Slowly but surely, this close-knit community is expanding

By JACK HOPKINS
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Eatonville is a close-knit community but it welcomes newcomers, too.

Cliff Murphy has lived here for five years and he's already the mayor.

Murphy became interested in the community from a helicopter while he was working as a traffic and weather broadcaster for a Seattle radio station, KVI-AM.

"We used to fly over Eatonville and I'd say, 'What a quaint little town that is.' Then Mount St. Helens blew, and I would be flying over the town even more," says Murphy.

He was living in Buckley then and decided to drive down and take a ground-level look at Eatonville. "It took me less than half of a day to fall in love with the town."

Murphy opened a custom woodworking and cabinetry business, The Wood Box, about eight years ago. He moved his residence there three years later. "It was one of the best moves I ever made in my life," says Murphy.

Like all mayors, Murphy worries about the future -- especially the danger that too many people will do as he did: Move to Eatonville.

"We're right at about 2,000 in population now. But in 15 years Pierce County has it projected to be 9,500. I personally don't feel we'll make that," he says, hopefully.

But if it comes even close, the town could be hard-pressed to keep some of its unique qualities.

"So far we have remained a very close-knit community with a warm and friendly atmosphere," says Murphy. "Too many times we take that for granted."

Growth hasn't changed the face of the community yet. Most of the development has been hidden up in the wooded hills.

"You wouldn't even know the homes are there," says Audrey Thompson, who operates the automobile licensing agency and the Eatonville visitor center.

"The population has grown; there are more people in the area now," she says, looking back on the changes that have come in the 35 years she has lived here.

Those changes include several resident millionaires. That's something many residents are quick to bring up as a point of civic pride.

"We do have a lot of wealthy people in town, but they are all people who work every day. You would not know they have all that money," says Thompson. "They are all real friendly people."

The town also has its share of low-income residents. And there are a lot of retired people, although the percentage is decreasing.

So far the community hasn't enjoyed many of the benefits that come from having a racially and culturally diverse citizenry.

But that was one of the things town council members had in mind in May when they adopted a vision statement calling on citizens to "respect diversity" as they work "to provide a quality life that is family-oriented, safe, responsive and progressive."

This was once a logging town.

Most residents worked at the lumber mill during the early part of the century. But those days are long gone. The mill has been closed for many years and weeds have grown up around the rusted metal structure which is now part of the historical "walking tour" offered to tourists.

Now most residents commute to jobs in other communities, many of them to Puyallup or Tacoma.

The biggest local employer is the Eatonville School District, with a little over 400 employees. A medical billing service has close to 50 workers. After that, the numbers get a good bit smaller.

"We are making the transition to becoming a bedroom community," says Mayor Cliff Murphy. "We need to encourage commercial growth."