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OME SWEET HOME – Sinclair Island fisheries caretaker Don Hume (left) poses with members of the Babarovich family at their early homestead in 1903. Shown to Hume’s left are Spiro Babarovich, John Babarovich, Ernest Babarovich (Spiro’s son), Clara and Ernest (daughter and son of Peter Babarovich), Annie, Lucy, and Margaret (daughters of Spiro). The Babarovich family will be honored Aug. 2 as Skagit Pioneer Family of the Year during the 114th annual Pioneer Picnic in La Conner. – Photo from the Luvera collection
A mid-summer event at La Conner’s Pioneer Park will combine two of Skagit County’s favorite seasons.
Those being fishing and football.
The Skagit County Pioneer Association will honor the Babarovich family, instrumental in the development of the area’s modern commercial salmon industry, and championship high school football coach Glenn Rickert, who compiled a career 269-72-10 win-loss record, at the 114th annual Pioneer Picnic here on August 2.
Relatives of John Babarovch, who built and operated the first power purse-seiner in the area, will receive the Pioneer Family of the Year award.
Rickert, who coached at Burlington-Edison High from 1956-1989, will be recognized as recipient of the Association’s Pioneer Spirit Award.
In addition to the annual Pioneer Association’s General Meeting, those attending the Pioneer Picnic will start with a complete salmon dinner prepared by the Good Girls and served by members of the La Conner Civic Garden Club.
The luncheon, priced at $15 per plate, will be served at 11:15. La Conner Sunrise Food Bank is managing coffee, tea and other beverages.
The business meeting starts at 12:45.
The public is welcome to attend all Pioneer Park activities. Those purchasing a meal will receive a ribbon granting free admission to the Skagit County Historical Museum in La Conner August 2-5.
John Babarovich was born in the 1850s at Splitska, Croatia, then part of the Austrian Empire, and came to America as a young man after having served four years in the Imperial Navy. He ventured to the West Coast, learning the fishing trade in Seattle and elsewhere on Puget Sound before taking a homestead on Sinclair Island.
His arrival helped launch two major waves of Croatian immigration to Skagit County that led to far-reaching innovations in commercial fishing both on the Sound and in Alaska.
Rickert, from Puyallup, played football at Washington State University. His Tiger teams won two Kingbowl titles and the famed 1971 “Skagit Super Bowl” against archrival Mount Vernon.
Rickert was featured in the June 27 La Conner Weekly News. The Weekly News profiled the Barabovich family June 20.
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