QUILCENE — It only takes a little bit of sand to make a pearl.
In this small town on U.S. Highway 101, that irritant was the loss of the town’s only gas station.
Residents filled the Quilcene Community Center over the weekend for the Hollywood-style awards ceremony honoring leaders of Quilcene Conversation, a grass-roots effort to polish up the town known primarily for its tasty little oysters.
While the winner of each award, called a RACSO (OSCAR spelled backwards), was a foregone conclusion, the announcement of a new slogan for the community was not.
The winner, receiving nearly half of the 300 votes cast of the final three:
Quilcene: Pearl of the Peninsula.
Linda Herzog, a retired city administrator including a stint as interim city manager in Sequim, received a special “Bright Idea” award for her initiative in starting Quilcene Conversation — which grew out of community meeting, organized last October by Allan Kollar, to address the town’s lack of a gas station.
At the meeting, which drew 150, people talked about more than the gas station.
“I heard 50 different ideas of how to improve Quilcene,” Herzog said. “I started thinking about how to capture those ideas and make them happen.”
In December, Herzog started organizing meetings in living rooms to hold conversations addressing three questions: what assets exist in the community, what do residents need that they don’t have and how can the town capitalize on the 1.6 million cars that drive through Quilcene annually.
On Feb. 19, a general meeting was held at the community center and four committees formed, plus a fifth group, headed by Clayton White, to reopen the county campground and park next to the community center.
The campground opened the morning of Saturday’s awards ceremony, where White — carrying a litter pick-up utensil and garbage bag — accepted the RACSO for production design.
Host Bob Rosen, community center manager, presented the RACSO for set decoration to John Helsper, head of the Beautifying Quilcene committee.
Helsper led volunteers in washing sidewalks, installing planting beds at Quilcene School, planting Japanese maple trees and starting an adopt-a-tree program to plant a line of trees along the downtown corridor.
Helsper accepted the award holding Colter, Cathy Barsukoff’s longhair chihuahua which has his own blog, alittleyellowblogfromalittleyellowdog.blogspot.com.
“I needed a prop,” Helsper said. “He’s been to all the clean-up projects, but they don’t let him in the Timberhouse for the meetings.”
The RACSO for screenwriting went to Carol Christiansen, head of the slogan committee.
Jane Laptad, head of the youth mentoring committee, won the best documentary RACSO.
Bonnie Storey received the Optical FX RACSO for developing the Quilcene Conversation website.
Philip Morley, Jefferson County administrator, took home the coveted Charlie Sheen Executive Diplomacy Award for the county’s support of the town’s efforts.
“You are providing the leadership,” Morley said. “We are just the cast of supporting players.”
Also honored was the Port of Port Townsend for a quick response to a request to restore the swim float to Quilcene Bay, which is be in by Memorial Day, according to Leif Erickson, port commissioner.
As a running gag, Erwin Dence, a Port Townsend/Jefferson County Leader columnist and local thespian, was nominated in every category. Dence, who stood up in expectation when each winner was announced, was finally called to the podium to receive the award for Biggest Loser.
Howard Gilbert and Franco Bertucci provided music for the ceremony, which was organized by Cass Brotherton.
Retired Marine Staff Sgt. Bob Bergeron was color guard for the flag ceremony, and served as doorman for celebrity guests Charlie Chaplin (Kathleen Kler) and the Black Swan (Pen Rosen).
Kler, asked to select a beautiful woman from the audience to assist host Crystal Billy (Bob Rosen), chose an old, white-haired woman with a cane, who removed her patched cape to reveal a Hollywood diva (Carol Barker).
Nancy McDaniel and Glenn Davis, both retired U.S. Air Force colonels, provided a Super Bowl-type flyby for the opening ceremony, corresponding by radio with host Bob Rosen before swooping in holding model F-18s overhead.
Before the awards ceremony, Allan Kollar reported that 23 people had come forward to help finance a gas station and store to sell locally grown produce and meat.
Dan Magnuson, assistant manager of the Quilcene Fish Hatchery, announced plans for the hatchery’s 100th anniversary Aug. 20.
Bruce Munn said the committee planning the Quilcene Fair and parade, Sept. 17 and 18, were awaiting the announcement of the new town slogan — Pearl of the Peninsula — which will used as the parade’s theme.
Ray Serebrin, director of the Jefferson County Library, announced that he and Rosen are in discussion about the possibility of a seven-day-a-week library presence at the Quilcene Community Center.
Rosen announced that the horseshoe pits and a meditation garden will be installed on the community grounds within two months, and that funding for the outdoor stage to be built behind the center is only $3,300 short of the goal.
Cassandra Johnson of Habitat for Humanity/East Jefferson County invited everyone to a May 10 meeting to discuss the results of a survey of local households prior to the start of Habitat’s neighborhood revitalization program.
Judith-Kate Friedman of SongwritingWorks invited everyone to help compose an anthem for Quilcene on May 2 at the community center.
Cass Brotherton announced the Quilcene/Brinnon Garden Club’s plant and bake sale on Memorial Day weekend, and Sally Brown of the Olympic Art Gallery and Brown Ironworks promoted the upcoming Olympic Arts Festival May 28 and 29.
Quilcene Conversation is also spinning off into a nonprofit organization, named Count me in For Quilcene, Herzog said.
Artist Anne Ricker was commissioned to create a logo for the town based on the slogan.
Many of the Quilcene Conversation honorees and spouses dressed up for the awards ceremony, including Stan Nealy, Herzog’s spouse, who wore a tuxedo jacket, pleated shirt and red silk bow tie over jeans.
“I got a deal on the tux,” Nealy said. “I only paid half.”
Quilcene Conversation continues with a “9th Night” dinner and a movie at the community on the ninth day of the month through the summer, Herzog said.
The Quilcene Beautification Committee meets at 6 p.m. on the first and third Tuesdays at the Timberhouse. The next meeting is May 3.
For more information about Quilcene events, go to www.quilconv.blogspot.com.
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Freelance reporter/columnist Jennifer Jackson can be reached at jjackson@olypen.com.
