My family has lived in the San Juan Islands since 1885, when my great-great grandfather arrived on Lopez. In 1886, he moved to San Juan Island. Henry Armstrong was the first in our family to become an islander, and after him his daughter Adah (often spelled Ada), her daughter Marie, her son Ron, and his daughter...yours truly. Now, my own four children take on the role of being 6th generation islanders.
My dad left the island when it was time for him to attend college, and then married and moved elsewhere. So, although I did not grow up on the island, I have been visiting here my whole life. My four kids and I moved to the island in 2004, into my grandparent's house, where my dad had grown up.
While moving in, my dad showed me around some of the outbuildings, describing their contents. In the one closest to the house, filled with odds and ends, Fuller Brush items, and jars of canned goods dating back as far as the 1950's, he said that the back of the building held all the belongings from his grandparent's home. They had been moved to the building by his dad, when his Grandmother Adah had passed away. My Grandmother Marie was too heartbroken to go through them, and so there they had been, for 34 years.
I was beyond intrigued, and soon began the process of cleaning out the front of the shed, in order to reach the precious belongings in the back. What I found was a treasure trove of history; a household of items packed away in steamer trunks and boxes; everything from clothes, books, and everyday items, to letters and pictures. I found obituaries and other documents, which enabled me to begin to trace our family history; a search which continued at the historical museum, the courthouse, and online. But back to the pictures. The pictures! Hundreds of them; beautiful daguerrotypes, large framed portraits, negatives, photographs in black and white and sepia...an endless array of faces and homes, places and events.
For years I have pondered how to go about sharing some of these precious images, and have done so in several ways, including taking a few of them to be documented for the San Juan Island Heritage collection. Yet, that was only a small piece of the treasury I have. And so it begins; a blog, where I can share some of these wonderful images. In part, so that others can see and enjoy these historical items, and also in the hope that maybe some of the unlabeled faces and places can be identified. So, I invite you to have a look, to sit back and enjoy the images of days gone by; small pieces of the lives of those who helped shaped this unique island community and this way of life.
