Small town has a sophisticated air

By DEBERA CARLTON HARRELL
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Edmonds, which celebrated its centennial six years ago, is described by its citizens as charming, sophisticated, educated and civilized, with a small-town feel.

With its beauty and the beach, Edmonds is a place where visitors can shop for antiques, sip tea in lace-curtained restaurants, charter fishing boats or launch sailboats from the Port of Edmonds marina, dive in an underwater park or jog along the waterfront.

After the art galleries, gift shops and boutiques, there are wetlands trails, a wildlife preserve, a salmon hatchery, public beaches and tidelands to explore.

Libby Hustler, owner of the Windsor Garden Tea Room, summarized the sentiments of many longtime Edmonds residents: "I love Edmonds dearly. I think it's wonderful. I love that it's on the water. I love the sunsets."

Roger Myers, a 35-year resident, current City Council member and Edmonds School District administrator, said he fell in love with Edmonds when he arrived as a high school teacher in 1961.

"It's the small-town atmosphere we have . . . being within shouting distance of a major city -- Seattle -- yet retaining the slower pace and activities of a small community," Myers said. "Even though we've grown, we've kept that feeling. I'd say we're more sophisticated than a lot of small towns."

Said Connie Jones, director of the South County Senior Center on the waterfront, "It is a small town. You go into the grocery store, banks, post office and people know each other."

Jones, who has lived in Europe, calls Edmonds "the ideal community."

Continued:


• Balancing nature, culture and business
• 'Deadmonds' a dud for younger set
• A sense of ownership gets residents involved
• Future growth could squeeze tax base