Les Steel and
Lady of the Lake
Les Steel and Lady of the Lake
I interviewed Les Steel. Here are some of the things he told me. Mr. Steel was born in Wenatchee in 1924. He worked in an orchard when he was 1 year old. Mr. Steel was also 1 year old when he moved to the Manson area. That was 74 years ago. His father, Bern Steel, owned a 10 acre orchard now where the High School is.
In 1940, he helped clean up the gym, that is now C-Bay, and the showers that were down stairs. When Mr. Steel was a kid he played donkey baseball. Someone would bat the ball and hop on a donkey and ride to first base.
I also interviewed Fred Barkley. He told me that Dry Lake is still growing. A long time ago, Dry Lake was nothing but flat land. A mountain with snow melted and formed Dry Lake.
The first Apple Blossom Queen was Ruby Brown in 1920.
The year was 1904 and it took two days and ten to twelve cords of wood each trip from Chelan to Stehekin, and the name of the boat was "The Belle of Chelan". It was powered by wood and steam. People would cut down the trees for the Belle and they would get a free ride to Stehekin.
