Originally published Saturday, January 23, 1999

By TERESA TALERICO
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

The area that is now Fife was settled long before it became an incorporated city in 1957. Tensions over its future have always existed.

The Puyallup Indian Tribe lived on the land and fished the Puyallup River for centuries. In 1854, as part of the Medicine Creek Indian Treaty, early settlers gained control of the land. To this day, Fife is still within the Puyallup reservation's boundaries. In 1990, the city was part of a historic $162 million land settlement between the tribe and government agencies.

Whatever tensions tribe members have had with the non-Indian community, Puyallups who live in Fife agree that the town has changed drastically.

"The farm community is slowly disappearing," says Silas Cross, a member of the tribe and owner of one of several tribal-owned smoke shops in Fife. "I see it turning into a kind of Tukwila. It's sad."

In 1883, the town was named in honor of William H. Fife, a prominent Tacoma businessman who helped create Tacoma's first water system. Other accounts say the town was named for Fife's son, a colonel in the Washington National Guard.

At the turn of the century, immigrants began arriving in the small town. An eclectic mix of Italian, Swiss, Japanese, Swedish, German and Norwegian farmers settled in Fife, where they and Native American families grew vegetables and ran dairy and truck farms.

Louie Cerqui was born in Fife. His father, Angelo, came to America from Genova, Italy, in the 1920s. Along with several other Italian immigrants, Angelo worked for Colonial Gardens, a farming co-op that encompassed more than 300 acres and sold produce as far as Seattle and Olympia.

Farmers quickly learned that Fife's rich soil was perfect for growing any kind of vegetable. A recent study by Washington State University found that the Puyallup River Valley's soil indeed is among the best in the world.

The community blossomed. The landmark restaurant The Poodle Dog opened in 1933. And before the Century Ballroom burned down, it was a big weekend attraction.

But Fife maintained a touch of serenity.

Fred Bisig, 78, remembers that the town's roads were safe enough that he could pedal his tricycle to a friend's house. His father, a Swiss immigrant, owned a dairy farm.

Bisig graduated from Fife High School, served in the Army Air Corps in World War II and returned to Fife, where he has remained ever since. Bisig has watched the community grow in ways he never expected.

"It's changed so completely, it's unbelievable," Bisig says.