THEN AND NOW: The Dentons at Today's Brink Park, 1952

This 1952 Denton family reunion photo, taken at the site of todays Brink Park n Lake Washington Boulevard, is intriguing beause it shows a piece of the old Kirkland waterfront that I can only vaguely recall.

It conjures up memories of swimming at Houghton Beach as kid in the late 1950s, and later at this very spot as a teenager in the late '60s and early 70s. By the '70s the spot was much more inviting than in the days of this old photo, and it's a beautiful little niche on Lake Washington today, extremely popular during warm days of summer.

It's an intriguing picture in its own right, not only showing a prominent Kirkland family back in the day, but also a glimpse in the background of the old Ballinger Boat Works, which by then was Kirkland Marine Construction. The roof peak behind the cement structure was part of the boat works building, and the two small ships moored to its docks.

 The boat works began in the 1920s, and during World War II built dozes of 38-foot wooden harbor patrol craft for the U.S. Coast Guard.

The folk here were attending a Denton reunion at the family home just up 7th Avenue from the park. The whitei-haired gentleman in the middle, next to the woman with her hands on her hips, was the person responsible for much of the brood, Harry Denton.

He ran a fuel supply business in the Kirkland-Hougton area and was featured in a 1911 photo driving horse-drawn fuel wagon earlier on these pages. Here he is 41 years later, and looking pretty spry!

The origin of the concrete building is uncertain, but after the war it was purchased by a dentist, Dr. Buhren, who used at as his home and office, and to store his extensive collection of vintage automobiles.