25 Years on the Island

25 years on the island

posted 02/30/2009
My wife, Jeanine, and I were sitting reminiscing about our lives here when we realized we had been here for 25 years. I think what brought it on was the book just recently released for the 100th anniversary of Friday Harbor. By the way, you owe it to yourself to get the book. Mike and Julia Vouri did a great job, but back to our thoughts of the past 25 years.

When we moved here, San Juan Island had a population of about 3200. This was 1984 and Browne's Lumber was still across from Wells Fargo Bank (although it was owned by another bank at the time), Ace Hardware was where Island Studio is today and we had three grocery stores instead of two. That may be the only thing we have less of today. Actually, I just remembered Malloy's Hardware was located at the corner of Spring Street and 1st, where King's Market expanded into several years ago. Our first office was barely 600 square feet sandwiched between Brook's Bakery and the hairdresser's shop in the old Whitey's building, which sadly burned down in the Big Fire.

Our kids grew up here, and after graduation, couldn't wait to "get off this little rock". Both are back and wouldn't live anywhere else now. My son Scott has his own masonry business (Distinctive Stone) and our daughter Laura works in our office. She is also the mother of our grandson Silas who is the light of our lives. So we have three generations living here now and someday we hope to have four, at which point we might be considered true islanders.

Property prices have obviously changed, 2½ acres at Eagle Cove cost $25,000 in 1987 and a couple of years ago sold for $300,000. That may be down right now, but as the eternal optimist I believe it will come back at some point. We still don't have a single stop light in town and you still cannot go to the grocery store or any restaurant in town with seeing friends and family and having to take a few extra minutes to talk. What a difference from off the island where you would rarely run into anyone you know.

Health care has also changed over the years. We had two chiropractors in town, Dr. John Fabianek and myself, we now have four. We didn't have a single Naturopath and now there are three. If I remember right we had 3 dentists and 3 medical doctors at the time. As our population has grown so have those numbers. So everyone has more choices to choose the type of health care and health care provider that fits their lifestyle.

Our practice has changed dramatically over the last 25 years as well. We now use the latest technology available from adjusting instruments, percussors to unwind fascia to cold lasers that help speed healing. We even recently added a cold laser that helps people lose fat. Amazing. We now use nutrition to help improve our overall health, and detoxification systems to help clean us out. There are systems to help over come electromagnetic interferences to our health, as well.

Change is inevitable and technology will continue to change our lives. Some of it will be positive and some of it negative. But that has always been the case. I guess what I am trying to say is how much we love living here and what a great place it is to live.

I also want to thank the community for the past 25 years and say I am looking forward to the next 25. At one time I looked forward to retiring at age 50, well, that is passed and now I cannot imagine retiring. I'm just having too much fun.

Yours in health,
Mark W. Earnhart, D.C.