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Theodore Frank Schnase passed away with family by his side on Aug. 1, 2024. Ted was born on March 8, 1937, to Alice (Twaddle) and Theodore Schnase in Port Angeles. The family owned the Sunrise Bakery and Ted worked there alongside his parents. He spent as much of his early years as he could beside the Elwha River and had many fond memories of picnicking, hiking, swimming, fishing and exploring throughout the wilderness of the Olympic Mountains. Ted graduated from Port Angeles High School in...
Cynthia Lee Lundquist (née Currie), aged 64, passed away on July 4, 2024, in Everett, Washington. Born on May 6, 1960, in Seattle, Washington to John and Patricia Currie. Cindy attended Shorewood High School. Cindy lived most of her adult life in La Conner where she worked for Pacific Mariner. Cindy later moved to Orcas Island with her adoring husband, Loren Lundquist. Cindy enjoyed working at The Exchange, where she got to know most of the Island's residents, along with her favorite...
The annual Swinomish Back-to-School Bash, held as summer draws to a close, was again a cut above similar events held elsewhere. That was true both literally and figuratively. The three-hour Aug. 14 gathering at John K. Bob Ball Park had something for all student groups – school supplies, T-shirts and hoodies, general and specific campus and classroom information, school district calendars, snack foods, sno-cones and more. And there were free haircuts, provided by students from the Mount V...
The La Conner Rotary Club, noted for its steadfast support of literacy and education, will honor at its annual dinner and auction this Saturday someone whose family is often lauded in print for its remarkable success growing tulips in the Skagit Valley. Leo Roozen, whose father, the late Bill Roozen, was a La Conner Rotarian, will be the local club's honored guest at its major Aug. 24 fundraiser here. Billed as "The Magic of Rotary," it is 5:30-9 p.m. at Maple Hall. The Roozen family began...
The book had closed on this year’s Canoe Journey, but new chapters were written on Swinomish Channel last weekend. Tribal racing canoes were on the water as a main main highlight of the three-day Swinomish Days festival the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community hosts to celebrats traditional Coast Salish history and culture. The Aug. 9-11 gathering drew participants, spectators and guests to Swinomish and La Conner from throughout the Salish Sea region with areas in and around John K. Bob Ball Park...
Cell phones have their place. But starting this fall the La Conner Schools campus won’t be one of them. District administrators have rolled out a plan for the new school year that creates a cell phone free zone, a policy approved two years ago. School board members endorsed the plan – designed to assure fewer classroom distractions and greater student focus on academics – during their hour-long Aug. 12 meeting in the adminstrative building. “We’re not changing policy,” Board President Susie Deyo stressed. “We passed the policy in October of ’2...
People go to great lengths to attend the annual Pioneer Picnic in La Conner. Attendees traveled from near and far – one person arriving from Beijing, China, 5,350 miles distant – to enjoy the 120th gathering of Skagit County pioneers and guests. A 2024 Pioneer Picnic crowd estimated at over 200 people also included La Conner Mayor Marna Hanneman, whose home isn't much farther than the proverbial 1,000 steps from the Pioneer Park site. The continuing summer tradition features a barbecued sal...
A revered La Conner summer tradition continues tomorrow with the 120th annual Skagit County Pioneer Association Picnic and General Meeting. The Aug. 1 event, which supports the Skagit County Historical Museum in La Conner, is set for 11 a.m. at Pioneer Park. The public is cordially invited. A barbecue salmon luncheon prepared by the "Good Girls" and served by members of the La Conner Civic Garden Club will be available. The $20 meal includes a commemorative ribbon and free admission to the...
Few have taken a longer road to historic La Conner United Methodist Church than its new pastor. The Rev. Dr. Jacob Kanake, who assumed pastoral duties here this month, hails from the Kenya Methodist Church, where he served before moving with his family to the United States. The Methodist Church was planted in Kenya, an East African nation and former British colony, in the early 1860s. The Kanakes feel quite at home in Washington, where he has pastored at Colfax and St. John east of the...
Sue Ann Winn, a longtime resident of La Conner, passed away on July 8, 2024, in Mount Vernon at the age of 74. Sue was born in Coupeville on Oct. 8, 1949, to parents "Deb" and Betty Ann Everett. She was raised in Oak Harbor and graduated from Oak Harbor High School in 1967. She was always very social and loved being with her friends. Sue loved the water growing up and spent summers lifeguarding at the local pool. After graduating, she pursued many adventures in and around Seattle before...
There may be no better venue than La Conner Swinomish Library for Scott Petersen, the famed Reptile Man from Monroe, to stage his popular live animal demonstrations. For one thing, the local library's solar panels work just fine and provide an ideal comfort zone for Petersen's collection of cold-blooded critters. And then there's the interactive vibe that defines the two-year-old learning resource center. "We are not a quiet library," insists its director, Jean Markert, whose assessment was...
Class was in session on a sunny summer Sunday at Skagit City School, and history was the main course of study. That was just fine with the "students," several of them descendants of school alumni and justifiably proud of the restored schoolhouse and exhibits displayed inside the landmark Fir Island building on Moore Road. The annual picnic, hosted by the Skagit County Historical Museum, coincided with hot weather, warm memories of days gone by and music by Conway vocalist and guitarist Marcia Ke...
The late Clem Thein set the ceiling high when it came to extending goodwill and sharing camaraderie among his many friends here. He did the same when it came to masterful handiwork, a trait handed down to his son, Steve, and still much in evidence more than 15 years after Clem Thein's passing. For confirmation, look at the roofs of historic Magnus Anderson Cabin and the covered Native American canoe shelter below Town Hall. Clem Thein hand-split the cedar shakes protecting both structures using...
I would like to share some clarifying information about the closure of Little Braves Preschool in La Conner. Skagit/Islands Head Start (SIHS) partnered in quality preschool programming in La Conner for many years. We continue to believe it could be an important contribution to the community. It may have been unclear to the contributors writing the Weekly News this spring, but the funding model for the Little Braves preschool was never intended to rely solely on SIHS funding. SIHS agreed to provide a contracted amount to the district preschool f...
Basketball has always been a big deal in La Conner. But in Spokane it's a really big deal. Bigger, in fact, than almost anywhere else. As has been the case every June since 1990, thousands of hoops players and enthusiasts crowded into downtown Spokane last weekend for the largest outdoor three-on-three basketball tournament in the world. La Conner wasn't left out. La Conner High School girls' basketball head coach Joe Harper entered a local third grade boys' team in the 2024 Spokane Hoopfest, a...
Port of Anacortes presents Rock the Dock at Seafarers’ Memorial Park in Anacortes, 5-11 p.m. July 4. Free community concert featuring bands High Voltage and Point of Sail. Food and beer garden open at 5 p.m. with fireworks display at nightfall. Skagit Bay Search & Rescue Fundraiser, 1-7 p.m. July 4. Celebrate the Fourth and help our Volunteer Marine Search & Rescue team raise money. Buy ice cream, water, T-shirts or donate at the booth at La Conner Marina on N. Second Street. Museum of Northwest Art has two new exhibits through Sept. 29. J...
Diana passed away peacefully at her home in La Conner. She was born to Les and Lola Blume on Nov. 28, 1942, in Seattle, Washington. She was the oldest of six children and her early years were spent in Baudette, Minnesota, and Rapid City, South Dakota. She excelled in her studies, both in high school and at Seattle Pacific University, where she earned a BA in English literature and an MA in special education. Peter Norman Caple became her husband on Feb. 21, 1963. Diana's educational career i...
Skagit County Display Gardens Open House, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, June 29, 16650 State Route 536, Mount Vernon. Explore gardens and educational displays. Learn about container gardening and Skagit Conservation District and Skagit County Noxious Weed Control Board efforts. Skagit County WSU Extension Master Gardeners will be on site with a plant clinic and plant ID, free garden tool sharpening and plant sale. Free admission. Salish Sea Early Music Festival, 7 p.m. July 2. Classical musicians Irene Roldan on harpsichord and Jeffrey Cohan on...
Preservation is close to the heart of Jeanne Youngquist – preserving agriculture, open space, secure elections and county history. The greater La Conner resident, of Mike and Jean's Berry Farm, was honored at last week's Our Valley Our Future awards breakfast hosted by Skagitonians to Preserve Farmland. She received the Community Legacy in Agriculture award. Daniel Waltner earned the Achievement in Agriculture Award, which comes with a $5,000 scholarship. The Mount Vernon resident graduated f...
Tommy Murdock hasn't slowed down since capturing twin state hurdles titles in Yakima last month. A week after graduating from La Conner High School, Murdock competed in an elite national meet at historic Hayward Field at the University of Oregon in Eugene. Murdock, who collected five state gold medals as a La Conner hurdler, took part in the 2024 Nike Outdoor Nationals and USA Track & Field U20 Championships on the same track where the U.S. Olympic Trials will be held starting Friday. Hayward...
After four years of struggles and challenges, most notably isolation and remote instruction imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Class of 2024 capped its high school experience with a picture-perfect day. La Conner High School's graduating seniors, an accomplished group comprised of talented scholars, artists, musicians, public speakers and athletes, received their diplomas during seamless and briskly paced commencement exercises held in warm, sunny conditions at Whittaker Field Thursday...
Three graduating La Conner High School student-athletes will take their best shots at the collegiate level next year. Graduating seniors Abigail Udlock, Tommy Murdock and Morgan Huizenga signed letters of intent June 5 to compete in college athletics during a 30-minute ceremony at Whittaker Field attended by friends, family members, coaches, school administrators and fellow students. Udlock, a state qualifier in golf this season, signed to compete in 2024-25 at the University of Puget Sound in...
The Kiwanis Club of La Conner has announced the Students of the Month for May. La Conner High School Student of the Month for May is Kendall Lee, a junior. Her parents are Jason and Dawn Lee. Kendall's favorite classes are chemistry and trigonometry. She is a member of the Prevention Club because mental health is important. Kendall loves sports. She plays tennis and soccer. After graduation, Kendall would like to attend the University of Washington to study health sciences and become a...
Don McMoran’s recent promotion to full professor with Washington State University is built on a lifetime love for Skagit County and its farmers. Born on the driveway of his parents’ home on the dividing line between the Mount Vernon and La Conner school districts, he joined the WSU Skagit County Extension in 2006 as Agriculture & Natural Resources extension educator. He earned tenure a few years later and became the county Extension director in 2012. His two-year quest to become full professor was backed by community members who wrote let...
It was hats off to La Conner High School's tribal seniors Thursday, May 30. And hats on, too. That's because those members of the school's Class of 2024 were honored during the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community's annual Cedar Hat Ceremony at Swedebs Park, an upbeat outdoor evening event featuring tributes from speakers that included four Swinomish senators and departing La Conner School District Superintendent Will Nelson, a member of the Blackfeet Nation. The grads, donning their finely woven...
