LYNNWOOD—Cheri Ryan was presented the Keys to the City and designated Lynnwood’s official “City Historian” during the City Council Meeting on Monday, June 10.
“Her work and her family’s dedication to [the] Lynnwood and Alderwood Manor area has enriched al of the lives of Lynnwoodians across our parks system,” Lynnwood Parks, Rec, and Cultural Arts Deputy Director Sarah Olson said. “She and the History and Heritage Board and the other members of our community have done great work to expand Lynnwood’s history to its First Peoples and recognizing that Lynnwood is more than just the White settlers who’ve been here. Together we are honoring all of our preserved history and are working with our tribal members to honor all the space we inhabit today.”
Ryan was joined by members of her family and friends. Although her family roots date as far back to the 1880s in Marysville, her family settled in Alderwood Manor near present-day 36th Avenue which use to be called North Road in 1928, almost a century ago.
“I thank Mayor Frizzell, the Council, and the City of Lynnwood,” Ryan said. “I want to acknowledge the working relationship that we at Lynnwood-Alderwood Manor Heritage have had with Sarah and Fred and Eric Peterson in the park, it has been fantastic.
“Cheri Stadler Ryan, has been the driving force behind numerous historical interpretive and preservations projects such as co-authoring the 2010 Images of America: Seattle-Everett Interurban Railway book, as well as being a contributing researcher, author and editor of Lynnwood’s comic book, 50th Birthday book, and dozens of articles, videos, and exhibits about Lynnwood history,” an excerpt from the proclamation states that was read by Council President George Hurst and signed by both he and Mayor Christine Frizzell.
Ryan acknowledged her mentors, the late Marie Little and Betty Lou Gaeng, and committed to “keeping the history alive” in Lynnwood. Little in 2009 and Gaeng in 2018, like Ryan on Monday, were designated an official “City Historian” and were both presented a Key to the City.
On August 24, 2022, Snohomish County Council unanimously approved the appointment of Cheri Ryan to the Snohomish County Historical Commission. Ryan serves as the President of the Lynnwood-Alderwood Manor Heritage Association and is Chair of City of Lynnwood’s History and Heritage Board, and is a member of Sno-Isle Genealogy Society. She is an author and for 17 years curated many historical exhibits and projects. Ryan is also best known in Lynnwood for her annual Heritage Days at Heritage Park.
In April of 2022, Ryan was recognized for her efforts to restore the Heritage Park Water Tower, as part of the Phase II Improvement Project supported by the Elizabeth Ruth Wallace Living Trust, Lynnwood Parks and Recreation Foundation, Snohomish County Historic Preservation Commission, and the Washington State Historical Society.
It was Ryan’s idea to express the “Love Lynnwood” theme as a sculpture giving Lynnwood its iconic “Love Your New Neighbor” art piece by B.K. Choi, now adorning the grounds of the Lynnwood Convention Center. The donation for the sculpture and the Water Tower restoration were from the Elizabeth Ruth Wallace Living Trust of which Ryan is the trustee.
Ryan was a pivotal force in moving the Superintendent’s Cottage and Water Tower— known today as the Lynnwood-Alderwood Manor Heritage Association & Museum Cottage and Water Tower—to its current location at Heritage Park, preserving the “only surviving structures from the Demonstration Farm,” according to the Lynnwood-Alderwood Manor Heritage Association website.
