||| BY LEITH TEMPLIN |||

Last Saturday I had the distinct pleasure of wearing my cemetery commissioner hat to attend the Haffey/Reddick service at Woodlawn Cemetery. It was such a joy to hear the minister speak about Madeline and her kindness and longevity on Orcas Island. Then to hear and see the four generations in attendance talk about how important Orcas Island is to all of them. It really touched me in a way that will be hard to explain, but I’ll try.

I remembered all the old families that lived here on Orcas and how hard they worked to survive here and most of all how they supported each other and how important it was to be part of this community. It took every single person, especially in those early days, to make it work here. Don’t get me wrong, there were many disagreements but the fabric that held this community together was diverse and strong. We struggled to make ends meet and we also danced and celebrated with each other because we all loved Orcas Island.

By working together as a community, we have not only lived together, but we have also created together the facilities we have today. To name a few: the medical center, the library, the senior center, the Orcas Center, the sewer association, the water association, the museum, and that doesn’t include all of the service organizations like the Lions, the garden club, the Madrona Club and more.

My ancestors or my generation would never think of suing one of our community organizations, let alone publicly attacking them. So as I attended that service on Saturday, I couldn’t help but think of all the good people of Orcas who try to preserve the good that it means to live, work and care for the island we love. Unfortunately, there have been some cracks in our community fabric as people seek to destroy what we have all worked so hard for and have been privileged to enjoy the fruits of that labor. These fruits will continue to be shared with all community members, new and old, because we all know that we are truly blessed to be able to live here. It is time to repair our social fabric. It is not acceptable to sue our organizations or print misleading information about our friends and community members.

The other unfortunate part is that we cannot sit back and wait for this to happen. We need to stand up and pay attention, or this rift in our community fabric will become a huge hole that I don’t think we will be able to fill. We will lose the organizations that we have worked so hard to build. Stand up and make your voice heard before it is too late.

I thank the Haffey/Reddick/Nicol family for reminding me why I continue to fight for my community and my love for orcas.

By the way, I have certainly never torn down signs at the farmer’s market or anywhere else and never would.