Issue 22
In this issue
From Dream to Reality
By SHARON HEIBER • PHOTOGRAPHY BY JAMIE CONNERS
On their 15-acre farm animal sanctuary in Clinton’s Maxwelton Valley, Sarah and Ansel Santosa are out to build a kinder world—reimagining our relationship with farm animals and keeping food waste out of the environment. They were teenage sweethearts in the suburbs of Minneapolis when they started envisioning their future together, which included living on a farm and having a child. more
Paint Your Heart Out
STORY & PHOTOGRAPHY BY NIA MARTIN
Located off the beaten track of North Main Street leading into downtown Coupeville is a hidden gem drawing visitors from across the country—the Pacific Northwest Art School. Founded in 1986, this small space provides multiple workshops in fiber arts, painting, photography, and mixed media every year. “It’s all about building community, finding some touchstone that brings people together, whether they appreciate art, whether they like to create art, or whether they do both,” said the art school’s Executive Director Lisa Bernhardt, who… more
Isle of Play
A Conservatory Grows Wild on Whidbey
by Lea Cramer
Summer days on South Whidbey Island begin with the shimmer of a sunrise filtering through fir trees and mist lifting off the Salish Sea. It’s here—between woodlands and tidal inlet—that a unique partnership has taken root that blends theatre, wilderness, and childhood imagination. The Youth Summer Conservatory, a youth theatre camp for pre-teens, was launched by the Whidbey Island Center for the Arts (WICA) more than a… more
A Poetic Tribute to Whidbey’s Flora
by Mary Reddy • Photos by Nia Martin
What prompts a person who has been a blackjack dealer, congressional staffer, craft store owner, ambassadorial spouse, realtor, and office manager to write a chapbook filled with plants and poems? Add poet to that list of occupations and it begins to make sense. The book is titled “A Whidbey Botanical” and Linda Beeman is its multifaceted creator. more
The Shifty Sailors
32 Years of Musical Memories
by RUSSELL CLEPPER • PHOTO BY DENNIS BROWNE
One fine September day in pre-COVID times, the Coupeville Ferry took off for Port Townsend and the Wooden Boat Festival. People left their vehicles and clambered up to the passenger deck, which was soon crowded with festivalgoers, commuters, and vacationers—travelers of all sorts. more
Creating Connections When and Where They’re Needed Most
by KATE POSS • PHOTOS BY DAVE MEYER
The purpose of Mother Mentors of Whidbey Island becomes clear when two-year-old Orion greets his friend Betsy O’Neil. “CeCe!” he called out, his face lighting up while waiting with his mom Kelly Dungan on his front porch. O’Neil approached Orion, picked him up, and the blond, curly-headed toddler wrapped his arms around her. Soon afterwards, he asked his mom to lift the hood of the family car and pointed to various engine parts. He looked at ‘CeCe,’ who told him “radiator” and “battery.” These days, mechanical things interest him… more
A Delicious HERstory
Story & Photography by Bijan Mitchell
Chocolate—a delicacy rich in history, versatility, and comfort, has the power to conjure up stories from our past while creating new ones. On Whidbey Island, you don’t have to look too far for a treat, finding it in the vibrant yellow and orange grotto that is Sweet Mona’s Chocolates. more
Deeply Ingrained Collaboration
by ALLYSON MEYER • PHOTOS BY DAVE MEYER
Barn swallows flit through the pre-dusk light, their quick, almost spontaneous movements, juxtaposed with the stillness of a pre-storm summer evening. Standing on Ebey Road Farm, taking in the sweeping views of the Olympic mountain range and the sprawling fields, it’s almost as if you’re stepping into a bygone era of farming, where the history is palpable with each breath. But although the past may be evident everywhere you look on this six-generation family farm, these islanders are committed to an agricultural future that ties in… more
A Poignant View of Service
BY TED MULCAHEY • PHOTOS BY MICHAEL HOLTBY
Michael Holtby is more than a photographer. His artistry, deep reflection, and unwavering dedication to perfecting every shot has been shaped by eight decades of life experience. more
The LittleBIGFest That Could
by HAILEY WAY • PHOTOS BY DENNIS BROWNE
During a sweltering August weekend in 2024, the scene at LittleBIGFest, a Whidbey Island music and arts festival, was nothing short of otherworldly. Repurposed metallic dishware gleamed inside a spaceship-themed beer garden, a spinning globe—bejeweled in mirror tiles—shimmered in orbit above. Astronautical prints lined walls and costumes were encouraged. Visitors certainly showed up and showed off. It was intergalactic, eccentric, and, above all else, a cosmic oddity brought to life. more
Saving the Island’s Garry Oaks
by JON BACH • PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANNE ABERNATHY
The saying, to “miss the forest for the trees,” takes on a literal meaning for the founders and supporters of Oak Harbor’s Garry Oak Society (OHGOS) as they raise awareness for what they believe is one of the most important tree species on Whidbey Island—the Garry oak. The numbers of Garry oaks has severely declined over the last 200 years due to development and economic activity, invasive species such as ivy, advancing conifer trees, and even other oak species that threaten the Garry oak’s DNA because of wind hybridization. more
Grace Under Sail
by LEA CRAMER • PHOTOS BY JAMIE CONNERS
On a crystalline morning in Coupeville, the Schooner Suva rocks gently in Penn Cove, her century-old Burmese teak hull catching light like burnished gold. Crafted in 1925 in the shipyards of Hong Kong, the Suva was designed by Seattle naval architect Ted Geary and commissioned by Frank Pratt, an attorney who had abandoned the East Coast for the quiet waters of Whidbey Island. She was built for pleasure, not speed or commerce. Shipwrights crafted her from ancient teak and fitted her with Sitka spruce masts. At 65 feet overall… more
The World of Mushroom Farming
by ALLYSON MEYER • PHOTOS BY DAVE MEYER
At the end of a quiet, rural road in Clinton sits an unassuming building—its corrugated metal exterior seeming to emerge from the green Whidbey forest that surrounds it. Here, within the industrial setting, mushroom farmer Caleb Schulte has carved out a passion for fungi that takes us back to nature. more
Eating Like a “Localvore”
by CHARLOTTE ROSE BEAR, MS, CN
was a vegetarian for more than six years after taking a food ethics class my first year of college. I’ll never forget leaving class, heading to lunch, ordering a veggie wrap, and vowing to never go back. Fast forward a few years and I found myself in a health spiral, brought on by a microbiome imbalance. That’s when I began to look into the science behind it. more