Young families bringing new blood to old towns

By JACK HOPKINS
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Randall Nelson, 79, who has lived in Preston almost all his life, says things are starting to change in the community, even though much remains the same. "The configuration of the community -- the houses and the town itself -- are still the same. It's the original town, just about the same size."

But the makeup of the citizenry is evolving and the community is starting to enjoy the benefits of cultural and ethnic diversity.

"During the war years, people started moving in and out of the community. . . . By the 1960s, much of the Scandinavian community had died out," says Nelson. "There are a lot of new people living out here now -- affluent, high-tech professionals who live on 10-acre lots."

The number of young people living in town has greatly increased in recent years, says Nelson. "When I look around the church now, there are very few gray heads. It is mostly baby boomers and their kids. There was a dearth of young people in the '50s. Now there is a big group of young people."

There aren't, however, a lot of places for young people to go in the Preston-Fall City area -- not if you think in terms of city life.

Preston and Fall City don't even share a McDonald's. The national chains haven't opened any restaurants this far out in the country.

But many young people aren't complaining. They have Small Frye's in the heart of what serves as downtown Fall City. That's where they go for burgers and what are possibly the best french fries in the state.

Drew Arenth, 15, says young people don't suffer from living so far from movie theaters, fast-food restaurants and other big-city accommodations.

"I've gotten used to finding things to do," says the son of Robert and Debbie Arenth, a freshman at Mount Si High School. "I can hop on my bike and visit any one of 10 of my friends within two miles. And I can float down the river or go out in the woods and do lots of things.

"It's not that there's nothing to do out here. There are just different things to do than the things you do in the city."

Nelson would understand that.

"I had a really good childhood," he recalls. "It was a simple life. But you had a lot of activity in town. The mill was always running. There was lots of steam at the mill. And the train came through three times a day. There always were a lot of things for a kid to see."

Nelson expects dramatic changes in Preston and Fall City in the future. "I prefer the country life myself. But there's really no way to stop the growth that's coming. It's surprising we've lasted as long as we have."

Unemployment isn't a problem among young people here. Maria Higgins, co-owner of Small Frye's, in fact, says she and her husband, Joseph, have trouble finding enough young people to work at the eatery. "It gets hectic, but it's fun."