Tales of the Magic Skagit: Recent Episodes
Michael Boss
Tales of the Magic Skagit is the podcast companion to the eponymous Meyer Sign series (meyersign.com/articles) dedicated to the people, places, and things that make Western Washington's Skagit Valley a magical place to live. Through our stories and interviews we look at life in this beautiful place going back to the First Peoples of the Skagit -- the people of the River and the people of the Salmon -- up to the present.
Frances Negranza joined the Skagit County Parks & Rec Department a year and a half ago as the assistant to long time fairgrounds manager Aric Gaither -- and I immediately took a shine to her, as the old folks say. For one thing, she has the same name as my cat. She also got her start in county fairs at the same annual venue I took my kids to: the Santa Clara County Fair in California. But most important, what has endeared Frances Negranza to me is her unwavering devotion to the institution of county fairs as a community gathering, a source of affordable family fun, and an event that fosters agriculture and animal husbandry among youth through programs like Future Farmers of America (which Frances belonged to as a high schooler) and 4H.
In this Tales of the Magic Skagit episode, we'll learn about Frances' background and her role with the Skagit County Fairgrounds -- which includes far more than an annual August event -- and we'll get a sneak peak into this year's Fair attractions. In keeping with the 2024 Skagit County Fair theme, "Have You Herd, Skagit's Goat Talent," you'll get some insight into the talents that Ms. Negranza brings to the Magic Skagit's beloved Fair.
Ed Marlow has lived in Sedro-Woolley since the mid-1940s, ever since his parents moved here from Forks, Washington. One of his earliest ambitions was to become a "hot rod mechanic," but he eventually ended up as a boiler tender on a Coast Guard ship. Along the way, he discovered photography and hair cutting -- and it was the latter pursuit that would define his professional life for the next 30 plus years.
For Ed, barbering meant more than cutting hair. It was more about getting to know people and their stories, and he amassed a large collection of photographs that his clients shared with him recording the life of his community from the early days of the logging industry.
In this podcast episode, our Skagit Valley Youth History Project intern, Morgan White, and I talk with Ed about his life as a "tonsorial artist." But remember, what happens in the barbershop stays in the barbershop.
If you’ve driven along Division Street in West Mount Vernon, you’ve probably noticed a building that looks like it might have once been a ‘50s-style diner, just a block east of the intersection at Wahl (McLean). These days, however, it’s home to a Mexican restaurant called Cocina Sabores — the “flavorful kitchen” en Engles.
Here in the Magic Skagit we have an embarrassment of culinary riches when it comes to Mexican food. In this podcast you’re going to find out why Cocina Sabores deserves to be counted as one of those riches, and we'll learn about the family behind them.
JoEllen Kesti is the executive director of the Sedro-Woolley Museum and president of the museum’s board. Her own history with Sedro-Woolley goes back several generations to her great-great-grandparents.
In this interview with JoEllen we’ll learn a little about her family history and a lot about how she became involved with her hometown’s museum, and what’s been going on there since her tenure as director/president began a couple of years ago. And believe me, there’s been a lot going on, as you’ll quickly discover in this podcast episode.
You’ll also appreciate JoEllen’s description of the Sedro-Woolley’s Museum mission of enriching a community’s present by connecting it with its past. “When children come into the museum, everyone feels special when they can tie themselves to something they encounter here.”
If you’re traveling east on Division St. from West Mount Vernon, the first message you encounter as you cross the Skagit River is plastered large and load on the side of a historic brick building: Make Art Not War.
Welcome to Sri Dee Arts, a cornerstone business on First Street, right across the street from another venerable Skagit Valley business, the Skagit Valley Food Co-op. Morgan White, our Skagit Valley Youth History Project intern and I are here at Tri Dee Arts to learn about the business and its owner, Summer Houlihan, who we’ve finally cornered for this interview. And this is going to be a special one, not only because Tri Dee Arts is a very special part of our community, but also because I’m letting Morgan conduct this Tales of the Magic Skagit podcast on her own. She’s earned it.
Whatever you thought you knew about one of downtown Mount Vernon's anchor retail establishments, you are most likely going to learn something new -- starting, perhaps, with the story of how Tri Dee Arts got its name.
I’ve recently been working on a tribute to the beloved Skagit Valley historian, Dick Fallis, whose stories of local history appeared in the Skagit Valley Herald, The Argus, and the Puget Sound Mail, which he once owned. This is a reading of his story entitled, “Founding Women, Pioneers, Remembered on Mother’s Day,” from the book Bridgeside: Selected Stories of Dick Fallis, Skagit County Historian.
While this story may seem a rather unlikely Mother’s Day tribute from more than 40 years ago, I think you’ll find it entertaining nonetheless.
The Magic Skagit has an embarrassment of culinary riches when it comes to the cuisine of Mexico, and a lot of different types of venues to choose from. There are fancy dine-in restaurants, food trucks, mercados and carnecerias, periodic street fair food stands, and even the occasional gas station take-out option.
While most of these sources of the south-of-the-border foods so beloved by Americans across the country share fairly similar menu options — staples such as tacos, burritos, enchiladas, fajitas, etc. — closer inspection often reveals significant differences between even these classics. Also revealing are the menu exceptions, which can tell you a lot about the influences of region and family of origin on their signature recipes.
With this in mind, there are two very important things you need to know about Tepic Mexican Restaurant in Burlington when it comes to appreciating its menu. The first is the origin of its name, and the second is the history of its owners, Francisco Cervantes and Juan Banuelos-Torres.
In this Tales of the Magic Skagit podcast episode, Juan and Francisco share the history of their restaurant, including their friendship since childhood, and the influence of their home state of Nayarit, Mexico on the food they serve. Spoiler alert: seafood is a big deal. Viva pescado, amigos!
Melissa Stowe’s fascination with a local utopian socialist community known as Equality Colony goes back to her childhood in Bow, Washington. Her family had one of the last of the late 19th century town’s buildings on their property.
Her curiosity about Equality Colony’s history grew as she did, and as a thirteen year old she placed third in a statewide history project based on her research into that history…which included interviews with one of the last colony members.
In this Tales of the Magic Skagit episode, “They Called the Town Equality,” Meyer Sign’s newest Skagit Valley Youth History Project intern, Sayer Theiss, and I talk with Melissa about her connection with the story of Equality Colony, and what she learned about the history of one of Western Washington’s experiments in socialism.
The Skagit Valley Chorale was founded in 1984 by Joan Penney with the support of the Skagit Valley College Foundation. Under the current direction of Dr. Yvette Burdick it numbers 80 some singers.
Skagit Valley Chorale's twice annual and highly popular performances are its "Heralding Christmas" concert, presented shortly after Thanksgiving and featuring classical and contemporary choral works along with a variety of seasonal favorites, and its "Celebrating in Song" concert, presented in the spring and featuring classical choral works as well as a variety of choral music by contemporary composers representing the diversity of world traditions and cultures.
With its Celebrating in Song 2024 concert just a few weeks away, I talk with Dr. Burdick about her musical journey -- and how it led from the woods east of Clallam Bay to McIntyre Hall and the artistic leadership of a beloved choral group. We also talk about the history of Skagit Valley Chorale and what it takes to be a part of it.
Our discussion takes a historical turn with the topic of the upcoming concert, which features the choral works of Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians and an homage to the dawn of the Age of Television. Suffice it to say that the music you'll be hearing on May 4-5 at McIntyre Hall will be a one of a kind experience.
I first met Sgt. Brent Thompson of the Mount Vernon Police Department when I enrolled in the MVPD's Citizens Academy -- a twelve-week program designed to teach folks in our community about how local enforcement works. It's an experience that I recommend for anyone who lives here -- and if you believe that a community gets the law enforcement it deserves, I'm pretty sure you're going to feel better about where you live as a result.
But there is another role that Brent Thompson plays. He happens to serve on the board of the Mount Vernon High School Scholarship Foundation -- and it is in that capacity that I interviewed him about the foundation and a particular scholarship drive that he is championing to honor members of his graduating class (Class of '93) who are no longer with us. One of these is very near and dear to Meyer Sign: Gregg Collins.
In this interview with Brent we'll talk about the MVHS Scholarship Foundation and what it was like to be in high school in Mount Vernon in the early '90s -- and pay our respects to those in Brent's class who have gone on before us.
In this concluding segment of our interview with tsee sqwal al qwal (Lora Pennington), we talk about the origins of Treaty Day as a celebratory event among the Coast Salish Tribes that signed the Treaty of Point Elliott on January 22, 1855 — and how it was that a startled Indian Agent granted government permission for tribal communities to once again gather and observe their sacred traditions, renew millennia old relationships, and reaffirm their treaty rights.
Lora also shares some very special memories of her grandmother’s “bestie,” better known to the rest of us as Vi Hilbert, tawhk-sh-blu, and how that relationship with the person who helped renew the Lushootseed language.
This podcast marks the final installment of our series, "Treaty Day."
Sugar Mama Cafe's website sums up the mission of this new gem in Anacortes, Washington's culinary crown: "Sugar Mama is a place to meet with friends and relax. To enjoy a scrumptious dessert paired with a delicious glass of PNW wine. To share a plate of savory treats with your favorite date. To relax in a comfy chair with a good book and a latte. To catch up with your bae on the weekend. To sip a local beer and bask in the summer sun on our deck. Let Sugar Mama pamper you and your favorite people! You deserve it!"
In this interview with Sugar Mama Cafe co-owner Natalie Clark, we'll learn how her initial love of grunge and coffee while a teen in Texas led her, her wife and their son to Anacortes and the creation of a love-drenched and scratch-made cafe given to "elevated cooking."
Get ready to smile and drool.
In part one of our Treaty Day series, “January 22, 1855,” we considered the history behind the Treaty of Point Elliott. In part two, "Why We Celebrate,” we looked at the treaty’s aftermath. We conclude this series with an interview with tsi sq́ʷalʔalq́ʷal (pronounced: tsee sqwal al qwal), also known as Lora Pennington — an elder with the Upper Skagit Tribe.
Due to the length of the interview — and trust me, it was just to good to leave anything on the cutting room floor — I’ve divided it into two segments. We start this first segment with a live recording of a native flute invocation from Mathew Cladoosby, and a short interview with the artist about his instrument and music.
With Mathews’ flute still lingering, we’ll turn to tsee sqwal al qwalfor her perspective on the significance of the Treaty of Point Elliott as a member of one of the signatory tribes, and how she has experienced its legacy in her own life.
As always, thanks for listening.
This episode of our Tales of the Magic Skagit podcast series marks an important first: it's the first time our Skagit Valley Youth History Project intern, Morgan (Go Bulldogs!) has been involved in an interview. I think you'll agree that she added some additional zest to the conversation.
Which is saying something when your interview subject is none other than Señor Ramon Rivera, the man whose business card reads: "Mariachi Educator, Latino Leadership, Ptrumpet Artist, 2023 Washington State Teacher of the Year."
As you might imagine, Morgan and I embarked on a lively discussion with Ramon about the origins and traditions of mariachi music, which took us into Mexican history and culture as well. Along the way we also discussed the challenges and rewards of teenagers and high school, and the importance of music in our lives at any age and circumstance.
Oh...and one other thing. At the end of the Interview Ramon did "the big reveal" on what his Latino Leadership group has in mind for this year's Cinco de Mayo. You just might suffer from a case of the "vapors" -- but just remember that you heard it first on Tales of the Magic Skagit, y'all!
This is the story of the creation of an artwork that is destined to be a part of our Magic Skagit for many years to come: Valley or Our Spirits. In this podcast episode I speak with artist and Upper Skagit Elder Jay Bowen about what is arguably the most recognized piece of public art in Mount Vernon, given its location in the city's riverside plaza. We discuss the artwork's inspiration, the collaboration between Jay, metal sculptor Milo White, and glass artist Lin McJunkin in bringing it to life, and the message Jay hopes people will take away from what is not simply a piece of art, but a dose of medicine.
The current exhibit at the Skagit County Historical Museum is a tribute to the barbershop as not only a place for tonsorial care, but also as a repository for local history. In this interview with SCHM executive director Jo Wolfe and archivist Mari Densmore, we'll learn about the inspiration for the exhibit, discover interesting facts about the history of barbering, and pay our respects to local barbers who helped preserve our Magic Skagit history while cutting our hair and shaving our whiskers. As it turns out, just a little off the top reveals much more than you might have imagined about our lives as Skagitonians.
Ellen Gamson is the Executive Director of Mount Vernon Downtown Association, a role that she evolved into just as the organization she was instrumental in creating evolved as well.
In this Tales of the Magic Skagit interview with Ellen, you'll learn a little about her own Magic Skagit story and the mission of the Mount Vernon Downtown Association (MVDA). She'll also recount some of the more significant happenings in Downtown Mount Vernon since the pandemic, and what to expect in the year ahead.
It’s Stave Five, the final chapter of Charles Dickens’ story of Christmas redemption. Scrooge awakens from a nightmare in a graveyard to find himself alive and in his own bed…with the bedcurtains still intact.
But Scrooge isn’t the same person he was when he went to bed, and the world no longer looks the same to him as well. For Ebenezer Scrooge, Christmas is not only the day of birth of a very special child, but a day of re-birth for him.
In the words of Tiny Tim, “God bless us every one!”
In Stave Four of Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” we are brought into the eerie presence of the Ghost of Christmas Future — the literary character that most scared the bejeezus out of me as a young reader. And more than six decades since discovering the joy of reading Charles Dickens’ holiday classic, I still get creeped out by the ghost that was depicted as the love child of the grim reaper and a spectral Dementor from Harry Potter fame.
The Ghost of Christmas Future gives Ebenezer Scrooge an insight into death, seen from the viewpoints of both despair and nobility. But it’s the glimpse of his own demise that completes the transformation of Scrooge’s soul that began with the visit of the very first ghost in the story.
This is the third chapter, or “stave” as Charles Dicken called it, of “A Christmas Carol” — in which we meet the affable but short-lived Ghost of Christmas Present.
In the company of this Ghost, Ebenezer Scrooge travels the breadth of the British Isles and beyond in the space of a single night…only to discover a horror that the Ghost has hidden in his robe.
Pay particular attention to Dickens’ use of language in describing the Christmas street scenes of Old London. Reading the great writer’s depictions of food are enough to make you “bilious” regardless of whether or not you’ve recently eaten.
In this second part of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," we meet the first of the spirits that Marley's ghost had foretold would visit Ebenezer Scrooge: the Ghost of Christmas Past. Dickens pulls off the literary feat of creating a description of this gentle but persistent spirit that reflects the attributes of memory itself. We also attend the ultimate office Christmas party, and we discover the secret heartache that has "haunted" Scrooge throughout his life.
Between now and Christmas Eve I’ll be reading a chapter a day of the Charles Dickens holiday classic, “A Christmas Carol” — a timeless tale of love and renewal in keeping with the story of Christmas itself.
Dickens divided his yuletide novella into five parts, which he referred to as “staves” rather than as chapters. I’d often wondered about the meaning of the word stave, which typically refers to “a vertical wooden post or plank in a building or other structure.”
But the word stave also refers to the five lines that music is written on. It’s no coincidence, therefore, that Dicken’s tale is similarly composed of five chapters. It’s his way of playing with the novella form to remind us that this is a Christmas story that, like the carols song at Christmas, contains a message of new life and possibilities.
Here, then, is “A Christmas Carol,” written by Charles Dickens…recited by Tales of the Magic Skagit host and producer, Michael Boss, 180 years after its publication in Victorian England.
Merry Christmas…and in the words of Tiny Tim, “God bless us everyone!”
This is the first in what I'm hoping will be many future podcast episodes of interviews with Skagit Valley Vietnam veterans. The majority of these vets are in their seventies and eighties, so within the next couple of decades their voices will become silent, and their first-hand accounts of a conflict that defined a generation will be lost unless recorded.
My first interview subject happens to also be a near neighbor to my Mount Vernon home. Bill Price's memories of the Vietnam War and his reflections on his experience of it don't nicely align with the narratives that some might prefer when we take up the topic of America at War -- but they are a reflection of how many folks felt who were in uniform at the time, along with many who weren't.
Bill's story illustrates that war holds a lot more menace than that of the people who are shooting at you.
Ramon Rivera has a smile that immediately raises your serotonin levels. He may modestly describe himself as "a public school teacher," but the students whose lives he has touched through Mount Vernon High School Mariachi, Folklorico, and Latinos in Action know just how much of an understatement this is. In this freewheeling and delightful conversation with Ramon we learn about his background, the programs he manages, his aspirations for our kids in the Magic Skagit...and what it was like to hear his trumpet hero perform at the age of 88.
“Are you blind to the sacred teachings?” he said to them. “Have you not read this: ‘the tree the lodge builders threw away has become the Chief Lodgepole. This is what the Great spirit has done, and it will fill us with wonder?’” (Matthew 21:33-46 (First Nations Version)
My wife and I had the great pleasure of attending Sunday service at Burlington Lutheran Church yesterday. Although we’ve worshipped with this congregation many times in the past, this particular Sunday, October 8, 2023, was especially significant. The service was devoted to the celebration of Indigenous People’s Day, and the Burlington Lutheran congregation was joined by Upper Skagit Tribal elders Jay Bowen, his sister Kay Knott, and their cousin Lora Pennington.
Lora gave a sermon inspired by the gospel reading from Matthew, during which she provided a cogent and compelling history of “treaty time” as experienced by not only her tribe, but all the Coast Salish people who were part of the January 22, 1855 Treaty of Point Elliot. In the space of barely ten minutes, Lora provided an insight into the nature of the treaty and the relationships between First People and New People that it set in motion nearly 170 years ago. It’s a history we should all bear in mind on Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
September 2, 2023, marked the First Annual Tom Robbins Day in La Conner, WA — an event long overdue considering the decades during which its dean of letters has chosen to reside in what he has described as “this little clam-cawed outpost where I continue to follow the Charmer’s pipes down oblique paths of…well, I’m unsure if there is a fitting name for it.” Robbins’ description of La Conner is a tribute indeed to the hamlet along the Swinomish Channel whose upscale boho vibe belies its more rough and tumble past as a port town and steamboat landing. My wife and I were in La Conner for Tom Robbins Day, and we thoughroughly enjoyed the Mardi Gras atmosphere befitting its honoree. We even got in a wave at the King for a Day and his faithful consort, Alexa, as they cruised the parade route in a firetruck. I hope Tom got to make the siren go, but at age 91 I suspect he passed on sliding down the firepole. While getting a coffee at Beaver Tales following the parade and festivities, I noticed a copy of the August 30 edition of the “La Conner Weekly News.” I have a deep and abiding love of small town newspapers, and in picking this one up my gaze was immediately drawn to the below-the-fold headline that read, “Tom Robbins’ lost 1974 high school commencement address.” I can tell you that what followed was the easiest I’ve ever parted with a buck twenty-five. The story that compelled me to buy the paper was by Fred Obee, a former Oak Harbor newspaper editor. Fred had obtained a copy of the commencement address that Tom Robbins had deliverd to an “alternative” high school in 1974. Reading his description of it, I couldn’t help be amazed at how radically relevant Robbins’ remarks still felt after just shy of half a century. This Robbinsesque moment might well have disappeared from Magic Skagit history but for Fred Obee, so I’d like to honor his sharing it by reading it to you. Here then is “Tom Robbins’ lost 1974 high school commencememt address,” by Fred Obee, as narrated by yours truly. Go ahead, just try not to smile.
Bruce McCormick (known to many as "Honker" for his love of waterfowl) passed away on Thursday, September 21, just a few months shy of his 92nd birthday. His was a larger-than-life personality that embodied so many of the things I appreciate about living in the Magic Skagit. During the time I got to know Bruce, I recorded some podcast interviews with him about pioneer history as he learned it growing up as the grandson of one of the valley's earliest White settlers. Back in May of this year, I recorded an interview with Bruce to talk about his perspective on the Skagit Valley's annual Tulip Festival, the story of Isaac Chilberg, early farming history, and finally an anecdote about his maternal uncles and their involvement in the First World War.
At the time of this recording, I certainly hadn't envisioned it as my last interview with Bruce -- but having finally gotten around to editing and mixing our conversation from last May, I offer it now as the last occasion upon which we can be treated to the voice of Bruce McCormick and the stories that voice shared. I wish there had been more. I'm thankful for the ones I heard.
One of the more curious chapters of Washington State history was the incident known as The Pig War. The name seems a bit of a whimsical misnomer, since only one shot was fired in anger, and its victim was a hog. Nevertheless, it resulted in a military confrontation between Great Britain and the United States that might have led to war between the two countries, nearly half a century following the last armed clash in 1812, had not calmer heads on both sides of the Atlantic prevailed.
A friend of mine, Paul Thompson (the former owner of Gentleman Gene’s Pub in Mount Vernon), recently shared a story his father had written about The Pig War for a 1961 edition of the Washington Wonderland magazine. Paul was born and raised on San Juan Island, the scene of the story I’m about to relate. It’s a story that has particular sentimental value to Paul, and I share it both to honor his dad’s memory as well as to entertain you with an interesting piece of Pacific Northwest history.
Here then is “The Pig War — A Hoggish Matter,” by Allen Thompson.
The current exhibit at the Skagit County Historical Museum is called "I Do" -- and as its name suggests, it chronicles the evolving fashions and customs of marriage as witnessed in the Skagit Valley from the late 1800s to the present. More than just a collection of wedding attire, the exhibit offers some fascinating insights into the way we view the institution of matrimony, as well as some touching stories about the folks who wore the attire.
In this Tales of the Magic Skagit episode, I talk with the museum's executive director, Jo Wolfe, and collections manager Laney Moran about the inspiration behind the exhibit and what went into putting it together. In the process, you'll learn a little about Laney's responsibilities since joining the museum a little over a year and a half ago, and Jo gives us a "sneak peak" at the exhibit that will replace "I Do" at its conclusion on September 27 ("Just a Little Off the Top").
On the last day of the 2023 Skagit County Fair, Don Wick and I interviewed Mark Howe with the Puget Sound Garden Railroad Society about the perennial joy of model trains. John Christianson shared the story of his beloved Magic Skagit nursery. Ann Ratcliff recalled her childhood on Samish Island and recounted what it took to become a Fair Princess in 1946 (or what it '45?). We learned about the mission of the Skagit Valley Beekeeping Association from member Rob Johnson...and last, but certainly not least, we closed out this year's series of Fair History Booth interviews with a fair volunteer whose epiphany many years ago on a ferris wheel ride at his first Skagit County Fair reminds us all of why our fair is such an integral part of who we are as Skagitonians.
Don and I can't wait for 2024!s
On Day 3 of the Skagit County Fair, Don Wick and I had some wonderful conversations. We learned how one fair goer's traumatic experience ensured that gambling would never become a vice. We talked to a photographer with the ambitious goal of photo documenting all the county fairs in Washington. We interviewed the former mayor of Concrete, WA about the revival of a local newspaper, and we ended the day with a return interview of a young 4-H archer who is now teaching others the sport she has come to love.
This is why we come to the Fair!
Day 2 at the Fair History Booth yielded some delightful interviews for Don Wick and me...starting with a return visit from Finn, one of the very first interviews we did at last year's fair. We also spoke with Connie, who shared her memories of competing in the annual Fair Parade (she and her sister took home the first place trophy three years in a row!). We spoke with Dwight and Tom about being bringing light to people's lives through a motorcycle ministry, and Jill told us about her organization's ministry to bring better health to our Magic Skagit community. We also interviewed the 2023 Tulip Ambassador, Carter, about what it took to earn his title, and we ended the day with a precocious 8 year old name Bryson.
We love the Fair!
On Day 1 of the 2023 Skagit County Fair, Don Wick and I talk to some young fair goers about the things that bring them joy. For "cousins" Charlotte and Cassidy, it's fair food (especially deep fried Oreos); for Liberty Brooks, it's raising and showing Holland Lop bunnies; for Maddy Durkin, it's being the Sedro-Woolley Rodeo Queen; and for mother and daughter Genevieve and Emma, it's the pleasures and challenges of small family farming and 4-H. You're going to feel better about the world after giving our first broadcast from the Meyer Sign Fair History Booth a listen.
For years, the driving force behind the organization of the annual Skagit County Fair has been Fair Manager Aric Gaither. In the time that I've worked with Aric, I've never stopped marveling at his energy and dedication to making the fair a cherished venue for bringing together friends and neighbors from all over the Magic Skagit. What few people appreciate about Aric's accomplishments is the fact that he has overseen the transition of the fair into a self-sustaining enterprise. This year, Aric was able to hire an assistant manager -- one whose credentials go all the way back to her high school years in Future Farmers of America (FFA) and showing animals at the Santa Clara County Fair in California, where she went on to become part of its staff doing educational outreach.
Meet Frances Negranza.
In this TMS podcast episode you'll learn about Frances' background and experience in fair management, and her philosophy about the role that county fairs play in educating children on the importance of agriculture while providing a memorable entertainment experience for families from all walks of life. I think you'll agree that short of cloning himself, it would be hard to imagine Aric Gaither recruiting a more energetic and able cohort than Ms. Negranza. The future of the Skagit County Fair looks bright indeed.
For one home on Mount Vernon's Cleveland Street, you might say that the Skagit County Fair has been a "moving" experience. In this Tales of the Magic Skagit podcast episode, we'll hear from two of the four owners of the home that sits next to the Sherman Anderson Ballpark, but was for decades situated within the fairgrounds. So what's it like having the Skagit County Fair as your neighbor? If you're Mark Pearson or Ayla Finnegan, it's no small part of your home's appeal -- and the ultimate ambient soundtrack of summer.
Hiatus = a pause or gap in a sequence, series, or process
Our nation is losing OVER 40 veterans a day to suicide and over 700 first responders to suicide. Suicide is now the second-leading cause of death for post-9/11 veterans with the highest percentage between 55 and 74 years old.
Hiatus Ranch of Idaho offers hiatus retreats for combat military veterans, local first responders, and active military who need to take a break from life to regroup, reenergize, and reset.
To break the path to suicide, a veteran, active duty service member or first responder needs to find something to connect with that drives a desire to work through each new day and builds hope.
This is the core of the Hiatus Ranch mission.
Today's podcast interview takes us more than 600 miles from the Magic Skagit, all the way to Shoshone, Idaho in the middle of the Snake River Plain. You'll meet Josh Burnside, who nearly became a suicide statistic himself after leaving the U.S. Army with the rank of sergeant and two tours in Iraq behind him. The healing power of animals and ranch life far from his Tennessee home is what Josh credits with saving his life -- and which led to the creation of Hiatus Ranch.
Although far removed from the Skagit Valley, Hiatus Ranch is a resource for vets and first responders throughout America, so please share this with anyone you know who might benefit from the subject of this TMS podcast episode. I think you're going to enjoy hearing Josh Burnside's story. It will leave you feeling a little better about the world for having listened.
Keep it magic, y'all!
July 15 & 16, 2023 will mark the 19th annual Skagit Valley studio tour known as Northwest Art Beat. Presented by Skagit Artists (www.skagitartists.com), a non-profit organization that promotes the visual arts by developing economic and networking opportunities in Skagit County, the event that takes place on the third weekend of July.
This year, NW Art Beat (www.nwartbeat.com) is featuring 15 Skagit Valley art studios, showcasing 19 artists from Skagit, Snohomish, and Whatcom counties. These studio venues will showcase a wide variety of artwork, including ceramic, glass, jewelry, stone, metalwork, woodwork, photography, acrylic, watercolor, oil, mixed media, and woodcut print making.
In this Tales of the Magic Skagit podcast episode, we’ll hear from two of the artists whose studios are on the tour map for 2023: Maria Wickwire and Sarah Dalton. We’ll talk about the NW Art Beat event, the mission of Skagit Artists, and the personal artistic journeys that Maria and Sarah followed to become part of the organization and the artistic mission it embraces.
A map of the 2023 studio tour locations is available online at www.nwartbeat.com/map.html
Maggie Telford is the Collections Intern at the Skagit County Historical Museum in La Conner, WA. Her work at the museum has been funded by a Diversity in Local History Grant, and the task she has taken on is nothing less than the inventorying and reinterpretation of the museum's entire collection of Native American artifacts in order to re-tell its story of the First Peoples of the Skagit Valley. In this Beaver Tales podcast episode I'm joined by Michelle Calvin and Tony Cladoosby to talk with Maggie about her work and its significance.
We'll all get an opportunity to appreciate Maggie's efforts when the Skagit County Historical Museum re-opens its Native American exhibit on June 8. This Beaver Tales' episode will give you a sense of just what those efforts have been over a period of many months. Tony Cladoosby also reflects on how an intergenerational lifestyle informed his knowledge of his tribal identity and the way of life of the first Skagitonians.
We know it today as the Penn Cove Water Festival, an annual event that brings canoe racers to Coupeville on beautiful Whidbey Island to celebrate an important cultural intersection between tribal and non-tribal communities: life on the waters of the Puget Sound and Salish Sea. The event began in 1930 as a bit of local hucksterism that was billed as the "Indian Water Carnival." In this Beaver Tales podcast episode, I talk with the executive director of the Island County Historical Museum in Coupeville about the event's evolution into so much more than a racing competition, and about how it was that two Coast Salish chiefs once donned war bonnets to call attention to the plight of their tribal communities. We also honor the memory of a native artist and teacher whose creations gave the Penn Cove Water Festival a graphic identity: Roger Purdue.
Last year I wrote a story that proved quite popular with our Tales of the Magic Skagit audience. It was the story of a failed socialist utopia that was created just southeast of Blanchard, WA (the birthplace of Edward R. Murrow) at the end of the 19th century. It was called Equality Colony, and it was the inspiration of an association called the Brotherhood for Cooperative Commonwealth (BCC), which established a headquarters in Edison, WA — hence the title of our story, “Welcome to the People’s Republic of Edison, Comrades!” We got a lot of great response from this story, including from folks who had some additional history to share — most notably from Skagit Valley’s own “Territorial Daughters,” whom I thank for the addendum to the original story which I include in this podcast version.
In July 1993, a collection of stories, essays, and poems was published about the life of Vi Hilbert. Edited by the Seattle-based author Janet Yoder, the collection was a celebration of Vi's 75th birthday. As Janet describes it in her foreword, "The stories weave together like cedar bark to create a picture of this marvelous woman" who was "a language teacher, a storyteller, a translator, a researcher and a traditional elder" from the Skagit and Upper Skagit tribes.
In this Beaver Tales episode, I read from a story that Vi Hilbert tells about herself -- a story that begins with her birth in 1918 into a world very different than the one she found herself in at the time of its telling, nearly three-quarters of a century later.
Not long after my immigration to the Magic Skagit, I paid my first visit to the Skagit County Historical Society Museum in La Conner. It was there that I first became aware that there were a number of communities, besides those of the First People of this place, that had once existed whose place names have been forgotten over time. While the museum maintains an exhibit that tells the stories of some of these, it took archivist Mari Anderson Densmore's book, Lost Cities of Skagit - Rediscovering Places of Our Past, to give me a fuller appreciation of how many there actually were. At that point, I knew I'd have to invite Mari to sit down to a telephone interview about her efforts to re-acquaint us with these places.
To quote from the Introduction to Mari's book, Many place names appear in Skagit County's history that have since disappeared. These places include areas that once had a special character which is no longer visible. Other were towns which were the dreams of promoters that never materialized, rural communities that never became towns, towns which flourished for a time and then vanished, and towns which were initially active and later lapsed into peaceful villages.
In this Tales of the Magic Skagit episode, we'll learn about Mari's book, and about the more personal history that inspired her to create it.
A March 3, 2023 article in the Skagit Valley Herald described Burlington's Skagit First Step Center as Skagit County's "only low barrier homeless shelter." Burlington mayor Steve Sexton cites its success since it opened in summer 2021 in providing "a small piece of a very complex puzzle. Sadly, the Herald's headline read, "Short On Funding."
In this interview with Mayor Sexton, we talk about the origin and design of Skagit First Step Center, and how the mayor of a small city in the Pacific Northwest has come to see the need that it fills in the broader community.
Additional links worth checking:
Skagit First Step Center: https://www.skagitfriendshiphouse.org/skagit-first-step-center.html
Pallet: https://palletshelter.com
Friendship House: https://www.skagitfriendshiphouse.org
Tony Cladoosby, a Swinomish elder, prayed for a cedar canoe in the midst of his own canoe journey. He related the story of his vision for a family canoe that he would name "My Cousin," and of a second canoe to be named "My Last Cousin," in an earlier podcast episode, "Canoe Journey -- Part 3."
With the generous assistance of the Island County Historical Society Museum, Tony has been studying a nearly 200-year old canoe that once belonged to Chief Snetlum, with the intention of replicating its design using a cedar plank construction. How this cedar came into Tony's hands is itself a story about the answering of prayer, as Tony alludes to in this video podcast.
A few months back, Tales of the Magic Skagit introduced you to Bruce (Honker) McCormick and his "Monster Book of Pioneers": a family heirloom entitled, "An Illustrated History of Skagit and Snohomish Counties." During our initial interview about the book, which was published in 1906 and subsequently restored, we read the biography of Bruce's grandfather, David McCormick, one of the earliest immigrants of European origin to the Skagit Valley. In what we are now planning as a monthly series, I rejoin Bruce to read and discuss the life of another well known Skagit Valley settler, John J. Peth, whose descendants continue to farm here. Bruce starts off by recalling in incident he witnessed as a child that might easily have ended the old pioneers life on the spot.
In Part 1 of "A Brief History of Whidbey Island," Rick Castellano, the executive director of the Island County Historical Society Museum in Coupeville, told us about his own history, and the journey that led him to his current vocation. In this concluding part of our series, we’ll take a deeper dive into the history of Coupeville, starting with Rick’s reference to a 2009 study by the National Park Service with the cumbersome title, "An Ethnohistory of Traditionally Associated Contemporary Populations," and how the museum in Coupeville tells that history through its numerous exhibits -- including some restored family canoes that Rick cites as among the gems of the museum’s collection.
One of my goals for our Tales of the Magic Skagit podcast series is to do more interviews with people who make a career out of knowing the history of this marvelous place. I’m thinking in particular about museum directors and curators. One of the folks on my list has been Rick Castellano, the executive director of the Island County Historical Society Museum in Coupeville, Washington — situated on beautiful Penn Cove.
I got to work on my goal on the last day of January 2023, when I sat down to an hour-long interview with Rick at the museum he has served for 17 years. In the first of a two-part series, I talk with Rick about his life as a native Washingtonian, the path that led him to Coupeville and the museum, and a brief history of Island County as he has come to know it through his work as the museum’s executive director.
It’s 1913 -- year three of the Mount Baker Marathon. There’s a new cast of characters involved in organizing the race, and the financial stakes are more fraught than ever, as are the weather conditions on the mountain summit as race time arrives.
Once again, greed, egotism, and promotional aspirations collide with considerations of runners’ safety, with near lethal results. Todd Warger and Brian Young give us a behind the scenes look at historical details and footnotes that they weren't able to fit into their documentary film, but that add to the mystique of the mountain adventure race that has nearly been forgotten in the annals of Pacific Northwest history.
This is the conclusion of The Moutain Runners.
Downtown Mount Vernon's newest restaurant venue, Cà Phê Sông, had its ribbon cutting on January 21. Owners Jenny and Ed take a break from their kitchen prep to share their story of ethnic cuisine, entrepreneurial pluck, and immigrant ambition -- and in the process we also learn about the components of a classic Bahn Mi sandwich and the mysteries of boba tea. This episode could make you hungry, but the cure is as close as Pine Square.
In Part 1 of The Mountain Runners, the historian/film maker team of Todd Warger and Brian Young revealed the origins of America's first mountain adventure race in 1911 -- a harrowing route from Bellingham, Washington to the summit of Mount Baker and back via automobile, train, foot -- and sometimes by horse. We listened to a detailed account of the inaugural event, which included a train derailment and exaggerated claims of catastrophe -- the 19th Century version of "fake news." Joe Galbraith won that race, with Harvey Haggert not far behind in second place. It was a spectacle that put Bellingham on the map, thanks to the national exposure the event received.
In 1912, the Mount Baker Club and the Bellingham Chamber of Commerce decided to up the ante for the now widely publicized Mount Baker Marathon, and the race became the centerpiece of a three-day festival that included a circus, a visit from a naval fleet, and the attendance of the governor and first lady of Washington among the thousands of spectators who flocked to the event. Thanks to the capriciousness of Mother Nature, however, the contest soon pitted not only a more elite field of runners against one another for a larger cash prize, but also the communities Glacier, Deming, and Concrete -- each of which vied for bragging rights as a gateway to the Cascades. More ominously, however, the 1912 race also highlighted a conflict between the interests of safety and commerce that would sow the seeds of the event's eventual demise.
Fourteen runners will start. Few will finish. This is the incredible true story of America's first mountain adventure race -- one that Hollywood would have been hard pressed to script. Fortunately, this didn't prevent a local historian and a Mount Vernon film maker from producing a documentary about an unbelievable race from Bellingham, WA to the top of Mount Baker and back that took place in 1911 and continued for two tumultuous years after an inaugural event that put America's "fourth corner" on the map. Racing Model T Fords, speeding locomotives, intrepid runners, and a cast of heroes and villains are just the start of this tale, as told by Todd Warger and Brian Young in Part 1 of "The Mountain Runners."
Truth is indeed stranger than fiction!
In this final installment of our three-part podcast episdoe, “Where the Language Lives,” we start off with a story from Janet Yoder’s book that exemplfies Vi Hilbert's vision for the Lushootseed language, and her ability to speak that vision into existence. It’s the story of the Healing Hearts Symphony. We’ll also hear about Robby Rudine’s passion for Lushoostseed, and we’ll listen to him recite one of TAWK-sh-blu’s favorite stories, “Lady Louse Cleans House” — in Lushootseed, with translation by Janet. We’ll close with a poem dedicated to Vi Hilbert by Father Pat Tuohy. We hope this conclusion to our podcast episode will inspire you to learn more about the Lushootseed language and the indigenous cultures of the Magic Skagit and Salish Sea that have spoken it for milennia, even as the language ventures forth in new canoes that TAWK-sh-blu helped launch.
In part one of this episode, we learned the story of Janet Yoder and her husband's 30-year relationship with Vi Hilbert (TAHK-SH-BLU), and about the book that celebrates their friendship: Where the Language Lives: Vi Hilbert and the Gift of Lushootseed. We also learned about Vi's life and work from her daughter, Lois Dodson.
In part two of the podcast, we'll learn more about Lois' life and her evolution as a story teller with a sometimes conflicted relationship with the language her mother devoted so much of her life to preserve and further. We start the conversation with author Janet Yoder's reflections on why Lushootseed escaped the fate of other indigenous languages through good fortune as well as the determination of a "rich old Indian" who heeded the moral of a story Robby Rudine relates regarding "skunk's important information."
Enjoy!
One of the great pleasures I've experienced in living in the Magic Skagit for the past decade has been learning about the First People of this place I now call home. In doing so, I quickly became aware of the name Vi Hilbert, thanks to my wife's purchase of a Lushootseed dictionary that Vi had played a role in creating. With the recent publication of the book, "Where the Language Lives: Vi Hilbert and the Gift of Lushootseed," I've developed a much greater appreciation for what Vi Hilbert accomplished in preserving the language of her ancestors -- a language that faced the very real threat of extinction.
In Part 1 of this Beaver Tales episode, we'll speak with Seattle-based author Janet Yoder about the thirty year relationship that she and her husband, Robby Rudine, enjoyed with Vi, and that ultimately led to the publication of her delightful collection of essays about her friend's life and work. In this podcast we are also joined by Lois Dodson, Vi's daughter (84 years young), who shares her memories of her remarkable mother.
This is the concluding segment in our two-part series on the cultural significance of canoes among the Coast Salish people -- past, present, and future. In episode one, Eric Day, Michelle Calvin, and Tony Cladoosby discussed the origins of the Canoe Journey, and Eric and Michelle spoke at length about how it changed their lives. In this episode, Tony shares his personal history as well, and talks about his vision for two future canoes: My Cousin and My Last Cousin. The segment concludes with a reading from Janet Yoder's book, "Where the Language Lives: Vi Hilbert and the Give of Lushootseed," in which Vi recalls how her father approached the sacred task of canoe carving.
Welcome to the inaugural episode of Beaver Tales, a podcast series by and about the first peoples of the Skagit Valley. The series is co-hosted by Michael Boss, the producer of Meyer Sign's "Tales of the Magic Skagit," along with Michelle Calvin and Tony Cladoosby, the co-owners of Beaver Tales Coffee in historic La Conner, WA.
Our first episode considers the significance of the canoe among the first inhabitants of the Skagit Valley and the coastal communities of the Salish Sea. In part one, Tony, Michelle, and I are joined by Eric (Stooltsa) Day, a member of the Swinomish tribal community senate, to discuss the history of "canoe journey" and its meaning in the lives of those who embark on it. We'll hear in particular from Michelle and Eric. In the second episode, Tony will share his canoe journey experience and his thoughts on its future as a defining element of tribal culture.
At the 2022 Skagit County Fair, Don Wick and I got to interview a lot of folks with deep and resonant memories not only of fair's past, but of our community's past. One of those folks was a lifelong horse person and fairgoer whose name should be familiar with anyone acquainted with the Magic Skagit's pioneer past: Liza Peth Bott, whose mother came from the venerable Peth farming family. Liza tells us stories of horses, growing up on the farm, forbidden fair foods, and her memories of her very first Skagit County Fair in 1963.
I have often said that the Idaho Botanical Garden is a jewel in the crown of Boise, Idaho. Its east foothills' setting adjacent to the old Idaho State Penitentiary is reason enough to visit, but its displays of Idaho's botanical riches will keep you coming back through the cycle of seasons -- its Winter Garden Aglow is absolutely breathtaking. As its website so succinctly describes it, the Idaho Botanical Garden is "a lush, 15-acre tapestry of dappled shade and vibrant splashes of color." It's a place that, once you arrive, makes it very difficult to leave. The term "sanctuary" comes to mind.
For lovers of the history of the Corps of Discovery, one particular section of the Idaho Botanical Garden offers a unique insight into the scientific aspect of its mission: the Lewis & Clark Native Plant Garden. The objective of this garden is to display a selection of plants that were collected during the expedition, with a specific focus on the 145 species collected between Great Falls, Montana and The Dalles, Oregon. A series of interpretive signs inform visitors about the significance of the expedition and how Native Americans contributed to its success. Ethnobotanical uses of the plants are also highlighted, as are the contributions of two members of the Corps of Discovery in particular: Captain Meriwether Lewis and Sacajawea.
In this "Core of Discovery" podcast, I interview botanist Ann DeBolt, who was instrumental in the Lewis & Clark Native Plant Garden's creation, which was inspired by Idaho's celebration of the Lewis & Clark bicentennial. We'll learn about Ann's background and how she came to be involved in the Idaho Botanical Garden project, how the Lewis & Clark Native Plant Garden was designed, and what it has to teach us about the Corps of Discovery's contributions to botanical science.
It takes a village to put on a fair -- and that includes not only exhibitors, performers, and volunteers, but vendors as well. While many in that latter category provide us eager fairgoers with our favorite "forbidden fruits" (don't get Don Wick started on deep fried Twinkies), there are also a variety vendors who sell us merchandise and mementos to be enjoyed long after the carnival leaves town. This Share Your Fair interview is with a young woman whose family has recently taken up the nomadic life of the fair vendor. Meet Jade, who shares her impressions as a first time visitor to the Magic Skagit and its annual fair.
Don Wick and I had the pleasure of interviewing Darci and Tom Toth while at the Meyer Sign Fair Memory Booth. We were interested in their experiences as long time members of the FFA. Then we discovered that Darci is the great, great, great granddaughter of the first full-time white settler on Fidalgo Island, and the conversation took a short detour into Magic Skagit pioneer history. It was well worth the trip.
Bruce McCormick, who turned 91 years young last December, is a living link to the Skagit Valley's pioneer past. And while he may not have written the book on local pioneer history, he just so happens to own a copy that he's willing to share with me and our Tales of the Magic Skagit audience. The book, published nearly 120 years ago, is entitled, "History of Skagit and Snohomish Counties Washington". I like to think of it, however, as the "Monster Book of Pioneers," for reasons you will soon discover in this interview with Bruce about one of the people whose biographies it contains: David L. McCormick, Bruce's grandfather.
The very last interview that I did at Meyer Sign's fair history booth, "All in Love is Fair," was one that tugged at my heartstrings more than any other that Don Wick and I recorded over the four days of the 2022 Skagit County Fair. Kim Larson and her son Roman have been volunteer stalwarts at the Fair for years. Roman was adopted by Kim when he was four years old...and living in Ukraine. He is unable to hear, so during my interview about what the fair means to him, his mom would sign my questions. It turns out that what Roman loves most about the fair is winning ribbons, which he frequently does. But that's not the only reason this young man is a winner, as Kim Larson explains in the interview that follows her son's.
And this, my friends, is what we love about the Skagit County Fair. See you next year!
Beaver Tales Coffee & Tea, at 602 Morris St. in La Conner, Washington, celebrates its first anniversary in business this November 1. For owners and partners Michelle Calvin and Tony Cladoosby, its success as a local coffee hangout is due to more than the quality of the fair trade beans they batch roast. The venue itself, with its calming indoor and outdoor spaces, offers a visual bridge between the cultures of the First Peoples and the New Peoples that, along with some outstanding coffee and tea, sparks conversations about their histories and interactions -- and that's just what Tony and Michelle intend. You'd don't have to be interested in Tlingit or Swinomish culture to appreciate the ambiance and beverages of Beaver Tales Coffee, but as the name of the shop implies, there are stories to be shared if you'd like something sweet or savory to go with that cup of Skippers Roast Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Fair Trade Organic Dark Roast.
Go to www.beavertalescoffee.com to learn more.
Heidi Fair won Don Wick's and my award for "Best Last Name for a Fair Attendee." It was a hands down decision -- and that was before we found out that this was the first time Heidi and her kids had come to the Skagit County Fair. When asked what they liked most about the experience, their answer delighted me. Find out just what it was in this memory from the 2022 Skagit County Fair.
On Friday, September 23, artist Jay Bowen will present "A Bridge of Cultures" at the Shelter Bay Community Center, just across the Rainbow Bridge from La Conner, Washington. The event will feature Jay's art and insights as a member of the Upper Skagit Tribe, and will begin at 5pm with a seminar that he will co-host with author and anthropologist James Barrett. There will be music and a hosted wine bar, courtesy of Skagit Valley Winery, following the 90-minute presentation, which will include Jay's introduction of aspiring artist and La Conner High School student, Delarosa Damien.
Jay's art will remain on display through the weekend, but attendance at the Friday event is limited, so please register via this link.
Christy Lyon was born and raised in Concrete, and her experience in 4-H stretches back nearly 40 years. She talks with Don Wick and me about what it takes to show a dog at the Fair, and why her time in the 4-H program has been so meaningful, both as a kid and now as an adult leader.
One of the great things about the Skagit County Fair is that we get to indulge our inner kid. And if you're a kid named Finn, there's plenty to love about the Fair -- even if the vulture wasn't here this year.
What kind of a kid would play dolls with his little sister under the Mount Vernon tulip poplar, scale the backyard fence of the future lead singer for the Manhattan Transfer to get into the Fair, and scale the "Stokely Tower" to launch balsa gliders without his parents ever discovering his shenanigans? Allow us to introduce you to Fred Wright -- Mount Vernon's answer to Dennis the Menace.
Along with its wonderful tribute to the life and art of Lavone Newell-Reim (come to think if it, life and art were one in the same for for her), the Skagit County Historical Museum is also displaying a collection of vintage typewriters in an exhibit that is fittingly entitled, "Hunt and Peck." As a lover of vintage typewriters (he said, proudly), I was curious about the individual who had contributed the fabulous word machines on display...which is how I got to meet Mr. Brian Young -- a native of Seattle who spent years as an electrician, only to embrace his lifelong love of words and images. His journey has taken him from Eagle Electric (a family business) to the creation of Jet City Films, where he pursues the electrifying craft of writing and directing cinema productions.
In this Tales of the Magic Skagit interview, we talk about Brian's journey, the joys of collecting vintage typewriters, and what puts the "magic" in the Magic Skagit for the man who (spoiler alert) designed the Skagit County logo.
Dorothy Elsner and Margaret Olson describe themselves as two of the heads of a three-headed monster (Fair Manager Aric Gaither having the distinction of being the third head) that propels the ag programs at the heart of the Skagit County Fair's identity. It might be more accurate, however, to think of them as parts of a three-headed energizer bunny. Learn why in this Share Your Fair interview with Don Wick.
You'll find lots of things besides treats and trinkets at the Skagit County Fair vendor booths. You'll also find folks like Carmen Hargis-Villanueva, who along with her fellow volunteer attorneys with Northwest Justice Project provide critical legal services to some of the most vulnerable members of our community. Don Wick and I talk with Carmen about what she does and why it matters...and how it happened that her previous address was in Guam.
During her half century relationship with the Skagit County Fair, Bonita Elfstrom has been at the forefront of the 4-H dog programs. In this interview, she recalls the history of those programs and what it takes to support them. She also remembers the year that Lassie came to the Fair!
My goal at every Fair is to add at least one new thing to my list of "firsts." Last year it was mangonada (don't even get me started on how amazing that beverage is). This year I succeeded in achieving two "firsts." The first "first" was eating elote, a Mexican style of corn on the cob that may very well become a new FFS (Fair Food Staple).
The second of my two "firsts" was meeting a genuine book wizard, Angelica Callis. It was an encounter filled with eastern pavilions, magical tales, and a divinely inspired mission.
Swinomish tribal leader Brian Cladoosby was at the Skagit County Fair with his wife and grandson when he stopped by to visit with Don Wick and me. Long time residents of the Magic Skagit will recognize Brian not only for his contributions to the Swinomish community, but for his overall leadership among tribal groups throughout the United States. Rather than reaching for the top, however, Brian has striven mightily for the bottom. "That's the position on the totem pole that supports everyone else, with the elders and children at the top."
In this interview, Brian acknowledges the Fair's contribution to our identity as Skagitonians, and the contributions of the Skagit River to so much of what makes the Magic Skagit magic.
Brad Raspet got into bee keeping after he retired from Renton Fire & Emergency Services, and his life has been sweeter for it. For years now, Brad has been coming to the Fair to share his love of bees, and to increase our appreciation for how critical they are to our well being.
Over the years that I've been attending local fairs, a performer that I've admired from the get go has been Chris Eric Parker -- better known to fans of rock 'n roll as "Sunday Speedtrap." Not only is he a super rhythm guitar player, but his vocals on what could be called The Great American Songbook of Rock (his repertoire numbers in the hundreds of top 40 staples) always convey the sense of urgency and freshness that make a four piece band superfluous. With Sunday Speedtrap, all you need is four chords and the truth. Chris Parker knows a lot more than just four chords -- and he always plays like it's Vegas.
Back when Dee Shimkus was a 4-H leader of the Skyline Skippers of Anacortes, her club baked scones in the Fairground's kitchen that induced the First Lady of Country Music to bestow a kiss upon Dee's oldest boy. You're going to love this story. I sure did.