Scott Wilson spent almost two years researching and writing a local history book focused on the Port of Port Townsend and the marine trades industry in the Port Townsend area. “Working Port: 100 Years of the Port of Port Townsend” arrived in April 2024. Wilson has created a slide show that captures the highlights of this history, with a focus on the collection of local characters who played important roles on the waterfront, and in the community, for the past century. They include Big Edgar Sims (of Sims Way), who pulled the strings that placed the Boat Haven Marina where it is today; tiny and dynamic Arthur Garrett, who, in a few short years, acquired facilities like Point Hudson and the airport; Quilcene garage station owner Julian Oen who filled in Kah Tai Lagoon; Bernie Arthur, Jr. and Mark Burns who launched the modern boat-building industry in Port Townsend; Carol Hasse who helped navigate the way to the Wooden Boat Festivals; and the indomitable Wakefield family, who built the largest boat ever launched in Port Townsend.

For almost 30 years Wilson was editor and publisher of the Port Townsend Leader, and has been a professional journalist for 50 years. After selling the Leader in 2016, Wilson and wife Jennifer James-Wilson bought a 50-year old trawler for Alaska travel, and got to know the marine trades through personal work and experience. He and Jennifer raised three children through local schools. Wilson is a communications contractor with the Port of Port Townsend.

At the clubhouse starting at 6pm.