Nelson family brings out large Pioneer Picnic crowd

Old memories were shared while new ones were made at the 118th annual Pioneer Picnic on Thursday, August 4.

The traditional summer event, organized by the Skagit County Pioneer Association, brought together long-standing friends and new acquaintances who enjoyed a barbecued salmon lunch prepared by the “Good Girls” and served by members of the La Conner Civic Garden Club.

Sisters Kim Good Rubenstein, Virginia Good-Vlahovich and Patsy Good cooked 185 pounds of sockeye salmon for the outdoor luncheon at Pioneer Park.

Around 300 people took part in the lunch, which preceded the pioneer association’s annual program and business meeting.

“I love watching the event come together,” Rubenstein said Friday. “But most of all I love the amazing sense of community that is seen and felt by all as a result of this historic picnic. Our ancestors were smiling on us yesterday.”

Reggie Nelson was a main spokesman for the descendants of Emil and Anna Dalan Nelson, who were honored as the 2022 Pioneer Family of the Year.

“This setting is so gorgeous for an event like this,” Nelson said. “You have so many family trees joined together today that you have a family forest. What a beautiful place.”

Nelson family members keynoted the program (see related story), which also paid tribute to four enduring Skagit County community organizations – the Edison Women’s Club, Harmony Birthday Club, Chapter Two of Territorial Daughters of Washington and the La Conner Billiken Club.

Pioneer Association President Liza Peth Bott said it was Jeanne Youngquist, one of the group’s board members, who prior to the COVID-19 pandemic suggested that the community organizations be considered as recipients of the Pioneer Spirit Award.

Sarah Smith represented the Edison Women’s Club, stating that it was founded in 1909 as the Edison Ladies Improvement Society.

Kathy Brown noted that the Harmony Birthday Club has long been a donor to McLean Road Fire Department and the Skagit Valley Herald Christmas Fund, among other pursuits.

The Territorial Daughters group was saluted for its painstaking research since 1936 in gathering the stories of early settlers in Washington.

There was a brief break in the program when it came time to recognize the Billikens as no one from the La Conner club immediately came forward as a representative.

“I had always heard they were a secret society,” Bott joked.

Ultimately, Sally Cram of La Conner was coaxed into sharing a few remarks and accepting a plaque and floral arrangement on the club’s behalf.

“If I get flowers,” she quipped, “I’ll come down.”

Cram shared how the Billikens from the start sought to acquire books for La Conner’s library and through the years have been staunch supporters of the Skagit County Historical Museum, a prime beneficiary of the picnic.

Through the decades, the club has championed countless other civic causes, Cram said, warnng,

“If we had the time, I could talk for an hour.”

Event song leader Faye Whitney, prior to leading a verse of “God Bless America,” added that her mother and grandmother had been Billiken members.

“I grew up with it,” she said. “And it was always a chance to have a really good lunch.”

Program emcee Bott praised the legacies of accomplishment and fellowship established by each of the four groups.

“They really do embody the spirit of Skagit County,” she said.

The histories of the Nelson family and quartet of community organizations were featured on story board panels displayed throughout the day in the park.

The pictorial exhibits were created by historical museum archivist Mari Densmore and assembled by volunteers prior to the Picnic. Among that group were Pat and Kevin Paul of Swinomish. Pat Paul is president of the Skagit County Historical Society board of directors and Kevin Paul is a La Conner Regional Library board member.

The program also included reports delivered by association officers and historical museum director Jo Wolfe; introduction of Peggy Stowe, the group’s 2023 president; and acknowledgements by past Pioneer Association President John Kamb, Jr. of the youngest person and oldest man and woman in attendance.

Coincidentally, two awards presented by Kamb went to his immediate family. His father, John Kamb, Sr., 93, edged Ed Nelson as the oldest male attendee. His two-week-old granddaughter, Brooke, was the youngest to attend the picnic.

“It’s an inside job,” chuckled Kamb, a Fir Island resident and Mount Vernon attorney.

Joyce Johnson, 104, of the La Conner Civic Garden Club and whose poetry has been featured in the Weekly News, was honored as the most senior woman attending.

Bott said the history of Skagit County, which the Pioneer Picnic honors each year on the first Thursday in August, is well worth celebrating.

“We love this place for its opportunities and beautiful landscape,” she said. “I hope we can preserve it so we can thrive for many more generations.”