First Show @ the "Rexville"
Why This Show Is Special
The "Rexville" will always be a special place for me and for my children Cody and Morgan. In 1974 while celebrating Labor Day Weekend in Saco Montana while en route to the west coast, I met some folks traveling east. I asked them where a low key rural place was in Washington State where I could spend the winter. They directed me to the Skagit Valley and in particular to Julie who worked at the Rexville Grocery.
I was told that Julie would know about places for rent on Fir Island what ever that was! I was intrigued to say the least. After a leisurely trip through Montana with a memorable stop in Thompson Falls, a delightful soak at Jerry Johnson Hot Springs deep in Idaho's Salmon River country, camping on the Methow River east of Mazama Washington, journeying over the new and astoundingly beautiful North Cascades Highway and a last stop for a warm soak at Baker Hot Springs, off it was to find the magical Rexville, my ticket to a cozy place for the winter of "seventy four."
Julie was there when I arrived and it wasn't long before I had a place. In fact it was a scant half hour later that I had agreed to rent what had been a milk house attached to a Fir Island dairy barn. The rest is wonderful history.
I raised my delightful son and daughter Cody and Morgan on Bradshaw Road not far from the Rexville Grocery. A favorite pastime was to hike up a little hill behind the Rexville Grange Hall, "Strawberry Mountain" to us, always richly carpeted with summer's wild strawberries. We would hike up to the top, pick berries and revel in the magnificence of this stunning rural landscape.
From the top one takes in the powerful Skagit River meandering gracefully on its way to the sea. To the northeast Mount Baker rises majestically gleaming in a fresh blanket of fall snow. The welcoming landscape of the "Magic Skagit" lay before us stretching grandly out to the peaks of the San Juan Islands in the distance . This is indeed a very special place.
After our Strawberry Mountain journey we always stopped by the "Rexville" to buy a candy bar and shoot the breeze with "Scotty" the always engaging proprietor of this venerable Skagit Valley landmark.
Now at the dawn of a new Century the Rexville Grocery is thriving under the delightful stewardship of Stuart and Joyce Welch. Stuart and Joyce have transformed the Rexville into a marvelous hub of community, an island of sanity, great food and good times that tempers the fast paced lifestyle of the 21st Century. The oysters are great, the beer is cold and the many special events are always a sell out. Stuart always has a funny story to share and Joyce serves up wonderful informal cuisine with delightful exuberance. Then there are the diverse and always interesting local characters that hang out there like the infamous Jim Smith. The Rexville Grocery is a true experience, it's worth the trip.
It is with great pleasure and a strong sense of personal history and place that I am returning to The Rexville 31 years later to display my fine art photography. I'll look forward to seeing you there on Saturday November 5th, 2006 between 4:00 and 6:00 pm - Rexville Time!!