GreenDrinks

I used to network, when I worked in Seattle, with a group called GreenDrinks. I was part of the Starbucks environmental affairs team, and delighted to meet with like minded professionals. Recently I thought of reconnecting with this group, even though my current focus is Snohomish County. Then comes an email inviting me to the Snohomish County chapter of GreenDrinks.

http://greendrinkssnoco.blogspot.com/

The next meeting is this evening in Everett. More details at this link.

http://greendrinkssnoco.blogspot.com/2012/02/green-drinks-february-8th-sno-isle-food.html#comment-form

I hope to see you there.

Former Edmonds Mayor

KOMO's local blog for Edmonds has a nice little interview for Gary Haakenson, former mayor of Edmonds. Decent chap, and I hope he's enjoying his role supporting Aaron Reardon and the Snohomish County Executive office. I have many of the same feelings about Edmonds.

Quiet Brier Business

I remember, years ago, riding my bike through Brier and stumbling upon a loading dock and set of buildings just off Vine Road. There's precious little marking the spot, and it seems very quiet during the day. Over time, I would drive by in the mornings and see the place pretty busy. Anyway, for years, every time I passed the place I wondered what was there, but not with enough intensity to actually get off my butt and do something. Well, with today's technology, I don't need to get off my butt to learn more.

Turns out this is Northgate Egg Farm, a part of E. C. Wilson Produce CO., INC. According to the WA State DOL, they've been on file since 1968, but according to Manta, they've been around since 1906. I'm willing to bet there's a bit of murkiness to records predating the '60s, but I really don't know. Either way, they've been in the area for quite some time. They are listed as an "egg distributor", whether that expands on the obvious, I don't know.

What I find cool is that this is a living part of this area's history. Much of South Snohomish County early economic roots were egg farms. At one point we had 200,000 egg laying hens. Most of that has died out. But we have a little piece of it still living, quietly, in the heart of Brier.

Starting this thing

I've lived in Snohomish County for decades, though not consecutive ones. My family moved here when I was a kid (5th grade through early college), and then I settled here shortly after getting married. This place, though, is where my extended family (grandparents, cousins, etc) always were. So, in a good many ways, Snohomish County has always been home. There's a great deal I love about this place, though I haven't fully articulated that. That's one of my goals for this blog.

I enjoy the beauty of this place. The beaches and forests, and the divergent communities all fascinate me. There's a wide economic base, and a wide array of businesses. We have farms, small and mid-sized businesses, along with a significant presence by the global behemoth, Boeing. I will explore all of this and more. And if you have any ideas of things I should explore, let me know in the comments section.

So, thanks for reading and enjoy the ride.