Behind the Sign

This is the first in a two part series based on an interview with Skagit Valley artist and member of the Upper Skagit Tribe, Jay Bowen. In Part One ("Origin Story") we'll learn about Jay’s understanding of his tribal past and the glimpses it offers into the “pre-contact” world of our Skagit Valley history, and how that past shaped Jay’s childhood growing up in a culture very different from the one of his ancestors. We’ll follow Jay’s decision at a very young age to become an artist, and we’ll leave him in Santa Fe at a place he describes as “heaven.”

In looking back at the stories we told in 2021, it seemed to me that “People, Places, Things” was a crackerjack of a theme. Although it might at first glance seem like a straightforward organizational approach, the reality is that those three categories are often very much intertwined. But fools rush in, as they say…so pour yourself another cup of joe, add the last of the egg nog to it, and take a little trip down memory lane with me.

A couple of weeks ago, Meyer Sign owner Ken Hitt and I visited a place just down the road from the company’s Old Hwy. 99 South address. It was one of those events that proves yet again that when one door closes, another opens…and then serves up a killer sandwich.

If you've ever wondered about the significance of the inscribed masonry tag on the Skagit Valley Co-op building at the corner of 1st and Division, let me just say that you can't make stuff like this up. Read on and see if you don't agree.

Meyer Sign is proud to have been chosen to design, fabricate, and install an impressive sign that marks the entry to Skagit Regional Airport -- thanks to a collaboration between Port of Skagit and Heritage Flight Museum. While the sign itself is impressive -- just try and find another sign in the Magic Skagit that has an actual airplane mounted to it -- the bigger story "behind the sign" is the historical and cultural venue it signifies. In this Tales From the Magic Skagit story, the executive director of Heritage Flight Museum, Lt. Col. Greg Anders, shares the story of his family's tribute to combat air veterans, and the legacy it hopes to leave for the Skagit Valley.

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.

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.