Around the Island
Published 12:12 pm Saturday, April 26, 2008
Market has
a fresh face
After 25 years on Bainbridge, Susan Anemone had gotten to know the Bainbridge Farmers Market pretty well, as a consumer.
This year, her role will be far different.
“I’m kind of the public face of the market,” she said.
Anemone has taken the reins from Linda Owens as market manager, which means that when the market opens for the season this morning, she’ll make her presence known at the manager’s tent as the self-described “go-to” person for both vendors and the public.
Anemone and her husband have had a long-standing interest in organic farming, and have grown – although not sold – organic produce in Winslow for 20 years.
She held a job in Seattle for years in the field of health-care management, and before that she was a school teacher and a midwife who specialized in home births.
With her youngest son on the verge of college graduation, Anemone decided it was time to try something new of her own. So she’s parlayed her skills and talents into her own back yard, or rather, the island’s town square, where the market is held each Saturday.
So far, preparations have gone smoothly as she’s maintained and updated the market Web site, fielded questions and vendor applications, and organized the “grid,” or the layout of vendors around the site.
For that last task, Anemone says she longs for a computer program. And she does admit to having had a few butterflies at the first site section meeting this past Saturday.
But she’s fairly certain that both sellers and visitors will genially cut her enough slack as she finds her managerial footing.
“I still can fall back on ‘Oh I’m new,’” she said. “That’ll probably work for at least a couple of weeks.”
Given the spotty weather of late, Anemone isn’t exactly sure what produce the farmers will bring. Cool-weather crops, most likely, like spinach and chard.
And the surprise is always part of the fun.
“Each week you’re going to find different things. So if you make it a weekly ritual, it’s kind of an unfolding process,” she said. “Run down to the the market and see.”
The Saturday Farmers Market runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. today and every Saturday through October.
See www.bainbridgefarmersmarket.com.
Little house to find new home
For the second time in its 100 years, “Dore Cottage” is moving to new digs.
The little house began life as part of Port Blakely Mill Company, but was later barged to the north shore of the harbor, where it has sat ever since.
Last year the house’s owners offered the building to the Housing Resources Board as a low income housing unit, if HRB could find a new home for the home. The cottage will be placed beside the Sadie Woodman house as an Accessory Dwelling Unit.
On Wednesday, Lynwood based Kunkel Moving, assisted by a large group of volunteers, prepared the house to be trucked into Winslow.
Thursday the house was hauled down Seaborne Road, to 3-T Road where it spent the night. Friday morning it began its long haul up Blakely Avenue to Eagle Harbor Drive, and on to the corner of Wyatt Way and Weaver Avenue.
Many volunteers have donated their time to the project, and one even climbed to the roof of the building to clear away branches as it was moved down Seaborne. Several local businesses also helped out with donations and discounts.
Memorial gets national status
On April 10, the Public Lands Bill was passed by the U.S. Senate, making Bainbridge Island’s Japanese internment memorial a satellite unit of the Minidoka National Monument. The bill will grant National Park Service historic site status to the memorial. It must now be appraised by the House of Representatives and signed by the president, but once signed into law, Congress may begin to consider granting funds.
The World War II Nikkei Internment and Exclusion Memorial Committee was formed 10 years ago, and the first of four building phases was completed in 2006, but limited funding has delayed construction.
When the bill passed the Senate, Washington Senator Maria Cantwell spoke on the senate floor, “singling out Rep. Inslee and the memorial project,” said Clarence Moriwaki, chairman of the memorial committee. Cantwell spoke in praise of the memorial and stated that she was “proud that we are finally recognizing this important part of our nation’s and state’s history.”
This new designation will allow the project access to federal funding, and the memorial will be maintained by the National Park Service. March 30 marked the 66th anniversary of the internment, spurring eagerness to complete the project among its proponents. In an interview just weeks before the passage of the bill, Moriwaki confirmed that the level of enthusiasm in support of the project was still high.
The memorial will stand at the site of the Eagledale Ferry Dock, the departure point from which the first Japanese Americans were sent to internment camps during World War II.
It will house a pathway following the route which those internees walked as they prepared to board the ferry that would take them from the island. This boardwalk, along with a wooden pavilion, gates, an entry road, and parking spaces, were completed in the first stage of construction.
However, designs dictated that the memorial also contain a “story wall” with the names of all 227 Japanese islanders who were interned, an interpretative center and classroom, and a 150-foot pier near the site of the historic dock.
Public dock to close for fixes
The road and ramp leading to the public dock at Waterfront Park will be closed for repairs Monday, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Portions of the dock may also be closed for short periods from April 15 through May 24, as Public Works repairs pile hoops, sleepers, plumbing and electrical systems.
Moorage and dinghy access will still be available.
For information about the project, contact Public Works Operations and Maintenance at 842-1212. For help with moorage, call Harbormaster Tami Allen at 780-3733.
Council okays park toilet
If all goes as planned, Water-front Park will have new bathrooms by the Fourth of July.
City Councilors on Wednesday accepted a $281,000 bid from Northern Con-Agg to build the long-awaited restroom.
The passage came despite concerns raised about a mistake in the bid documents. City Attorney Paul McMurray said the mistake is “immaterial” and won’t adversely impact the project.
The 300-square-foot facility will be much simpler than some previous designs.
It will house a few toilets and shower facilities.
Some councilors said the showers shouldn’t be free, but none wanted the issue to derail the project.
The need for a new restroom at the park was first identified in 1999, when a new park plan was drawn up.
The old building was in bad disrepair and was razed in 2001.
In the seven years since, several iterations have been proposed and rejected. The city has spent an estimated $170,000 on design over the years.
