Fred Martin's gifts of time and service live on

When Fred Martin arrived in La Conner on July 23, 1956, with wife Margaret and their children John and Faye, people were already lined up, anxious for the door to open at the drug store the Martins had purchased on First Street.

Word had already spread quickly through town that Mr. Olson’s drugstore had new owners.

That very evening Fred left Margaret settling in to the small living quarters behind the store while he attended his first meeting of the La Conner Rotary Club.

Fred was to remain a Rotarian, taking to heart the club’s motto, “service above self,” as he filled many other important roles in the La Conner community until his death on June 14 at age 97.

Fred and Margaret added two more children to their family, Glen and Karen, built a home on the hill on Fourth Street and remodeled the old drugstore building. They thrived, and with their generous help, so did the town.

Fred served on a citizens’ committee as part of a University of Washington community economic study in 1957, which gave him a good understanding of how best to serve his new town. In the years to come, he gave the town as much help as he could possibly manage.

When the volunteer firemen who worked out of the fire station at First and Commercial, where Maple Center now stands, wanted to go on a hunting trip together, they ran a telephone line over to the drugstore. When there was a call to the fire station, Fred or Margaret alerted the police chief or other fire departments. Margaret did just that the night that Dunlap Hardware at the corner of First and Morris streets was destroyed by fire.

Fred was a tireless worker on behalf of his La Conner community. He worked through the Washington State Department of Transportation bureaucracy to get the new Rainbow Bridge painted orange instead of the traditional gray or green.

Fred was a member of the Chamber of Commerce and served as its president seven times. He was named “Man of the Year” by that organization.

The Martins joined the Methodist Church as soon as they moved to town. Margaret sang in the choir and taught Sunday school. Fred served as lay leader and financial officer, and their children were instructed there.

Margaret was an active member of the La Conner Civic Garden Club and worked promoting and setting up the Tulip Show in the old school gymnasium. Over 6,000 people arrived in town for the Tulip Show in 1962, the year of the World’s Fair in Seattle.

Fred took an active part in EDASC, the newly formed non-profit organization to promote business and responsible growth in Skagit County from 1957 to 1989. He helped establish The Port of Skagit County that situated the new marina in La Conner in 1970.

He served two terms as mayor, 1972-1980, and brought about the financing and construction of much-needed sewer and water systems. Again he took on both state and federal agencies to finance the work. The new sewage treatment plant was constructed in 1975. New storm and sanitary sewer lines and water lines were laid, which still continues today.

After 29 years in business on First Street, Fred moved the drugstore to its present building on Morris Street in 1985. The easy parking and expanded inventory was much appreciated by the community.

Fred felt his biggest professional challenge occurred at the new store in 2005, when the electrical power went out in La Conner. He had converted the business to computers, and having no electricity made every task more difficult. But when the power returned, there was damage to the computer system power supply unit. This took two days to diagnose and repair. Fred recalled, “We filled 430 prescriptions in one day with just me and four technicians.”

There has been a drugstore in La Conner since 1877. The Martins owned La Conner Drugstore 52 years, from 1956 until 2008.

Both Fred and Margaret helped their community in every way they could all of their lives. Today we have the attractive pergola constructed near the boardwalk by the La Conner Rotary Club in honor of their service.

Thank you, Fred and Margaret, from a grateful community.

Historian Janna Gage helped Fred Martin write and publish his memoir, “Can I Help You?” A Life of Service, in 2014. It is for sale at Tillinghast Postal and Business Center and the Skagit County Historical Museum.