Sometimes It’s the Little Things, Giving Back Comes in Many Forms for Retired Snoqualmie Resident

Ten years ago when Ed Kelley moved to Snoqualmie from Enumclaw, he built many of the birdhouses located along the wooded, interpretive trail loop that accesses the Natural Bog area just north and adjacent Snoqualmie Community Park, near Cascade View Elementary School.

If you haven’t visited this natural bog, the trails accessing it are located behind the homes on Autumn Ave, which border the large park and where some of the very first homes on Snoqualmie Ridge were built in 1998.

The bog sits secluded, surrounded by the park, trees and trails. Inside that almost-secret marshy area is a wooden platform that sits like an island, with educational signs describing the environment, and how this forested marshy area came to be, dating back thousands of years ago. It’s worth a walk to check it out – and the views are beautiful, too.

Earlier this month, Ed Kelley discovered some of the bog’s educational signage had been vandalized. Ed’s daughter, Maggie Kelley, explained her dad likes to give back, and knowing it would take the city time and money to fix them, he took it upon himself to fix the damaged signs.

So Ed dedicated a day to purchasing supplies and fixing those signs that help educate others about the forest he loves; a forest that used to belong to the company he once called his employer: Weyerhauser.

Ed, who is now retired, used to be the Weyerhauser’s Corporate Tax Manager. Years ago, when Weyerhauser owned all the land that became Snoqualmie Ridge (and where now he calls home), he directly handled property taxes for that forest land.

Maggie says her dad has always had a love of the forest, which led him to earn a Bachelor of Science Forestry degree and then a Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Science Forestry in the 1970’s.

Ed now enjoys retired life in Snoqualmie, spending most of his free time with his grandchildren who live nearby. Maggie says he also frequently gives back to the community by making big ‘Costco runs’ and donating the items to the Snoqualmie Valley Food Bank.

Thanks to Maggie for sharing her dad’s story and thanks to Ed for helping this Snoqualmie Valley forest bog area continue to educate those who now call this [former] forest their home.