Linda Freed

Longtime matriarch of La Conner, Linda Freed, passed on New Year’s Day 2019. She started the now famous Calico Cupboard restaurants back in 1981 at the south end of First Street, where the sea and the soil meet. She expanded her famous ‘foodery’ to include one in Anacortes and Mount Vernon. She later created Seeds Bistro in the Tillinghast building.

My wife and I sold produce to her, back in the nineties, after she bought Longfellow Café in Mount Vernon, turning it into yet another successful Calico Cupboard enterprise.

She was a class act and demanded that from her staff.

She used old family recipes that had stood the test of time. Why, I just finished a batch of brussels sprout hash, just one of the famous dishes on her menu. Linda’s brother-in-law’s hash holds a special place on the palates of many patrons.

Her baked goodies ‘grinned’ the faces of the eaters of her cookies, quiches, pies and cinnamon rolls. Nope, she left no holes when it came to living life or creating a menu bold.

It wasn’t long ago when I learned of her impending demise. Having struggled through my own wife’s slow sad death, I realized that she might need a soulful sendoff, so I found a special Christmas tree and put it up late, but I didn’t crown it until New Year’s Eve! Hopefully, it’s worthy of a look and a good memory of a Lady who worked tirelessly to feed us with food prepared so lovingly.

So it is that I send you this wish, that you remember her the next time you enjoy a piece of pie, an omelet, a blueberry short stack or a cup of coffee with a bowl of soup. She deserves a sendoff of soft sweetness. Even if there are tears in our eyes, we can be thankful for her smiles, style and grace.

Godspeed as you gallop across the galaxy, good woman of the valley.

Your friend,

Glen S. Johnson