Eastside Heritage Center’s oral history collection contains almost 200 interviews. In the following excerpt from his 1992 oral history (edited for clarity) Kenneth Mingo describes why his family decided to move to the Lake Hills area in the 1950s.

Interviewer: Why did you choose to move to Lake Hills? When did you come? And from where had you come?

Kenneth Mingo: We chose to move here because I was able to get a GI loan at 4.5 percent interest rates. We started looking for a house in the end of 1956. And we looked in the city.

My wife and I were both from Rainier Valley. We looked in Rainier Valley and in those days that was a diverse neighborhood, but not yet gone — I hesitate to use the word, but downhill, I guess. However, we didn’t find any houses, any used or secondhand houses, that we liked and if we had, the interest rates in the city were about 6 percent for a loan. And not everybody was loaning money.

I don’t know why that was at that time. I was a greenhorn and I didn’t look into all the various details, but out here we could come buy a new house, brand new, built to somewhat our specifications, not entirely. They were all certain styles of house. But they would make various changes in the plan. Small changes in the plan to suit the customer.

And so this area was advertised highly in the paper, and we came out and took a look. I’m sure you’re aware that up at the beginning of Lake Hills Boulevard, where the model houses…

Interviewer: Off 140th?

Kenneth Mingo: That is 140th, yeah. And Lake Hills Boulevard contractor Leonard had four houses on one side of the street and Bell & Valdez had four houses on the other side of the street, four varied plans.

Heritage Corner is a feature in the Bellevue Reporter. To learn more about Bellevue and Eastside history contact the Eastside Heritage Center at 425-450-1049 or visit EastsideHeritageCenter.org.