By M.L. LYKE
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Tourists have flocked to the island since the turn of the century. Legend has it that even in the early days, when the peace-loving Lummis inhabited the island, Indians canoed over to the island simply to relax. Gradually, fishing and agriculture have faded away, and tourism has come to dominate the island economy. In 1997, almost 62 percent of the county's labor force worked in tourism-related services and trade sectors.

The stop-and-go tourist business can be maddeningly temperamental. When the ferry Elwha crashed into the Orcas landing dock on Sept. 8, limiting ferry service to a few stops a day, the economy began to implode. Managers of resorts and stores reported revenues declining by one-third to one-half -- a decrease that rippled throughout the community.

Even if repairs on the dock are completed this week as scheduled, September will be a bust. "Our break-even point is the end of summer," says Craig Sanders, manager at the Orcas Store next to the ferry dock. "Indian summer is our second season. It's where you make the profit to get through the winter. This is really going to hurt."

Still, many locals celebrated getting their island back. "The ferry crash was a good reminder of our islandness," says Lisa Byers, who heads OPAL (Of People and Land) Community Land Trust, a non-profit organization that helps low- and mid-income families purchase affordable housing on leased land.

"We're not going to be like mainlanders," says Byers. "We have to take care of each other a bit more."