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Anacortes native Wallie Funk (center) celebrated his 84th birthday on the same day as the opening of a new photo exhibit at the Anacortes Museum. Funk, former publisher of newspapers including the Whidbey News-Times and the Anacortes American, enjoyed a Saturday evening event that drew hundreds of friends and history buffs including Skagit Valley Herald […]

If ever there was an excellent choice for 4th of July Parade Grand Marshal it was Wallie Funk. Wallie, an Anacortes native, spent the better part of his life as a photojournalist, capturing a massive collection of photos such as this through the lens of his Leica cameras. Wallie was editor and publisher of the […]

And now you know … the rest of the story. It was 2011 when How It Works founder Chris Terrell approached me with the idea of writing articles for a new publication titled “Anacortes Magazine.” I jumped at the chance to be part of this exciting new project, agreeing to write a few articles and […]

Among those attending the August 2002 Skagit Pioneer Picnic were my ex-boss Wallie Funk and shirttail relative Ernie Dahl. Also on hand were Anacortes Mayor Dean Maxwell and Skagit County commissioners Don Munks and Bob Hart. The picnic, held in LaConner, is historically more popular in election years.

An important anniversary in the Pacific Northwest! A post from 1985: “Today, July 31, marks the 75th anniversary of the opening of Deception Pass Bridge (1935). This photo was taken during a mid-span celebration event on the 50th Anniversary of the bridge (1985). Among those pictured is Anacortesan Wallie Funk (center, with water carafe), who […]

The “Old Ball House,” long since gone, was once an icon on the north side of Highway 20 between Burlington and Anacortes. The late Wallie Funk, newspaper editor/publisher, once posed his two boys in the derelict farmhouse to create a seasonal card. No one injured in the making of the image.

They’re all great, when it comes to Anacortes parades, but this 2005 Fourth of July parade was special. It opened with a flyover of two “Prowler” jets from Whidbey Island Naval Air Station. Grand Marshal was Wallie Funk, my newspaper mentor and dear friend. The copper columns on the Downtown Arch were shiny and new. […]

Sixty-seven years ago this week, local newspaper publisher Wallie Funk finally shared in his newspaper what he had learned earlier from sources who swore him to secrecy. On June 2, 1953, local paper carriers scrambled up and down Commercial Avenue hawking a special edition of the American Bulletin newspaper. The front page featured only four […]

Anacortes High School football fans enjoyed a great evening of action Friday, August 31 as the season opener was held with non-conference opponent Roosevelt High School of Seattle. The Hawks ultimately dropped the contest 34-7 but there were many bright spots both defensively and offensively that point to an exciting season ahead. This game was […]

Anacortes High School was alive Thursday morning as students and staff arrived for the first of two “start up” events this week. The 2018-19 school year begins next Thursday, September 6. The school’s first football game takes place Friday, September 31 at 6 p.m. against Roosevelt: “The Wallie Bowl,” so named with a nod to […]

The Anacortes Arts Festival announced awards and public art purchases of almost $13,000 at the Opening for the Arts at the Port Fine Art Exhibition last Saturday night. The evening was attended by Juror Michael Monroe from Seattle (pictured), most of the participating artists and an estimated 400 guests. Taking top honors was Rebecca Fletcher […]

Al Swift, a broadcaster turned congressman from Washington’s Second Congressional District, died April 20, 2018 in Alexandria, Virginia. Since he retired from Congress in 1995, Swift had lived and worked as a lobbyist in Virginia. He is pictured here at an event commemorating the 1935 opening of the Deception Pass Bridge. Also among those pictured […]