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FROG ROCK HAS ITS OWN TALE TO TELL
Dagmar Selfors
May 16, 2004
People new to Bainbridge Island are entranced by Frog Rock, at the juncture of Phelps and Spargur Loop roads and Madison Avenue North. They often stop to take photos.
Frog Rock was not always that way. It probably was deposited on the island eons ago when the glaciers were receding.
I often wish I could go back in time and see the island in its primordial state, even before the Native Americans lived here. What did it look like? Was it attached to the Kitsap Peninsula? It would be interesting to know; at least I think so.
I know that Bainbridge Island became a summer camping area for the Suquamish Tribe. I wonder if they ever found the boulder. What did they think of it? The rock was probably in a densely forested area and might not have been found at all. Perhaps it was used as a directional signpost.
When the Port Madison Mill was built and the original old-growth forest was cut down, the boulder most definitely would have been found. Maybe children went there to picnic, or teenagers used it as a place to "spoon."
A farmer by the name of Leonard established a farm on Spargur Loop Road. He was building an all-electric dairy barn, and the boulder was in the way. Mr. Leonard hired a powder monkey -- an explosives expert -- who drilled a hole deep into the boulder and set off a dynamite charge.
A short distance away, Joe Sievertsen was driving his combination school bus and delivery wagon. It was known affectionately as the "chicken coop" because it smelled of children, chickens and hay.
The blast blew out the bus' back windows. Once Sievertsen got over the shock, he was furious and went back to the scene of the blast. I'm sure he gave Leonard and the powder monkey a piece of his mind. Fortunately, the bus was empty at the time.
The blast split the boulder into two pieces. It became known as "Split Rock" after that, and the people who lived in the area were known as living on Split Rock Road.
In the 1950s, when island roads were being paved, the two split rocks again were in the way. Using a front loader, one of the workman picked up the smaller piece and placed it on top of the larger one. There it remained, waiting to be discovered again.
One summer day in the late 1960s or early 1970s, two high- school students, Robin Green and Candace Barnes, were looking for a project. They came upon Split Rock and immediately envisioned a frog. They bought paint and brushes and painted the first Frog Rock. It's been a fixture ever since.
Bainbridge High School seniors routinely paint white on Frog Rock during senior-class paint night. We know it will not take long for Frog Rock to be repainted back to its green state. The Port Madison community has taken over its maintenance. Families and adults all turn out for the project.
A few years ago, a ladybug was painted onto a smaller rock nearby. It peeks out at the road. One often sees children on top or by the side of the rock having their photos taken.
Frog Rock waited a very long time to be discovered and is loved as a special part of Bainbridge Island.
I credit Bainbridge Island oldtimers Jim Quitslund and Ed Selfors for their historical information.
Dagmar and Ed Selfors have lived on Bainbridge Island since 1957, and at Hidden Cove near Frog Rock since 1960.
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Talk about romantic! The now famous Frog Rock, at the intersection of Phelps & Hidden Cove roads, was created by two Bainbridge High School sweethearts on "Paint Night", back in about 1971.
Paint Night is an old tradition for graduating seniors, on Bainbrige Island. They go out and paint their first names and graduation year on the roads.
Even back in 1971, the "Paint Night" tradition was frowned upon, because motorists drove over the wet paint, and the paint slopped off their tires onto their cars.
So, creating Frog Rock was an extraordinarily creatative way (and a responsible way) to participate in Paint Night, without painting the roads. Painting the roads was not just frowned upon; it was, and is, illegal.
The best part of this story is that, a few years later, the two high school sweethearts who created Frog Rock got married and they've been together all these years.
Just about anybody you ask, on Bainbridge Island, can tell you where Frog Rock is, as well as other Bainbridge Island landmarks.
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