to “America Boulevard” was because it did not fit the parameters of the post office.

Sun Meadows resident Bob Metz shows the phase 1 grading plan for the development dating back to 1992 and points out America the Beautiful Boulevard that is now America Boulevard.

The original plat documents recorded by the county in 1995, however, show the street name was changed to America Boulevard. Donella Clark, Clallam County’s senior planner, said the plat documents signed in 1995 by Mull are the only documents that were recorded by the county and she doesn’t have more documents related to the property.

SPEAKING UP

Owners of the 118 homes and remaining two lots collectively own the housing complex and common areas of Sun Meadows through the Sun Meadows Homeowners Association (HOA) that operates as a nonprofit. Shawnna Rigg, an HOA board of directors member and previous resident of Sun Meadows from 1999-2004 on Patriot Way, said the street names have been that way from the time when she moved in the neighborhood in 1999. “Those were the names of the streets when I moved there,” Rigg said. “Everybody just thought that was very patriotic.” Rigg owns the last two lots left to build on in the development and said she sells real estate for RE/MAX Prime in Sequim and many of her clients ask to live in the current Sun Meadows neighborhood. She said Sun Meadows is a welcoming and friendly community that watches out for each other. “People look for those kinds of neighborhoods when they move to Sequim,” she said. “Sun Meadows gives you that sense of welcoming and community.” Gring said many people speculate the street names are named that way for patriotic reasons. “My impression was some kind of patriotic knowledge,” he said. Roy Bonn, another resident on America Boulevard who has lived in the development since

16 LOP Winter 2017

SENSE OF COMMUNITY

1997, said he believes the street names were a marketing decision made by the developer to try and appeal to the many veterans who reside in the Sequim community. “We have a lot of retired military.” “The names (were) something that would appeal to people that served in the military.” Bonn said he is a Korean War veteran and there are a lot of other retired military that live in Sun Meadows. He said from the discussions he has had with other neighbors over the years that the subdivision might also have been designed to be a senior living complex. “This appealed to especially a lot of servicemen,” he said. Bonn also said he believes the reason why “America the Beautiful Boulevard” was changed

While there is no definite confirmation Sun Meadows was named with patriotic intentions, the neighborhood seems to be patriotic in its own way. Every Fourth of July, residents host a community barbecue for family and friends of Sun Meadows’ residents and an annual garage sale. Metz said his wife Pamala started the barbecue about seven years ago and it usually has a big turnout. “It’s a really fun event,” Metz said. He said while the big Fourth of July event was not in lieu of the street names it was a way for the community to get to know one another. “I don’t think that was given much thought when Pam decided to do it,” he said. “She just wanted to bring the people together and for the kids to have a good time.” Residents said Halloween also is a big event for the community and many children come to visit to go trick-or-treating. “This year they had over 400 plus kids for Halloween because they make it a friendly neighborhood to be in,” Rigg said. She said her children have gone trick or treating in Sun Meadows and this year it had a banner up that read, “Halloween City.” Rigg said the HOA does its best to create a sense of community. “We all have the same goal to keep the community flourishing and well-maintained,” Rigg said. While the meaning behind the origin of the street names of Sun Meadows remains a mystery, the only information that could be found about Thomas Gaul, the developer who supposedly named the streets, was a birth announcement made in The Issaquah Press in December of 1988 announcing the birth of Thomas’ grandson Marc Gaul. The developers of New Concept Development could not be reached for this story.