Alberta Rider historic site gets pruning

ProGrass and Northwest Tree Specialists donate a day’s worth of work to clean up the historic Alberta Rider

By Nick Peterson

The Times, Jan 28, 2010 (1 Reader comment)

Kelly Koetsier, of Northwest Tree Specialists, cleans up one of the large fir trees on the Alberta Rider Elementary School property.

Jaime Valdez / Times Newspapers

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With chainsaws buzzing high in the trees and a huge wood chipper spewing fresh wood chips across the ground on the edge of Alberta Rider Elementary School’s property, Maggie Thornton was talking about a garden.

“We’re working on this property, clearing out invasive species, and eventually we’ll help them plant a pioneer garden here,” said Thornton, the marketing coordinator for ProGrass.

The garden will be part of the company’s “Gardens for Kids” program.

“Alberta Rider is one of six schools we’ve worked with to create nature spaces at schools,” Thornton said. “This one is unique because it has the cabin on it – it’s just a little bit different.”

ProGrass and Northwest Tree Specialists were each donating three employees for the day on Jan. 14 to clear the property and prune the trees.

The Alberta Rider log cabin, nestled among more than 30 large fir trees, was built in the mid-1920s by Harry Doriot and his wife. Alberta Rider and her husband Charles bought the cabin in 1947 along with the property that Alberta Rider Elementary now sits on. Alberta Rider sold the property to the school district with the provision that the cabin and the acre it sits on be preserved and designated as a historical site.

The cabin was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2009, and for the last year ProGrass has taken on the task of cleaning up the property, on a volunteer basis.

“The plan for this property is first to clear out the invasive species. When we started here last year – 12 months ago – you couldn’t see the cabin. It was covered with ivy – ivy up all the trees, bramble bushes and blackberries,” Thornton said. “Eventually, we’ll replant with more native species, and then put in a pioneer vegetable garden.”

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