Anybody who has spent any time with me in real life has probably heard me brag about this.

In 1978, the National Park Service had the idea to create the first National Historic Reserve, comprised of Ebey's Landing and Ebey's Prairie, on Whidbey Island. This is different from a National Park, in that the land is still being worked, there are still farms and private houses on the property, but the basic character is preserved. The result is Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve (EBLA).

The process to create the reserve was long and involved, and in a small ceremony on July 24th, 1988, the reserve was formally established.

Why do I care so much about this?

My Mother served on the committee that finally got the job done. She's a bit of a rabble rouser, and made enough of an impression that an entire section of the administrative history was devoted to her arrival on the board.

Why do I mention this now?

On October 22nd, the local trust board of EBLA is giving my mother an award. Don't know exactly what it is, but there's a plaque and a speech involved, and I wouldn't miss it for the world.

This little bit of land has come to mean a lot to me. I grew up on Whidbey Island, living in the town of Coupeville, which is the closest town to EBLA. Of course, since I was a teenager there, I didn't think it was that big of a deal, and was more interested in the world the lay beyond the shores of the island. But now that I'm older, I go back there fairly often. In fact, when I started to get serious with the woman that is now my wife, this is the first place I took her. This was the place that I wanted to share with her. I still remember her reaction the first time we turned a corner and came out of the woods into the full view of the prairie.

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