Ever since our trip to the Big Island last year, and learning about the art of Herb Kawainui Kāne, who once lived there, I’ve been wanting to interview his wife Deon Kāne, who lives in Freeland. A swimming friend, Sharon Emerson, is friends with Deon, and connected us about a month ago. Earlier this week, David Welton and I met Deon at her home, which displays Herb’s art, and holds Deon’s memories of him. Herb passed away in 2011, leaving a legacy of art and stories in his wake. Deon Kāne’s home is a gracious space, and her energy and…
Author: Kate Poss | With Photos by David Welton
Kate Poss | With Photos by David Welton
Kate Poss This Is Whidbey was founded by Kate Poss for readers who are interested in cultivating our island’s quality of life, including its land, sea, and air; its people, plants, and animals; and the bodies, minds, and spirits of its inhabitants. You may know Kate from her work in island libraries through May of 2016. Her background includes a career in newspaper reporting in Los Angeles for various weeklies and dailies, including The Los Angeles Times. She was a frequent contributor to the online Whidbey Life Magazine and still writes for the biannual print magazine. David Welton Stories are highlighted by David Welton’s excellent photography. David is a retired physician who was a staff photographer for Whidbey Life Magazine since its early days. His work has also appeared in museums, art galleries, newspapers, regional and national magazines, books, nonprofit publicity, and on the back of the Whidbey Sea-Tac Shuttle!
Bill and I took a short road trip, our first travel this year, to Salt Creek Recreation Area, where we camped for three nights with friends Leslie Boies and Rob Harris. Salt Creek is a premier marine life sanctuary, and offers a world class camping experience with views of the Strait of San Juan de Fuca, and British Columbia’s Vancouver Island. When I write ‘world class,’ I mean camping here fills my top drawers for scenery, flora and fauna, camping sites, clean bathrooms and ambience. We camped in site #36, next door to our friends. On our first full day…
Freeland Hall, 110 years old this year, is experiencing a renaissance as the center of music for Freeland and Whidbey as a whole. I visited the iconic wooden building on the equinox, March 19, to see the Freeland Hall Music Club, which is part of the Holmes Harbor Activities Club (HHAC).The First Thursday Club has been meeting at this location since 1902, HHAC has managed Freeland Hall since 1999. While the HHAC traditionally booked events and ran potlucks, the HHAC board created a ‘club within a club’ to increase community involvement at the Hall. Members pay a $25 fee to…
I don’t know about you, but when I sparingly read the news about a certain presidential candidate, the climate crisis, and leaders hellbent on waging war, I feel a power of fear and hopelessness creeping in that makes me numb. Yet, after being in presence with Diné Nation scholar, artist, poet and musician Lyla June March 22, who spoke and performed as a guest of Sno-Isle Libraries Foundation Trudy Sundberg Lecture Series, I was reminded of another outlook, the only one really worth putting our energy toward. Click on this link to watch the presentation. Lyla June’s message has the…
Our friend and neighbor Andrea Anderson, CEO of Girl Scouts of Western Washington, stopped by for a quick chat, bringing by her sweet canine companion Athena March 16. Andrea was on a mission last weekend to visit as many cookie booths as possible, and meet the budding entrepreneurs who will become our future leaders. During our visit, she raised our awareness about how today’s Girl Scouts’ program empowers young women. “It’s not only cute kids selling cookies, it’s the largest girl-led entrepreneurial program in this country,” Andrea said. “We share the proceeds with the local councils, and they get to…
Join indigenous scholar, musician, author, poet, and community organizer Lyla June Johnston, aka ‘Lyla June,’ March 22 for a lecture of hope on ways to heal our land and the wounds of colonialism. Invited by the Sno-Isle Libraries Foundation for its annual Trudy Sundberg Lecture series, Lyla June will present “Architects of Abundance,” 7:30 PM at the Whidbey Island Center for the Arts (WICA) in Langley. The event is free. Expected to fill the WICA auditorium, overflow audience can view the talk from nearby Zech Hall. Lila June’s message is one of hope, recalling how previous indigenous practices can help…
Sometimes places which get little fanfare add greatly to our island’s quality of life. For instance, did you know there’s a jewel of a park called Freeland Wetlands Preserve? Located on Newman Road near Scott Road, the preserve, managed by the Whidbey Watershed Stewards, has been designated as a Habitat of Local Importance. The wetlands host nearly 70 kinds of birds. Resident amphibians include toads, frogs, newts and salamanders. The freshwater wetland contributes to the island’s groundwater aquifer—which adds to central and south Whidbey’s supply of clean drinking water—and reduces surface water runoff. The wetland is part of a series…
The Port of South Whidbey unveiled a conceptual plan for ‘workforce’ housing, Feb. 23, which foresees units built on top of new fairground concession stands. The plan proposes demolishing, moving and rebuilding of the fairground’s aging food booths, and main stage. Port commissioners met with four members of the Langley City Council and its staff at a special meeting held at the Whidbey Fairgrounds and Event Center. Councilman Chris Carlson did not attend. Port Commissioner Curt Gordon said the existing structures needed to be moved and improved, and that the proposal for 11-14 housing units would help resolve the gap…
When you think of holly, images of holiday wreaths or landscaped hedges may come to mind. But did you know that English holly is an invasive plant, capable of colonizing the ground around it? While walking the trails of the Whidbey Institute recently, Bill and I met Larry Rohan who is part of the Institute’s team of land stewards maintaining a healthy forest on the it’s hundred acre property. Late winter is the season that crews walk the trails pulling holly suckers and roots. Visiting the Whidbey Institute Feb. 16, David Welton photographed Larry Rohan using a weed wrench to…
Note: all photos by Llynya Carey There are places on Whidbey that comfort the senses. Our natural world does that for me, and so does Llynya’s in Freeland. A visit to its webpage notes that “…Llynya’s is both a ‘Purveyor of Sacred Gifts,’ and a ‘Sanctuary for the Spirit.’” “This world is just as important as any other,” said Llynya Carey, who has run the soul uplifting store for 24 years. “And really necessary during these times.” The world Llynya refers to includes angels, aromatherapy, meditation, positive vibrations, sacred art, tarot, astrology, and other esoteric arts that have long been…