History of Browns Point Improvement Club
The Browns Point Improvement Club was organized in 1919. At that time, the community consisted mostly of summer homes and beach cabins, with relatively few permanent residents braving the long winters in the isolated community. Travel to and from Browns Point in that era was by the boats of the “mosquito fleet,” which arrived several times each day at the dock near the lighthouse.
The first official business meeting of the Browns Point Improvement Club was held in January of 1920. Minutes of this meeting indicate that the purpose of the BPIC was “to advance the interests of the community and provide for the social benefit of its residents.” An initiation fee of $1.00 was assessed to all new members. Dues were set at 25 cents per month, with a 50-cent penalty for anyone who missed a meeting.
Meetings were frequently held in the dock’s waiting house or in a member’s residence, depending on the season. Items on the club’s agenda included development of a water system, bringing electricity and phones to the area, purchase of a fire alarm, and making improvements to roads. Early BPIC social functions and dances were held in the second floor of Gus Schuitt’s store, Hyada Mercantile, which was located just up the hill from the dock. From the beginning, BPIC members recognized the need for their own community meeting hall on waterfront property. Club members worked tirelessly toward achieving that goal for several decades.
In 1928, the BPIC was incorporated as a non-profit organization. This was done to allow the BPIC to hold legal title to land for the planned meeting hall. In 1938, a 35-ft wide parcel of waterfront property became available next to Jerry Meeker’s dock. A community salmon bake was held to help raise the necessary funds. The waterfront site was eventually purchased by the BPIC for $300. Fundraising activities continued while plans for the waterfront property were discussed. Given the narrow width of the waterfront property, it was difficult to envision how a meeting hall suitable for BPIC’s planned activities could possibly fit on that lot.
Next door to the waterfront property was the U.S. Lighthouse Station. The south side of the government’s property was in a state of neglect, and most of it had never been used for lighthouse purposes. At the recommendation of Oscar Brown, the Browns Point lightkeeper, a decades-long attempt to obtain some of the lighthouse property for the BPIC’s use was initiated.
Initially, the Federal government informed the BPIC that the property was not surplus to the needs of the government, and that there was no possibility of transfer of any of the land. BPIC members refused to take no for an answer, and they contacted our congressional representatives to ask for their assistance. Again the government officials refused to cooperate. Repeated attempts were made to change the government’s opinion, but to no avail. After WWII began, efforts to obtain additional property were discontinued.
After the war, momentum was once again gained for the construction of the waterfront meeting hall. In 1946, the first “open to the public” Browns Point Salmon Bake fund-raiser was held with Jerry Meeker once again handling the cooking. Thanks to an ambitious publicity campaign, the event was a tremendous success. Sufficient funds to begin construction of a meeting hall were nearly in place.
In 1950, the club made one final push to obtain additional property from the government. This time, freshman Congressman Thor Tollefson was contacted and asked if he would help. Club members explained their many years of failures trying to obtain additional property for the club, and they described their ambitious plans for a new waterfront building for the benefit of the residents of Browns Point. Congressman Tollefson was eager to help, and he began researching the issue.
While meeting with Admiral Richmond in Washington, DC to discuss the matter, Rep. Tollefson finally received assurances that the Coast Guard would support a direct transfer of the land to the club. After exploring the procedures for making such a transfer, Tollefson was informed that under Federal law, it would literally take an Act of Congress to make the transfer happen. Tollefson agreed to sponsor a bill in the House of Representatives authorizing transfer of the land directly to the BPIC. Senator Warren Magnuson was also contacted, and he agreed to provide the necessary support in the Senate.
Lacking Magnuson’s objection, the bill passed the Senate on December 27th, 1950. The President of the United States signed it into law a short time later. The bill authorized the Secretary of the Treasury to make the transfer of 50 feet of the Coast Guard property for the use of the club. The deed was received in 1951. No Compensation Required!
With the additional property from the Coast Guard, the BPIC increased the intensity of their drive for a new building. Bonds were sold to club members to raise enough money to begin construction, and the famous Salmon Bakes continued. Volunteers donated time and building materials to reduce the cost of the project. In 1955, the new building was formally dedicated and presented to the community. Sadly, the Father of the Salmon Bake Jerry Meeker, died less than 2 months after dedication of the new building at the age of 93.
Since that time, the Salmon Bakes have continued and the Browns Point Improvement Club has continued to serve the community as an independent non-profit organization. The BPIC has provided free use of the facility to countless community groups. Funds raised by the BPIC are used to sponsor scouts, kids fishing derbies, youth sports groups, holiday celebrations, and other events for the benefit of the Browns Point community. The BPIC building is made available for public use as a rental hall for weddings and other celebrations. Just as our founding members did, today’s BPIC members still share a strong sense of community. Our members recognize the value of volunteering our time together, and we continue to work toward the goal of helping to make our community a better place to live.
We owe an enormous debt of gratitude to Dayotta La-Hal-Da, A name very few people know and a man whose story is often overlooked. Browns Point was his home for over 50 years.
Dayotta La-Hal-Da Was born on April 6th,1862 In Fernhill, Washington. He was a Puyallup Indian. His father worked for Ezra Meeker, a well known pioneer and head of a prominent family in Puyallup. As a younger, Doyotta Worked in the Meeker family Hops fields and played frequently with an Irish boy named Jerry. Doyotta would soon adopt a combination of their names as his own and began calling himself Jerry Meeker.
As an adult, Jerry’s interest turned From agriculture In the hot fields to building and real estate, at which he became quite an expert. In the early 1890s Jerry was elected advisor to the first elected Indian chief of the Puyallup tribe. In this position, Jerry made a trip to Washington, DC and succeeded in obtaining the right for the Puyallup Indians to sell their lands and to establish new boundaries. For this achievement Jerry was elected as the Chief of Police for the Puyallup Indian Reservation and the disciplinarian at the Cushman School. In 1907, Jerry worked with George Taylor, Fremont Campbell, and Frank Ross to plot what is now Brown’s point. Indian names were given to the streets at Jerry’s request. Most of the meetings have been lost over the years except for La-Hal-da Street of course.
Jerry was a partner in the Hyada Park real Estate company and Resided in Browns Point until the end of his life. He purchased the second oldest home in Browns Point (next to the BPIC) and raised his family there. (His granddaughter Ramona Hawthorne lived in the same house until her death in 2014.) He built a dock for use by the Mosquito fleet boaters at the time, bringing prospective customers and visitors from the city. Jerry loved to tell Indian legends and stories, and he also loved to have clambakes and salmon bakes on the nearby beach. These popular events rounded out the social activities for the citizens of Browns Point, and were the precursor to the famous Browns Point Salmon Bake.
The New Jerry Meeker Story Pole
For nearly 75 years, a carved welcome pole stood watch over Browns Point in Jerry Meeker Memorial Park, greeting generations of residents and visitors as they came home. Community members maintained it for decades through Eagle Scout projects, and in 1990 it was repaired after vandals attempted to cut it down. But the pole could not withstand everything. When it was struck by a vehicle, it was determined that it could no longer be saved.
Rather than let that piece of Browns Point history disappear, the community came together to build something new. BPIC board member Alice Jones got the project started and found the artists for the job, carvers Micah McCarty and Nicolas Earl Sr. Sadly, Nick passed away shortly after completing the carving, following a battle with cancer, and the finished pole stands as a lasting tribute to his work alongside Micah’s.
The new Jerry Meeker Story Pole features a fisherman holding a spear, a canoe carried on his back, and a salmon at his side, with a bald eagle boasting a nearly 7 foot wingspan perched at the very top. The pole weighs over 450 pounds and is set into six feet of concrete, built to stand watch over Browns Point for generations to come.
On Sunday, July 12, 2026, the community gathered to unveil the new pole, with 62 neighbors turning out to celebrate. Longtime residents and newer neighbors swapped stories about Jerry Meeker (Doyotta La Hal Da) throughout the afternoon, and the Browns Point community was honored to be joined by a representative from the Puyallup Tribal Council, along with their spouse and daughter.
Thank You to Our Community A project like this doesn’t happen without a great many hands, and BPIC is deeply grateful to everyone who gave their time, expertise, and resources over the years it took to bring this pole to life.
BPIC board member Alice Jones got this project off the ground and found our carvers, Micah McCarty and Nicolas Earl Sr. The early fundraising effort for the pole, which raised nearly $40,000 as a community, was led primarily by Mike Stenberg, Alice Jones, and Sylvia McClung, with generous support from Kevin Cronk, Carl and Jan Fisher, Bart Parker, the Points Northeast Historical Society, Linda and Jack Butcher, Browns Point United Methodist Church, and Jim Harnish.
As BPIC President, Kim Hoffman kept this project moving forward, keeping it on the Board’s agenda and enlisting Dave Malone’s help along the way. It was Kim who connected the project with Terry Wise, a former land specialist who volunteered his expertise free of charge and was instrumental in identifying the permitting path that ultimately got this pole built. BPIC is grateful to Andrew Larson, P.E., Development Services Engineer, along with Maha Ableson, Jeff Loescher, Matthew Rochon, R.A., P.E., State Bridge & Structures Architect, Scott Davis, HQ Transportation Operations Design Engineer, Sarah Ott, P.E., Olympic Region Traffic Engineer, Taylor McNeill, Olympic Region Landscape Architect, and Steve Roark, P.E., Olympic Region Administrator, for their patience and support throughout a lengthy permitting process.
Special thanks also go to Marty Campbell, Pierce County Assessor, who in a previous role helped secure a $13,000 grant from the City of Tacoma, and to Dave Malone, a longtime community member who spent countless hours coordinating with government officials, including Representative Jake Fey, who helped push the project forward, and Brian Yamble, who listened closely to the project’s roadblocks and worked to help resolve them.
BPIC board member Tom Messana used his industry connections to get the project’s structural engineering drawings stamped at a fraction of the usual cost. Mike Stenberg contributed countless hours, stored the finished pole on his own property. Bpic also extends special thanks to Vito Alia and R.L. Alia Construction, who provided insurance and bonding for the project, and who have generously supported this community on more than one occasion. Thanks also go to Holroyd Company for their generous concrete pricing, and to Specialty Metals and Jim Stice for discounted metal work.
Finally, BPIC extends heartfelt thanks to Sam Shakhramanov’s brother, Arsen, who spent multiple weekends designing the foundation and installing the pole on his own time, a true labor of love for this community.
This project took years and the dedication of an entire community to complete, and BPIC is thankful to everyone, named and unnamed, who made it possible.