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While the top, if not currently hot, story of 2019 is the still real turmoil in La Conner Schools, the quiet story this past year, indeed the past two years, and more, is the steady march from quest to accomplishment of funding the building of a new La Conner Regional Library. Our library, like all libraries, is as much a foundation of the community as our school district. Libraries are as much a fundamental building block of our local democracy as is the weekly newspaper. The world might be at your fingertips with your phone in your other...
Last week I went into the Big K store in Burlington. My ten minutes there were quite an eye opener. I went looking for razor blades, still an in-person purchase item for most of us. That’s the type of thing for which I shop. And I don’t shop much period, being fortunate to be comfortable with few wants. I am more of a Luddite then an internet surfer. Still, I get the power of Amazon. My friends all have empty – or full – Amazon prime boxes in their homes. And, I can’t remember the last time I went shopping with anyone. Maybe walki...
As I grow older, loss has become a more frequent and personal experience. While I never expected to grow old in the first place (a common youthful trait), it did not occur to me that growing older would include a fairly constant grieving process. Growing up, loss would come in cycles. Each cycle would have some space between for time to adjust. Most of the time, the loss was felt externally. Something is missing. However, when I lost people close to me, there was a part of my identity that seemed to go missing. Those people were part of my...
Hi all, I miss my Soroptomist friends so much. You don’t know what it means to have so many people standing next to me. Some background: When we first arrived at the start of November I went to the two shelters twice in the first week. It’s about a 30-40 minute drive to the border from my house. My first trip, I brought two bags of shoes. Shoes are in constant demand. The Mexican authorities decided that they had to charge me duty tax on the used shoes I was bringing in. I argued my case with three different people. But in the end they got me...
Myrna, 85, of La Conner, WA, passed on December 11th, 2019. Born to Frank J. & Beatrice Shula (Patterson) Siebens, January 22, 1934 in Portland, OR. Myrna graduated from Renton High School, class of 1952. She had a long career at Boeing in Renton. She was co-President of the May Valley PTA along with her husband Donald, and co-founders of the Coalfield Five Star Athletic Club & King County Coalfield Park. She had a giving nature, such as writing personalized poems for loved ones for every occasion. Myrna was preceded in death by her husband,...
The La Conner Planning Commission is looking to help lay a new foundation to solve recurring local housing shortage concerns. More than a half-century ago, Puget Sound Mail editor Pat O’Leary urged La Conner homeowners to make available their spare driveways and lot spaces for workers to park trailers while employed here. Fast forward to 2020 when town planning commissioners are considering more long-term housing solutions. Based on input received last year, the advisory panel is studying whether to recommend accessory dwelling units be d...
Countless people have dreamt about selling all their worldly possessions and setting sail for parts unknown. Linda Rumbolt wasn’t one of them. But that’s exactly what she and her then-husband, David Solie, did a decade ago. Their leap of faith would take them from La Conner down the Pacific Coast, through the Panama Canal, and eventually to Florida, a voyage lasting more than a year and a half. Sailing was in Dave’s blood. His dad had a sailboat that he raced on Puget Sound. Though born in Newfoundland to a family that had made its living on th...
The British Columbia government has stopped all logging in a Canadian part of the Skagit Valley, which is part of a major salmon producing stream for Puget Sound. The area is known as the “Donut Hole,: or Silverdaisy, and was an unprotected area of land between Manning and Skagit Valley Provincial parks, which are on the Canadian-U.S. border. In making the announcement, the B.C. government suspended all licenses to harvest timber in the 14,332-acre area. Doug Donaldson, British Columbia’s forests minister, says the government will transfer logg...
I have always loved the holidays. Not for the presents or all the commercial wrappings but for the simple things; twinkling lights, family, friends, sitting by a fire and, most of all, memories. This year my family focused less on “things” and more on time spent together. We traveled to Victoria, British Columbia spending several days wandering about the city, viewing Christmas light displays and enjoying each other’s company. Victoria is a very clean friendly city with a beautiful inner harbor. Much of it and its attractions are walka...
