This story begins in 1989. It could have ended so differently for the couple, who at the time were living in Lake Stevens and expecting their first child.
Their lease was ending. Their hunt for a new home had been unsuccessful. “We had shopped and shopped,” Dan Cardenas said.
Then one Sunday morning, he saw a newspaper ad for a house for sale in downtown Everett. He went over to take a look.
“All the homes we had seen were kind of field trips through hell,” Cardenas said.
To his surprise, the house, on Maple Street, was beyond his expectations.
He quickly drove home to get his wife, Melissa Barrett, so she could take a look.
The large dinning area inside of Melissa Barrett and Daniel Cardenas’ Everett home. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
They scraped together the money to buy it. When they came home from the hospital after the birth of their first child, they entered a dwelling with practically no furniture, he said.
Nearly three decades later, their mocha brown American Foursquare-style home with white-and-blue trim in the Riverside neighborhood has been selected for a Monte Cristo Pride of the Neighborhood award.
The living room inside of Melissa Barrett and Daniel Cardenas’ home. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
The awards are given each year to property owners whose home and yard maintenance contribute to the character of the city’s neighborhoods.
It was one of 57 homes and businesses recognized from neighborhoods throughout the city during ceremonies Thursday at the Historic Everett Theatre. The city launched the program in 1994. This year, for the first time, it was run by volunteers.
Cardenas learned from the grandson of the house’s builder that it was constructed in 1898.
“It’s amazing,” he said.
Another winner, this one in the Port Gardner neighborhood, is home to Steven McCormick and Bob McNally. It’s often known as the place with an American flag flying from a 40-foot tall flagpole.
People passing by their home tend to comment on that as much as the 1908 two-story Craftsman home, McCormick said.
He and McNally moved in almost three years ago. McCormick said he didn’t even wait to start unpacking their moving boxes before he started stripping the carpet.
The carpet had been hiding the home’s wood floors throughout the interior.
One of the most recent additions, added to the property this summer, was a custom cedar fence, painted white.
“I love being here,” McCormick said.
In addition, the Marian Krell Award, which honors a prior Monte Cristo award recipient who has excelled in the maintenance of their property over several years, was awarded to Francisca and Amado Aldos of the Cascade View neighborhood. They were Monte Cristo award winners in 2004.
Pride of the Neighborhood winners
Ranna and Todd Pullman, Bayside
Elizabeth Mullin, Bayside
Patsy and Steve Grey, Boulevard Bluffs
Scott and Melanie Requa, Cascade View
Lloyd Siats, Cascade View
Scott Ryan, Delta
Noel VanSpoor, Delta
Alan Pratt, Delta
Kristie Rollins and Lavonne Sunde, Evergreen
Arlie and Connie Cooper, Glacier View
Felipe Solterro-Hernandez, Holly
Jon and Teri Crosby, Harborview-Seahurst-Glenhaven
Terry and David Potter, Harborview-Seahurst-Glenhaven
Philip Stephens, Northwest
William and Paula McCulloch, Northwest
David and Michelle Choe, Pinehurst
Nikki Oku, Port Gardner
Mark and Diane Marriott, Port Gardner
Blane and Donna O’Brien, Riverside
Linda Wiens, Riverside
Gary and Kathleen Higgins, Twin Creeks
Margarita and Jon Shanks, Twin Creeks
Denver and Denice Hicks, Valley View
Betty Patterson, View Ridge-Madison
Mark and Traci Carter, View Ridge-Madison
Rejuvenation and Transformation winners
Condominium project, multiple owners, Bayside
Rucker II LLC, Bayside
Timothy Tobin, Bayside
John and Erica Swenso, Boulevard Bluffs
Emily Wicks, Delta
Angelito and Mary Ann Torres, Evergreen
Jonathan Andy and Josephina Aldos, Evergreen
Esther Silver, Holly
Penny and Jeff Kellam, Holly
Ryan and Callie Wilke, Harborview-Seahurst-Glenhaven
Denise and Jeff Blackwell, Harborview-Seahurst-Glenhaven
Michael and Lisa Hartman, Lowell
Margaret Smith, Lowell
David and Bella Paris, Northwest
Gary and Ardie McLean, Northwest
Maureen and Bob Stohl, Northwest
Tim and Jennifer Cummer, Northwest
Francisco and Courtney Rivera, Port Gardner
Geoff and Susan Tate, Riverside
April Garrett, Riverside
Julie Dawson, View Ridge-Madison
Timothy Catrina and Kayla Cort, View Ridge-Madison
Neighborhood Friendly Businesses winners
The Independent Beer Bar, Bayside
Everett Vacuum Sales and Service, Bayside
Cedar Valley Counseling, Lowell
The Clough Mansion Condominium, Northwest
C&M Heating, Delta
Toyer, Dietrich & Associates, Port Gardner
The Walden Apartments, Holly
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