Street of the Week: Olallie Lane

Location: Off Skinner Road on Battle Point

History: Olallie is a hard word to know how to pronounce. Start with the “o” then follow with “la-leh.” You’ve just said “berry” in many Pacific Northwest Native American dialects.

When Dallas Young’s mother christened her family’s street, she thought “olallie” specifically meant “blackberry,” a fitting title for the area’s bursting bushes. Young, who lives on the property his grandparents bought in 1906, later discovered there’s a specific berry bearing the tongue-twister of a name.

The olallieberry was developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture at Oregon State University as a cross between a loganberry and a youngberry. Both of those berries, in turn, are hybrids: blackberry meets raspberry and blackberry meets raspberry meets dewberry, respectively.

This occasional Islander series explores the history of island street names, as compiled by Elinor Ringland and fellow Bainbridge Island Historical Society volunteers. If you have an island road story to share, email Ringland at elinorjoe@msn.com.