Along the river live farmers, artists and storeowners

Originally published Saturday, September 26, 1998

By NEIL MODIE
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Below the plateau along the river live longtime residents, a dwindling number of dairy families and what remains of the flock of now middle-aged artists, poets and counterculture types who swarmed to Duvall starting in the late 1960s.

They turned downtown into a funky stretch of shops, galleries and cafes, which drew gawking tourists who filled up the Silver Spoon restaurant.

That celebrated hippie hangout is long gone but much of the funk is still here, notably in galleries, antique shops and secondhand stores. And the '60s ambience has been supplemented by an immigration of newer, younger artists. They have found Duvall to be a mellow, picturesque place where creative juices flow easily.

You can get a sense of it from the stories of:


• Sunny Ruthchild, Duvall arts maven
• Mike Ball, sign painter
• Vicki and Mike Elledge, bookstore owners
• Val and Ward Roney, farmers