THEN AND NOW: "Totem Lake" in 1933

Old-timers around Juanita never much cared for the name Totem Lake, as the small body of water near the of the same name is known today.

Apparently that name was the result of the mall development, which in all its former glory still overshadows the lake. The early settlers to the area called it Lake Wittenmyer, presumably for a local family, and for many years thereafter it was referred to simply as Mud Lake.

This photo from the Kirkland Heritage Society archives, with an unknown man to the right, was taken in May of 1933, and judging by the slope in the background, it was shot from the lake's southwest side.

As you can see, the area around the lake was being used for some agricultural purpose, perhaps pasture.

"We called it Mud Lake," says Jerry Rutherford, now of Bothell, whose family moved to a 10-acre property on the hill above the lake in 1945. "From where we lived, you could see the lake. It was bigger than it is now, five or six times. Over the years, things got filled in. It was boggy. They dug peat out of there at one end."

When Jerry was growing up, the area was known for its pastoral nature. Victor's cherry farm was located at or near the site of today's .

A nearby chicken ranch marketed eggs. About where is now, the Skinner family trained prize racehorses. Higher up the hill, the Klein family ran Mountain View Pickle Co., named for the vista it offered of Mount Rainier.

"They were the best dill pickles in the country," Jerry says. "It was an interesting place back then."

Today the lake floods chronically in a minor way during heavy winter rains, often closing one lane of Totem Lake Boulevard. The lake itself is managed by the , which built and maintains a largely boardwalk path on the lake's northwest side.

The path -- maybe half a mile and accessed through the 's parking lot -- appears little used. I've hiked it while birdwatching several times in the last few years and have never seen a soul there. We stopped in to hike it once this last winter and found the path completely underwater and inaccessible, the lake having risen with the heavy rain.

Oddly enough, however, although the lake has been drained, filled in, much of its wetlands lost and some of its peat removed, it appears today more natural than here in the 1933 photo. Much of its shore then was devoid of vegetation, compared to today, and the surrounding forests long since logged.

Today the lake is ringed by dense wetlands vegetation and it appears used more by turtles, frogs, ducks and a variety of other birds than humans. We've spotted red-tailed hawks hunting here, marsh wrens, red-winged blackbirds, song sparrows, yellow-rumped warblers, hummingbirds and many other species .

Some members of the Kirkland City Council, which has set as a priority the revitalization of the Totem Lake business district, are known to favor a park here that could be used as a centerpiece of any redevelopment.

It's an interesting idea. The lake itself remains pretty enough, although surrounded by hustle-bustle -- one end of the mall, powerlines, Interstate 405 and busy NE 124th.

It's all quite plate of food for thought.