The
History Of Lynnwood
#3:
Junk Yard “guard” Dog
The following is excerpts from and article in the Seattle PI
from 1998
Full article can be viewed here http://www.seattlepi.com/neighbors/lynnwood/hahn.html
There's a place along Highway 99
in Lynnwood
where thousands of old wrecks go,
sort of like the Sargasso
Sea of cars.
It ain't pretty, this 8-acre plot of a lot of wrecks
surrounded by an 8-foot fence. But then, Ferrill's auto parts yard was here before this
was Lynnwood.
And with third-generation Brian
Ferrill running the operation, it isn't
going to go away any time soon.
"Sure, we get a lot of 'Not in my
backyard' criticism," said the rather academic-appearing,
31-year-old redhead. "But you've got to remember, my grandfather
started this before there were any backyards around
here!"
In the mid-1950s, grandfather Cecil Ferrill was running a small service station
in Fremont
and parting out several cars at a
time. "My grandmother told him that if he was going to keep doing
that, he was going to need his own wrecking yard," Brian
said.
Grandmas can be prophetic that
way. Cecil Ferrill went up north and
bought eight acres in the middle of nowhere, just handy to the west
side of Highway 99 in the 18300 South block. It was the first of a
long string of automotive businesses on this busy stretch of
highway.
The Hammer is a huge welded
steel-beam framework device that Grandpa Cecil built. It looks like
an ancient Roman siege machine. "The arm is lifted up, a forklift
puts the car underneath, and then the arm is dropped," Brian
explained. "It makes a pretty heavy 'Boom' bass sound."
Those smooshed vehicle bodies are then trucked to a local
steel mill for melting into steel that -- who knows -- could
eventually become someone's new Lincoln Town Car. Or a No. 2 can
of Wenatchee
apple sauce.
More than half these vehicles are
initially towed here after being "totaled," not only by their
drivers but also by their insurance companies. It takes the more
than a dozen workers here several hours to test, assess and begin
dismantling a car. Motors and transmissions are pulled, along with
sound systems, doors, bumpers, fenders, taillights . . . you name
it.
Refrigerant gases, coolants and
the various auto fluids are recovered to minimize environmental
hazards. Some cars are towed to local fire departments for rescue
crews to practice on. Some cars show the marks of rescue-crew saws
and power jaws, evidence that people had to be cut out.
Some wrecked-car owners
eventually trace their cars here to retrieve things they suspect
they left in their cars. And you can bet some of them see what's
left of the car and walk away from Ferrill's feeling lucky they can walk
away.
Info about the cache area
A road runs behind the 8 acres and is
home to many multi family muggles.
There really is a dog, and yes, he will bark… pay no
attention.
PLEASE DO
NOT
PARK
IN APARTMENT PARKING.
Be aware of the
muggles
C I T O
Please
pick up any trash you may see
You are looking for a micro . Bring a
utensil to sign da
log.…
Congrats to TwTrkDug for the FTF and his FTF # 150!!! WOW!