Behind the Sign

At a recent Mount Vernon Kiwanis Club meeting, we recognized a couple of “students of the month,” and we were all impressed with not only their academic achievements, but even more so with their community involvement and their belief in the importance of service in their lives. In response, Swil Kanim honored our young award recipients with music, and prefaced his pieces with stories of a wise uncle and the healing mysteries of nature that with Swil Kanim’s permission I’m honored to share. Enjoy the beauty of his words as well as his violin. 

Next month I’ll be observing my 75th orbit around the sun. Having reached the three-quarters of a century mark, I’ve been a bonafide witness to the truth of the adage “What is old becomes new again.” While I certainly can’t apply that bit of folk wisdom to myself (75 years is, after all, 75 years), it’s an observation that rings true for the signage that Meyer Sign recently created for Mount Vernon’s venerable green space, Hillcrest Park. Allow me to explain.

You don't have to book an international flight to experience breakfast in Bangkok. It's actually as close as downtown Mount Vernon, thanks to Thai House and its gutsy owner, Jessie Wongkaew. It's a shame Somerset Maugham never made it out here. You'll understand what I mean when you read this story on a new Magic Skagit breakfast option.

I will never forget my first mangonada. It was at the Skagit County Fair three years ago. I’d seen Hispanic families walking around with these amazing looking “smoothies,” and I was pretty sure were made with mango. I’ll admit that the mango spears sticking up from the colorful melange were something of a giveaway as to main ingredient. Looking over the menu at a Mexican snack food stand one afternoon, I was able to identify the mystery mango smoothie as a mangonada, and I promptly ordered one. It proved to be a life changing experience.

Martini Brunch lays claim to a unique culinary genre in the Skagit Valley’s restaurant scene: an “adults-only” party breakfast and lunch venue. Located on 2nd Street, just a few blocks south of Mount Vernon’s downtown core, the bill of fare includes scrumptious eggs Benedicts, buttermilk biscuits and gravy, a “not-so-classic” breakfast plate with spicy pulled pork and giardinera (pickled vegetables), and many more brunch plates that put an entirely new spin on the concept of “scratch cooking.”

Back in 2022, Meyer Sign teamed up with the Skagit County Fairgrounds and Don Wick (Mr. Skagit County himself) to launch an experiment in Magic Skagit oral history. On the first day of that year’s Fair we gathered a group of local dignitaries together for a ribbon cutting on what has become an annual Skagit County Fair exhibit: the Meyer Sign Fair History Booth — a place where people can revisit and relate their memories of Fairs past.

Nestled in the heart of downtown Mount Vernon, Tri Dee Arts is a beloved art supply and gift store that has been a retail cornerstone of the community for decades. The store's rich history and commitment to fostering creativity and connection make it a cherished establishment for locals and visitors alike. 

“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.”

Publishing a new glossy print periodical is something of a leap of faith in the best of times, but most especially so when the printed page so often yields to "digital devices." Which is why seeing a new Skagit Valley print publication fills me with pleasure -- especially when the inaugural issue cover story is about the gentleman I like to think of as "Mr. Skagit Valley." I am speaking of course, of Mr. Don Wick.

I should have a bumper sticker that says, "I brake for murals." As a person who works for a sign company, that probably comes as no surprise -- but when it comes to Mount Vernon's most recent mural display (courtesy of Consejo Counseling Services), it's much better to get out of the car and take it in slowly. This mural art is the visual equivalent of a fine Oaxacan molé, so by all means savor the flavor.

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.

You can't walk through Hillcrest Park in Mount Vernon without noticing the kinetic metal fish sculpture at its north end. Here's the story behind it.