Puget Lobe Chapter Origins – A Brief History

The Puget Lobe Chapter of the Ice Age Floods Institute had its origins in Wenatchee in 2007 during the Institute’s annual field trip. While riding in the tour bus, long-time member Mark Sundquist informally suggested to some nearby Seattle area members the possibility of starting our own Seattle Chapter. The idea was met with an enthusiastic response. Some members had been making the long drive over to Wenatchee from Seattle to attend meetings. There was also a recognition the Seattle had a tremendous amount of ice age geology of its own to offer. Later during the field trip Mark mentioned the conversation to former Institute president Dale Middleton. Dale liked the idea and thought it was worth pursuing.

During the fall of 2007 Dale and Mark had a series of meetings to lay the groundwork for establishing a Seattle chapter. Dale’s years of experience as Institute president, familiarity with Institute business, and attention to detail were invaluable. He also had an encyclopedic knowledge of the ice age floods, a love for geology, and great dedication to the work of the Institute. He had a list of greater Seattle area contacts from his work as Institute president and this list formed the genesis of the Seattle chapter’s mailing list.

On December 3, 2007, a well-attended organizational meeting of the Seattle chapter was held at the Lynnwood library. Chapter officers were elected with Mark serving as president and Dale serving as vice-president. By-laws were adopted and the name Puget Lobe was selected. By a strange coincidence, during this time the Chehalis River, the ice age outlet for the Puget Lobe drainage, experienced record flooding.

In January of 2008 the first regular meeting of the Puget Lobe Chapter was held at the Shoreline library. The meeting was again well-attended with Dale warmly greeting the arriving attendees many of whom he knew from his previous work on behalf of the Institute. Gene Kiver gave a program on the ice age floods.

In July of 2008 the Puget Lobe’s first field trip took place. It included presentations on the recessional phases of the Puget Lobe and the Carbon River Glacial Outburst Flood, and tours of the Mima Mounds and Thurston County’s Glacial Heritage Preserve.

In the fall of 2008 the Senior Center in Edmonds was procured as a regular meeting place for the chapter. With some members arriving from northern Puget Sound, some from southern Puget Sound, and some by ferry from across Puget Sound the central location adjacent to the ferry dock was convenient.

Mark served several terms as president followed by several terms by Dale.