SULTAN IS BLOOMIN' BEAUTIFUL!!
(June, 2005)

The People who made it happen.....and MORE photos (original GRIT front page posting June 14, 2005)

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Main Street Beautification

THE PEOPLE WHO MADE IT HAPPEN:

The Sky Valley Chamber of commerce was the catalyst for this beautification effort, and it was a team effort. Sultan residents and business owners can thank the following individuals for their efforts (and we hope they do so) in creating a red, white and blue theme: Carolyn Eslick, Gordon MacDonald, Marvin O'Blennis, Derek Boyd, Tyler Allison, Marlene Wilson, Al Robinson, Glenrose Williams and Dave Heilman.

All of the soil was turned, some removed, and new soil and steer manure was added to all planters The Sky Valley Chamber purchased the following for this project:

• 48 each - 1 cubic-foot bags of steer manure (from Sultan Feed and Farm)
• 28 each - 1.5 cub-foot bags of soil
• 616 plants, plus 10 lbs. of slug bait from The Plant Farm in Arlington

Although we do not have the total cost the Chamber paid for the materials needed for this project, Gordon told us that Wendal Smith of the Sultan Bakery personally donated $100. Update posted 6/15/05, as more information was received: "When asked about the financial cost of these blooms, VP Gordon MacDonald said the plants and materials totaled $1,700. The "cost" of the volunteer labor, if billed @ $20/hr, would have been $1,600 for a total of $3,300. Zowie. (Wendal Smith deserves some "flowery" praise for donating $100 toward this beautification.)

CHAMBER NEEDS HELP WITH WEEDING/MAINTAINING THESE FLOWER BEDS: If you wish to donate some time to this effort, please contact Gordon at 360-793-8641.

Chamber VP Gordon MacDonald provided a lot of the inspiration and "heavy lifting" for this project.

Looking westward at 4th and Main

Baskets and flower barrels look west at 4th & Main across from the Sultan city hall. The rust-colored/dark green building at the far left of the photo is Sultan's almost-completed Visitor Information Center (VIC).

The VIC decided to follow the example set by Sultan's landmark, award-winning City Hall built in 2000 (which was, quite literally, the cornerstone of Sultan's restoration effort). Other property owners have followed this "old brick" theme, such as the Community Coastal Bank, the Flatiron Gallery, Michael Kelly's State Farm Insurance, and perhaps a couple of other restored brick-front buildings around town.

Despite years of discussion on "Downtown Beautification" and visioning of whether -- or if -- Sultan would have a theme for the town and/or Main Street, this beautiful brick-front turn-of-the-century motiff now seems to have become the de facto "standard." If Sultan is going to have a theme, it has quite clearly become this "look." (And the "Look" looks nice!)

ORIGINAL June 13, 2005 FRONT PAGE POSTING: