THEN and NOW: Russell McClintick and the Denton Brothers in 1948

After spotting this photograph while browsing images at the Kirkland Heritage Society office recently, I knew it had to appear in our “Then and Now” feature.

The first thing was its whimsical nature. But more importantly was that fellow on the left, my friend Russell McClintick, a fellow Rose Hill native, living encyclopedia of first-hand local history and, no doubt, Kirkland’s favorite former school principal.

Russ was a longtime educator for the Lake Washington School District and principal at in Houghton, and this cool photo was taken not far away on 7th Avenue South, just uphill from Lake Washington.

At the time the property was owned by the Denton family -- we featured the patriarch, Harry Denton, in a Then and Now earlier this year, driving a horse-drawn oil truck back in 1911.

The photo shows (left to right) Russ and and his buddies, Ernie Thormahlen, Bill Denton, Les Denton (in back) and Stan Denton. It was donated to the heritage society by Stan Denton, who remained active with the socity until recently.

The guys posed in a pretend football formation for the photo, which Russ says was taken probably in 1948.

“We were just goofing around,” says Russ, who agreed to return to the spot for the “now” shot. “I remember that time, when Erie and Les and I used to run around. That was before any of us were married. Les and I were attending Everett Community College.”

The Dentons were and are a well-known early Kirkland family. Russ McClintick was born on Rose Hill in 1926, enlisted in the U.S. Marines at 17 and fought in the South Pacific during World War II, then served in occupied Japan. Ernie Thormahlen, who went on to become a fisheries biologist, came to Kirkland after serving with Les Denton on a “baby flattop” aircraft carrier in the war.

So Russ and I returned to the scene last week and found the garage in the picture behind the guys intact, and the former Denton home, apparently built in 1933, in beautiful shape.

The current owner, Ellen Reynolds, graciously allowed us to take a photo of the spot. In fact it turns out that Ellen and Russ shared several mutual acquaintances and had actually met once before. That’s not unusual for Russ. He’s been around Kirkland for more than eight decades now, remains active about town, at the heritage society, the Kirkland Senior Center and elsewhere. He knows most everybody whose been in Kirkland for awhile, and they know him.

Russ remembers Kirkland when it was a sleepy little town, like the place I remember as a kid, but even more.

“It was kind of slow and laid back,” he says. “Everybody knew everybody. It was a friendly town. Nobody hesitated to let their kids go downtown, as long as they were home by dinner.”

Kirkland has grown into a much busier place, and everybody doesn’t know everybody anymore. But Russ says it’s still a great place.

“Compared to everywhere else, I think Kirkland should be real proud with how it created parks and made it so live-able,” he says. “I plan on sticking around for awhile.”