ARLINGTON — Haller Park became the site of a dual memorial to the March 22 Oso slide’s victims and those who responded to it, as the Tulalip Cabela’s dedicated two granite benches Nov. 15.
Oso residents Gail and Ron Thompson, whose home was lost to the slide, recalled how their choice to run to Costco for errands that day wound up saving their lives.
“When our daughter called and told us there was a slide on Steelhead Drive, we thought, ‘Oh, that darned beaver’s been causing flooding again,'” said Gail, who only found out how serious the slide was when she and her husband tried to turn home. “There was nothing left to go home to.”
The Thompsons credited their religious faith with getting them through, and expressed their gratitude to the countless people who have helped them rebuild their lives.
“It wasn’t just a regular neighborhood that we lost,” Gail said. “We were a very close-knit community.”
Ron added, “I look out here today and see faces I’ve known for years. You can’t go forward if you’re not trying. It’s not easy, but we will get stronger.”
State Rep. Elizabeth Scott, R-Monroe, recalled door-belling throughout Oso and Darrington for her first campaign, and being struck by how unrecognizable those same neighborhoods were when she visited them after the slide.
“The front porches I’d stood on were gone, and what remained looked like the aftermath of Mount St. Helens or a moonscape,” Scott said. “It was just mountains of mud.”
Although the blockage of Highway 530 added two hours to get to or from Darrington, Scott visited the town daily, to attend town hall meetings and push for measures, such as opening up the access road and allowing citizens to take part in recovery efforts.
“History will recognize that the real story has been the courage and determination of the people of the Stillaguamish Valley,” Scott said.
Snohomish County Council member Ken Klein, an Arlington native, recalled how his wife’s call to the Cabela’s, asking for some wading boots for first responders, resulted in a Cabela’s chain-wide collection drive for items ranging from socks to bug spray.
“I was impressed, but not surprised, by their efforts,” Klein said.
Arlington Mayor Barb Tolbert praised the community for pitching in to help out its neighbors, and noted that many businesses helped restore the local economy and “gave so much more than just money.”
Katie Sanford, retail marketing manager for Cabela’s, said Pacific Coast Marble & Granite donated the granite benches, while Lowe’s of Smokey Point provided the concrete for the benches to sit on.
Cabela’s supplied the labor, Arlington Public Works Department designated the site and Cabela’s customers donated the funds, both the $5,000 for the benches and the $40,000 that went to the Snohomish County Red Cross’ Oso relief fund earlier this year.
