Snohomish restaurant owner lived life of service

Published 10:03 pm Saturday, January 12, 2008

SNOHOMISH — Newell Dana has been known for many things: The Hub Restaurant, serving as the motivating force behind the existing Snohomish Food Bank, and being a part of the group that built affordable housing for low-income families in Snohomish.

Yet to many he was known as a mentor, a father figure, and a friend. A indefatigable man of good works who defined his life with action.

And when needed, a kind word.

“My dad acquired friends for life,” Melody Dana said. “He was very loyal, very caring. People came to him with their troubles because they knew he would give them advice. Some people are reluctant to do that, but not my dad. He would give you advice but also encourage you to take action.”

Newell Dana was born on Oct. 4, 1925, and grew up in the Lake Stevens area. Newell met his wife, Shirley, while attending Lake Stevens High School, graduating in 1942 and then getting married in 1944 shortly before he went off to serve in the U.S. Army during World War II. He served in the European theater, then in occupied Germany during its reconstruction. Newell Dana returned in 1947. He got a job at a Texaco service station in Everett; in 1953, he moved his family to Oregon, where he managed a plant for Texaco.

It wasn’t until 1960 that he and his wife moved back to Washington, settling in Snohomish, and bought The Hub.

“In those days it was a lot easier to hire kids, and a whole generation of Snohomish teenagers flowed through the business, and he became a father figure to many of them,” Melody Dana said. “He was the kind of person who would be the guy you talked to when you couldn’t talk to your parents. Even when those kids would graduate and go on to college, through the years they would come back and talk to Dad.”

Newell Dana was also committed to acts of service, which has left an indelible mark on Snohomish.

According to his daughter, he even went out of his way to make sure that no marks were left on Snohomish as well.

“My dad was out and about one day when he noticed someone had sprayed graffiti on the Snohomish River Bridge. I remember him saying ‘What has our community come to?’” Melody Dana said. “He knew someone at City Hall and they told him that it wasn’t a priority to paint it over.”

Newell Dana took it upon himself to rectify the situation. After matching the paint, he went to the bridge and painted over the graffiti himself. Another act of civic pride was mowing the field at the Snohomish park-and-ride.

“He thought the park-and-ride didn’t look good. The grass was overgrown and had lots of weeds, so he bought a riding lawn mower and took care of it himself. He didn’t want that to be the first impression people got of Snohomish,” Melody Dana said. “Nobody does it now, and some people might wonder if there was a point, but the point is that it made a difference to him.”

After his retirement in 1986, Dana became involved with the Snohomish Food Bank. At the time, the food bank was located in a room at Harvey Field and, according to Tom Lafferty, was little more than a closet.

“He was a force of nature, he knew that it wasn’t meeting the needs of the community,” Lafferty said. “With no money, no land, and no resources other than two other guys and a good idea, they built what is now known as the Snohomish Food Bank.”

Newell Dana died on Dec. 29, 2007, from old age. He was 82. He is survived by his wife, Shirley; his children, Tom Dana and wife Connie, Steve Dana and wife Noreen, Melody Dana, and Rick Dana; granddaughter Shelly Dana; two great-grandsons, Stevie and Auggie; and sister Barbara Friend and husband Bob.

Reporter Justin Arnold: 425-339-3432 or jarnold@heraldnet.com.