Photo courtesy William Whitfield Snohomish County History, Volume II, 1926
The William Hulberts
William Marion Hulbert was born of Scotch lineage in Brown County, Kansas in 1858. The Hulbert name was said to be derived from an ancient Scottish weapon, the whirl bot, which whirled through the air when it was thrown at the enemy. William Marion was just two years old when his family, braving an attack by Native Americans along the way, migrated to the West Coast. They lived in Oregon and California before coming to the territory of Washington in 1875. Eventually, the Hulberts moved to Snohomish County, where the father was involved in a number of businesses, including logging.
William Marion followed his father in the business. In 1888 he married Meda Lyons, a Snohomish girl who could trace her lineage to pioneering families of Snohomish County. The Hulberts had five children: William Glen, Ruth, Aida, Fred, and Meda. In 1916, William Marion bought a controlling interest in the Fred K. Baker Lumber Company on the Everett bayfront. He became president of the firm that later would be called the William Hulbert Mill Company.
William Marion died in 1919. His wife became company president and their son William Glen Hulbert, who married Fred K. Baker’s daughter Katherine, was secretary-treasurer. Fred Hulbert was also in the family business as manager in the North Coast Casket Company. Meda was very active in the Everett Women’s Book Club, an organization that was founded in 1894. She served as Club president from 1921 to 1923. Meda died in 1948 and her son William Glen assumed presidency of the William Hulbert Mill Company. In addition to this mill leadership, William Glen also served on the Board of Directors of the First National Bank of Everett, as his father had previously. He was active in the community, leading Community Chest (predecessor to United Way) campaigns and belonging to Trinity Episcopal Church, Earl Faulkner Post of American Legion, Cascade Club, Everett Golf and Country Club, and Everett Yacht Club. Along with his only son William Glen Jr., he underwrote the cost of a new cafeteria for General Hospital in 1957.
William Glen retied in 1956 and William Glen Jr. became the William Hulbert Mill Company president. A devastating fire that year ended the Hulbert lumber and shingle operations. Shingle production ended about three years later. William Glen died on his 70th birthday on March 17, 1963. William Glen Jr. retained his position as the company president but also shifted into a new role as chief executive of the Snohomish County Public Utility District (PUD) No. 1. He served for nearly 20 years and guided the PUD into prominence as the 12th largest PUD in the nation. Highly esteemed in the field, he served as president of the American Public Power Association and as one of the people to whom U.S. Senator Henry M. Jackson of Everett turned for energy advice.
William Glen Jr. was very active in civic affairs, serving as president of such organizations as Trinity Episcopal Church Board of Trustees, and the Lake Stevens Little League (first president). He was chair of the United Way, instrumental in the founding of the Snohomish County Boys Club, an Everett General Hospital Director for 25 years, and a member of Everett Golf and Country Club, Cascade Club, Everett Yacht Club, and Chamber of Commerce. William Glen Hulbert Jr. died at the age of 69 on October 12, 1986. He was survived by his wife, Clare, three children, two step-children, and 13 grandchildren.
