From Erin Corra of FOLKS, Friends of Lime Kiln Society…

Lime Kiln Lighthouse at Sunset – Contributed photo

Join together with supporters of Lime Kiln Point State Park on Thursday, July 19 for a musical evening at our beautiful whale watch park. Bring a picnic and enjoy a sunset tour of the historic lighthouse with friends old and new. Who knows, maybe our favorite black and whites will do a pass by too!

There will be a silent auction and raffle to benefit the park. Music will be provided by Savio Farrel and Friends. This event is free although a Discover Pass is required for parking. Carpooling and shuttles are encouraged.

There is still time to donate goods and services for the auction. If you have something to offer please contact Erin Corra, 360.378.5154 or [email protected] 

FOLKS, Friends of Lime Kiln Society, was established in 2011 to provide a unique experience for visitors through support and development of stewardship programs and activities related to Lime Kiln Point State Park’s extraordinary location, diverse ecosystems and historic structures.

Thank you for your support!

This is an excerpt from, Writing Right There, by Eric Morel. Morel is a doctoral candidate in the Department of English at the University of Washington and this spring taught the “Science Writing for Diverse Audiences” course at Friday Harbor Laboratories. 

Platform at UW Labs – Contributed photo

“One of the great benefits of studying science writing at FHL is the way stakes are reinforced by the location itself.  On several sunny days, I took my students out to a platform near the water, and what I liked about this platform—and indeed about sundry seats on the rocky points of the campus shoreline—was the visibility of the town across the harbor.  Especially as the course shifted its attention to writing about science for non-experts, this relationship between the foreground and background of the FHL setting made posing such questions clear rather than abstract.  We had discussions on the platform about how different writers including Elizabeth Kolbert, Alanna Mitchell, and Callum Roberts each made choices to convey the same information about ocean acidification differently.  For students who take a science-writing class at this field station, it is visually apparent that how we write matters for how we reach across the UW property line.”

Read the entire article in Friday Harbor Laboratories newsletter… Tide Bite July 2018, Vol. 59

Sea Shepherd veteran Peter Jay Brown has founded a new campaign to save wild salmon…

Wild Salmon Fundraiser with Peter Jay Brown – Contributed image

Drop in at Mike’s Cafe and Wine Bar and show your support for Wild Salmon Preservation! Celebrate the launch of Gaia Network’s new campaign Wednesday July, 11th 5-9pm!

Gaia Network was founded by Sea Shepherd Veteran Peter Jay Brown. Gaia Network’s new vessel, the Wii Seeks, will be docking for a brief period of time in Friday Harbor before setting sail to British Columbia!

Sea Shepherd veteran, filmmaker, and activist Peter Jay Brown (known for https://www.confessionsfilm.com) has founded a growing network against open-pen salmon farming! Come show your support for wild salmon, meet Peter & his crew, and support a local grassroots campaign.

Link to: Wild Oceans Salmon Campaign

Governor Jay Inslee proclaims July 10 Line Worker Appreciation Day…

OPALCO upgrading the lines along Tucker Avenue/Roche Harbor Road….

OPALCO’s team of line workers keep the lights on for more than 11,300 co-op members on 20 islands in San Juan County. That is no small task! Governor Jay Inslee has proclaimed July 10, 2018 as Lineworker Appreciation Day and OPALCO invites its members to give their local line workers a proud salute.

In addition to a high-five, fist bump or plate of home-baked cookies, there are a couple of things everyone can do to make the tough job our line workers do a little bit easier.

1. Call Before You Dig on every single project – whether it’s a shovel or a backhoe. You can call 811 from a land line, or 800-424-5555 from a mobile line. Mark the locate area with white paint before you call.
2. Keep vegetation at least 10’ away from OPALCO’s transformer boxes and power lines. If you’re concerned about trees growing into your lines, please call 360-376-3532.

The line crew will be giving safety demonstrations at the County Fair in August – stop by and say hello. Kids will be invited to join our “Play it Safe” campaign with fun activities and prizes.

Orcas Power & Light Cooperative (OPALCO) is our member-owned cooperative electric utility, serving more than 11,000 members on 20 islands in San Juan County.  OPALCO provides electricity that is 95% greenhouse-gas free and is generated predominantly by hydroelectric plants. OPALCO was founded in 1937. Follow OPALCO @OrcasPower on Facebook and Twitter.

Friday, July 13, 7 PM at Brickworks: The children’s band Micah and Me Music Show is back by popular demand. They are throwing another Dance Party at Brickworks. The fun begins at 7 PM.

You won’t want to miss this high energy, fun-filled party and dancing to the music. Micah and Me were recently named one of Portland’s top five bands for children. 

The Micah and Me Music Show Dance Party is sponsored by the San Juan Island Library as part of the 2018 Summer Reading Program, Libraries Rock! All library programs are free to the public. For more information, please contact library staff at 360-378-2798 or visit San Juan Island Library.

Saturday, July 14, 11 AM at San Juan Island Library: Join the fun and learn how to play the ukulele! The San Juan Island Library is sponsoring a free, introductory workshop.

The program is designed for children in elementary school and is being taught by the talented musicians of the musical group Micah and Me Music Show from Portland, Oregon.

Ukuleles will be provided or bring your own. Please register in advance as space is limited for this free workshop held in the library meeting room. Call 360-378-2798 to register or stop by the library today at 1010 Guard Street in Friday Harbor.

If you’ve driven out Beaverton Valley lately you may have noticed the rock has a new paint job. That is due to the fact that Kelley Balcomb-Bartok and family have moved back to the Island. Welcome back!

The Rock – Kelley Balcomb-Bartok photo

Said Kelley, “we couldn’t resist!” 

APS Treasure Hounds and the Animal Protection Society are proud to announce the opening of the APS-FH Pet Food Pantry….a community pet food bank to help keep pets in their homes by providing pet food for families in need. The Pet Food Pantry will be located at the Treasure Hounds store at 365-C Spring Street in Friday Harbor. Hours for the pet food distribution will be Wednesdays from 10am – 1pm. There will be both cat and dog food available, canned and dry.

There will be list of guidelines we would like our participants to be aware of including you must be 18 years or older to receive goods, have proof of island residency and also have proof that your pets are spayed or neutered (if they are not, APS can help with some financial assistance in that regard).

Treasure Hounds and APS will be accepting both cash and pet food donations to keep this program going for as long as we can. We would prefer cash donations as we have access to buy preferred foods at a discount rate, however any unopened and non-expired quality pet foods will be accepted except veterinary foods for medical conditions (kidney, etc). Both canned and dry foods are acceptable. We hope this is a successful venture and a positive way to help in keeping responsible families and their pets together.

Park Ranger Leads the Way – San Juan Island National Historical Park photo

GEOLOGICAL HIKE: 9:00 am – 11:00 am. These easy to moderately difficult walks up Young Hill near English Camp, and Mt. Finlayson near American Camp, focus on the geology of the San Juan Islands over the last 230 million years of earth’s history. From tectonic movement, to accretion, to uplift, volcanism, glaciation, erosion, and more, these islands present an incredibly complex and interesting geology for visitors of all ages. This event is kid friendly.

Visitors will meet at the English Camp and American Camp Visitor Centers for the hikes. (recurring event July 7 – Sept 2) 

Living History – San Juan Island National Historical Park photo

LIVING HISTORY DEMONSTRATIONS: 10:00 am. History is alive today! As you step into the 19th century at the English Camp, and American Camp, you’ll find period blacksmithing, cooking, wood carving, laundress, beading, and soldier demonstrations throughout the grounds. At American and English Camps. This event is kid friendly. (recurring event July 7 – August 25)

Infantry Demonstration – San Juan Island National Historical Park photo

INFANTRY SOLDIER DEMONSTRATIONS: 11:00 am. While the “Pig War” never saw a life lost to war, it does not mean that soldiers did not use the weapons issued to them. In times of celebration, commemoration, and drill, these tools saw significant use. (DEMONSTRATIONS ARE HOURLY) This event is kid friendly. (recurring event July 7 – August 25)

My email has started coming in. I hope yours has too. So far though only a few of my emails have come through. Alan at Rockisland said, “It will take the team a little longer to load all of your historical and all the “spooling” yet to be delivered.”

For those wishing to contact the San Juan Update please send in as you normally would. 

San Juan Community Theatre will be hosting the photography exhibit, Viva Cuba! July 10 through August 29. There will be an opening reception with wine & appetizers on Friday, July 13 at 5 – 7 pm.

Malecon, Havanan, Cuba, May 2016 – Nancy Wing photo

The Viva Cuba! Photography Exhibition includes 52 photographs depicting the people and places of Cuba. Subjects range from the well-known landmarks and “dandes” posing for tourist dollars in Old Havana to a storekeeper in a tiny southeastern town, from teenage art school performers to sunrise in Cienfuegos and tobacco farming in Vinales.

All the images were made in 2016 and 2017 on two artist exchanges organized by Washington State’s World Trade Exchange (WTE) and led by photo stylist Nancy Wing and photographer/educator Ray Pfortner, both of Vashon Island, Washington. WTE does not offer tours, but true one-on-one artist exchanges, with a focus on meeting and creating art with local artisans.

The Viva Cuba! show has been traveling for 2 years, ironically only to islands: 2016 at the Hardware Store Gallery on Vashon Island, 2018 at the Mercer Island Community and Event Center and now at the San Juan Community Theatre Gallery. It will travel for the rest of 2018.

With the opening-door policy for Americans visiting Cuba under the Obama Administration, there was concern that the images in the show by now would be commonplace. The 2016 group arrived just as the first US cruise ship sailed south from Havana and Americans were flooding Cuba. European and Canadians were also flooding the island, fearing the wave of Americans would ruin Cuba for all tourists.

I just spoke to Rockisland and due to a power surge in Oregon there has been a catastrophic email host failure. If you are a Rockisland customer and you are not getting your email that is why. Engineers are working hard to fix it and hopefully we will be up and running soon.

Meanwhile, I am covering the San Juan Update while Tim is taking a short break. How this works is the Update emails are transferred to my Rockisland account. Sadly, my email account is not functioning. If you need to get in touch with me you can do that though my Facebook page. Otherwise, we hope to be getting email soon and Tim will be back next week.

Peggy Sue’s Facebook Page

A review of the recent island meet-up with Rita Latsinove written by Caren Potter…

Rita Latsinova – Contributed Photo

Approximately 50 San Juan Island residents gathered at the False Bay Drive home of Allison and John Moalli last Thursday to meet and learn more about Rita Latsinova, a fellow island resident who is running for an open seat on the Washington State Court of Appeals.

After some time for socializing and a delicious dinner prepared by Paellas San Juan, the group gathered inside the Moalli’s home where Rita delivered some brief prepared remarks, starting with an explanation of what a Washington Court of Appeals does. As she explained, it’s quite different from the type of court most of us envision – no juries or witnesses, just lawyers speaking in front of a panel of three judges.

“Appellate courts do not try cases or hear evidence,” Rita said. “They decide if the court that originally tried the case made a mistake that was so big that the case needs to be retried or reversed. It’s more technical, some would say dry, but I love it.”

Appellate cases have been Rita’s specialty throughout her nearly 25-year law career. She has argued cases in all three of the Washington appellate courts as well as the Ninth Circuit and Federal Courts of Appeals, representing a range of clients including state government and private businesses, as well as private citizens she took on pro bono.

Rita is currently a partner at the Stoel Rives firm in Seattle. Her schedule revolves around the weekly commute to and from the island where she lives with her husband and daughter. “Preparation is key for appellate work, and I get a lot of reading done on the ferry,” she joked. Continue Reading

Here are the prizes awarded to participants in our rockin’ Fourth of July Parade. Thanks to everyone who made it so fun to watch…

·               $600 Best use of THEME – Float – San Juan Community Theatre

·               $400 Best use of THEME – Non-Float – Community Marching Band

·               $300 Best use of THEME – Children/Youth – The Rock Shop Zillah

·               $300 Judges Special Choice – Boo Boo’s Women and Girl’s Boxing

·               $200 Best Costumed Group – The Pirates

·               $200 Best Animal/Animal Group – The Golden Retrievers

·               $200 Best Off-Island Entry – Cousins Across the USA

·               $100 Best Vehicle – Wally Weaver

Rock ShopZillah! Music and Film camp – Peggy Sue McRae photo

A few highlights from San Juan Island’s Fourth of July Parade…

Fourth of July Parade – Peggy Sue McRae photo

Hooray for the red, white, and blue…

Fourth of July Parade – Peggy Sue McRae photo

Dressed for the occasion…

Fourth of July Parade – Peggy Sue McRae photo

Continue Reading

Here’s the monthly History Column for July from San Juan Historical Society and Museum…

There is so much to see in this historical photograph taken at a Salmon Bank fish camp on the south end of San Juan Island. It is rare to see an island photograph of an interior scene from over 100 years ago, so this one stands out in the archives collection.

When it was donated to the San Juan Historical Society and Museum a number of years ago, it came with the simple description of “Cook’s Cabin at Salmon Bank, late 1800s.” Fish traps, as adapted from Native American reef net design, were first introduced there in 1892. With the fish trap operations came the need for larger crews, rustic housing, and support buildings like a cook’s cabin on shore.

Dating photographs can be challenging. However, by zooming in on a digital copy of this particular image, we can gather some clues about this one. Continue Reading

Playing at the Pig War Picnic on the Fourth….

After the Fourth of July parade (approximately 11:30) be sure to join the fun at the Annual Pig War Picnic on the San Juan Historical Museum grounds at 405 Price Street. The Old-Fashioned celebration is proudly presented by San Juan Island Kiwanis Club and features food, games, music, and the presenting of the parade awards.