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"No one who cooks, cooks alone," the novelist and food writer Laurie Colwin once wrote. "A cook in the kitchen is surrounded by generations of cooks past ... [and] the wisdom of cookbook writers." A cloud of wise "cooks past" certainly surrounds the talented new cooks and farmers showcased in the new cookbook "Genuine Skagit Cooking." Published in April, "Genuine Skagit Cooking" was written and compiled by Blake Van Roekel of Genuine Skagit Valley and writer Stefanie LeJeunesse, with photos by...
Donna Kay Cushing (Griffin), 79, of La Conner, passed away in the evening of Feb. 21, 2024, of heart failure. Donna was the second child of four born to Jack and Elva Griffin on Jan. 19, 1945, in Kalamazoo, Mich. Donna spent her young years in Otsego, Mich., attending school, enjoyed dancing with friends at the town hall, and visiting her dear grandparents in Otsego, and up north in Mikado, Mich. Donna married Richard Cushing in 1971. Their marriage lasted 53 years. Donna enjoyed a 30-plus-year...
Norma LaMoyne Bryant (Bowdry-Bergeron), 93 of La Conner, passed away Jan. 21, 2024. She was born Feb. 4, 1930, in Dallas, Texas, to Clifford and Ethel (Lilly) Bowdry. LaMoyne was preceded in death by her parents, sister Shirley Bowdry, husbands Al Bergeron and Joe Bryant, daughter Teresa Bergeron, son Gary Bergeron, and daughter-in-law Penny Bergeron. She is survived by sons Ronnie Bergeron of Austin, Texas, and Chip Bergeron of Mount Vernon, grandchildren Heather (Bergeron) Kendrick and Laura (...
State seeding sent La Conner High School's basketball teams south. Unfortunately, their hopes of advancing to the round of 12 at the Spokane Arena this week went south as well. The boys' team was eliminated by Adna with a heartbreaking 66-62 overtime loss in Chehalis on Saturday, a game that saw the Braves battle back from foul trouble and a double-digit deficit to have a shot at winning in the waning moments of regulation. The youthful girls, meanwhile, with six eighth graders and no seniors...
The La Conner High School girls’ basketball team took two different routes last week to reach the same destination – Victory Lane at Coupeville. The Lady Braves netted top honors on the girls’ side of the NW2B bi-district tournament with a lopsided 52-15 win at home over Northwest Christian of Lacey on Feb. 13 followed by a tense 46-42 triumph over league rival Friday Harbor last Thursday in Coupeville. They were two totally different games that produced a single result. La Conner, 16-7 overall and with no seniors on its roster in an expect...
Home sweet home. That time-honored phrase perfectly served the La Conner Braves well at last week’s Northwest 2B bi-district basketball tournament where they sandwiched triumphs on their home floor over Northwest Christian of Lacey and Auburn Adventist Academy around a tough loss to league rival Coupeville on the Wolves’ court. The 68-57 win over Auburn Adventist last Saturday secured for La Conner (16-7) a berth in the regional round of the state playoffs. Junior guard Brayden Pedroza, who had erupted for 43 points in the Braves’ 74-29 bi-di...
Call them the Comeback Kids. The La Conner Braves mounted two furious second half rallies in NW2B/1B boy’s hoops action last week, the second bringing a convincing 73-57 win at Friday Harbor Feb. 9 that secured top seeding at the Bi-District Tournament. La Conner opened bi-district play at home Monday night opposite Northwest Christian of Lacey.They’re at Coupeville tonight (Wednesday) opposite either the host Wolves or Auburn Adventist. The four-team, double elimination Bi-District format will send two teams to the state 2B tournament. La Con...
A pair of double-digit wins over league rivals last week clinched a No. 1 bi-district tournament seed for the La Conner High School girls’ basketball team. La Conner (14-7 overall; 7-1 in league) closed out the regular season, defeating Coupeville 46-30 Feb. 6 at Landy James Gym and winning 41-29 at Friday Harbor on Saturday. With the wins, the Lady Braves secured the top seed to the bi-district tournament, which opened last night at home opposite Northwest Christian of Lacey. La Conner moves on to the second round Thursday in Coupeville a...
Youth will be served. Sometimes, but not last week. The La Conner High School girls’ basketball team, with several eighth graders in key roles, fell 56-30 to a solid and veteran Mount Vernon Christian lineup before a large Jan. 30 Senior Night crowd at MVC’s DeKok Court. La Conner has no seniors. It started eighth graders and sophomores against the Lady Hurricanes, who enjoyed a considerable size advantage across the front line. MVC bolted to an 11-0 first quarter lead and never looked back enroute to the NW2B/1B triumph. Senior Allie Heino led...
In La Conner, there's always one thing you can bank on. Tami Mason can be counted upon to pitch in and help when a community need arises. Mason, customer service supervisor at WaFd Bank's La Conner branch, volunteers for several organizations – from the Skagit County Historical Museum and La Conner Sunrise Food Bank boards of directors to the Chamber of Commerce and La Conner Volunteer Firefighters Association. "I love giving back to others," Mason told the Weekly News on Friday, as she w...
Robert LeRoy Hunt died on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, in Mount Vernon, Washington, at the age of 85 surrounded by his children. Born on the family farm in Gunn Hill in Lenox Township, Pennsylvania, on Dec. 10, 1937, Bob's life journey would take him to every corner of the globe where he discovered and loved the oceans, mountains, rivers and exploring any new destination and any road less travelled. Together with his beloved wife, Phyllis, who preceded him in death in 2015, the two set forth in...
Margery Zimmerman passed away on July 22, 2023, in Burlington, WA. She was born on March 7, 1933 to Gene and Teresa (Wells) Dunlap, and grew up in La Conner, first at the Dunlap house on La Conner-Whitney Road, then on Kiket Island, at a beautiful residence and grounds known as "Flagstaff". After graduating from La Conner High in 1951, she traveled the world with her father and sister Gerry. A highlight was attending the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. She attended the University of...
The newest members of the oldest active high school alumni association in Washington state were welcomed into the fold Saturday night in La Conner. Members of the Class of 2023 were feted during the 109th annual La Conner Alumni Banquet and Program at the middle school, just hours prior to departing on their senior trip to Knott's Berry Farm. "La Conner is just so special," said 2022-23 high school student body president Rachel Haley, speaking on behalf of her classmates. "We're proud to graduat...
The high school girls' basketball team saved its best for last in Spokane last week. The sixth-seeded Lady Braves, fueled by a monster second half from game-high scorer Ellie Marble, erased a 10-point fourth quarter deficit to beat Adna 52-46 Saturday morning to claim fourth place at the Washington state 2B Hardwood Classic. Down 39-29 early in the final stanza, the team staged an improbable comeback to match the team's finish at Spokane last year. "It was fantastic and so much fun," said first...
Turnabout is fair play. After having lost two tense games to conference hoops foe Coupeville – one on a desperate three-point buzzer beater – the underdog La Conner Braves avenged themselves with a dramatic 63-61 triumph Thursday, securing an improbable bi-district title and state tournament berth. La Conner, seeded 15th out of 16 state entries, faces No. 10 Chief Leschi this weekend in a loser-out contest. The winner advances to the state 2B Hardwood Classic round of 12 March 1 at the Spo...
The girls' basketball team is going back to Spokane. Winners of the Northwest Bi-District title, they were seeded sixth in the 16-team state girls 2B Hardwood Classic. They face No. 3 Napavine in first round regional action this weekend. The winner advances to the Spokane Arena March 2 against either Davenport, Raymond, Adna or Warden. The loser tips off March 1 opposite Forks or Northwest Christian of Colbert. La Conner (19-4) enters state action after Coach Joe Harper's team drubbed NWC-Lacey...
Funny the difference a few days makes. The La Conner Braves started last week suffering one of their toughest defeats Jan. 31, a humbling 56-31 home loss to Mount Vernon Christian. They rebounded quickly, first posting an amazing comeback home win Feb. 3 over conference foe Friday Harbor, clinching a 2B bi-district playoff berth. They earned a earned a moral victory the next night in a hard-fought loss to 2A Burlington-Edison. "These kids play hard, real hard and it's starting to pay off,"...
After losing last second heartbreakers to Coupeville and Orcas Island, the La Conner Braves flipped the script and won a hard-fought 58-54 non-conference hoops battle with Tulalip Heritage at Landy James Gym Saturday night. Ivory Damien scored a game-high 23 points and Braden Thomas added 21 to assure a happy ending for the Braves and their fans. But Tulalip provided plenty of drama before the curtain fell. The Hawks, trailed by as many as 13 points in the first half. They pulled to within...
In a fast-paced, often physical non-conference home hoops clash with Clallam Bay Saturday afternoon when several players were flung to the floor – and one even crashed into the scorer's table – the La Conner Braves continued to raise the ceiling on their '22-23 campaign. The boys high school team recorded its second straight blowout win with a 67-22 romp past the Bruins, a nearly identical outcome to the previous night when the Braves posted a 67-27 triumph at NW1B/2B rival Concrete. With the tw...
James Roger (Jim) Zimmerman was born June 26, 1933 in Noonan, ND to Edgar and Stella (Kjos) Zimmerman and passed away December 12, 2022. In 1936 the family, with siblings Eloise and Boyd, headed west, starting a new life in LaConner, WA. Jim graduated in 1951 from LaConner High School and went to work on the tugboats for Dunlap Towing Company. In 1963 Jim and 19 co-workers purchased the Company from Gene Dunlap and he spent the next 30 years in a management role until he retired in 1992. In...
Just a handful of games into its schedule, the high school girls' basketball team is already in mid-season form. La Conner passed crisply, defended and rebounded tenaciously, repeatedly scored in transition and executed its high post-low post half-court offense to near perfection in an impressive 73-57 non-league triumph over 4A Skyline at Landy James Gym Saturday. Ellie Marble scored a game-high 25 points, Makayla Herrera registered a double-double and Josie Harper tallied 17 points – i...
Jon Skiffington, long-time resident of La Conner, peacefully went to meet Jesus on Thursday, November 17, 2022, at home surrounded by family. He was born in Seattle, March 31, 1952, to Lennon and La Vonne. After high school, Jon served as an Air Force SERE Survival Instructor. There Jon encountered Jesus in an amazing way. From that day to his final moments on earth, Jon shared the love of Jesus with everyone he met. He earned a degree in Pastoral Studies from Northwest Bible College where he...
For years – decades, actually – folks in La Conner have talked at length about the community’s housing crunch. In the 1980s and 1990s, when in-filling vacant lots was proposed as a preferable remedy to zoning changes that would encourage sprawl, the question was posed in the context of whether property values or human values would prevail. Now, with a changed narrative and renewed emphasis on creative problem-solving, perhaps both values are achievable. “We need better and more precise terminology,” Bill Henkel, executive direc...
Lynn W. Weidenbach, passed away peacefully on Monday, November 8, 2021, at the age of 81. A celebration of life will be held on Sunday, July 17, 2022, 4:00 PM at The Vinery, 15806 Best Road, Mount Vernon, WA. In memory of Lynn, donations may be made in his name to The Jenny Stiles Hudson Scholarship Fund, c/o the Washington Cattlemen’s Association, PO Box 96, Ellensburg, WA 98926, or online at www.washingtoncattlemen.org, or the charity of your choice. Arrangements are under the care of Kern F...
The La Conner High School graduating class had to adapt during the COVID-19 pandemic and then one last time Friday evening. The 128th annual commencement exercises were moved from Whittaker Field to Landy James Gym when forecasts predicted rainfall. There were few dry eyes among families and friends of the graduates during the emotional 90-minute ceremony. “COVID was not kind to this class,” stressed co-valedictorian Delaney Cobbs, one of several student speakers. “By the time we hit our junio...
