Skagit River Journal of History & Folklore Free Home Page Stories & Photos The most in-depth, comprehensive site about the Skagit Covers from British Columbia to Puget Sound. Counties covered: Skagit, Whatcom, Island, San Juan, Snohomish & BC. An evolving history dedicated to committing random acts of historical kindness

Noel V. Bourasaw, editor 810 Central Ave., Sedro-Woolley, Washington, 98284 Home of the Tarheel Stomp Mortimer Cook slept here & named the town Bug

How Birdsey Minkler dressed while running for the state senate, circa 1900. See this new story for more examples of pioneer clothing, from photos of turn-of-the-century Skagit families

March 5-28, Joel Brock, accomplished Northwest painter and pastel artist, worked in his studio space at 109 Commercial in La Conner for 10 years. He is returning to this space, now the home of Gallery Cygnus, in March showing new work as well as work in themes he created during that ten years. Opening Celebration for this show is on March 5 from 6 to 8 pm and continues through March 28. Gallery Cygnus is open from 11am to 5pm Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It is about a half block up the hill from the main street, on the north side of the street, catacornered from the 1869 Anderson Cabin and the old Bank of LaConner, and across the street from Maple Hall.
March 14, Sunday at 2 pm. Sunday, , Skagit County Historical Museum, LaConner, Skagit Topics Presentation, The Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, Washington's First World's Fair. Explore this grand event of 1909 that brought Seattle and Washington into the national spotlight. Millions came to see wonders ranging from native peoples from the far ends of the earth to the most modern of 20th century inventions - all on the U of W campus! Authors Alan J. Stein and Paula Becker share photos and stories from their new book of the same title.
March 27, Burlington Public Library. The Skagit Valley Genealogical Society is holding an Open House at the Burlington Library at 820 East Washington 98233 Burlington, WA on Saturday, March 27, 2010. The event will be held from 1 to 4 pm at the Burlington Hillside room. Tours of the library's extensive Genealogy section will be given. Come join us with your family questions. We can you direct your search nationwide.
April 3, Saturday, from 10 to 4 p.m., LaConner Historic Home Tour. Pick up your tickets at the Museum and take a tour of some of La Conner's finest vintage homes. A delightful way to start the Tulip Festival.
April 10&11 Wood Fest returns to Sedro-Woolley 9-5 Sat, 10-4 Sun, Sedro-Woolley High School, 3rd Street. See chamber website for events and details
Tulip Festival, April 1-30.
Feb. 12: Concrete Theatre re-opens. Follow the links for the weekly features and times.
Feb. 12: The Way We Played show opened at Skagit County Historical Museum, LaConner. Tues-Sun, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Feb. 13, 2010-July 3, 2011
Feb. 25, 6 p.m. KSVU open house, Concrete. The new radio station welcomes you to join Rip Robbins and the staff and help plan for this launch. KSVU FM, the sister station to KSVR FM at Skagit Valley College, is poised to become an interesting presence on Main Street and a true benefit to the community. a KSVU meeting this Thursday, February 25, at 6 p.m. in the Concrete Theatre. You'll have a chance to ask questions about the station, learn what it takes to get something like this started, and get in on the ground floor of a great new venture.
Mar. 21, 1:30 p.m., Sedro-Woolley. First Meet-Up. The NW Washington History Detectives will begin meeting in March, a group of people from all over Puget Sound who will meet occasionally to hear history authors, discuss books, hear about historical and genealogical discoveries and show each other photos from collections and family scrapbooks. Please join and let us know when it is convenient for you to meet. Follow the link to join us.
Feb. 20 and 27: Clarissa Young, Lummi Nation elder, artist and storyteller, will be at CedarWorks Gallery Saturday, Feb. 20, from 1 to 3 p.m. telling stories and showing her serigraphs and paintings. The gallery, at 217 W. Holly St. downtown, features a variety of works by Lummi artists. Young's presentation is part of a series of Saturday events at the gallery, which opened late last year. From 1 to 3 p.m. Feb. 27, Shasta Cano-Martin will offer a spoken-word and performance presentation, and Charmaine Lawrence will demonstrate her painting techniques.
Feb. 28, 2 p.m.: A History of Snowboaring in the Pacific Northwest,, Skagit County Historical Museum, LaConner.
Please send us more calendar items from your group or area
Past featured events Nov. 6-8: Arts Alive, three day 25th annual arts festival in LaConner. Kicks off with a reception Friday night and shows in more than a dozen galleries in town. See the link for the schedule. Thank you, Art Hupy, for your legacy.
Lyman Challenge Event for Students, apply now; art & essay deadline Oct. 17; event on Oct. 24

Any time, any amount, please help build our travel and research fund for what promises to be a very busy 2010, traveling to mine resources from California to Washington and maybe beyond. Depth of research determined by the level of aid from readers. And subscriptions to our optional Subscribers Online Magazine (launched 2001) by donation too. Thank you. Thank you.

Students should sign up now to compete in the categories of Essay, Art Project or Period Costumes from the 1880s and 1890s
The theme for all entries will be "What History Means to Me."
Sponsored by the Lyman Minkler Mansion Committee, which is advising on the transition of the 1891 mansion to Lyman City Hall and Home of Upriver History
Entries so far range from Halloween-time costumes of what the Minkler adults and children wore in that period, to essays based on interviews with elderly family and neighbors to dioramas to sculpture of the mansion. The Journal will provide period photos upon email request. We also suggest that you start with the websites on the Origins of Lyman (includes profiles of 24 pioneer families including the Minklers), and our exclusive biography of Birdsey Minkler himself or other stories in our Lyman portal.
Final Deadline for submissions: Oct. 9 at the mansion/city hall for hard copy of essays or artwork. Oct. 10 via email and the Internet. Application, information and details: email minklermansion@gmail.com or phone committee chairman Charles Meyers at (360) 826-3301
Prizes will be awarded on Oct. 24 at a special Students Centennial Party at the mansion and students and guests attending are encouraged to bring something historical to go into the Time Capsule that will be buried that day, anything that can fit into a 6-inch opening.

October Upriver Fall Colors Tour: The Concrete area is home to some of the most fantastic fall colors in the northwest; plan to be a leaf peeper this year! The Concrete Chamber hosts the Fall Color Festival in and around our community. The celebration includes music, theater, walks and bike rides, and a Taste & Tour at these local wineries and breweries: Birdsview Brewery; Challenger Ridge Winery; Eagle Haven Winery; Glacier Peak Winery
Concrete Ghost Walk Plan now to attend one of the most entertaining events in the region. The Fourth Annual Concrete Ghost Walk will be held on Saturday evenings: October 3, 10, 17, 24, 2009, starting at 8:00 p.m. Reservations and pre-payment are required. Call: (360) 853-8767 $10/person; Over 18 only. The Concrete Ghost Walk is a great way to learn about the history of our town and surrounding areas. You'll hear about (and maybe even meet!) some of the colorful characters from our past, visit a number of haunted buildings and talk to the locals who'll share their stories and theories. It's all in the name of good-natured fun, but the Concrete Ghost Walk may not be suitable for young children or the faint-hearted! For more information, please send a message to concreteghostwalk@mac.com. The Concrete Ghost Walk is sponsored by the Concrete Chamber of Commerce and the Concrete Heritage Museum where you can buy a reprinted copy of Charles Dwelley's classic book, So They Called the Town Concrete.

Your planned event goes here. Is your class planning a reunion? Are you looking for lost classmates or possible family members for an upcoming reunion? Remember, the Journal has about 65,000 readers per month, and is growing. Who could possibly appeal more to just the people you are looking for? Email us now.
Sept. 12-13: Sedro-Woolley Founders Days. See the story for details of these events on both Saturday and Sunday. Repeats the second weekend of September annually, highlighted by the Pancake Breakfast at the Senior Center and the reenactment of the 1914 Bank Robbery in front of the museum on Saturday and the Car Show at Riverfront Park on Sunday. Celebrating its 15th anniversary in 2009.
Oct. 3, 3-6 p.m.: Sedro-Woolley Museum Silent Auction, Community Center, 703 Pacific. Includes wine tasting by local vieyards and food from local restaurants. $10 per person, obtain at event or at Museum, Wed and Thurs Noon-4; Sat 9 a.m.-4 p.m.; Sun 1:30-4:30 p.m. (360) 855-2390 for details

Steve Trueman lives in Sedro-Woolley and has a list of local customers who depend on him for hats, caps, vests, shirts (bowling?) or anything else where you can embroidery a logo, illustration, drawing or photo. Call him today for your next event

See this Journal Timeline website of local, state, national, international events for years of the pioneer period. Did you enjoy this story? Remember, as with all our features, this story is a draft and will evolve as we discover more information and photos. This process continues until we eventually compile a book about Northwest history. Can you help? Remember; we welcome correction & criticism. Please report any broken links or files that do not open and we will send you the correct link. With more than 550 features, we depend on your report. Thank you. Read about how you can order CDs that include our photo features from the first five years of our Subscribers Edition. Perfect for gifts. You can click the donation button to contribute to the rising costs of this site. You can also subscribe to our optional Subscribers-Paid Journal magazine online, which enters its tenth year with exclusive stories, in-depth research and photos that are shared with our subscribers first. You can go here to read the preview edition to see examples of our in-depth research or read how and why to subscribe. You can read the history websites about our prime sponsors Would you like information about how to join them in advertising? Oliver-Hammer Clothes Shop at 817 Metcalf Street in downtown Sedro-Woolley, 88 years. Peace and quiet at the Alpine RV Park, just north of Marblemount on Hwy 20, day, week or month, perfect for hunting or fishing Park your RV or pitch a tent by the Skagit River, just a short drive from Winthrop or Sedro-Woolley Joy's Sedro-Woolley Bakery-Cafe at 823 Metcalf Street in downtown Sedro-Woolley. Check out Sedro-Woolley First section for links to all stories and reasons to shop here first or make this your destination on your visit or vacation. Are you looking to buy or sell a historic property, business or residence? We may be able to assist. Email us for details.

Please sign our guestbook so our readers will know where you found out about us, or share something you know about the Skagit River or your memories or those of your family. Share your reactions or suggestions or comment on our Journal. Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to visit our site.

View My Guestbook Sign My Guestbook

Email us at: skagitriverjournal@gmail.com Mail copies/documents to Street address: Skagit River Journal, 810 Central Ave., Sedro-Woolley, WA, 98284.