Behind the Sign

Meyer Sign has participated with Skagit Publishing in sponsoring stories about local no-profits that are making our Magic Skagit a better place to live. The story we chose to tell, which is being published on Thanksgiving Day 2021 by Skagit Publishing in a special Giving Guide, is about Underground Ministries -- an organization that partners throughout our community with individuals, faith groups, and the correctional system to ensure the successful return co community of those who have been imprisoned for having offended it. The opportunity for healing and transformation this process creates is something for which we can all be thankful.

Every now and again a sign project comes along that elevates the story of its evolution to “must read” status — not simply because of how the sign was made and installed, but because of how it came into being in the first place. Such is the case with our recent signage project on behalf of the Port of Skagit and Heritage Flight Museum.

Back in late September, I posted a short video taken along the Padilla Bay trail and asked our Meyer Sign friends and followers to do some history sleuthing. As always, you rose to the occasion...and in the process introduced me to the term "stump farm."

Inscribed on a memorial along Mount Vernon's River Walk are the names of eight loggers who nearly 150 years ago devoted an arduous three years of their lives to removing a barrier on the Skagit River that opened the way for Mount Vernon to become a hub of commerce…and ultimately the county seat of power in the Skagit Valley.

For all its breathtaking beauty, Ebey's Prairie on Whidbey Island is a landscape shaped by cataclysmic forces, both natural and human. The history that has emerged from those encounters is filled with shadow and light, triumph and tragedy, bloodshed and inspiration, terror and joy — and even a bit of the macabre. This is the story of the Ebeys of Coupeville, and it begins some 17,000 years ago.

If you've ever driven north on S. 1st Street, Mount Vernon, it’s highly likely that the mural at the intersection with Gates Street caught your eye. It’s big, it’s bold, it’s colorful — and last but not least — it is a swirling tapestry comprised of vignettes about the immigrant experience, particularly as it applies to the Skagit Valley.

On Monday, September 6, Meyer Sign lost a brother. We share in the grief of his family, but in the midst of that grief we want to celebrate his life while our memories are at their most poignant. And Gregg's life was worthy of celebration.

Hugo Helmer was a musician, a teacher, a band leader, and a businessman whose retain venue continues to thrive under its fourth generation of family ownership. Not bad for a Swedish immigrant whose American Dream started in the rough and tumble of logging and led to the world's first accordion marching band. Broadway couldn't have scripted this story, but you can read it here.

Brandan Sawyer loves him some good barbecue. He’s also a person who subscribes to the time honored maxim, “in for a penny, in for a pound.” Combine those virtues with a handyman’s DIY skills and a serious competitive streak, and then throw in a dogged determination to make a living doing what he loves while enjoying time with his family. What you get is not only a recipe for great food, but for entrepreneurial success. What you get is Brando’s BBQ.

Bruce McCormick is a living link to the Skagit Valley’s pioneer past — a first hand witness to a bygone era of immigrant settlement. For Bruce, that past is more than a collection of newspaper clippings or museum artifacts — it is remembered oral history learned at the knee of his grandfather, David McCormick. They’ll be more to say about David McCormick…but first, l’d like you to meet his grandson.

When it comes to good food, we have an embarrassment of local culinary riches here in the Magic Skagit. While most of my favorite restaurants weathered the pandemic, there was one that survived only to be closed under circumstances I've yet to figure out, but that ultimately don't matter to the hole left in my heart...and my tummy. When one door closes, however, another opens...

Since the time of the Civil War until the end of the Second World War, a lighthouse has stood on a strategic bluff overlooking the maritime link between the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Puget Sound, serving as both a sentinel and a beacon. This is the story of the Admiralty Head Lighthouse.