Those reflections are by Judie and Gerald Elfendahl of Friends of Cannery Cove. You can also listen to a short segment on KUOW. LISTEN
REFLECTIONS ON THE LAST DAYS OF CANNERY COVE
There is a giant red strawberry with green leaves painted on the shoreside picnic platform at Strawberry Cannery Cove Waterfront Park. Clam shells broken by gulls and crows are arranged on one leaf where someone has written the word "reflect."
On this last day (Sunday, Sept. 13, 2010) to see the Cannery Cove on Eagle Harbor, I am reflecting on events of the past four days.
THURSDAY AFTERNOON --
STAN LUND SIGNS ALL RIGHTS AND INTERESTS FROM JOHN NELSON'S WILL OVER TO BAINBRIDGE IS. METRO PARK & RECREATION DISTRICT
I was grateful to have seen Stan Lund again, nephew and heir raised by the man who gave this City a Public Park. I was honored to be able to assist him in his wish to transfer his rights and interests in Strawberry Cannery Cove (aka John Nelson Park at Cannery Cove) on behalf of his uncle and surrogate father, John Nelson. In doing so, he was encouraged by Park Board actions last month to look into a transfer. He knew that without the Park District asserting Nelson's will years ago, the City would still have their public works yard at John Nelson Park. He was confident that the Park District was best to determine what Islanders needed "for public Park purposes for recreation, amusement and education for the people." He still wants the name of the primary public Park to be "John Nelson Park."
THURSDAY NIGHT --
BIMP&RD REFUSES TO ACCEPT DEED
We were shocked and sickened by the Park Board's response. Weeks earlier they had greeted Lund, 93, warmly when he drove here to meet them and to read to the Board his statement of concern about the failing of the City to meet the intentions of the John Nelson Park land exchange. That open and warm greeting was in stark contrast to the cold and discourteous one he had received from the City Council the night before. And the subsequent warm reception a month ago to the idea of what everyone thought was a good one, of assigning the Lund / Nelson interests over to the Park Board, was a stark contrast to the cold reception Thursday night when Board Chair Lee Cross refused to put the Lund Deed gift on the agenda. The meeting was held in the children's gymnastic center. Friends of Cannery Cove did back flips.??? We were appalled that the Board spent more time Thursday night debating a minor motion to encourage the City to include recreational pea patches on City owned "farm land". Was that more important than the once in a lifetime issues surrounding loss of an historic and vital waterfront for public recreation on an Island?
Then Park attorney Ryan Vancil arrived, husband of City Council member Debbie Lester. The Board went into executive session and the public exited for an hour out in the cold. Both groups held animated discussions. Park Board member, Paul Bang-Knudsen, burst from the executive session and left without a word prior to the meeting reconvening from the closed non-public session with attorney. He has been an outspoken critic of the City plan.
After the break, Cross announced there would be an addition to the agenda: Stan Lund's gift.
Next public agenda item: a recap of the Tuesday meeting of the Park Board and City Council.It was listed as a "30 minute discussion" of vital issues raised by the joint special meeting held "on neutral territory" - the high school library. The discussion was reduced to a ho-hum, three-minutes of generalized, non-substantive fluff by Cross.
NEW AGENDA ITEM
After Cross's brief summary of City/Park issues, she added that the Lund Gift was being added to the agenda and without discussion called for a motion from Board members, Swolgaard, DeWitt or Robinson. They all froze - not even a blink. With silence and no motion, Cross called for the next item of business. Then her soliliquy and silence were broken.
FORMER PARK OFFICIALS URGE CURRENT PARK DIRECTORS' TO ACTIVELY ADVOCATE FOR PARKS & RECREATION.
Then citizens asked to speak and were at first refused. Cries of protest went up from those in attendance, all of whom, except for park staff, were Friends of Cannery Cove supporters.
Among them, former Park Supt. Chuck Field, was at first denied an opportunity to speak by Cross. Over protests, she finally relented. Fields related his history of the City versus John Nelson Park dating to his and Gerard Bentryn's membership on the 1980 City of Winslow Park Committee. Bentryn, whose Winery and vineyard was next door to John Nelson Park, knew the City had been in violation of Nelson's park dedication for years by having the their Public Works Yard on the property. When Field, Bentryn and the Park Committee pointed out this violation of Nelson's will, city fathers abolished their park committee.
It remained for Field to become Supt. of the all-island, municipal, park district (separate from the City), and for a Park Board led by Bill Walik's unrelenting effort to adhere to the John Nelson will, for the John Nelson will conditions to be enforced. The City Public Works yard was thus relocated and the park district obtained a lease for the park. That lease was waived five years ago when the community cheered the exchange of John Nelson Park for the waterfront strawberry cannery property.
More importantly, Field's oration challenged the Park Directors to seize standing and advocacy for parks whenever and wherever the opportunity arises. "Who else is responsible to do so?" he asked. He demanded they to think closely about the mission and responsibility of their office and to stand up and be counted on issues such as the John Nelson will - assume standing when offered. His passionate, clearly delivered, plea fell on deaf ears.
Gerald Elfendahl, local historian shared his personal and community knowledge of the John Nelson Park and will, and the reasons why the City historically felt they could do whatever they wanted at the Nelson Park with impunity. John Nelson was a surrogate father of Lund. Elfendahl cited Lund's wishes for his family's park gift.
Former park director Bill Walik made a special appearance, too. Walik repeated and supported Field's and Elfendahl's pleas.
Roger Van Gelder, 12 year member of the island's road end committee who is a civil engineer with expertise in land ownership, covenants, easements and prescriptive rights discussed the importance of the Lund Quit Claim Deed and its value to add standing to earlier park district expressions of concerns and disapproval of City park plan designs. The Deed could help the district obtain park design improvements, he felt. No one else speaking for attendant public, and absent any comments from the Board, Cross called again for a motion. None came.
The next item of business was called for. The room was emptied and people left much the same as Bang-Knudsen had earlier. They were again out in the cold.
Why don't public access BITV or local newspapers cover Park Board actions . . . and inactions?
FRIDAY --
CITY CONFISCATES PARK BENCHES AND STONE LANTERN
A picnic bench provided by Friends of Cannery Cove for public use in the waterfront park most of the summer and another on loan from the Nakata family were removed from the park on Friday by the City. It was on the eve of the Friends of Cannery Cove farewell and appreciation / unification gathering on Saturday. The event had been known to the City Council and department heads since personal and public invitation at Wednesday's Council meeting.
The FOCC bench had been in the park most of the summer because neither the City nor the Park District would provide one. The City's new waterfront trail brochure indicated a picnic bench was there. None was.
The Nakata bench was provided by Larry Nakata who said it had been in his family as long as he could remember. It was crafted in a traditional style. Larry, manager of Poulsbo's Central Market and whose family's strawberry farm once provided berries for the cannery, was not concerned about leaving such an heirloom piece of furniture in a public park. He offered it citing a story of the late-and much beloved Town &Country Market leader, Don Nakata. Larry said, "Don's motto was 'Trust people."
Still, both benches were loosely chained to trees. No requests to remove the benches were received. Turns out the ones we could not trust were our own civic servants. Also taken was a seven-foot tall stone lantern replica, sculpted out of styrofoam. On Friday afternoon, when the benches were found in the Public Works yard, City police would not allow them to be returned to their owners until Monday, despite the Public Works director's willingness to the contrary. The nearby Bainbridge Review provided one and others were found to replace those impounded. The stone lantern's whereabouts is still unknown. Park neighbors witnessed City vehicles taking items.
CITY THROWS AWAY RARE HISTORIC PHOTO PANORAMA
While checking the City Hall dumpster for stone lantern remains, we retrieved a 2-foot x 4-foot piece of masonite on the reverse side of which was an amazing discovery - an historic aerial photographic panorama of all of Eagle Harbor including Strawberry Cannery Cove and taken circa the 1950's!!! Having been curator of the Island Museum for many years, I can attest that it is a rare photo. Why was it in the dumpster? Why was the historical museum not interested in the image? Had they been contacted? I seriously doubt it. This seemingly blatant disrespect of Island history and historic resources by the leadership of this community is as appalling as the apparent good will.
SATURDAY --
CANNERY COVE APPRECIATION GATHERING
All afternoon and evening people came and went, sharing stories, exhibits, films, historic and contemporary photographs, quiet moments by the water, canoeing, sailing radio-controlled boats, memories of cleaning up the beach, shoreside meadows and park; advocating relentlessly to preserve and enhance its historic landscape without destroying and reinventing it; demanding the moral, ethical and respectful response to the generous gift of the public Park by the John Nelson will and descendant heir; and having fun doing it all. It was far from a somber affair.
Net Systems helped provide an outdoor, recreational, contained campfire ring. A potluck was followed by a rousing evening of campfire singing - "This Park Is Your Park" - and other harmonies; individuals placing flowers upon the sea in quiet personal moments; a few tears; and a savoring of the fellowship that had brought everyone together.
In the hallowed words of the late-Ivar Haglund, signs urged everyone to: "KEEP CLAM" Other signs urged the need for a boat float and landing, stated people's love of the cove, and reminded, "CITY LIED: COVE DIED" referring to the extreme shoreline characterization error that went undetected for five years by all the experts. An haiku was left beside a tree planned for removal: "Young willow weeping, Bulldozers coming. 'Am I in way of salmon?'"
The only neighbors who attended were "IMBYs" not "NIMBYs." No elected officials attended. They had received public personal invitations at midweek meetings.
A COMPARISON:
On December 2, 2007, there was "a 500-year storm" for the ground breaking ceremonies of Yeomalt Cabin. No storm could dampen the enthusiasm of several dozen log peelers and soggy souls who all grabbed a hold of the 25-foot long shovel that ceremoniously commenced that project's rehabilitation.
On Sept. 13, 2010, there will commence another community project. The weather will no challenge. Finding anyone to sing and cheer may be a problem. Will Joel Sackett photograph someone holding the ground breaking shovel? Will a photo of the cannery cove demolition ground breaking end up on any upcoming political campaign brochure? Ninety-three-year-old Stan Lund sits across Puget Sound wondering about his old home town. Will his surrogate father's will for a public Park there meet the present community needs? Will his uncle's name ever adorn "John Nelson Park" at Cannery Cove as conditioned? Will he receive a letter of thanks from local officials? We hope so.
SUNDAY --
LEAVING THINGS BETTER THAN WE FOUND IT
One attendee at the last cove gathering, Ted Hoppin, whose outdoor painters group had enjoyed painting existing park scenes, shared a campfire harmonica rendering of "Amazing Grace."
Today he commented: "What a lovely event last night. I will never forget the moon setting over the darkening water, fire glowing, voices mingling as we celebrated the end of an amazing possibility. So, a log cabin remains (at Yeomalt), a waterfront park will be diminished, and a community of souls has been refreshed by imagination and loving initiative. Thank you so much. I look forward to the next event. I think the failure would have been not to try."
A photo essay was made of the site for future "Then and Now" comparisons.
Like old Scouts, Friends of Cannery Cove left the camp - public Park - better than we found it.
We pray the City does the same.
PS: MONDAY --KUOW-FM 94.9 aired a radio news feature. See: http://www.kuow.org/program.
Benches were retrieved. By noon, no workers were on site. . .
Most respectfully,
Judie & Gerald Elfendahl
Friends of Cannery Cove