With a little money in his pocket and a burning flame in his heart, farmer John Garcia moved to Washington State from California for a fresh start. He ran into fellow farmer, Gil Scheiber and their passion, dedication, and vigor for life created a partnership on Skipley Farm. Gil, an amazing farmer and botanist had maintained hundreds of heritage apple varieties that go back hundreds of years, though that type of tree farming was new to John. As John soaked up all he could, he stumbled into an even deeper passion for farming. It was that passion that gave Gil the confidence and reassurance to turn the farm over to John, who is dedicating his life to keeping it in production as long as he lives and beyond.

The concept of sustainability has long been embedded in the practice of historic preservation.

Preservation and reuse of historic buildings reduces resource and material consumption, puts less waste in landfills and consumes less energy than demolishing buildings and constructing new ones.

In Snohomish, we have long championed stewardship of our most important built resources, and have promoted how the repair and maintenance of historic buildings can support a variety of uses for generations to come.