Page 14 - FINAL EARLY SPRING 2019 SWHS Newsletter

Other South Whidbey Stores Austin ‘Deke’ Marshall ran

This newsletter is not exhaustive in the Austin Store from 1937
describing all the early stores on South to 1966. The building is lo-
Whidbey. cated in Freeland on SR 525
For instance, in 1922 Sidney Nourse and later became Harold’s
Gay 90s Pizza Parlor.
built a store at Midvale, which was
operated by Randy Erickson and Rus- The Mutiny Bay dockside
sell Anderson, and then by Dewey and town of Austin was named
Mildred Hoekstra. Later on it became a after him by his pioneering
television and electronics store operat- father who established a
ed by Mel and Jim Ogden. post office there in 1901.u
There was also a store above Bell’s
Beach at the corner of Central and
Saratoga Roads, but we have scant in- What plans we have for 2019!
formation and no photos.
About 1915 at the corner of Sills and We take the trust of previous genera- • A new exhibit at our Museum
Maxwelton roads, John DeWitt Patton tions seriously in endeavoring to show • An indigenous people’s exhibit at the
opened a small store, about 12x16 feet what life was like on South Whidbey: South Whidbey Community Center
in size, in the backyard of his home. the struggles, the joys, the work, the First though, we needed to raise
dreams…
He and his wife, Martha, sold a little To that end, the South Whidbey His- funds to paint the exterior of the Mu-
seum this summer. Thankfully, a local
bit of everything in their corner grocery torical Society Board has proposed benefactress stepped forward and cov-
including candy, homemade preserves these ideas for 2019: ered the cost with a generous donation.
from their apple, plum and cherry • More bus tours this summer
Along with several other donations,
trees, as well as their strawberries and • A cross-generational tour at several we now have funds to de-moss the
currants, plus they sold feed for live- historic farms of South Whidbey roof, install a new gutter system, and
stock. The supplies for the store were • Weekend Langley town walking tours beautify the plantings surrounding the
brought into the dock at Maxwelton. led by Bob Waterman museum. However, since we operate
Patton eventually closed his little • More local history videos on a shoestring budget, our planned
store and was hired by the Clinton • A presentation on the 100th anniver- programs will require additional dona-
Union Grocery, then located on Brigh- sary of car ferry service at Clinton tions. May we count on you?
ton Beach in Old Clinton, where he We have also put a link on our web-
worked for some time. site and Facebook page to a brief survey
In the early days of South Whidbey to prioritize our program offerings. We
local folk saw opportunity and endeav- would love to know your thoughts.
ored to fill a need in selling supplies
and wares to new inhabitants of the
Island. Bill Haroldson,

SWHS Board President

Thank you to our 2018 Donors...

Shannon Arndt Kristine Haroldson Roger Sherman
Jack Atwood William & Carolyn Haroldson Pete Tulloch
Michael Bell Sue Hoelscher Mary Ellen Wade
Jamie Boyer Shelley Merryfield Debra Waterman
Laura Canby Lauren Mills Frances L Wood
Mark and Julie Ellis Tom & Miriam Nack
Linda Schultz Fletcher Joan Nelson Foundation Grants & Local
Wayne and Deborah Funk Chuck Nordhoff Business Donations
Marilyn and Lloyd Gage Nancy Nordhoff Whidbey Island Bank / Heritage Bank
Heath and Robin Gunn John Oftebro Swinomish Tribe Community Fund
Joan Handy Evert Olkonen Tulalip Tribes Charitable Fund
Vic Hanson Carol & Jay Ryan
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