In central Washington state, there is a tiny town nestled in the rain shadow on the dry side of the Cascade Mountains called Tieton (Tie -uh-tun). 

Tieton is located in a sort of transition zone between the lush, green, rain-soaked mountains and the semi-arid desert region to the east. The town is blessed with lots of water for irrigation from the rivers and streams that funnel the rainwater and snow melt from the mountains into the Yakima Valley. The abundant water caught the attention of early white settlers who established farming operations alongside and near the rivers. As settlement increased, more sophisticated methods of irrigation were introduced and fruit orchards came to dominate the landscape around the town and throughout the Yakima Valley.

 

For decades farm families in the valley could depend on their orchard crops to support their families' way of life. Then Big Ag came in and started buying up and consolidating small land holdings and bringing in cheaper labor from south of the border. Life as a fruit farmer became a losing battle for many area residents and they either moved away, or remained in their town, always remembering the days when a family's hard work in their own orchards could afford them a decent standard of living.

As years passed, the population of Tieton came to be a majority of Hispanic heritage and some descendants of the original settlers felt they were being crowded out of their home town. A similar sentiment can be seen across the country in which white Americans are seeing their opportunities diminish, due to corporate greed. Not having access to the CEOs who are actually causing their pain AND who encourage the immigrants to come and work their holdings, they often lash out at the people with the least power to change anything - Latin American immigrants themselves.

 As a proud Anglo-American, I'd suggest we might do well to remember that our own ancestors faced dismal conditions in their native lands, crossed oceans and continents, and faced tremendous dangers and obstacles with courage and hard work, to make a better life for their  families.  There is little difference between these pioneers and settlers and the "dreamers" who are here now, working hard in a new land to build a better life. In fact, they should be congratulated for leaving out the genocide part of the Anglo-American immigration experience (although you wouldn't know it from the rhetoric of some politicians).  It is an interesting bit of trivia that, in a town that is 2/3 Hispanic, the crime rate in Tieton is about 1/3 of the national average. Maybe Mexico and other Latin-American countries were actually "sending their best".

 

One might expect this little town that had been passed over by the agribusiness giants and the big box stores, leaving the residents with little to hope for, and a bit of racial resentment, might be set to erupt in frustration or devolve into a ghost town.  However, in 2005, a bicyclist from Seattle had a flat in Tieton and the fact that he had to stop and really SEE this special little town changed a lot of peoples' outlook and direction of Tieton for the better.

Ed Marquand is the bicyclist in the this story. What makes him interesting is the number of subjects that capture his interest: art of all types, multiple reproduction processes, fonts/typesetting/printing/bookbinding, history, architecture, decor, culture, music, drama, etc., etc.  Most importantly, among the extensive list of things in which he is interested, is people. 

Initially, Ed saw the deserted fruit warehouse and other empty buildings near the downtown square as affordable indoor space in which to conduct some of the activities required by his existing business, Marquand Books (It is now Lucia|Marquand - luciamarquand.com), which specialized in publishing handmade, limited edition art books back in Seattle.  As he shared his enthusiasm for what he had discovered in Tieton, other Seattle professionals were intrigued by the possibilities affordable space in Tieton offered for their own enterprises. From a core group of friends and acquaintances, a set of complimentary creative businesses took shape. 

One thing Ed kept firmly in mind was respect for the wants and needs of the existing community. He was very cognizant of the fact that he could be viewed with suspicion as a "city slicker" if he didn't make the effort to bring the city fathers along on his vision and how it could benefit Tieton. Unlike some public/private partnerships you hear about today, this was not a company trying to get its hands on money in the public coffers. They were just asking for a little bit of flexibility in areas involving zoning and permitted uses, as well as some cooperation in pursuing downtown improvement grant opportunities.  This has resulted in a win/win/win for city, business and residents.

Park with soccer field and basketball court spearheaded by Kerry Quint of Mighty Tieton Construction

In one example of the Mighty Tieton family and the Tieton community working in tandem, Kerry Quint, of Mighty Tieton construction, formed a not-for-profit for occasional community improvement projects. Their first was the soccer field. The second was adding the basketball court. He was successful in getting City Hall, local companies, and private contributors to make it all happen.

In about twelve years, Mighty Tieton has expanded beyond Ed's publishing enterprises to include a construction company, a venue for weddings and other events, a mosiac production studio, spaces for storage of various artists' projects, a residential cooperative of artist lofts, and sponsorship of events such as the local "Day of the Dead" Festival (Dia de los Muertos) , the Tieton Grand Prix Cycle Cart Races, 10x10x10xTieton Art Exhibition featuring art of no more than 10" in any direction, as well as many more events you can check out at http://www.mightytieton.com/events/