It’s Always Uphill from the Dock

Here is a look at the Puget Sound islands throughout history-the San Juan Islands, Whidbey Island, Bainbridge and Vashon Islands, and many others. Featured are the people who have come to the islands: Native Americans, explorers, entrepreneurs, settlers and visitors. We learn of the Native peoples’ traditional ways of life and the changes that the new settlers brought. The islands saw small pioneer farms and, later, very successful strawberry fields. Industries emerged, from lumber mills large and small to boat construction and even ski design and production. National defense installations have also been on the islands, and wartime policies have had a strong impact on Bainbridge and Vashon. Yet the islands have also hosted many summer camps, resorts and the parks that islanders and visitors today enjoy.

We learn about the boats that brought people to the islands before the age of motor vehicles. More recently, how have automobile ferries and bridges impacted the islands? Here, too, is the story of the bridges to the islands that have not been built. Finally, what are the challenges these islands may face in the future?