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Published September 2003
Century
of hospitality
Businesses new and old offer small-town warmth
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| Snohomish County
Business Journal/JOHN WOLCOTT The architecture of Olympic Avenue, Arlington’s “main street,” is a reminder of the 1950s, plus early 1900s styles. |
By
John Wolcott
SCBJ Editor
Arlington’s centennial celebrations have brought a lot of new people to town. Thousands came for the annual NWEEA Fly-In at the airport; half-mile-long crowds on both sides of Olympic Avenue cheered the 90-minute Fourth of July and Centennial Parade; and hundreds visited the Rusty Relics car show on Olympic Avenue.
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Old Town Arlington Arlington Hardware marks 100th anniversary with expansion Action Sports owner takes pride in knowing customers' needs |
Many of those who visited were no doubt impressed with the variety of stores, the friendly service, the good food and the small-town, hometown feelings they experienced.
A lot of towns have those same attractions, but Arlington is unusual because so much is concentrated in a six-block-long downtown dubbed Old Town, where older buildings date from 1899 and the “main street” architecture is a reminder of the 1950s.
But it’s Arlington’s small-town hospitality that captures most people’s attention.
“In our community, we don’t want anybody to feel they’re an interruption in somebody’s day. People want to know they’re wanted, so we do everything we can to let people know they’re the reason we’re here,” said Dawn Williams, owner of The Local Scoop restaurant and ice cream parlor.
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Arlington:
decades The first white homesteaders in the Arlington area met local Native Americans in 1877. First known as “The Forks” for its proximity to the north and south forks of the Stillaguamish River, the town’s name was changed to Haller City in 1883 when Maurice Haller filed the first land plat. A few years later, when local investors bought Haller’s property at the town’s north end, the growing community became Arlington, a logging town that incorporated in 1903. Today, the town is still at the fork of the two rivers but also at the intersection of two highways, SR530 on the north end and SR9 bisecting from the south end. Population in the 7.8 square miles of the community tallied 11,713 in the 2000 census, with median household income reported at $46,302. Along with Old Town, Arlington includes the Smokey Point commercial area at I-5, the Arlington Airport, several industrial parks with such tenants as Meridian Yachts and Crown Distributing, and — south of town — the Gleneagle Golf Course and residential community. This year’s centennial events have included the Arlington Festival, the annual NWEEA Fly-In, the Rusty Relics Car Show downtown and Centennial Pioneer Days at the Stillaguamish Valley Pioneer Museum. Coming up is a gathering of hundreds of motorcycle enthusiasts at the Arlington Motorcycle Show on Olympic Avenue, Sept. 21; Airport Appreciation Day, Sept. 27; the October Hunt Swap Meet by the downtown merchants, Oct. 4; Hometown Christmas, Dec. 6; and the Centennial of Powered Flight Commemoration, Dec. 17. |
Part of making people feel welcome is reflected in how many businesses provide free popcorn for customers, from the Les Schwab dealership at the south end of Olympic to Arlington Hardware, Countryman Collectibles and Frontier Bank at the north end.
Arlington is a popcorn town, a family town, a high school sports town, a specialty store town and a town known for its civic pride. It’s also known for its special downtown events — from car and motorcycle show-n-shines to street fairs, farmers’ markets and “Music in the Park” during the summer.
Despite its age, it’s a dynamic downtown. The back wall of the Antique Mall is newly decorated with the town’s first mural, by Harry Engstrom of North Light Murals. The Arlington Bookstore has just opened, and the Little Italy Italian Market and Trattoria is moving soon from West Avenue to Olympic Avenue.
At the six-lane bowling alley, MeLady Lanes, everyone keeps score with pencils and paper, the old-fashioned way. They love it, say new owners Mario and Sandra Arrieta. Mario calls Arlington “a close-knit community … there’s a lot of ‘home feeling’ here.”
At Countryman Collectibles, where Coca-Cola memorabilia share space with model classic cars and antiques from estate sales, owners Shirley and Kenny Countryman express typical resident pride in their community.
“We’ve got everything here,” Shirley said, “parades, swap meets, the Duck Dash race on the river, parks, car and motorcycle shows, and home-style food restaurants, no franchises. We’ve even got a great hill for the Pumpkin Roll and the police bring their radar guns to track the fastest.”
Hard to beat all that.
© The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA
