The
INSIDE Totem Pole Journey
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Puppet show
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SWAP Street Dance
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www.islandsweekly.com 360-468-4242 • 800-654-6142
Changes for the county By Steve Wehrly Journal editor
A newly established policy that ushered in term limits to San Juan County’s
numerous advisory committees could lead to a major overhaul of the Marine Resources Committee. Eight positions on the
Theo, Lorna’s boon companion for eight years, is gone. Go in peace, Sweet Pie
MRC will be appointed by the county council in the coming weeks and a new MRC coordinator will soon be announced. On July 30, Philip Green, Robin Hirsch and Chuck Schietinger were appointed to MRC positions 2, 1 and 4, respectively. The appointments were made without notice or prior naming of the candidates during the final agenda time, titled “County Manager Clerk Updates.” Other appointments, including three to the Veterans Advisory Board and one to the Agricultural Resources Committee, were on the agenda with names of the appointees. A week later, Councilman Rick Hughes gave the
Islands’ eekly W
VOLUME 36, NUMBER 35 • august 27, 2013
Catching air
Contributed photo / George Willis
A pro BMXer shows off his style at the Retreat in Lopez Village last weekend. To see more scenes from this huge event, see page 8.
See changes, page 5
The stories that a home can tell By Lorne Reese Special to the Weekly
Lopez Center
LIVE on Stage!
Saturday, August 31st, 8pm
The Atomic Bombshells Hosted by BenDeLaCreme W/special guest Waxie Moon
$25 (suggested for 18 yrs. plus)
Tickets: Lopez Center; PSR; Blossom; Lopez Book Shop; www.lopezcenter.org • No host bar/riser seating
You may be eligible for the Washington State Food Assistance Program.
For more information, to apply or reapply, call or stop by the Lopez Island Family Resource Center: (360)468-4117
Applications are confidential. This material was funded in part by the USDA Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Basic Food is available to all regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, religion, or political belief.
In 1971, the Hoedemaker family bought an old Lopez farmhouse, built in 1913. “You have no idea what a mess we found when we opened up all those rooms that had been closed off for years,” said Linda Hoedemaker, daughter of
the purchasers. “The house hadn’t been painted since the 1930s. The building was basically being used for storage. The hay barn was falling down, but the milking parlor, granary and piggery were in good shape and remain today.” She and her brothers, John and Stephen, inherited the property when their
mother died in 2005. As only the second family to own the historic property, the Hoedemakers carried on the farming traditions of the Davis ancestors. Today, the family is committed to preserving and maintaining their historic property and use the old homestead as a quiet retreat from their busy lives in Seattle.
“We’ve only changed a few light fixtures,” said Linda. “We don’t want to make changes. Our children like it this way.” This is the story of just one of the houses on the tenth annual Lopez Center Home Tour. There are seven more stories like this one, including Bill and Marty Holm’s 16 by 20-foot weathered cabin overlooking Rosario Strait, the iconic water tower that served for years as the Lopez Thrift Shop and its adjacent Sears and Roebuck kit bungalow, and a stylish makeover for a 1976 house. If you’ve experienced one of Lopez Center’s Home Tour fundraisers, you know those tickets offer a oncea-year opportunity to drive down roads you don’t normally travel, enjoy views you’ve never witnessed before and visit eight unique and thoroughly original homes, all reflections of those who live in them. “It’s a chance to see outstanding homes of every size and shape on our island home and help support Lopez Center -- the community’s house,” says Jan Sundquist about the upcomSee Stories, page 6