see along your way, along with hours and fees over yonder . Tacoma Nature Center Last but certainly not least is the Tacoma Nature Center, which features just over seventy acres of wetland and forest to explore through their wrap-around trails and informative visitors center. Whether youre looking for a place to see some incredible local birds, frogs, and a native plant nursery, youll get as much exercise as you will education about local plants and wildlife. You can head over here to learn about park hours and other tidbits of helpful informationalong with an overview of the trail maps themselves.