Naming of Monkey Hill
July 3, 2008 · Updated 8:44 PM
In the Feb. 6 article by Cynthia Woolbright, on the class portraits done by the students in Jon Aesophs first semester drawing class, the lore behind the naming of Monkey Hill Road was mentioned.
It has long been a tale told around the island, however, I was raised on the island from the age of three. Jessie and George Kammenga were friends of our family and they lived at the top of Monkey Hill Road. They were in their elderly years when I was a child in Clover Valley. They as well as my grandfather Harry Ploegsma were early settlers on the island and they all told us the early settlers (mostly Dutch) would have trouble getting up on the hill in the winter with their model Ts and As and would have to back up the hill!
The old Dutchmen would always call this monkeying around, and called it Monkey Hill for that reason. I dont know who officially named it Monkey Hill Road, but this is what we were told from the time I was a very small child.
I also graduated in the class of 1958 and would like to thank Jon Aesoph for honoring our class. We are in the process of planning our 50th reunion.
Grace (Walker) LaFountain
Oak Harbor
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