Remembering Tom Mechler: A Legacy in the Issaquah Alps
We are saddened by the recent passing of Tom Mechler, a founding figure in the effort to preserve the Issaquah Alps. The following remembrance was written by David Kappler.
Tom Mechler sharing his recollections of the club's early days at the “History of the IATC” program in 2019. The program, held in the Issaquah Depot, was in celebration of the club's 40th anniversary. Photo from IATC Archives.
By David Kappler, IATC Founding Board Member
Harvey Manning coined the phrase “Issaquah Alps,” and it quickly caught on with the regional and local press. Before long, he was getting calls from old friends—and from people like me—who understood we needed to take meaningful action to protect the land we were hiking.
Tom Mechler, who lived on Squak Mountain, was very involved with the Issaquah Sportsmen’s Club and Boy Scout leadership. A hike was organized on Southeast Cougar Mountain to talk about protecting the Alps, and it must have been mentioned in the Issaquah Press, because about 20 people showed up. Most of us knew only a few others, but we shared a common purpose.
Tom was there, and during that hike he offered the Sportsmen’s Clubhouse as a place to gather and begin forming an organization dedicated to protecting the Alps. A charter member of the Issaquah Alps Trails Club, Tom helped organize its first meeting and shape its early structure. He understood the legal steps involved in establishing a nonprofit and, as a founding board member, helped create a credible mission and legal framework that has served the organization well for decades.
Tom and David Kappler in the Issaquah Sportsmen’s Clubhouse reenacting the first IATC meeting, c. 2019. Photo from IATC Archives.
That first meeting was a success, and we have not stopped since. In those early days, the closest thing we had to an office was the Mechlers’ home. Yvonne, along with a neighbor, kept membership records and handled the Alpiner mailings. Their son, Matt, was working on his Eagle Scout project at the time, building a tracking box near their home on Squak Mountain that was regularly walked over by bears, deer, and likely other wildlife. Yvonne had a note card for each member or interested person.
Tom and David on grounds of the Issaquah Sportsmen’s Clubhouse, c. 2019. Photo from IATC Archives.
We got our mailing permit and published the Alpiner on a quarterly basis, which listed our hikes and other information about what we were up to or wanted to be up to if we got the help we needed. The Mechler family was amazing and critical in getting so much of the Issaquah Alps retained as parkland or in some form of protective status. Tom also served on the Tiger Mountain State Forest Advisory Committee in the 1980s, where his work helped set a new course for the forest’s management for decades to come. It also established a pattern for similar planning efforts in the Alps, broadening how we viewed the landscape beyond just a place to take a great hike.
Tom was always a gentleman and a wise voice that really helped to actually get great things done.
Tom Mechler sharing his recollections of the club's early days at the “History of the IATC” program in 2019. The program, held in the Issaquah Depot, was in celebration of the club's 40th anniversary. Photo from IATC Archives.
Learn more about the history of the Issaquah Alps Trails Club here.