The Whistle

On our List (you know, the List of “Wouldn’t it be great to get a picture of THAT?”) was a certain whistle. We never found that elusive photograph. But that is probably o.k. because there is no way we could work the story of The Whistle into a mere caption. Oh how we love the blog…

In 1901 the Clarence Rowe family moved west. They brought with them, packed in a suitcase, a Mississippi River steamboat whistle. It was used at the Siwash Shingle Mill (which we were able to write about in the book) until the mill burned down in 1909. It is said that one Mr. Turner, the manager of the Pacific Coast Condensed Milk Company, asked for the whistle “before the ashes had cooled”. Eventually that plant became Carnation and the whistle blew several times a day. The sound carried across the flats from Milltown to Sedro Woolley.

According to lifelong resident Lisette Mast, “Everyone lived by the whistle. It blew at five minutes before 8:00 a.m. and again at 8:00; also at 12:00 and 4:30. We could hear it all over the valley and of course those in town as well. We knew exactly when it was time to go to work, have lunch and quit. No one needed a watch. I still miss the whistle!”

Sadly, since the closing of the Carnation plant, the whereabouts of the whistle are a mystery. Even better than finding a photo would be finding the whistle itself!