I Bet You Would Have Said “Tulip”

We love old newspapers! We aren’t quite as fond of microfilm. Unfortunately, most of our journalistic research happens via the dreaded microfilm. But either way, film or paper, browsing through old newspapers is guaranteed entertainment!

Now that we are on the radar as “local historians”, we have gotten some other research opportunities to keep us busy (as if we needed help keeping busy). One current project involves a Mount Vernon park. We have a few key dates that we wanted to research; one was a town meeting in 1924 where the citizens voted to even HAVE parks. Can you imagine having a raging debate about whether to have parks or not? In the Argus the week before the meeting, we found notice of the meeting. But that wasn’t the main part of the article, the main article was talking about the town voting on an official flower. We found this particularly hilarious: “Come vote for an official flower! And while you’re there, we’ll talk about parks…” Don’t worry; those quotes are our paraphrasing, not anything actually written in the Arugs.

The next week (1/17/24) there was a front page article about, “A Big Vote for City Park Site”. The story stated: “A popular straw vote Saturday afternoon, selected the park site offered to the City of Mount Vernon by J.C. MacGinnitie and as the city council took this means of making a selection of a site, it is believed the proper steps will be taken to acquire this site.” Six hundred thirty votes were cast on the matter making it “one of the largest ever cast in the city.”

But what of the important flower issue? Well, if we asked you, we bet you might say “tulip!”. But remember, this was years before the tulip was cultivated heavily in the valley. No, the vote went to the calendula—167 of the 318 votes cast on the matter.

Do you know what a calendula is? Jessica will admit to having to google it (she is not a gardener), and felt it looked a little on the weedy side. Other contenders were the marigold (48 votes) and the Shasta Daisy (44 votes).

So congratulations calendula! Hold your head high while thousands of people come to town next month to visit the tulips instead.

Pineapples--More Than Tropical

Today we are proud to present a post by guest blogger and local photographer Beth Toberer. Welcome to the Mount Vernon History Project Beth!

Between bursts of torrential downpours are you fantasizing of a tropical getaway? So were the original architects of downtown Mount Vernon, who strategically placed a pineapple on the corner of 1st and Gates Streets in the early 1900s. Through the years, this fruit has attracted customers to shop at successful businesses that included a men’s clothing store, dress shop, ski shop, and more.

A century later, this architectural motif remains a symbol of hospitality and friendship in our town. It’s not a wonder that this corner building with two pineapple pillars houses successful businesses with hospitality at heart: Annie Mae Antiques Gifts and Collectibles, eccosDesign, Good Vibes Body Art, and Dilly Dally Antiques and Collectibles.

The pineapple is known as the “King of Colonial Fruits” (Levins 2004) and represents an era where social elements of culture revolved around entertainment in well-to-do homes with a focus on creative food display. The pineapple trade brought the fruit up from the Caribbean Islands into the American colonies in the 1800s. The success of this long journey, delivering fresh, ripe pineapples created status for families who could afford them and showcase them in their homes.

Pineapples are not native to the Caribbean, but were transported there by indigenous migratory cultures that brought them up from Central and South America for cultivation around the world. Symbolic representations of the pineapple have been found all the way back in pre-Inca ruins (Herbst 2001). Aside from their architectural, historic, and cultural significance, pineapples are a symbol of nature as they require hummingbirds for pollination.

The structure of Mount Vernon is being physically revitalized with a new open vision as it enters construction of Skagit River Walk Phase II. This great change comes with memories, symbols, and motifs of the past which will form new meaning as we engage in new experiences as a community. It’s too cold to grow pineapples here, but we can still buy them for just a few dollars and glancing at our local architecture is absolutely free. Moreover, the original symbolic meaning of the pineapple flows strong through the heart of Skagit County. We are abundant with hummingbirds, blooming native wildflowers, and still have wild salmon populations migrating right through our town. Above all, our sense of community continues to be built on the relationships that form through the hospitable nature of our residents, sharing of food, and resultant cultural blending that so naturally makes us human.

References:
Pineapple. 2008, April 2. New World Encyclopedia. Retrieved 22:53, February 18, 2013 from: http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index.php?title=Pineapple&oldid=682322.

Social History of the Pineapple. 2004. Levins, H. Retrieved February 18, 2013 from: http://www.levins.com/pineapple.html

The New Food Lover's Companion: Comprehensive Definitions of Nearly 6,000 Food, Drink, and Culinary Terms. Barron's Cooking Guide. Herbst, S. T. 2001. Hauppauge, NY: Barron's Educational Series. ISBN 0764112589.

First Sighting!

We promise we will get back to posting interesting historical content…once we finish tooting our own horn. What can we say, we are excited! Today was our first sighting.

You can probably guess the location looking at the wonderful surroundings.

But for those of you who are not locals, it is Tri Dee Arts downtown.

Where In the World is Mount Vernon?

Well, we still don’t have our shipment yet, but a representative from Arcadia Publishing has been pounding the pavement looking for places to sell Mount Vernon. We are thrilled to announce that the book can currently be purchased at the following locations:

Ace Hardware
Tri-Dee Arts
Red Apple
Good Old Days Antiques
The Tattered Page
Skagit Valley Food Co-Op

We would like to thank all of these businesses for their support! Meanwhile, we are trying to get the book in a few other locations (some businesses have a longer approval process than others), so keep your eyes open!

Random Picture Day

There was such positive response to last week’s photo that we decided to post another totally random shot. This was the first one to jump out at us:

The selection might be a subliminal message, after all this weekend IS Saint Patrick’s Day…

Today is Sunny, But is It Warm Enough for Ice-cream?

Anyone recognize this establishment?

It is the Dari Delite on Second Street. This photo was taken back in 1950!

Anyone else starting to crave a milkshake?

Pre-Order Your Mount Vernon Book Now!

More excitement today as we placed our first order from Arcadia Publishing! We can’t wait to get our books. And we are thinking/hoping some of you can’t wait either. Since we are pretty sure we know all twenty of the people who have been following our little blog here, we are even going to offer signed copies and personal delivery (don’t go crazy, we’re only talking Mount Vernon or Burlington customers). That’s right, no shipping AND authors bringing a book right to your door.

You know we would love to give everyone a killer discount, but we are contractually obligated to charge the cover price of $21.99. Add the 8.2% tax rate and your total will be $23.79 per book. We should have books ready to distribute on March 18th.