Darrington embraces snow with sculptures

Published 10:56 pm Thursday, March 12, 2009

DARRINGTON — Mark Wicken would have loved this winter in his hometown.

He would have jumped at the chance to participate in the sculpture contest the town hosted to promote a sense of fun in the midst of a huge snowfall that wouldn’t melt.

Recently the town awarded contest prizes, which were funded by the Mark Wicken Memorial Fund.

Judy Fink’s angel earned $100, which she donated to her granddaughter’s fundraising efforts for Seattle Children’s Hospital.

Jim Greenizer received $75 for his worm sculpture, and Matt Willis, Lee Arnold and Matt Vargas got $50 for their ice cave. Preston Hall and Riley and Zack Brunner received an honorable mention for their tribute to football.

Wicken grew up in Darrington and loved sports, said town administrator Lyla Boyd, his sister-in-law.

He graduated from Darrington High School in 1971, married his wife Jerrie in 1972 and had a career in the Air Force. When he died two years ago, his family and friends started a fund in his name that would ultimately benefit the county’s baseball-softball complex in Darrington.

Boyd noticed in December that people in Darrington weren’t building any snowmen or having any fun in the snow. She called her sister Jerrie Wicken in Arizona and asked if some of the memorial fund could be spent for a snow sculpture contest.

Jerrie Wicken readily agreed.

“Mark loved Darrington. It’s always been home in our hearts,” she said. “He would have enjoyed doing this for the town.”

There weren’t many entries in the contest this year because the snow froze into cementlike mounds, making it difficult to work with, Boyd said.

“We’d like to do this again next year, and I think we’ll see more entries,” she said. “It’s always nice to have a year to think about your creation.”

Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427, gfiege@heraldnet.com.