Page 6 - Newsletter Spring 2023

Maple Cove, continued
curriculum steeped in the European
experience and Christian values. The
“refined” customers at the Ivy Inn
came to represent what was possible
off island beyond their secluded rural
environment. Some wanted more, a
piece of what the Ivy Inn represented
and their hearts desired.
Marianne (aka Mary, May), the fifth
child of Joseph Brown (Portuguese)
and Mary Shelton (Snohomish) want-
ed more. She helped four of her el-
der siblings work as loggers, clearing
the land her father was homesteading responsibilities of running a small busi- for their retirement. They demolished the
along the beachfront and upper bluff at ness on the mainland, tending to resort cabins and outbuildings.
Sandy Point. By 1915, at the age of 38 operations on the island, together with
she was married and still living at San- the impact of the 1918 flu pandemic Research continues and more stories
dy Point on land owned by her father. and World War I proved to be too much. will be revealed about the history of the
On July 30 of that same year, an ar- Ivy Inn and highlands of Sandy Point.
ticle published in the Island County The brothers moved away from op- The Tangled Web of History project
Times states that after the resort closed erations of the Ivy Inn and the Maple is untangling many of the threads that
for the previous season, Mr. Hawes dis- Cove Resort, evidently leaving others have snarled the invisible history of
covered that a great many things had to manage it during the summer months. South Whidbey. Its individual strands
been taken from the hotel. He chose to In 1928 it was purchased by Scott are meticulously studied to help re-
do nothing about it at the time. How- Weimer. The Inn still welcomed guests weave them into a conversation that is
ever, the following spring, he noticed from 1934 to 1950 when the entries accessible to all. We welcome clarifica-
more things were taken, and “made stopped. tion and new information pertaining to
up his mind that the depredations had In 1958 Dr. Frank and Margaret Good- this research.
gone far enough.” nough purchased the inn and seven acres
We do not know what connection Mary
had to the Ivy Inn, but Mr. Hawes’ sus-
picions focused on her and others con-
nected with her. A bench warrant was
secured and a number of the missing
articles were found in the McKnight
house. She was arrested and brought to
Coupeville before Justice of the Peace
C.W. Phelps who bound her over to the
Superior Court for the sum of $4,000.
She admitted stealing two or three ‘Tangled Web’ presentation draws capacity crowd
articles but claimed other items had
been given to her. As sensational and Nearly 100 people attended the May brief presentation, blessing, and be-
difficult as this must have been for her 20 South Whidbey Historical Society stowed gifts.
immediate family and the tightknit presentation by local researcher Kyle We are excited about moving for-
community at Sandy Point, the story Walker on a project which encompass- ward together in learning and sharing
offers a snapshot of how the urban in- es Snohomish Tribal histo- the history of the Snohomish
terface began to influence the rural de- ry on south Whidbey be- Tribe on south Whidbey. If
mographic in the early 1900s. tween 1850 and 1920, with you wish to support this lo-
Empty and Abandoned a focus on Sandy Point. cal research project, simply

In 1908 the Hawes Brothers assumed Special thanks to Sno- scan the QR code here or visit
responsibility for their father’s business homish Tribal Council www.SouthWhidbeyHistory.
in Everett after his untimely death. The members Pamela Bond and org/tangled-web.
Joel Christoe who made a
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