Of all those words, the most fun, both researching and writing, have been associated with personal and business histories; the stories of men and women of great accomplishment. The Shintaffer Road, Bellingham Cold Storage - 50 Years, and most recently the 50 year anniversary history of Dick Donahue's career in the financial services industry are some of the most rewarding, in terms of personal satisfaction, work I've been honored to do over the years.
If you live in Whatcom County you almost certainly know of Dick Donahue and his Wealth Wake Up show on KGMI; but did you also know Dick began his career as a timber cruiser for the Department of Natural Resources or that, as a high school kid he had the dis "stinked" pleasure of turning the sawdust in chicken coops in order to help out with the family finances?
And that's why it's so much fun to be associated with learning about people who have accomplished much through the dint of hard work, imagination, and a pioneering spirit when it comes to striking out into the unknown and going all in on the results; Mark Shintaffer's great, great grandfather first came to Whatcom County after a harrowing ride in the transcontinental railroad within a year of the Golden Spike's having been driven. Mark's grandma and grandpa bet it all in the early 50s when they bought out a business near to going under and founded Sound Beverage. Arch Talbot helped finance his entry into a new kind of enterprise, the freezing of food for home consumption, by selling what eventually became KING radio and TV in Seattle, while Dick Donahue gave up a career in Whatcom County with the Washington DNR to go out and wear out the shoe leather selling financial products to the people of Whatcom County a half century ago.
Learning more about the men and women who made our society what it is today is, frankly, a hoot; not to mention a great way to make at least part of a living.
All the above is by way of encouragement to you. Maybe it's time to tell your own family's story. Your grand kids and their children and children's children will thank you for it.
