March 23, 2024
A Brief History of Hillcrest Park
“The city of Mount Vernon now boasts a park of its own, Hillcrest Park, ideally located in a grove of virgin timber that covers a thirty-acre tract. The land was purchased five years ago from J. C. McGinnitie at a cost of $6,000… with the final payment of $1,200 made just a few days ago, interest in the park has been revived…This week the water company offered to build a water main for a distance of 150 feet if the city will build the remaining 500 feet necessary to reach the park. With only a small expenditure, the park may be one of the finest and most picturesque in the Northwest.”
May 12, 2022
Tales of the Magic Skagit: The Adventures of Sean O’Leary
For almost as long as I lived in Mount Vernon, Ristretto has been my "go go" local coffee joint. But this story isn’t about Ristretto, so much as it is about one of the people who currently owns what for years has been a cultural magnet of downtown Mount Vernon — a place where the baristas are as engaging as they are professional, where the brick walls drip with local art, and where the spaces within in its 19th century facade nurture public discourse or more secluded reflection, as the spirit moves. This is the story of Sean O’Leary, and how his personal narrative adventurously intertwines with that of a much loved local cafe.
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