By HARRIET MUHRLEIN

This picture was probably taken in 1948 or 1949. It seems to be of a group of elementary students on a picnic outing.

The bridge in the background is the important subject of this picture. It spanned the entrance to the slough at the southwest edge of Apple Tree Cove. The bridge was a temporary replacement of an earlier bridge lost in 1942. (The former bridge will be discussed later — if we can ever locate a photo of it).

The photographer was standing on the cove side, east of the bridge. Today this area is the sandy beach beside Arness Park.

The temporary bridge was in place until the current culvert was installed. While the culvert provides a good outlet into the cove and a fun swimming area in the summer, it does not provide the needed protection for developing fry returning to Puget Sound. The culvert is scheduled to be removed. A new bridge will replace it. This will probably occur in the summer 2011.

This column is brought to you by the Kingston Historical Society. Learn a little more of Kingston’s history by attending our meeting at 10 a.m. Wednesday, June 23, at the Kingston Community Center.

You can reach the society by mail at P.O. Box 333, Kingston 98346 or calling Harriet Muhrlein, president, at (360) 297-2448.