Category: Local Events

The Eisenbeis Cracker Factory

The historic Eisenbeis Cracker Factory was part of the downtown walking tour offered by the Port Townsend Victorian Heritage Festival on Sunday. It was built by Prussian baker Charles Eisenbeis, the city’s first mayor, in 1888. The factory specialized in provisions for ocean-bound shipping: hardtack, ship’s bread, and biscuits.

The present day Cracker Factory has come a long way since its industrial beginnings. Presently for sale, it is described as “newly envisioned” by its artist and contractor owners. The steel oven from the factory remains but the building has been extensively remodeled. The white walls they found inside the building turned out to be not painted but coated with flour from its years as a bakery.

Charles Eisenbeis was quite a successful businessman. He built a number of buildings in Port Townsend and one of his descendents, Fred Eisenbeis, operated a grocery store in what later became known as the Elks Building. It’s not as clear as the First National Bank portion of the ghost signs above but you can see reference to both the Cracker Factory and the Grocery Store in the top ghost sign.

Victorian Festival, Port Townsend

Last weekend was the annual Victorian Festival in Port Townsend which celebrates Port Townsend’s heyday of the 1890s. There is a focus on Victorian era clothing – many residents don period-appropriate threads – and a variety of events. This year there was a bare-knuckle fight exhibition and a gattling gun demonstration. This funeral carriage was on display Saturday and a costumed passerby volunteered to honor its history. On Sunday we took a tour of a number of historic downtown buildings. I’ll show you some of what we saw in the next few days.

Tour de Dung 3, goofing around

Sometimes it seems that life speeds by so quickly. And never so much as when watching a bike race, it’s bitterly cold, and your reaction time is off a beat. I meant to try slowing things down as I watched this race last year, just as my camera battery went dead. Should I admit to these kinds of dumb failures?

This year I decided to try again, starting with a full battery charge before the race started. At times it looked almost like this as I watched, orchestrated with the whir of tires on the pavement and the blast of racing energy.

And just like that they were gone.

Last year some curmudgeon complained in the newspaper that the race prevented him or her from pulling out of their driveway. I’d trade this any day for speeding cars, air pollution, and the state of obesity in the U.S.

Tour de Dung 2, the gals

Here are some of the women who raced in the Tour de Dung on Saturday. And it bears repeating: It’s not off-roading through barnyards. It’s “Dung” as in “Dungeness.”

There aren’t as many women racers as men, but there’s a good enough turnout that it looks competitive. Bikers will race again this coming Saturday. If you’re local, do watch out for bicyclists and give them wide berth.

This competition is billed as a good warm-up competition for early season racing. I’ll post some final Tour photos tomorrow.

Tour de Dung 1, the guys

The bicyclists rolled into town yesterday for the annual “Tour de Dung.” “Dung,” as in “Dungeness,” the location. The Sequim Daily Photo roadside experts (moi) concluded that there were a lot of them. Today the guys pedal by. I’ll post shots of some of the gals tomorrow.

We had March “rainshadow” weather, everything but sleet and snow. Light mist turned to rain and then the wind picked up. And there was sun by the time it was all over. For the casual viewer standing idly by it was cold.

Bicycles are quiet vehicles and there’s not a lot of conversation. But there’s a palpable rush of wind and energy as the tide of racers passes.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you of the Irish persuasion!

Back down to earth: no balloon festival in 2013

At the end of last September’s first Balloon Festival organizers announced that they would return in 2013. Now it seems there are conflicts with another aviation event during Labor Day weekend at the Sequim Airport, the site of last year’s balloon launches. There may be ballooning as part of the event, but it won’t be the focus. One of the balloon companies featured last year set up camp here in Sequim and you can see their balloon from time to time floating across the valley. I’m fairly certain that the balloon above is now resident.

Our Superbowl Sunday

My college buddy David coaches his son’s basketball team in Tacoma. This season he had to take a time out for health reasons, but the team still attended the 2013 Special Olympics Basketball Tournament in Bremerton last Sunday. Burtt, his son, is in action in the back here. He’s the one with the headband.

I’m not a great sports fan, but I love the Special Olympics. Even if they don’t take home medals everyone wins. Our team didn’t make it into playoff rounds, but it wasn’t for lack of effort by David’s replacement coach. She did a great job encouraging players and keeping them on track as the athletes stayed steady and tough in the face of stiff competition.