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2 • October 2010 THE LOCAL • The Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader
The Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader • THE LOCAL • October 2010 • 3
Confessions of a buy-local convert By Steve Patch of the Leader
No, they didn’t actually make me wear a scarlet “W” on my forehead. Truth be told, folks here were downright saintlike in their tolerance when I arrived in Port Townsend earlier this year – openly guilty though I was. Yes, it’s true: In the community of my immediate past I had consorted with – even reveled in – the resident Walmart “superstore,” as we were persuaded to call it. That I actually missed it did not occur to me right away, mind you. Frankly captivated by the myriad expressions of individual-
The author in a Hawthorne-y moment. Photo by Steve Patch
ity ever ywhere I looked in this Victorian postcard of a hamlet, I didn’t even notice what was wrong until by dint of most uncommon fate I was required to purchase a plain, white T-shirt. My first mistake was to assume that Swain’s being closed on that particular day meant that I need only look elsewhere in town for
4 • October 2010 THE LOCAL • The Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader
a plain white undershirt. “You know where the Walmart in Sequim is?” was pretty much what I got by way of advice, wherever I turned. And so it was that I cut right to the chase when I sat down the other day with Port Townsend Main Street Program representatives Mari Mullen and Sue Arthur:
Was my stor y of woe merely self-incriminating? “No. We have heard it before – a million times,” said Arthur, a Main Street board member and 28-year owner of Port Townsend’s Maricee clothing store. “I do think that, on the other hand, you find things in this town that you can’t find anywhere else. I mean, it is unique shopping, too.” Her suggestion? Simple. “You just have to think ‘out of the box,’” she said, smiling. “Maybe if you can’t find that white T-shirt, you need to wear the one with ‘I Love Port Townsend!’ on it.” “And Sue has those See CONFESSIONS, Page 7▼
The Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader • THE LOCAL • October 2010 • 5
6 • October 2010 THE LOCAL • The Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader
Confessions of a buy-local convert ▼Continued from page 4
T-shirts in her store, ’cause I got one at the Sidewalk Sale,” put in Mullen, who’s been Main Street’s executive director for 12 years now. “Yeah. They’re going fast,” quipped Arthur. Uniqueness aside, rejoined Mullen, what Por t Townsend has to of fer price-wise simply isn’t going to be able to compete with the so-called big-box or chain stores. “I think par tly,” she said, “it’s because there are some products that a small community with a small inventor y are not going to be able to compete with Walmart on the
prices. And part of that is you’ve got a much larger pool of people to draw from in Seattle. You know?” “Well, they’re buying for a thousand stores rather than one store,” said Arthur, “so they’re getting a much better price, for one thing.” “So that’s one piece of it,” added Mullen. “But we tr y to concentrate on the fact that we have destination shopping – and that we have really unique ar t galleries and stores with really high-quality clothing and things you wouldn’t necessarily find anywhere else. And people come here just because of …”
“The uniqueness,” said Arthur. Mullen nodded. “The uniqueness of it,” she said, “ … and the beautiful setting that we have. You know?” Moral imperative? Certainly the supportyour-neighbor ethic is a big part of the decision too, agreed Mullen, a native Chicagoan who worked for Centrum for six years and was in Seattle before that. “The thing about local shopping,” she said, “is when you’re doing that you’re suppor ting your community. I mean, part of that money from the sales tax goes into your
emergency ser vices and running your city and your roads. And when you shop other places you’re funding those things in the other places. “And, also, our merchants: Just to look at, like, Sue, being a volunteer on our organization and all the things she does to help all the other businesses through our promotion committee work. You know, that’s a real testament to the fabric of your town. I mean, you have people who are willing to go out and volunteer their time to help ever yone.” Does she believe, See confessions, Page 8▼
The Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader • THE LOCAL • October 2010 • 7
Confessions of a buy-local convert ▼Continued from page 7
though, that folks have an actual moral imperative to shop locally? The director laughed. “Well, we’d love it if you wrote that!” she quipped. What? Is that taking it too far? “Well,” said Mullen, “I think that the merchants would say that they would love for people to look here first. You know?” “Right,” said Arthur. “We might not have what they want, but …” “And we don’t have everything,” rejoined Mullen. “You know, it’s a small town of 9,000; it’s a small retail district. But it’s like you’re voting with your dollars. So it’s neat that you’re doing that.” Arthur reminded that at this time of year especially, people are thinking of gifts for the holidays – things that might capture the fancy of a particular friend or relative. “And usually the store owners and sometimes the employees too have actually shopped for all those things specifically,” she said. “We don’t just get inventory mailed to us, or whatever; we have picked all those things. And you know your merchandise. You know where that came from and what the quality is.” Embraced here “We are really lucky in Port Townsend that there 8 • October 2010 THE LOCAL • The Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader
“We’d love it if you wrote that.” Mari Mullen Main Street Program
is a local shopping ethic,” put in Mullen. “And the whole ‘green’ movement, and shopping locally – it’s really been embraced here. So that is a great thing.” “Especially since the bridge closure and [changes in] the ferry system,” she said. “It has made people shop locally more.” Mullen reminded that not all of it is accidental. “We have a big push starting Nov. 1 for the holidays,” she said, noting that there is an “open house” on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, a holiday promotion sweepstakes with a $1,000-shopping-spree top prize, and a tree-lighting ceremony drawing upwards of a thousand people. Main Street’s traditional Girls’ Night Out was staged earlier this month. “And remember there are those stats,” added the director, “about how when you shop locally, $68 out of $100 stays in town and when you shop at a national chain store in your community it’s like $43 stays in your community – because the money goes to the corporate headquarters.” So when it comes to spending money locally, Mullen said, “there are a lot of hardcore reasons.”
Port Angeles unveils the seaside appeal counted on by local merchants. Photo by Patricia Morrison Coate
Clallam County is local, too By Steve Patch of the Leader It’s true: Clallam County is a non-local shopping destination for many Jefferson County folks. To hear the Port Angeles Downtown Association’s Barbara Frederick tell it, though, the big chain stores’ draw definitely has not diminished Clallam’s buylocal imperative. “I know there was just an article in the paper about how Costco’s sales have gone up this year,” said the executive director. “And I think, naturally, in times like this people are going to go where they feel they can get a better deal. And sometimes that ‘better deal’ is at a chain store.
“But it also depends on what you think constitutes a ‘better deal.’ Is the fact that it costs less money a ‘better deal’ – or the fact that you might get more personalized service elsewhere if you might pay a little more? That might be the ‘better deal.’” And have the chain stores affected Clallam’s buy-local economy? “I don’t know if the chains have had as much effect as the Internet,” said Frederick. “I think online shopping has in some cases increased sales for some people, at least in our downtown. “And in other respects, of course, it’s opened up the world to everybody. So they have more shopping options.” The Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader • THE LOCAL • October 2010 • 9
You know you’re an oldtimer if... By Rick Dennison
When Scott (Leader publisher Scott Wilson) approached me about contributing to this project my first reaction was, “Oldtimer, harrumph!” Of course, that’s the reaction one would expect from an “oldtimer,” so maybe there was something to it. As I thought about oldtimer stuff I quickly realized that I remembered things from 30 years ago more clearly than 30 minutes ago, so here goes. I have decided to leave out “gimmes” like the Hood Canal Bridge blowing away or the Town Tavern and its fire because these things have become such a part of the town’s collective memory that people can “remember” them even if they weren’t there. So I’ve gone a bit esoteric. You can legitimately consider yourself a Port Townsend “oldtimer” if you remember: • Tamie’s, the Roma & Delmonico’s. • The Judge’s Chambers & the Back Alley. • Montgomery Ward & J.C. Penney. • The original location of Puffin Shoe Repair (Hint: Next to the Town Tavern is incorrect.). • The original location of the Food Co-op. • Foster’s Shoe Repair. • Gunn’s Market with its fruits & vegetables stand. • The People’s Guild. • Jackie & Kim’s Blue Parrot. • No ferry service during the winter. • The Ajax Cafe opening. • Mayors Joe Steve & Barney McClure.
Rick Dennison
• Lonny’s cafe in the DeLeo warehouse. • The DeLeo warehouse. • The Balfa Brothers at Fiddle Tunes. • The Centipedes. • Checking out who’s showing off their fish at Bergstrom’s. • My unsuccessful campaign for City Council. • Location, judges & overall winner of the first Chili Cookoff. • Members of the band “Group Therapy.” • How small the first Wooden Boat Festival was. • When Elevated Ice Cream was really “elevated.” • No public transportation. • Dollar’s Garage. • And how about those midnight garage sales at Helen Gunn’s? So there you go, folks. If you’re curious about anything I’ve listed, I suggest you look up an “oldtimer.” I’ve found that, although much has changed about Port Townsend over the years, it remains a community of caring people, and I hope that never changes.
10 • October 2010 THE LOCAL • The Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader
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12 • October 2010 THE LOCAL • The Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader
Hadlock’s salty mechanic walks the talk By Steve Patch of the Leader him Satch. Everyone else does. Csaysall “Well, the birth certificate Tom Yarbrough,” conceded
the owner of Port Hadlock’s Satch Works Auto Repair. “But the truth of the matter is I’ve been called Satch almost my entire life.” A native of California’s Napa Valley, Satch fell into partnership with the combustion engine early on, thanks in part to a love of off-road motorcycling that survives to this day – although at 59 years young he confesses he doesn’t always pop up from a spill quite as quickly as he used to. And how does he explain his Jefferson County residency? “Well, actually,” said Satch, “I’d come up here originally in ’75 and was here in ’75 until about ’86 or ’87 See Hadlock’s, Page 14▼
Tom “Satch” Yarbrough accommodates the paparazzi the other day at his shop in Port Hadlock. His wooden hot rod was created by the Buzz Brothers out at Discovery Bay, he said. Photo by Steve Patch
The Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader • THE LOCAL • October 2010 • 13
Hadlock’s salty mechanic walks the talk ▼Continued from page 13
– somethin’ like that. Um, basically did automotive repair for dealerships; we used to have a dealership in Port Townsend, and I worked for all the owners of that place. “And I was a part owner of Happy Motors of Port Townsend, which was a Volkswagen repair facility. That’s a branch off of the original Happy Motors of Port Angeles, which is still in business. ‘All About Volkswagens’ is what that one was.” And does he have any advice on VWs? “Not really,” said Satch. “We actually specialize in all Asian and all domestic
vehicles and do virtually ever ything to them. But we don’t do any European vehicles here.” ‘It was nasty’ And what was it that convinced him to give Port Townsend a try? “Good friends that had moved up here ‘discovered’ Port Townsend, if you will, back in the ’70s,” he said. “And I was living in my hometown still at that point. And they said, ‘Satch, you gotta come up and visit and check this area out.’” He grinned. “As I recall it went like this: I had been many times up the Oregon coast from Nor thern
14 • October 2010 THE LOCAL • The Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader
California. And every time I came up the Oregon coast it rained – it was nasty storms. Never saw the sun for two weeks at a time!” He laughed. “And I pretty much wrote off anything further north than that. And so I wasn’t too interested in heading this way. But then I had friends that discovered – found – Port Townsend and said, ‘You need to come up and check this place out. It’s pretty comfy – and the weather’s lots better than you’d ever dream.’ “So that’s what brought me to Port Townsend, was friends – to make a long story short. And so I was able to come up and stay
with friends and check it out. And, ya know, turns out I’m a water person. And so anybody that moves to this area pretty much finds themselves surrounded by water – and either they love it or they hate it. So he has a boat? “Oh yeah. Yeah,” said Satch, grinning anew. “I have a 31-foot sailboat. And I’m on the board of directors for the Port Townsend Sailing Association. We promote sailing and racing on the bay and every faction we possibly can. It’s all about getting people out there and having a good time.” Did he have his sea See Hadlock’s, Page 25▼
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16 • October 2010 THE LOCAL • The Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader
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Grant Cable started out at Swain’s General Store in Port Angeles, selling popcorn when he was 7 years old. Now he is operations manager of the Port Townsend-based Swain’s Outdoor. The 26-year-old son of owners Dick and Glenda Cable is now an integral part of a team that has been tasked with making the store more profitable and more community oriented. The youngest Cable is confident that the Port Townsend store, at 1121 Water Street, will return to its anchor-store self. The absence of big stores in Port Townsend is seen as a “huge opportunity” for Swain’s in Port Townsend, Grant Cable said. “If we’re successful, the community’s successful. Providing for our customers is what we’re all about,” said Dick Cable.
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24 • October 2010 THE LOCAL • The Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader
Hadlock’s salty mechanic walks the talk ▼Continued from page 14
legs even as a kid? “Not really,” said Satch. “I mean, just freshwater lakes and, you know, creeks and rivers and stuff like that. But never was an ocean person – until I moved up here. And while being a mechanic or an automotive technician has been what I’ve done all my life for a living, I did for a period of time commercial fish out of Port Townsend. Found myself crewing on work boats and saying, ‘Hey, this is kind of fun.’ “And so I ended up doing that for over a decade out of Port Townsend too. But typically that was a two-part
affair. In other words, you were fishing part-time and,” he laughed, “working for a living the rest of the time to make up for the fun you had fishing.” What? There wasn’t good money in fishing? “Well, it was feast or famine, is what it was back in the old days,” said Satch. “You’d have one or two years that were great and then one or two years that you couldn’t keep food on the table for the whole winter for your family. And so that made it pretty tough. But that’s basically the type of industry that it was back then. We were going through all sorts of chang-
“Well, it was feast or famine, is what it was back in the old days.” Satch Satch Works Auto
es with the fishing industry here. Wife ‘spurred’ him So that was the impetus for his setting up shop as an owner/mechanic, was it? “Well, actually,” said Satch, “I moved to California – back to California – so my kids could actually be
together. I was a single parent raising my daughter in Port Townsend, and my ex-wife and son were down there back in Napa. “And so when they got old enough I made the decision to move back down there to let the kids have a chance to know each other and me a chance to know my son – and was there for eight and a half years. “Came back up in ’95 and worked in other shops: Russ’s Auto Clinic, a few places like that that I worked for a few years. And my wife spurred me on to opening my own shop, which is something we’d planned See Hadlock’s, Page 26▼
The Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader • THE LOCAL • October 2010 • 25
Hadlock’s salty mechanic walks the talk ▼Continued from page 26
on doing for a while. And we had planned on building a new facility out here, and that became increasingly difficult. And we decided to go ahead and find a used facility and open that. And that was in ’99.” As for the aforementioned spurrer, he hooked up with wife Gail during his first incarnation here. “We met while I was commercial fishing up here,” said Satch. “And she crewed for me, and we ended up, um – gosh!” He furrowed his brow. “Let’s see. If I came back up here in ’95, about ’86 was when we actually got together: something like that.” He
grinned. “And she moved down to California with me. And then moved back up. And here we are today.” And does he have a family with her as well? “No. No kids there at all,” he said. “I have two kids from my prior marriage, and now I have four grandkids from my almost40-year-old daughter.” He shook his head in amazement. “They just came up here for spring break this year, and that was fantastic, actually.” Choir preachin’? About the whole “buy local” thing: Isn’t that sort of like preaching to the choir in his industry?
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26 • October 2010 THE LOCAL • The Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader
“Without your customer base you don’t have anything... ” Satch Swatch Works Auto
“Oh! There’s a lot to be said about the local philosophy,” said Satch. “When you’re running any small business in a community like this the No. 1 thing that I would stress to anyone thinking of doing it is to remember that your business is your customers.
“You can take all the time and money you want creating, constructing a business here. But without your customer base you don’t have anything. And so you have to keep that in mind at all times. “That’s probably the No. 1 consideration, is make sure every single person that you encounter with your business leaves with a positive feeling about what happened with your business. “Now, what I just mentioned about your customer being your business, in essence, I’ll elaborate on that in a minute. You have to put together a See HADLOCK’s, Page 33▼
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The Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader • THE LOCAL • October 2010 • 31
338 SHERMAN STREET PORT TOWNSEND, WA 98368 360.379.0895 www.mttownsendcreamery.com Hand crafted cheese from Port Townsend, Washington
32 • October 2010 THE LOCAL • The Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader
Hadlock’s salty Satch ▼Continued from page 26
competent business that’s very capable of doing the job at hand. And in my industry that means having the best technicians in the area. “And you take really good care of ’em, and you make sure they’re happy on the job, doing what they want to do for a living and practicing their trade – and, you know, furthering their education is equally important. “So, the big picture is actually quite huge with a business like this. Um, vendors. Quality product. Technicians that know how to do the job and do
it right the first time. All those things are going to promote a business like this. But ultimately that customer walking out the door – telling two people how happy he was with the service – is what’s going to make your business.” At this point a truck pulls in and Satch gives it a nod. “Every customer I’ve got – just like this guy driving up – is gonna be happy to be here,” said the owner. “He’s not going, ‘Oh, my gawd! I hate this place, but I gotta go.’ They’re coming because they want to.”
Tom “Satch” Yarbrough
You know you’re an oldtimer if... By Tom “Satch” Yarbrough You know you’re an oldtimer when you remember: • North Beach with
slings of lumber washing ashore. • Kids’ birthday parties at the skating rink. See YOU KNOW, Page 34▼
The Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader • THE LOCAL • October 2010 • 33
You know you’re an oldtimer when you remember...
y for Thir unt ty Co
33
ee years! thr
While SOS Printing has been serving the people and businesses of Jefferson County for 33 years, owner Dan Huntingford is a fourth generation native. The Huntingford family have been helping make Jefferson County a better place since 1869. (or thereabouts) So when you need printing, why not head on down to the beach, to SOS Printing – National Award winning, one of the finest small printshops in America.
the Town Tavern (N.D. Hill Building). • The ferry Rhododendron blowing smoke rings from its smokestack when idling at the old dock. • The Outer Limits pizza parlor with video games in the tables. • When the A&W Root Beer drive-in was open. • When we had a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant. • When San Juan Grocery was alive and well. • The original Puffin Shoe Repair Shop uptown. • When the semi truck went through Union Wharf
efferso ng J n rvi
• Playing pool at the bowling alley. • Ice skating on the lagoon pond. • Buying gas across from the Town Tavern. • Buying gas across from Aldrich’s. • Harold Dollar’s garage on Water Street. • OK Tires store down on the waterfront. • The squeaking/ scrawling of the train cars loading onto barges outside the marina at night. • The “Seek No Further Salmon Barbecue” at the Wooden Boat Festival. • The swing inside
Se
▼Continued from page 33
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and shut the fish plant down. • When “Jefferson County International Airport” was a grass landing strip. • When Gladys ran the post office and store at Nordland. • The old gas station at the Hadlock intersection. • When the Old Alcohol Plant was just concrete walls with trees growing inside. • When you could buy gas and groceries in Irondale where the “Jesus is Lord” sign is now. • The motocross track across from the mill.
• When the Ford dealership, Thomas Motors, was downtown on Water Street. • The Roma Inn on Water Street. • When lots were being sold on Protection Island. • Attending the Gillnetters’ Ball. • When it was legal to bring kids into the Disco Bay Tavern. • The “Famous Potatoes” musical group. • When logging trucks paraded in the Rhody Festival. • When Aldrich’s was groceries, hardware and furniture and was run by the Aldrich family.
The Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader • THE LOCAL • October 2010 • 35
36 • October 2010 THE LOCAL • The Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader
Chain store confession notwithstanding:
PT’s Anna embodies the buy-local spirit By Steve Patch of the Leader
“I’m from the Midwest. We’re not that kind of people.”
t’s not a deep, dark secret, but Port Townsend merchant IAnna Nasset has a confession.
Hunting for a barbecue a couple years back, she and her now husband passed on one at the local hardware store in favor of the same model $20 cheaper – from a chain store in Poulsbo. “And with gasoline and stopping for lunch and all, we ended up spending probably $100 more than we would have,” she said, laughing all the same. Not that she was averse to the shop-local ethic before that episode, mind you. “No, I’ve always really believed in that, even before I had my own business,” said the 30-year-old owner of Port Townsend’s Artisans on Taylor Gallery. “Now that I have my own shop it’s very important to me. It’s like, ‘You know what? If people choose to come in here and spend their dollars here, it’s amazing. They’re helping me live my life – and my dream – and then in turn be able to give back to the community.’ “So if I’m going to spend money I want to do the same thing. It just seems like a no-
Anna Nasset Artisans on Taylor
Local merchant Anna Nasset poses this month in her Artisans on Taylor Gallery in Port Townsend. She’s twirling a “Whirligig” feather sculpture by local artist Brent Wickline – “a true Port Townsend character and a wonderful person,” she said. Photo by Steve Patch
brainer.” Isn’t that only neighborly? “Absolutely,” said Nasset. Seems only right to support them, doesn’t it? Nasset nodded. “Otherwise,” she said, “the neighbors leave. You know? “And so I think in the end, yeah, you’re not going to be able to find certain things here. You’re just not.” Moreover, added the shop owner, there’s often a slightly higher price to pay for things you do find available here. It’s unavoidable. “For one thing it takes longer to get them here,” she said. “I mean, there are just so many different variables. “I have one employee who works here two days a week, but other than that I’m here all the time. And that’s what I have to do to make my See PT’s Anna, Page 38▼
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PT’s Anna embodies the buy-local spirit
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business work – even though I’m selling pricier jewelry. You know, that’s just the way we have to do it in this community. “This was several years ago, the whole barbecue thing. But I was ticked at myself, ’cause I went, ‘Wait. I go to Henery’s all the time! Why wouldn’t I just do that?’” But instead the choice was Poulsbo. “Uh-huh,” said Nasset. “But in the end I think that you get so much more from this town. If you can’t find a certain thing or two here, you kind of save up that list and eventually go to Silverdale, or wherever it might be. “But it’s such an enriching community – you receive so much else that those things that you can’t find conveniently
just don’t matter.”
Costco’s lure And is Nasset among the legions here regularly trekking west to Costco? “Well, I went for a little while,” she said, “and then I realized that, one, I don’t have storage for 30,000 paper towels. I mean, I’ve just got this place and me and my husband and my dog, so it’s not like we need that.” Granted, she said, the cost savings can be persuasive. “Absolutely,” she said. “And if I need to buy a computer or something like that and I’m just not gonna be able to find one here in town – yeah, I’ll go those routes. “But, otherwise, it’s like, you know, I get a better deal on my wine for Gallery Walk from
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Joe with the Wine Seller. Why wouldn’t I support him? He’s been doing it for so long and it’s an amazing business. I want to support that – and in turn I’m actually saving money.”
Too young? Born in Toledo, Ohio, on May 27, 1980, Nasset allows as how, yes, she still gets mistaken for a kid. “Which is a weird thing in this town,” she said, smiling. “Owning a business, it’s really hard to look really young. A lot of times people will come in and they’ll say, ‘Oh, did you just get off school and you’re working?’” She laughed. “‘No, I’m actually 30. And this is my shop.’ “So it’s educating people and allowing them to know that, one, I’ve worked really hard for this business. You know, it
wasn’t just ‘My mommy and daddy gave me a bunch of money.’ I had to go out and really pursue that and work hard for it.” And how did she make it happen? “I had been in town for three years at that point,” she said. “I’ll be here four years next month. And I was working at Badd Habit, which is a wonderful business. It’s a screenprinting and embroidery company that’s uptown. “One day the previous gallery owner Theresa Verraes, who I kind of knew – she called me up and said, ‘Somebody said you should buy my gallery.’ And I went, ‘Oh, sure! Let me just write you a check right now. Don’t cash it, though.’” She laughed again. Continued on page 39▼
Anyplace, USA? Not a chance! says Shelby By Steve Patch of the Leader
Alas, she knows all about leakage, confessed Chimacum native Shelby Smith. But not because of the old sailboat she and her husband brought to Port Townsend for repair four years ago. No, the leakage of which she’s most mindful these days, since joining the staff of the local Economic Development Council’s Team Jefferson, is the dollar-wise sort leaking out to the Walmarts and Costcos of the world – notables among them just up the pike in Clallam County. “I think Elizabeth Scott, the WorkSource economist who is responsible for Clallam, Jefferson, Kitsap and Mason counties, is going to conduct a leakage study for Jefferson
County,” said the 33-year-old Chimacum High School grad. “And I think she recently did one for Clallam. “Surprisingly, even with their Walmarts and their big-box stores, they have a remarkable amount of leakage, in terms of retail sales, from Clallam as well.” And the chain-store ilk? “I do have a particular opinion on it,” said Smith. “I believe that if we bring in the ‘big-box’ stores we will lose our independent retailers. Our independent retailers are often locally owned, independent businesses with people who have made a commitment to this community. They raised their children here; they’re involved in our civic groups. They patronize local theaters and local restaurants and, you know, they
Shelby Smith
make their life here; they care about this community. “I think the Walmarts of the
world don’t care about Port Townsend. Do you know what I mean? There’s a different investment in al-l-ll of the ‘good stuff’ that makes this a wonderful place to live when you have diverse, independently, locally owned businesses. “And the other thing is, when the Walmarts come in and we lose our independent retailers, we become Anyplace, USA. We’re no longer a unique character. We’re no longer the Tri-Area, or Port Townsend, or Quilcene. We’re Anyplace. Or Everyplace. You know, not just Anyplace but Everyplace – because so many communities do have that.” “And it’s the local, independent retailers that make this a unique and wonderful place to be – and the people who form the community.”
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Truth is, said Nasset, she wasn’t even close to being financially capable. “I had, like, $200 in my bank account,” she said. And why did she come to Port Townsend in the first place? “I’d followed a man,” said the merchant. “I was in Maine. I was born in Toledo but I didn’t really live there. I was raised in Ohio. Went to college in Indiana. Lived in Maine for a while. Followed a guy out here. That didn’t work out, but I stayed. That’s the quick version.” Truth be told, said Nasset, she’s been clear about career since childhood. “I wanted to be a fashion designer or something like that,” she said. “So I always
kind of pursued this concept that some day I wanted to own a gallery. And I wasn’t quiet about that. I was, you know, vocal.” She grinned. And did she always see herself as a can-do sort? “Um, no. Not necessarily,” said Nasset. “I think I am now. But previously I just …” She cut herself off with a shrug. “I don’t know. I’m from the Midwest. We’re not that kind of people.” What? Midwesterners are a little cautious? “Yeah,” said the shop owner. “Very cautious. Not necessarily, like, really pushing. You know, just kind of saying, ‘OK. Well, I’m wearing that – and that’s good.’ And ‘I have dreams, but I can’t really reach those.’” “And, for me, I literally sat down one day and just started
making a list of every person I knew who was wealthy, essentially. And I started calling them.” She blurted another laugh. “It was very scary. “But one of them said, ‘Hey, you should call my folks. They might just do it.’ And so – here we are!” Despite her people-person inclinations, learning to deal with the public as a shop owner wasn’t as easy as she might have expected, confessed Nasset. “I really had to learn how to communicate properly,” she said. “Realizing personality types, realizing that I get to choose whom I want to work with and whom I don’t. How to manage people. “And so now, a year in, I feel like I’m getting there. I’ve started to kind of understand per-
sonality types that are going to push me around, ’cause I still can be a total doormat.” She grinned. “But I’m getting a lot stronger – which is awesome.” Self-awareness isn’t all she’s gained, though, the shop owner assured. “I also didn’t realize when I bought the business how much it would allow me to be a bigger part of this community and to give back and to get involved. “And I have about 50 different artists in here right now who are all trying to make a living – who are relying upon me to sell their work so they can live too. “So it becomes this huge thing of, ‘Wow! I get to help this gal fulfill her dream of being a professional artist.’ And that’s really neat.”
The Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader • THE LOCAL • October 2010 • 39
The Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader • THE LOCAL • October 2010 • 40