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| August 10, 2017 Shelton Mason County Journal |  |
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Thumday, Aug. 10, 2017 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Page A-9
Journal photo by Gordon Weeks
Ed and Sandy Murphy bought a high bank piece of land on the southeastern
part of Harstine Island in 1979, and moved to the property full time in 2005.
Sandy is now collecting stories and photos from fellow islanders, asking
how they found the island and why they stayed, for a family history project.
t
resl
Islander immersed in "We don't have any ]dds, so we're
looking to make our mark on the place
fami/y hhtory project we live," she said.
Ed and Sandy, who met in the sixth
grade, were both 28 when they bought
By GORDON WEEKS the property. The couple also owned a
gordon@masoncoun com heavily wooded 5-acre property in Puy-
allup. They hired a log home company
An ad for a wooded high bank lot on to log that property by draft horse and
Harstine Island for $23,000 prompted used some of the logs to erect a cabin
Ed and Sandy Murphy to venture onto to be trucked and reassembled on their
the island in 1979. Harstine property.
'~e had never heard of Harstine Is- The couple spent many weekends at
land," Ed recalled. "We just saw it was the Harstine cabin. Then Sandy suf-
a place we could afford." fered a stroke in 2005, at the age Of
"The first thing we saw was the 52, and had to learn to walk and talk
mountain (Rainier), in all of its glory," again. Ed retired to be her caregiver.
Sandy said. The noise from the construction of the
The couple moved to the property second Narrows Bridge prompted them
full time in 2005 as Sandy was recov- to sell their house and move to the is-
ering from a stroke and couldn't bear land that year.
the noise of the construction of the sec- "I loved the peace and quiet .... We
ond Tacoma Narrows Bridge near their started settling into island life," Sandy
house, said.
Now Sandy is collecting stories and Sandy joined the community club
photos from fellow islanders, asking and the pinochle club, the latter to help
them how they found the island and her to learn to count again. She became
why they stayed, for a family history the Harstine Island Community Club
project, historian in 2008.
She envisions the collection as an "I was putting names and faces to-
updating of the 1979 book "The Island gether," she said.
Remembers: A History of Harstine Is- For the history project, Sandy has
land and Its People" by Beulah Hitch- used word-of-mouth to try to interest
cock and Helen Wingert. islanders in the project, including the
"There's a whole new generation of farmers market. Journal columnist
people who have moved out here," San- Mike Callaghan mentioned her project
dy said. "We've taken over from the old two weeks ago.
guard, and now we are the old guard." Sandy said she wants islanders to
The stories and photos can be sent to share a brief description of their pre-
twobeachbumsl01@aol.com, island life, how they found the island
Sandy said she's not a writer, but and came back to live there, their com-
she's a collector, organizer and multi- munity involvement and the joys of liv-
tasker, ing on Harstine.
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