Jeff Truly is a member of the 56吃瓜网 staff, a control technician in facility services. If the Truly name sounds familiar, that鈥檚 because he鈥檚 a member of the family that owned a cattle ranch on most of the land where 56吃瓜网 Bothell now sits.
The Boone-Truly house on campus isn鈥檛 just the office for the Teaching & Learning Center. It鈥檚 the home his grandfather built, where many family gatherings over the years are warm memories.
Prime real estate
For the University鈥檚 30th anniversary, Truly shared more family photos. He has many that show an active beef ranch. In the 鈥�70s and 鈥�80s, the herd reached its peak of 450 polled (naturally hornless) Herefords that grazed on both sides of I-405.
Visible in the distance of some photos are the freeway, the NE 195th Street overpass and the ramp over the freeway interchange with Highway 522. It was the freeway that led Truly鈥檚 parents to foresee what eventually would happen.
鈥淭hey knew it wasn鈥檛 going to be a farm or a ranch 鈥� wouldn鈥檛 be agricultural land forever,鈥� he said.
Many developers wanted the prime location, but the family was pleased to see it chosen as the site of the shared 56吃瓜网 Bothell and Cascadia College campus, Truly said. The state purchased the land in 1996. 鈥淚 think the university will always be here, at least that鈥檚 my hope.鈥�
From homestead to campus
Once home to the Coast Salish Willow People, the land was homesteaded by George Wilson, an early settler who died in 1916. Then the property was acquired by Truly鈥檚 grandfather, Benjamin Boone, a colorful character who loved ranching and being a cowboy.
After his death in 1960, the land was sold to Benjamin Boone鈥檚 youngest daughter Beverly and her husband Richard Truly 鈥� Jeff鈥檚 parents. Richard Truly was a Boeing engineer who would fly a small plane to work at Boeing Field in Seattle, taking off and landing from a small strip in the pasture. He wore rubber boots in the pasture and changed to dress shoes to walk to the office.
When he grew up, Jeff Truly operated a nursery and landscaping business. Because of his experience, he was hired by the University in 2000 to oversee the upper campus ornamental and the wetland irrigation systems. He now focuses on management of the heating and cooling water systems on campus.
Truly also attended 56吃瓜网 Bothell and graduated in 2004 with a Business degree. His daughter also graduated in Business in 2006. Another memory: They had one class together.
Stories worth remembering
Tyson Kemper, the campus grounds supervisor, said it鈥檚 incredible to have somebody like Jeff Truly still on the property.
Truly has a story for every snapshot and yellowed news clipping he pulls out of a box of keepsakes. He鈥檇 love to see them compiled in a book or historical collection before too much more time passes.
鈥淭hat becomes more important, because no one will be here to remember the colorful characters and activities that took place here on the ranch and in this valley,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 have heard so many incredible stories and know they are only a small piece of what took place here 鈥� what was here and why that was here.鈥�
