What is Bay Center Association?

We do have in our little community what is called Bay Center Association.  It is a service-oriented group comprised of willing volunteers from among the community of Bay Center.  Residents of Bay Center are automatically members of the Association.  The Association goes back to the early origins of the formation of Bay Center. 

I’ve seen documents in the Association records that show the sense of community in advocating that males in the community donate one day a month towards helping with the heavy work in making improvements within the community.   I’ve seen an old photo at the Dock of The Bay which shows what looks like a community dinner with long tables set up for a shared meal. 

Since we moved here to Bay Center, in Nov 2002, my husband agreed to hold the office of President, when a neighbor was telling us as newcomers about the Association and the timing was such that it was time for a new slate of officers.  We were too new to the community then to know much of anything about how the community works together.  Both of us were employed at the time and I helped him where I could and we rather bumbled our way through that first year of holding office.   At that time it was called Bay Center Improvement Association.

By March 2003, our country had invaded Iraq, and two from our immediate family who were active military deployed to Iraq; my son-in-law and my nephew.  I left my employment to be more available to my daughter and  her three children  (my grandchildren) while her husband was deployed.  Spending intense years in activism from 2003 through 2008 as a military family speaking out against the Iraq war, I did not get much involved in local region community, nor in my immediate community of Bay Center.  (Not wanting this to be a blog post about Iraq war, you can see more about my activities if you are interested at my blog; Dying to Preserve the Lies).

With the winter windstorm (hurricane) in Dec 2007, my attention quickly was turned to the immediacy of living in our small community within this sparsely populated county.  I began attending the different meetings of the different groups that are at work in our unincorporated village to get a stronger sense of how we interact as a community, especially in times of severe weather crisis situations and other crisis situations.  I did attend some of the Bay Center Association meetings and like many groups or organizations, the heavy lifting is handled by the few who do volunteer for as long as they are willling to lift or until they say no more.  Then the hunt is on for who else would be a willing volunteer. 

And that is how I came to agree to take on the function of president for the Bay Center Association for this next year (May 2009 – April 2010). I agreed when two other new to the Association meeting attendees agreed to take on some of the other offices, which gives the Association a slate of ‘new’ and probably green officers.  So it should be interesting to see what develops over the next months, and if nothing else, it will make for some material for blog posts here. 

First thing I do is create a website for Bay Center Association… check it out!  Content will likely be developed from the monthly meetings.

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Chinook Tribal Office Has Moved to Bay Center – Welcome!

excerpts from article in Chinook Observer

BAY CENTER - The Chinook Indian Tribe has moved its office from the Sea Resources building in Chinook to Bay Center.

Tribal Chairman Ray Gardner said the move had been in the works for quite some time. "When you look back historically, it made sense to move to Bay Center because 90 percent of our staff live there and there's a very large volunteer group there."

The opportunity to move the tribe's headquarters north came last year when tribal member Zoe LeCompte donated her grandfather's home to the group. The house, at the entrance to Bush Park, had been empty for years and was in danger of being demolished. It has been rehabilitated with the help of Naselle Youth Camp crews and tribal members.

Now, after five months of work, Office Manager Jennifer Lagergren and office staff Beverly Buckner and her daughter Audrey Anderson are moved in and handling tribal business at their new digs.

The tribal office hours are Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The new phone number is 360-875-6670.

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August 2003 - First summer in our 'new' home - garden journal entry

August 2003




Our first summer in the house we are buying. It comes with some already mature landscaping. Noteably the front yard has the 90 + year old Monkey Puzzle Tree. But it is showing it's age now, and appears more brown than green.

The first year here I asked our neighbor to cut off the lower branches. Since the tree was planted on a corner where 2 streets intersect, it made for poor visibility and our neighbor was happy to open up that space to help prevent accidents for cars trying to make the turn. I learned something though; dear hubby was heartbroken at the trim job on that tree. Seems he had already developed a fondness and ownership of that historical tree.

Next is the raised bricked garden areas at the front of the cupola. While a bit overgrown, the mixtures of small trees, evergreens, and a well developed and aged rhodedendrom give a calming, relaxed feel to that area. Sweetie just had to do some serious pruning to the overgrowth of the ivy and straggling blackberry shoots. For the most part, I have no plans for this area except maintenance, as it works well in it's present design.

I do need to learn the names of the spreading evergreen. It's an expensive variety, low growing with primary branche that grow outwards horizontally on one side. I believe the orange flowering small tree is a type of rhodendrom. It looks also like a rare and exotic species. And there is a yellow flowering tree that is prickly. Maybe a type of holly but the yellow blooms are gorgeous.

Future plans for this area include taking out the small area of grass as it is impossible to get in there and mow it. And there is a small patio area in need of some refining, maintenance, attendance and planting to sparkle it up.

There is no 'back yard' to speak of, rather a strip of what is a pathway to get to the side yard. While there is a nice, sunny spot in a square shape at the juncture of the original house and the added on section, someday it will make a nice wildflower garden. For now, it needs nutrients, attention and a plan.

The side yard, which really serves as our back yard has the Harry Lauder Walking Stick tree. That is also an expensive variety with twisty limbs and curled leaves. Initially, it looks like the leaves are withering, but it is the nature of the leaves and limbs. I had to look it up to learn what kind of tree it is and have developed an immediate fondness for it already. My mother thought it was a sadly neglected tree and I had to explain to her it was a rare type of tree and is supposed to look that way.

There is a mature lilac which is old enough to be more of a tree than a bush; another very mature bush grows next to it and that one is a wild fushia bush. There is an overgown cluster of camellia close by so it looks like a concentration of plantings that have matured now are a bit too close together and growing into each other.

Someone put in a raised bed next to part of the brick wall that lines the yard. It has left over yarrow, I believe, still growing in it. Probably I will start with this raised bed and work my way outward as I decide what to do with this yard.

The yard has a small hill so that it appears to be an upper and a lower section. The lower section is the septic tank and drain field and I've heard it is not a good idea to plant in the drain field area. There is a brick wall at the back of this drain field area. Along that wall are several trees. Tall natural growing evergreen, and then 2-3 other natural evergreens. Not sure if they were already there and part of the original land or if they were planted deliberately years and years ago.

A couple of rhodedendroms are also along the brick wall. Sparse and hanging in there but not flourishing. There is a maturing maple tree at the corner where the brick wall forms the right angle. And it looks like big rocks were brought in to hold the bank of the hill or for decor or....and I can envision a rock garden there easily.

And it looks like someone planted what might have been a christmas tree or perhaps a forestry tree at the corner of the rock garden right under the very mature evergreen. The branches of the mature evergreen are growing into this planting and affecting it's shape and growth. So a serious cutting of the lower branches of that old evergreen will become a project.

At the back porch area of the house are 3 too mature rhodedendroms which will need some serious cutting back. They look to be the variety that grows naturally in Washington, so they will get too large for the spots where they have been planted and will be some annual pruning work to keep them in control.

Well that is it; the lay of the place when we bought it in November 2002. This is our first summer here and we are without yard and garden tools, so some must buy items.

Projects accomplished in the first summer here;

-- pruning back the front yard raised beds and shaping the mature rhodendrom. I will call this area the front oasis for lack of knowing what else to call it, due to it's serene setting.

-- pruning back the over mature rhodendroms at back porch area.

-- serious limb removal of the Monkey Puzzle tree

-- generally just removing weeds and overgrowth all around the house

-- hoeing and planting the raised bed in back yard along the brick wall. Biggest accomplishment with that was the massive Russian Sunflowers that I planted.

-- with no garden, tried the split the top soil bag and grow vegetables directly from the bags. This worked out fairly well. I got squash, and cucumbers, and a sprinkling of tomatoes. The rest was container gardening and container flowers. Not a too bad first effort, but I will want a true garden space in the back yard. And over time, I will want wildflower garden and a herb garden.

see photos here

posted by Lietta Ruger

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Womens' Club; Me and Jake; An Abandoned Lake Cott

Made the Tomato Zucchini Frittada last night. Okay, so-so, not exciting and not quite boring. Primary ingredients are tofu for bulk, zucchini for crust. I could tell while I was making it that it was not going to have any flavor snap, so I did add mozzerella cheese on top which is not in the recipe. I liken the taste to those Bisquick Impossible Pie dinner recipes.
Kind of a disappointment after making the zesty, spicy Thai peanut noodles the night before.


Yesterday was the BC Women's Club Meeting. I really cannot believe I even go to these, and I don't go regularly. It still puts me in mind of women in their full skirted 1950s dresses, white gloves, handbag and hat. But it's not that at all...just my imagination at work. The women are mostly elderly and dress comfortably and warm for the winter weather. It's entirely a social club and just not my thing at all, but it does help me to be a bit connected to the people in my little village town. They meet once a month, and there is this little decorated gift basket full of small, inexpensive gift items that is given out at the end of the meeting. Name drawn from a hat kind of thing. When you 'win' it, you are responsible to fill it with new items and return it for the next meeting.

I won it back in November, and was to return it filled with new items for December meeting. I missed December meeting so added a couple more items to it for January meeting. I missed January meeting, and maybe the women are getting annoyed, because in the minutes is a sentence about how I missed the meeting, so no basket to give out. Well I was at February meeting, basket returned chock full of gifty items and this month basket winner was most pleased with the goodies. After all, I had two months worth of goodies to stuff into the basket, having missed two meetings and all.

Jake (my dog = Australian Shepherd) and I went for a walk to the park afterwards. I dug up some spring bluebells from an abandoned old house and will plant them in my yard. I didn't take much, just a few tufts, and it didn't hurt the abandoned house landscaping, let me assure you. I hope they will take in my yard and naturalize. I don't mind where they take hold, I rather like them untrained and popping up where they will.

On our walk, I went down the dead end road that I usually avoid. There are 2 old houses on the bank with spectacular view of the bay. Neither house is much to speak of, but the views they command are what developers would pay top dollar to get their hands on to develop. A former dwelling that has fallen in on itself is along the dead end driveway. The driveway isn't really, more a primitive sort of drive that cars have driven forming the shape of a dirt road. At the end of what is the road, sits an abandoned lake cottage. Hmmm, I didn't know that was there, and wonder who owns the property. It is obvious that once some family did come out here to enjoy some summer time at their cottage on the bay, but it looks like the weather and rain has had some years to get to it and it definitely looks abandoned.
It would make such a GREAT painting studio.

I yearn for my painting studio to be located where I can look directly at the bay but I'm not complaining much as I have peek a book views now and enough space to have a painting studio in the house we are buying. Speaking of which - it's been a long while since I painted, and I need to visit my studio and get those juices going again.

posted by Lietta Ruger

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Colors - skyline and autumn

An Autumn sunset. This photo captures only a percentage of the great sky and even though it's a snapshot, that's one spectacular paintbrush.

We have some beautiful sunrises and sunsets here, but there are those days when it is more breathtaking than other days. It registers on us here living in the village. While this photo was taken in Sept 2006 from our stairway window, and it is now Feb 2007, we had the most amazing sunset in Jan 2007 that it had all of us coming out of our homes and trying to snap photos of the sky.

It was kind of funny to watch us humans trying to dare to capture the fullness of what we were seeing. People running up the road chasing the skyline before it faded into the bay. People jumping into their cars to hurry down to the beach to capture the skyline, knowing it would most certainly end it's journey at the waterline of the bay. I was among those running around with my digital camera trying to capture the shots. In my drawstring pajama bottoms still (hey they're comfortable), and without a jacket, me and the neighbors out there trying to be photo journalists to catch those great sunset pictures. My digital camera decided not to work, low batteries, and the elusive skyline would have been gone by the time I changed the batteries. Hopefully, a neighbor will share their photo shots with me.


And here is a couple of photos of Autumn and the changing colors. Not so spectacular, there are far more spectacular photos of fall, landscapes that show off the painted colors of the season. I always feel a tug on my heartstrings, melancholy at seeing the summer season leave, and energized that it will be the season of color and cooler temperatures, but knowing winter stretches out after that and spring will be a ways away.

posted by Lietta Ruger

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Anniversary Weekend

I took Friday off and today we're in day two of "just us" for the weekend.
Sunday will mark 11 years and it hardly seems that long. Often in earlier years we would journey back up to Skagit County where we were married and drive out to the water where we were married by a Christian Native-American Shaman in his home.

We will view a VHS recording of our wedding tomorrow and celebrate with a wedding dinner out at the Tokeland Hotel.

It's a quiet time for us - an interlude almost from the past and what lies in store in the future. Political activism has been a dominant theme in our home now since the start of the invasion and occupation of Iraq.

Resistance on our part has continued without let up and what with speaking at rallies, workshops and most recently the Citizens Hearing on the Illegality of the War, we see no end in sight to at least some activism-related travel and speaking as well as our primary staple of online blogging.As I write this, we're listening to a CD entitled A Walk in the Deep Woods with it's quiet morning slumbering melody augmented by the occasional light calls of birds. Our home in Bay Center possesses these elements as the area is so thinly populated that it is perpetual silence of remoteness from the urban that get's interrupted occasionally by city noise.

Like yesterday when I was power walking, I heard an ambulance or police siren - something I have not heard here since we moved in in 2002 but perhaps 3-4 times.

So our anniversary weekend moves on and we sit silently at separate computers but a mere 10 feet apart - saying little but loving each other a lot.

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Wow, a store opened in our village!

I told you we had no stores in our little fishing village community, just the one tavern and a KOA campground, the oyster farms and 2 processing plants, and a county campground park. Welllllll ... three days ago the one and only store opened and we, of course, went to the grand opening..lol.

Actually, I'm tickled at what the 'store' has to offer and it will make daily living in our village a bit more convenient. The new owner is from Long Beach area (highly tourist draw on the WA coastline) so she brought with her a bit of the flavor of Long Beach in conceptualizing our store in Bay Center. The store offers a pizza, deli and dessert bar; necessary grocery items, the beginnings of a gift line (oh we do get the ocassional tourists here) and a cozy relax sitting area with new polished wood burning stove, couch and chairs, newspapers and magazines, and this nifty reproduction record player that actual plays LPs (I want one!).

So now, instead of going the 12 miles into the nearest 'town' for the daily needs like milk, bread, eggs, cheese and such, we can go the 1/2 block to our own little store in Bay Center. Woo hoo!
Oh, and she even introduced a new line of coffee blend = Bay Center blend. My, my aren't we upscale now? No espresso though, not yet anyway. (Here in the Pacific Northwest, we are known to drink a lot of espresso .. you know, the latte although I prefer a vanilla breve.) Me and the dog, Jake, can take a stroll down to the store and have a morning coffee and cinnamon roll while listening to some great vintage music LP playing on the record player. And yes, my dog can go into the store with me, cause it's that kind of laid back community here.

Next - those developers trying to cultivate a high-end housing development around the 'lake'. The plan is for 70 lots, selling at about $400,000 for the lot alone. So it's not hard to imagine what kind of houses will eventually go up on those lots. I worry some, cause we moved here to get away from those insta-grow developments and the cookie cutter shop malls that go with them. I wanted to find a place that didn't yet have a McDonalds or Super grocery store or Super any store and not likely to get such in near future. We're not in jeorpardy yet.....but, still I worry some that our sleepy little paradise village, not more than a road sign on the state highway, will be 'found' and transformed. I like the identity this community already has and has had for the past century. Developers - stay away from here - and people, don't come to Bay Center except as a drive through tourist.

The locals aren't as concerned as I am, cause they've seen high hope developers come into this community before and try to develop a not quite gated community, but one of those development 'estates' with a fancy name like Rialto Beach or Meadow Woods or some such similar type name. But, I'm still concerned and time will tell.

photo of the 'lake' area which developers hope to turn into McMega House estates.




awww....don't mow it down. photo of the first swatch of lake area being mowed down, next comes the sale of the lots, then comes the mega-mansions dotted all around the lake.



posted by Lietta Ruger

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