Our Town

(Airdate: September 8, 2020) HOME ALONE FOR PTHS CLASS OF 2021. Our Town Host Maryanne McNellis interviews Melanie Bakin & Soso (Sorina) Johnston, members of the Port Townsend class of 2021. This year will be an unusual, if not surreal, experience. Due to the coronavirus, there will be no in-classroom learning first semester. Melanie will be returning full-time to PTHS. She loves the teachers and she loves the school. Upon reflection, Soso is taking a different path. Even though she was student body president during her junior year and was elected senior class president this year, she’s decided not to return full-time. She is going to be taking advantage of Running Start, which is a joint program between Peninsula College and the high school. Both students have their reasons. It is a daunting prospect to be learning entirely at a distance. High school will definitely not be as much fun! It will take real grit to buckle down in front of your computer day after day.

(Airdate: July 28, 2020) FROM DISTILLED SPIRITS TO SANITIZER. Our Town host Maryanne McNellis interviews Jake Soule, owner of Admiralty Distillers. Jake grew up in Calgary, Canada, which is better known for cowboys than sailors. But he fell in love with sailing and ended up on the crew of a tall ship. To help pay the bills he became a skilled carpenter and all-round construction guy. That led to Port Townsend’s own Wooden Boat School. Jake also loves spirits and he soon realized that the town lacked its own craft distillery. After considerable study and a pass through the regulatory maze, he opened Admiralty Distillers. But that business, like every business around, was slammed by the COVID virus. However, Jake realized he could help the community. He turned his still into a hand sanitizer production facility. Admiralty’s sanitizer is playing a crucial role in community safety.

(Airdate: July 14, 2020) GARDENING THROUGH THE PANDEMIC. Our Town host Maryanne McNellis interviews Jose Borrayo, owner of the Port Townsend Garden Center. Jose has never been afraid of getting his hands dirty. He literally worked his way up from the bottom: maintenance man, cashier, manager and ultimately owner of the garden center. This determined young entrepreneur decided to create a bright and secure future for his family – wife Jillian and three small children. Along the way he’s mastered the names and properties of thousands of plants, fertilizers and insect sprays. If you have a gardening question, Jose’s your man. Gardening has become even more of a passion during the COVID lockdown. Novice gardeners are joining the ranks of our passionate gardeners. Jose and his team are helping with this green revolution.

(Airdate: June 30, 2020) NO HANDS ON IN THE TIME OF COVID. Our Town Host Maryanne McNellis interviews massage therapist, Kelly Barlow, owner of one of the many local businesses that was forced to shut down during the COVID-19 crisis. Kelly had zero income for almost three months. She spent down her savings and tried (mostly without success) to find her way through the thicket of regulations to get federal or state aid. She’s now back with a very limited and thoroughly sanitized operation. By definition, massage is a hands-on profession. So Kelly’s also begun studying to expand her skill set. She was once in the catering business. Now she’s taking courses in nutrition, planning perhaps for a career expansion into nutritional consulting.

(First airdate: March 24, 2020) JEFFERSON HEALTHCARE’S FUTURE. Our Town Host Maryanne McNellis interviews Mike Glenn, CEO of Jefferson Healthcare, Port Townsend’s dynamic health hub. We may be a small rural community, but healthcare standards in Jefferson County are quite high. Over the past decade Jefferson Healthcare has added (or expanded) departments in oncology, cardiology, orthopedics surgery, dermatology and several other specialties. A dental clinic opened last June, filling a huge need in the area. By closely monitoring shifting demographics Glenn & his team read the pulse of community needs. One success story is the rapidly expanding “Wellness Center” which offers innovative programs such as “Dancing with Parkinson’s.”

(First airdate: March 10, 2020) MARCHING TO A DIFFERENT DRUMMER. Our Town Host Maryanne McNellis interviews Wes Eng, long-time Port Townsend entrepreneur and free spirit. Wes dropped out of college to join VISTA (Volunteers to Service in America) and ended up in a primitive, remote village in Alaska. When he returned a year later, his campus in Pullman was a full-throttle hippie outpost. He decided that he could and would live outside the system – no white picket fence, no climbing the corporate ladder. He’s stayed true to that vision for about 50 years. He works for as brief a period as possible, then uses those funds to travel or just live life on his own terms. Over the years he’s had a staggering assortment of jobs – school janitor, landscaper, bookstore clerk, waiter, potter, even driving wheat trucks in Eastern Washington.

(First airdate: February 25, 2020) THE MERC’S SECRET WEAPON. Our Town host Maryanne McNellis interviews Holly Mayshark, general manager of Quimper Mercantile. Most people who shop at Quimper Mercantile don’t realize that it’s a rather unique institution – a community-owned store. The “Merc,” as it’s affectionately called, has about 900 shareholders. Shares were sold at $100 a piece before opening in 2012. If the store makes a profit, it goes to employee profit sharing or store upgrades. Holly personally does most of the buying. The merchandise reflects her unique sense of beauty and style, including a lot of items from local artists & artisans. The Merc is a true reflection of Port Townsend’s eclectic spirit.

(First airdate: February 11, 2020) THE AMERICAN LEGION’S ROLE IN P.T. Our Town host Maryanne McNellis interviews Bob Saring, general manager of the American Legion Post in downtown Port Townsend. The Legion is a veterans’ club with a bar, pool table and a lot of games. But it’s much more than that. The Legion also provides a home for a winter homeless shelter which it runs together with several church groups. It awards scholarships and provides an honor guard – complete with a bugler playing taps – when a local vet dies. Our post is one of the oldest in the state and just celebrated its 100th anniversary. Bob talks about recent upgrades to the hall itself, which houses local events ranging from the Kinetic Sculpture Race to R2AK (Race to Alaska). He outlines ambitious plans for the next 100 years.