For those of you who haven’t been keeping close count (including yours truly), January 1, 2024 will mark the fourth anniversary (to the day) of Meyer Sign’s “Tales of the Magic Skagit” series. Our very first episode, in celebration of a new year was a story about Chuckanut Drive. In the many stories to follow, our series has grown both in size and engagement — and it is the latter attribute which has delighted us.

As the host and producer of our series (I can use highfalutin words like this since we now have a podcast station and YouTube channel) I’ve learned a lot from those of you who have made room in your lives for our stories. We don’t take that compliment lightly — and, of course, I don’t need to mention who you should consider to fulfill your next signage requirement.

My absolute pleasure in creating Meyer Sign’s series is, however, slightly dampened by the omnipresent reality that for every story I tell — often with the participation of folks who know those stories far better than I — there are dozens more on my constantly evolving and ever expanding editorial list. Short of creating an AI avatar (an absolutely horrifying prospect if you happen to know me), the obvious solution to my “too many stories, too little time” conundrum was to recruit additional talent. Which leads us to the Skagit Valley Youth History Project…and Morgan White.

The Skagit Valley Youth History Project

Aside from having additional contributors who might also push the creative envelope for Tales of the Magic Skagit, I wanted different — and younger — voices to tell our stories. After all, it’s our children and grandchildren who are going to carry our past with them long after we’ve “strutted and fretted” our way across history’s stage, if I may be so bold as to borrow from The Bard. We can at least help them prepare for the journey; and if in the process we can also help them develop their gifts and sense of purpose, that’s legacy enough for me. Make sure that makes it into my obit, by the way.

It was as a result of the above musings that I first introduced Meyer Sign owner Ken Hitt to the concept of an internship program organized under the name and mission, the “Skagit Valley Youth History Project.” My goal for this program is to engage high school students from throughout the Skagit Valley whose interests include history, art, journalism, and creative writing, and to provide an internship opportunity as contributors to Meyer Sign’s Tales of the Magic Skagit series. As interns, they will be part of an editorial team that produces a variety of media content in keeping with the Tales of the Magic Skagit mission of “celebrating the people, places, and things that make the Skagit Valley magic.”

One of my hopes for the Skagit Valley Youth History Project is to pair high school interns with local museums. The purpose of this collaboration will be to highlight archival content that might not otherwise make it into public exhibits, and provide some narrative context in a way that adds dynamically to our identity as Skagitonians. I would also like our interns to interview folks who have lived in the Magic Skagit for decades. I’m talking primarily about people who are more than 70 years old (aka, my g…g…generation), and whose familial connections to this place may reach back millennia. In the latter instance, I’m of course speaking of the First Peoples of the Skagit Valley.

While it should be pretty obvious how our Tales of the Magic Skagit audience (we love you guys) will benefit from he Skagit Valley Youth History Project, I expect our interns to benefit as well. For starters, they will have an opportunity to develop their skills as communicators and historians. In the process they can build a portfolio of work that may serve them in good stead in future academic or career opportunities. Last but not least, they’ll be paid for their work at a level commensurate with their contributions. I happen to hold a long cherished belief that people should be adequately rewarded for their creativity and the quality of their productive output. The standards will be high, but based on the experiences I’ve had with my grandchildren’s generation, I think our interns will be more than up to the task. I am, of course, a congenital optimist, but it’s the young people I meet nowadays that buoy my fondest hopes our future.

Introducing Morgan White

A few months ago, I began my outreach to local high schools in search of internship candidates. The first to respond was Mount Vernon High (go Bulldogs!), which was how I was introduced to Morgan White. So let me tell you a little about Morgan in anticipation of her first Tales of the Magic Skagit stories.

Morgan will be a junior this fall. She was born in Mount Vernon and has lived here all her life. Her favorite subjects, not surprisingly given her interest in the TMS internship, are English and history. But among her other interests (and accomplishments) is music. She is a percussionist with the Mount Vernon High School band and a member of the school’s percussion ensemble, and plays with all the bands (except jazz), including the high school marching band. For those like myself who are occasionally challenged by chewing gum and walking, simultaneously keeping a rhythm with your feet and your hands seems a far more daunting prospect than writing a Tales of the Magic Skagit story — but I think you’ll soon discover that Morgan is more than capable of doing both.

Morgan became aware of the Skagit Valley Youth History Project through a friend in the National Honor Society (which Morgan has since joined) who came across a description of the internship program among volunteer opportunity listings. “She knew I was into journalism, so she sent me the information and I signed up.” I should tell you that it only took an initial interview for me to decide that Morgan should make some Magic Skagit history as our very first intern. Asked about her goals for the internship, Morgan cites learning more about the history of the Skagit Valley and becoming a better writer. “There is so much I don’t know yet about where I live — about the people who live here.”

I recently asked Morgan about what puts the “magic” in the Magic Skagit for her. “I love how pretty it is and the weather we have here,” she replied. “I like hiking, and there are so many great places to go (favorites include Oyster Dome and Bridal Veil Falls) and so much to do…especially downtown. I really like our history.” Among Morgan’s other favorite activities, besides percussion, are reading, writing, and spending time outdoors. “I like being outside,” she says.

Needless to say, given her predilections, I predict that Morgan will wear her internship well. You’ll get an opportunity to hear her voice for the first time in an impending article about her interviews with a number of artists who were part of this year’s Northwest Art Beat Studio Tour, hosted by Skagit Artists. Also on the horizon will be a story about the current exhibit at the Skagit County Historical Society Museum (“I Do”) and an interview with the owner of a long time and much loved retail icon of downtown Mount Vernon, Tri Dee Arts. As Morgan develops her journalistic chops, we’ll collaborate on a number of other TMS stories that will range from interviews with long time Skagitonians to stories concerning art, history, and interesting people, as well as other bright and shiny objects that capture our whimsy. There’s a long list of editorial topics to choose from, believe me.

I hope you’ll give Morgan a warm “Tales of the Magic Skagit” welcome. I have no doubt that you’ll enjoy what she brings to our celebration of the people, places, and things that make the Skagit Valley such a magical place to live. I’ll also have more to say about the Skagit Valley Youth History Project in the months to come, but if you happen to know any local high school students who might be interested, please share this story with them. I can’t begin to tell you what an opportunity like this would have meant to me when I was Morgan’s age, and my personal mission as the “editor-in-chief” of Tales of the Magic Skagit is to make the internship experience a life-changing one for the youth who take on its challenge. After all, they’re the ones who will steward our history in the decades to come, and hopefully become better at learning from it than their predecessors have at times proven. That’s my definition of “progress.”