Movie star's yacht sails into a new role

The Norwester Museum Tour is now open for business, after a patriotic launch on Saturday. The John Wayne-themed museum is on his first yacht, The Norwester, anchored permanently on the La Conner waterfront.

Now open to the public, the boat has retired after 84 years of a busy life that included Navy service, multiple owners and a lot of restoration.

The highlights of Saturday afternoon included a well-received visit from Kim Darby, the actress who played Mattie Ross alongside Wayne in his 1969 movie, “True Grit.” There were words from the mayor, live and recorded patriotic music and the raising of the flag on the yacht. The ribbon cutting ceremony went off mostly without a hitch, save for some microphone squeals.

The crowd trickled in slowly, eventually filling up most of Gilkey Square after the smiling actress arrived with Norwester owner Guy Vallee in his “Adam 12” police cruiser and greeted the attendees. She had some nice words for the Town of La Conner and shared a few of her memories about working with Wayne. The audience responded enthusiastically, applauding her multiple times with a few cheers of “we love you, Kim!” and an impromptu chorus of “Happy Birthday” after she said she’d turned 69 the day before.

“I’m honored to be here and it’s a beautiful town,” Darby said. “I’ll be back.”

Bob Williams, a Mount Vernon artist who crafted handmade mugs for the movie star and his sets made a short speech and joked about how he always admired a man who could get as much attention as Wayne – especially from the ladies. La Conner’s mayor, Ramon Hayes, said he was excited to have the museum in town and pleased to see such American pride.

“This is an exciting day,” he said, noting he’d try not to get too political, carefully choosing his words on a peaceful day that finished off a rough week for the nation after highly-publicized fatal shootings.

“It’s days like today that remind us who were are and where we came from as Americans. The world’s exploding and we’re imploding and we need to find a path that includes every single American.”

The crowd stood in silence while the pledge of allegiance and words about America’s greatness were narrated as the flag rose, ending with the song “God Bless the U.S.A.”

La Conner local Lisa Judy was cheerfully selling $14 tour tickets and John Wayne merchandise at the new gift shop behind Waterfont Café, making sure the customers are able to climb the 6-foot ladder between decks.

For those with limited mobility, there is a tour that keeps to the top deck of the museum.

By the time the Norwester had been open for an hour, Judy had sold more than 30 tickets. She said customers were buying everything from John Wayne toilet paper, to mugs, ornaments and magnets. The most popular so far, she said, was the magnet featuring his quotes: “Old guys rule. A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.”

The museum and gift shop will be open daily from about 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., during the summer, subject to change depending on demand.