Vashon Island
While Mr. Onimako owns Vashon Island, he has no active part in the management of the island's affairs. In fact, he seems to have nothing to do with the island what -so-ever after having received it as part of his payment for services rendered to Markova Enterprises. It isn't known what service he provided to be paid with an island, but he hasn't seemed interested in that payment either. He established a president to manage the island and then has not been involved with it since.
Just a short ferry ride away from the hustle and bustle of Seattle is a little bit of heaven on earth that very few people have ever heard of – Vashon Island. This lovely island in Puget Sound has a small town charm and the relaxed pace of an earlier and simpler time, but it is definitely not Mayberry. Oh, there are certainly a few similarities. This is the sort of place where everybody knows each other, and people take the time to stop and chat with their neighbors. There is very little crime, and the residents trust each other enough to sell pies and assorted farm produce at unmanned roadside stands where you pay on the honor system. While it may seem at first glance to be an idyllic holdover from the fifties, a closer look will reveal that Vashon has a very different culture from any small town your grandparents ever experienced.
Vashon has attracted a quirky mix of artists and art lovers, writers, musicians, organic farmers, and hippies who have melded together to form an artistic, progressive and open-minded culture unique to the island. The folks here like to do their own thing, and are happy to let their neighbors do the same – which is a nice change from many small communities that have a tendency to get judgmental about people who are not quite mainstream. Vashon islanders know they are a little different, maybe even a little odd, and they proudly proclaim their oddity on a popular bumper sticker that says “Keep Vashon Weird”. This is a small, close-knit community, but they don’t have that innate distrust of strangers exhibited by so many small towns. Vashon is full of friendly people who welcome newcomers with open arms.
They boast an impressive array of cultural and recreational resources that few towns with similarly small populations could ever hope to achieve. Denizens of tiny Vashon don’t need to take the ferry to Seattle to enjoy a little culture – they have quite a lot of high-brow culture right in their backyard. For music lovers, Vashon has its own chamber music society and opera company, and it hosts an annual summer concert series. A new performing arts center provides a venue for dance, theatre, and concerts by well known musicians, and fans of the Bard can attend a production of Shakespeare in the Park. For those who prefer the visual arts, there are ample galleries, art studios, and exhibits to keep any art aficionado happy.
The residents of the island enjoy a slower pace than most of us, and the geography of the island has a lot to do with its culture. Many Vashon islanders work in Seattle and commute daily on the ferry. Although it would be more convenient to be able to drive directly to work, residents have fought construction of a bridge connecting them to the rest of the world. Convenience is highly overrated in the Vashon culture. The lack of a bridge helps to keep the weird and wonderful parts of Vashon culture intact while keeping the frantic pace of the mainland at bay. Having to ride the ferry to and from the island forces you to slow down and provides a calming bookend to your days. The commuters aren’t stuck in traffic on their way to work, they are enjoying each other’s company while they are able to get out of their cars and enjoy the view of the ocean and their beautiful island with the sun on their faces and the wind in their hair. The return trip includes happy hour on the ferry, where the islanders can drink a toast to their unique way of life with their friends and neighbors. Here’s to keeping it weird.
Demographics
The Racial Composition
- White: 96.14%
- Asian: 1.28%
- Two or more races: 1.18%
- Other race: 0.65%
- Native American: 0.54%
- Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: 0.14%
- Black or African American: 0.07%
The Education Level
Government
The island is run by a president and a board. The members of which are chosen by those of the board. While the original president was chosen by Mr. Onimako, it has been decided that future presidents will be chosen by the board. There are currently 12 members on the board.
Defences
It's greatest defense is that it is an island that can only be reached by ferry or plane. This greatly limits travel to the island. However, they do have a small defensive force in the even that they were attacked.
Industry & Trade
Vashon is a major producer of art, music and writing. They make the majority of their money exporting these products.
Infrastructure
The Ferries
There is no bridge leading to this island. The people prefer that it stay that way. The only way to get on or off the island is by ferry or by plane.
The Airports
There are two airports on Vashon Island for personal crafts, one public and one private strip. The public Vashon Municipal Airport is located on Cove Road approximately two miles from the main town intersection. Vashon Municipal Airport covers an area of 20 acres (8.1 ha) at an elevation of 316 feet (96 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway and one helipad, both with turf surfaces: 17/35 is 2,001 by 60 feet (610 m × 18 m) and H1 is 98 by 98 feet (30 m × 30 m). Commercial flights can be arranged by charter through Vashon Island Air (1-877-ISLE-AIR) for those who do not have a private craft.The Buses
History
Washington’s Vashon (or Vashon-Maury) Island sits in the midst of Puget Sound thwarting the onslaught of urbanization that affects other regions so near to big cities like Seattle and Tacoma. The waters of the sound and the lack of any bridges between the island and the mainland have kept the islanders in relative isolation. While modernization has come, the unique and interesting history of Vashon Island lives on. Small local farmers perpetuate an organic diet, the 10,000 inhabitants proudly celebrate the annual strawberry festival in July, and the residents will be quick to point out the numerous famous artists, musicians, and writers who have lived on the island and found in it an inspiration for their works. Growth has been slow and steady here on Vashon Island from the earliest pioneer days up to the present, and visiting Vashon seems at times a little like stepping back in time to an earlier, more rustic day.
Vashon Island sits in the midpoint of southern Puget Sound, between Seattle and Tacoma, Washington. The first non-American Indian to chart this island was Captain George Vancouver, during his surveys of the Puget Sound area with the British Royal Navy. Originally, a smaller isle sat to Vashon Island’s southeast side. Captain Vancouver named the main island Vashon after a fellow captain in 1792. Fifty years later, the smaller isle was given the name Maury Island after a British navy crewmate. These two landmasses remained separated by water until local landowners decided to build an earth bridge, or isthmus, linking them together in 1916. Therefore, the two-piece isle was renamed Vashon-Maury Island. Between the two sections, it covers nearly 40 square miles.
Points of interest
Hilmar and Selma Steen House
Dating from 1911, this former home of Hilmar and Selma Steen, who immigrated to Vashon Island from Norway, is exquisitely designed. The brick foundation, the beautiful enclosed porch, the nearly unchanged interior, and the old-style beveled glass windows show the care and hard work that were put into the construction of Hilmar’s home. A nearby lumber mill that Hilmar’s family operated provided the house with electricity – a rare luxury at that time on the island.
Marjesira Inn in Magnolia Beach on Quartermaster Harbor
The new editor comes with a handful of Dating from 1906, Ira and Jessie Case’s Marjesira Inn sits on a bluff above the harbor just behind the Marjesira wharf where visitors would land before entering the Summer get away town of Magnolia Beach. The inn provided food and lodging, and Jessie personally baked the bread. Ira was a newspaper operator, a state legislator, and a generally important figure on the island, yet that did not stop him from joining in with the local carpenter to piece together this four-story guest house.
Thomas and Etta McNair House in Burton
Dated to 1890, Thomas and Etta McNair’s Queen Anne style two-story home was built in the elegant and complicated Queen Anne Style by McNair himself. His income earned working in Tacoma most of the week made the building project possible. He would go by row boat across the sound while his wife stayed home and worked on the farm and took care of the house. McNair was quite a builder, also erecting a number of other area structures, including a local school facility.
Mukai Agricultural Complex in Vashon
Japanese immigrants Denichiro Makai and his wife Sato Nakanishi arrived on the island in the early 1900s to establish a strawberry plantation, having heard the fame of the island’s strawberry industry while living in Seattle. Their innovations helped expand the reach of the island’s strawberry sales to far away lands by setting up a processing plant that involved new and better methods of freezing the berries so as to fetch a better price abroad. The complex dates from 1910, and includes a packing plant, the Mukai’s home, and a garden (currently being restored) that combined Japanese and American landscaping techniques.
Founding Date
Monday, May 30, 2140
Founders
Population
10,291
Inhabitant Demonym
Weirds
Owner/Ruler
Additional Rulers/Owners
Ruling/Owning Rank
Owning Organization
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