Merri Ann Simonson is back with another in her SJI Lifestyle video series. This time it’s tips on crabbing:

• Catching
• Cleaning
• and Eating…

Yum!

New beach access stairway at Cattle Point – Tim Dustrude photo

The most gorgeous public stairway on the island was built this summer in May and June at the Cattle Point Interpretive Area by the State Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

It’s built of quarried stone, with a hemp rope handrail with lovely stainless steel stanchions, reaching from the top of the bluff to a large rock outcrop, at which point steps have been cut into the rock to reach the sand and gravel beach. The rope is held taut by stainless steel turnbuckles at each end fastened into large boulders.

It replaces the previous crumbling wood and rebar stairway, and provides “safe access down to the tidepools,” in the words of San Juan Islands National Monument manager Marcia deChadenedes, and to the approximately 600′ beach.

Stairway to the beach – Tim Dustrude photo

The only bid for the project came in so far above budget that the DNR decided to do the work in-house with a crew of six young people from the Washington Conservation Corps (WCC).

Unusually, the crew lived here on the island during construction in a house rented through VRBO (Vacation Rentals by Owner), according to Paul McFarland, the DNR’s Natural Areas Manager for the Northwest Region.

“This is not our normal approach to crew housing,” McFarland explained. “They more typically camp out when working in ‘remote’ locations not in practical commuting distance from Sedro-Woolley. But in this case I thought it important that they be comfortable and well rested due to the extended duration of the project, so we paid extra for housing.”

Nick Teague, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) outdoor recreation planner who lives on Lopez, said, “Looks like these new stairs are going to last a very long time, and the landscaping and replanting of the edges will help prevent erosion.

“Dang, they did a great job! I’m super proud of that WCC crew and the DNR.”

Story by Louise Dustrude

Ada Mullis – Photo McRae Mullis family

San Juan Island has long been home to independent and resourceful women. There were the native women whose wisdom and generosity our early pioneers relied on. There have been stalwart farmwomen who side by side with their husbands or on their own managed to create livelihoods from crops and livestock. And then there were the Misses Ada and Ella Mullis, early Friday Harbor entrepreneurs who made truly fabulous hats!

Ada and Ella Mullis were the sisters of Frank Mullis. Ada, Frank, Ella, and their older sister Anna were born in Clay County, Kansas. Then the family moved to Friday Harbor where in 1894 their youngest sister Frances was born. It was Ada who became well known throughout the county for her hats. She learned her trade “At a major department store in the big city” and with her sister Ella became the proprietors of Friday Harbor’s Millinery shop. In this popular historic photo you can almost miss the fact that the curious tableau pictured takes place in front of the millinery.

Millinery with Cow and Pig

Ella Mullis – Photo McRae Mullis Family

The sisters traveled to all of the Islands, even to Whidbey Island, to sell their wares and made purchasing trips often leaving their brother Frank to tend the shop in their absence. Here is an excerpt from Frank’s journal dated August 2, 1905:

Ada and Ella started for Portland this afternoon, to attend the Lewis and Clark Exposition and to trim a stock of fall hats at Lowengart’s wholesale house there. I am going to keep the millinery store while they are gone.

I’m not sure how Frank, at 20 years old, enjoyed selling ladies hats. His subsequent diary entries reveal that he was regularly relieved by “mama” Emma to go help “papa” George with some construction task.

In the 1970s when I worked as a nurse’s aid at the Island’s Convalescent Center, (now the Life Care Center), I met a woman from Orcas Island old enough to remember my great aunt’s hat’s. “Oh yes” she enthused. “People came from all over for Ada’s hats!”

Wall art by Gary Wallace – Contributed photo

It can be fun going to the doctor—especially if you’re a child!

Thanks to Peace Island Volunteers and a talented and generous artist, the pediatric exam room at PeaceHealth Peace Island Medical Center has become a “walk in the park.”

At the request of caregivers at the medical center, Peace Island Volunteers agreed to sponsor the installation of a fun mural in the pediatric exam room to put children’s minds at ease during their medical appointments.

Wall art by Gary Wallace – Contributed photo

The volunteers contacted Gary Wallace, a Kent, Wash., artist and frequent visitor to Friday Harbor, to see if he would be willing to take on the project. Not only did he agree to design and paint the mural, he volunteered his time and donated all the paint and materials.

“The medical center can be a scary place to a child,” says Merry-Ann Keane, chief administrative officer for PeaceHealth Peace Island. “Gary has created a vibrant and engaging mural that will help to calm kids’ jitters. We are profoundly appreciative of his talent and generosity.”

To make the room nonthreatening and calming, Wallace created a park theme with a whimsical assortment of trees, flowers, a happy-faced sun, a flying kite and several fun animals. Every wall in the room has an eye-catching painting to capture and occupy the minds of little ones. Continue Reading

Jan Gray is Volunteer of the Year at APS-FH – Contributed photo

During their recent, “Wags to Riches” event, The Animal Protection Society of Friday Harbor announced Jan Gray is the animal shelter’s “Volunteer of the Year”.

Jan has been a volunteer for the animal shelter for over two years. She has donated countless hours of her time walking dogs, doing administrative tasks, working in the Treasure Hounds retail store and transporting pets to and from vet appointments. Over the last 12 months, Jan has been responsible for transporting over 47 dogs from an over-crowded shelter in Chapala, Mexico to APS-FH, where they have been adopted into loving, responsible homes here on the island and throughout the greater northwest region.

Jan was awarded a beautiful, custom-designed bowl by Paula West for her efforts on behalf of the homeless animals of Friday Harbor.

Lots happening at the food preservation booth at the fair this week. Here’s more from Minnie…

We will be having some fun demonstrations and happenings so if you volunteer the time will go fast!  

Wednesday, August 16:  

• Judging of preserved foods– fairgoers are welcome to watch. We can always use helpers to apply ribbons after the products are judged.  

Thursday, August 17:  

• 12 Noon – Jim Dunn  “Life of the Honey Bee”  – a presentation on backyard beekeeping

Friday, Aug. 18: 

• 12 Noon – Theresa Dennis  “Putting Up With Honey”  How to make preserves and jams substituting honey for sugar
• 2:00 PM – Theresa Dennis: “Alphabeets” (a fun activity for kids.)
• 5:30 PM videotaping of Stan-The-Wine-Man’s Vlog another informative interview with a wine maker. Stan is always entertaining and educational

Saturday, Aug. 19 

• 5:30PM :  Elli Gull will have a presentation on How To Brew Honey Mead – YUM! 

Jam And Jelly Tastings 
We will have daily Jam & Jelly tastings for the People’s Choice Awards.  These are always fun and popular!

• Wednesday, Aug. 16: Jam & Jelly Tasting 3:00 Pm
• Thursday, Aug.17:  Jam & Jelly Tasting at  11:00 AM and 2:30 PM
• Friday, Aug. 18:  Jam & Jelly Tasting at 11:00 AM and 2:30 PM
• Saturday, Aug. 19:  Jam & Jelly Tasting at 11:00 AM AND 2:30 PM

We welcome old hands who have expertise in food preservation and  new volunteers who want to learn more about food preservation and brewing your own beverages!

If you want to be involved, here is how you can do it:  

Food Preservation Department   http://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0d48a9a929a6fb6-food

The Beer/Wine Department  http://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0948a4a72ca6ff2-please1

Mullis Center Van – Photo Peggy Sue McRae

Correction – The date for this service from the Mullis Center has been corrected. It originally said every day of the fair, but it’s only on Friday…

Are you a Senior? Do you need a ride to the Fair? Leave your car behind at the Mullis Center, 589 Nash Street, and ride with us! Drop off and pick up will run three times per day on the Friday of the Fair, August 18. Thanks to Callie McKay for being our chauffeur!

• Leave Mullis Center/Arrive at Fair 10:00 am
• Leave Mullis Center/Arrive at Fair/Return folks to Center 12:00 noon
• Leave Mullis Center/Arrive at Fair/Return folks to Center 2:00 pm

Susan Carnes has returned to San Juan Island for the summer and will read from her two novels on Wednesday, August 23, 7:00 pm at the Library.

The Way Back: A Soldier’s Journey is a novel chronicling the struggles of a World War 1 veteran dealing with PTSD. Susan’s father and several of the men he hired to run his dairy were veterans of the “War To End All Wars.” Because of her experiences growing up with them and later counseling with veterans in treatment centers, she felt compelled to write their story, wanting to provide hope, and to honor those who fight our wars. The story begins as the old dairy barn on Susan’s home-place is being demolished; it ends with personal insight giving meaning to a saying Susan had used playfully: “My barn burned down and now I see the moon.”

Epiphany: Starting Over in Oregon is the story of a woman wrestling personal demons while seeking romance and a meaningful life. Set in Oregon’s wild places, she collaborates with extraordinary characters to enrich the lives of school children, and to discover herself.

About the Author

Susan Carnes

Susan Carnes grew up on a Wisconsin dairy farm on the south shore of Lake Superior. She graduated from Iowa State University. She married, taught school and earned two Master’s Degrees while farming and raising three sons. She has counseled in addiction programs, practiced art therapy and biofeedback in chronic pain centers, and later became a school counselor in Oregon. She coordinated 4-H programs on 5 islands in Washington before retiring.

While spending winters in Mexico, Susan joined the Mazatlan Writers Group and wrote her first book, My Champion. She has written two novels since then: The Way Back and Epiphany.

Fire District #3 Commissioner Robert Low retired from his position on Monday, August 9th, after 19 years of service on San Juan Island. Commissioner Low served as Fire Chief of the Town of Friday Harbor Fire Department from 1998 to 2006, as well as San Juan County Fire Marshal. Low moved to Quilcene, WA as fire Chief, and later to East Jefferson as Assistant Chief and Fire Marshal. Since moving back to Friday Harbor, he has served as Fire District #3 Commissioner.

Low states that his most memorable event occurred while chief of TOFH during the downtown grocery store fire in May of 2002, when the town and district started working together. “We realized we couldn’t do a large fire like that without the help of other departments, including Orcas and Lopez. When Chief Marler came on board, without the old rivalry of the 2 departments, we started the path to becoming a professional department.”

Commissioner Low is retiring before the end of his term, so the Board is accepting applications for an interim Commissioner.

SJC Fire District #3 is seeking someone to fill a vacancy on the 3-member board of Fire Commissioners, starting as early as September 2017. This person will fill the unexpired position # 2 vacated by Commissioner Robert Low.

The current Board Chair and Vice-Chair, John Jensen and Albert Olson, will interview applicants and appoint a new Commissioner at a special meeting scheduled for Wednesday August 30th at 3 pm at the fire department headquarters located at 1011 Mullis Street.

Anyone interested in applying for the position should submit a fire department application and a letter of interest to San Juan County Fire District #3, 1011 Mullis St., Friday Harbor, WA, 98250. Applications are available online at www.sjifire.org or at the Mullis Street Fire Station. The deadline for applications is at 5 pm Friday, August 25th.

San Juan County Fire District #3 serves San Juan Island, Brown and Pearl islands; with over 50 paid-call-firefighters, specialists and support volunteers supported by 7 full-time staff members.

For more information, please call the fire department at (360) 378-5334.

Zippy is this week’s Pet of the Week – Contributed photo

Zippy here, reporting from the Animal Protection Society of Friday Harbor.

I’m wondering if anyone out there can help me answer a question – one that I am continually aksed. “Who’s a good dog”?

I must admit, I am asked this question all the time and although I’m inclined to think that I AM A GOOD DOG, I can’t help but think that this is one of those trick questions or one of those riddles that needs to be solved.

If you know the answer, please contact me here at the animal shelter. In the meantime, I’ll be here, waiting for someone to adopt me and take me home. For the record, I am a very good dog.

Animal Protection Society of Friday Harbor
111 Shelter Road
(360) 378-2158

Have you been working on a piece of art, that perfect pie, or raising some beautiful animals? Share them with your fellow islanders by entering in the Fair! Exhibit Entry Day is this coming Tuesday, August 15th from 9am to 6pm at the Fairgrounds. Entry information is available online at www.sjcfair.org or in the reference Premium Book copies provided at your local island library (Shaw, it’s at the Community Center!).

Each exhibitor must include one entry form per entry division (multiple entries for instance, multiple baked goods on one sheet for BAKING division) and one tag PER exhibit item. Flowers, Fruits, and Veggies have green tags, all other departments, beige tags. Tags can be obtained at the libraries OR on site at the Fairgrounds from now until entry day (limited weekend hours).

If you plan to bring an animal, please check-in at the perspective animal barn at the Fairgrounds on entry day and wait for vet check before unloading your animal in a Fair stall. Interested in riding your horse? Please contact the Fair office immediately at 360-378-4310.

Have a question about entering an exhibit? Visit the Fair’s website and see the helpful “How to Enter at the Fair” page here.

See you on Entry Day!

In the SJ Update mailbag we find this letter to the San Juan County Council:

The San Juan County (SJC) Planning Commission is comprised of nine men even though the majority of our county’s population is female. SJC has one of the few Planning Commissions in Washington State comprised entirely of men.

SJC Planning Commissioners are appointed by the SJC Council. As required by state law and county code, the Planning Commission provides public process, holds public hearings, and makes recommendations to the Council regarding land use regulations and the Comprehensive Plan.

We ask the Council to appoint women and other members of the community who represent our county’s demographics to the Planning Commission.

Sincerely,
The SJI Women’s Group

About us: The SJI Women’s Group was formed by the organizers of the Women’s March on Friday Harbor. We are dedicated to furthering the rights, health and safety of our diverse community and our environment through intention, conversation, and action. We stand in solidarity with our island community to protect the land we all share and the basic human rights we all deserve – recognizing that vibrant, diverse, and healthy communities are the strength of our county and our country; that women’s rights are human rights, and human rights belong to all.

Silver bracelet by Charles Edenshaw

From tattoos to tennis shoes, cedar back capes to designer hoodies, clothing and jewelry has always communicated deep history and contemporary affiliations. Wearing Identity – Art and Adornment on the Northwest Coast presented by Katie Bunn-Marcuse is sponsored by the San Juan Islands Museum of Art (SJIMA).

The talk at The Grange in Friday Harbor on Sunday, August 20 at 2:00 p.m. will explore the many ways that identity has been expressed through adornment in the Pacific NW Coast for 200 years.

Kathryn Bunn-Marcuse, PhD – Photo Linda Marsaudon

Kathryn Bunn-Marcuse, PhD is the curator of NW Native art and director of the Bill Holm Center for the Study of NW Native Art- Burke Museum, and assistant professor of art history at the University of Washington. She focuses on how the artists are informed by the artistry of previous generations. She will more fully explain sentiments such as “For our people, what we wear is who we are. Our jewelry and our clothing represent where we come from. We wear our history” by Jim Hart, Chief Edensu, (Haida)

SJIMA has quality interpretive and educational programs accompanying its exhibitions, in this case EMERGENCE Legendary & Emerging First Nation Artists, here until after Labor Day weekend.

Dorothy Grant, Haida fashion designer – Photo Red Works

Bunn-Marcuse’s publications focus on the indigenization of European-American imagery, 19th-century Northwest Coast jewelry and other body adornment, and the filmic history of the Kwakwaka’wakw. As well, she tracks the practices of contemporary artists and how they are informed by the artistry of previous generations. In her role as curator, she collaborates with First Nations communities and artists to identify research priorities and to activate the Burke Museum’s holdings in ways that are responsive to cultural revitalization efforts.

Tickets are available at 540 Spring St. Thur.-Mon. 11-6, online at www.sjima.org or at the door. $18, $15 for members, $10 students. 360-370-5050

Questions? Call Diane Martindale at 360-370-5814 or diane.martindale @ rockisland.com

Diane Martindale – Contributed Photo

San Juan Island’s Diane Martindale has been named first Vice-Chair of the Washington State Arts Commission (ArtsWA) board at their recent board meeting in Wenatchee. 

Diane is co-president of the San Juan Islands Museum of Art and curator of the current exhibition, EMERGENCE Legendary & Emerging First Nation Artists. She also serves on the Friday Harbor Arts Commission and heads up the Library Art Committee.

For the last year Diane was co-chair of ArtsWA Advocacy Committee, advocating for the arts budget statewide and serving on the committee to review Arts Education grants. “With most attention on fulfilling the requirements to fully fund statewide K-12 education, it was a challenge.”

Said Diane, “This move to first vice chair means that I get to work more closely with the chair, Sue Coliton, Karen Hanan, executive director of ArtsWA and the staff.  For me, that translates into learning even more about arts statewide, and being able to bring best practices in the arts to our county.”

Congratulations to Diane and thanks for supporting the arts in our community!

Ferndale Champions Win World Series – Contributed Photo

Sean Morrison and Andrew James, two Ferndale team members with ties to San Juan Island, won the Cal Ripken 12U/60’ World Series Championship in Clemmons, No. Carolina on August 10.

Sean is the son of Orion Morrison and Maleka Hartman Morrison (both FHHS alumni), and grandson of Angie Morrison of San Juan Island and Mary Kaye Hartman Scott. He is also the great grandson of Doris and Howard Hartman, whom Hartman Field is named after.

Andrew James is the son of Rob James (also FHHS alumni).

Congratulations to the boys!

The San Juan County Economic Development Council (EDC) will offer free training in construction tech this fall, in partnership with Skagit Valley College and the Northwest Career & Technical Academy, and funded in part by San Juan County, the Orcas Island Community Foundation, the Town of Friday Harbor, Islanders Bank and local donors.

Courses will be taught at the Northwest Career and Technical Academy in Anacortes and will include instruction in core construction skills, math basics, tool usage, safety and more.  Instruction will include OSHA construction industry certification, fork lift operation certification, first aid and CPR training.   Students may be currently enrolled in high school, or adults.

The courses will run Mondays through Wednesdays from early September until mid-December of this year.   There is no cost for courses or transportation; a $50 filing fee is required with application.  The deadline to apply is August 21^st, 2017.

For more information about the program or other EDC trades training opportunities, please visit the EDC’s website atwww.sanjuansedc.org/trades.  

The San Juan County Economic Development Council (EDC) strives to strengthen and diversify the economy of San Juan County.  We believe a strong economy builds a strong community.