Freedom County is a state of mind

  • Julie Muhlstein / Herald Columnist
  • Saturday, October 28, 2000 9:00pm
  • Local News

If I lived a half-hour north of where I do, I’d be tempted to put a sign on my house.

I don’t have a single yard sign this election season. With my job, that’s a no-no. But if I lived where I spent much of the day Thursday, I’d want a banner stretching across my property. It would proclaim, "I live in Snohomish County."

Thursday, I went poking around part of the wide area that secessionists claim is now Freedom County. I went looking for any signs of resistance, opposition or anger stemming from the latest developments in the saga of the breakaway movement. The phantom county has a new "sheriff," you know, a fellow who goes by the name Fnu Lnu.

I didn’t find any obvious opposition. I didn’t find any Freedom County supporters, either. Mostly, I found sensible people, some of whom had a sympathetic grasp of the issues that gave birth to the new county notion in the first place. Many of them were laughing before I could finish my question, "What do you think of Freedom County?"

No one seemed frightened, though.

In 1995, John Stokes, a Freedom County "founding father" who had moved to Montana, said he had no doubt the new county would be established "by peaceful petitions or whatever means are necessary."

"We can make this easy or do it hard," Stokes said.

I find that language frightening, not funny.

Richard Weese, who owns Faye’s Country Cafe in Silvana along with his wife, Faye, allowed petitions for the new county to be gathered at the popular eatery, but said, "I never signed one myself."

"I never fully understood what they wanted to do," Weese said. "I know several people who signed the petition and now wish they hadn’t. They thought it was going to come to a vote."

Supporters claim the new county was born five years ago, out of anger with Snohomish County government and land-use policies, when approximately 12,000 residents signed petitions to create it. The state Supreme Court ruled that the Legislature didn’t have to create new counties despite the signatures.

"I know the frustrations a lot of people see," Weese said. "I have a good friend who bought 20 acres at the end of a road, and it was going to cost him a million dollars to fix the road. But I don’t know that another county is the answer."

At Silvana Mercantile, store owner Ray Bloom echoed Weese’s gripes about land use. "If a dairyman has to file for a permit to plow a field, give me a break," Bloom said. Yet he’s seen nothing from the Freedom County folks to indicate that changes are coming.

"If they want to lend some credibility, they have to have real names and they have to disseminate some information," said Bloom, who has heard nothing from so-called Freedom County.

Out on Norman Road, on the flat land west of Silvana, Mike Ashley was tending to Holsteins on a farm owned by his father-in-law, Luther Moe.

Ashley is chairman of the Snohomish County agricultural advisory board. He had one interaction with upstart county backers, five years ago. "They pulled in my driveway and asked me to sign their petition. I told them I was not a supporter and that the road was that way," he said.

Ashley finds it curious they’ve never asked him about issues that concern farmers. "You would think one of them would want to know," he said.

"This Freedom County stuff is political posturing, not government," Ashley said. "You don’t fix property rights issues by forming a new county. You go to the courthouse, go to the hearings, go get involved."

At a home along Pioneer Highway, Kathy Moore and Joan Beals laughed when asked if they consider themselves Freedom County residents.

"How can they just do this? Snohomish County, that’s who we pay our taxes to; my husband wrote the check last week," said Moore, who lives on a dairy farm.

"There are lots of problems with any governmental system, but I don’t think seceding from the county is a solution," Beals said.

I took a drive along 140th Street NW, a two-lane road at the northern edge of the Tulalip Reservation. If you buy that there’s a Freedom County, the road is its southern border. Driving east, I took in what was supposedly Freedom County turf to the north and Snohomish County to the south. It all looked the same, woodsy and ablaze with fall color.

I had to chuckle at a red-and-white sign, on the Freedom side of the road, warning "No Shooting by Order of the County Council." If Freedom County officials ever get around to signs, I doubt they’ll put up that one.

With markers like that on the landscape, it’s no wonder people are confused.

There’s a waterfront home for sale on Shoecraft Lake, inside Freedom County territory. I called Michael Jake, the Windermere Real Estate agent listed on the sign, to ask whether prospective buyers ever raise the county issue.

"It would be a far cry if I could tell you what the heck you’re talking about," Jakes said. "I’ve never had it come up as an objection. I’m not even sure I’ve ever heard of it. I guess they need more exposure."

Maybe they need less exposure. Ashley, the dairy farmer, called the whole story "a media circus." "It’s a great story because it’s pretend," he said.

I wish that were true. Freedom County, nonexistent though it may be, makes me uneasy.

For reassurance, I stopped at the Snohomish County Fire District 14 station house at Warm Beach. It, too, is north of the Freedom County line, something Lt. Christian Davis didn’t know until I showed him a map.

Davis, the fire department spokesman, said, "As far as we’re concerned, we’re Snohomish County until we’re informed otherwise. And bottom line, we work for our community."

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Customers enter and exit the Costco on Dec. 2, 2022, in Lake Stevens. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Costco stores could be impacted by looming truck driver strike threat

Truck drivers who deliver groceries and produce to Costco warehouses… Continue reading

Two Washington State ferries pass along the route between Mukilteo and Clinton as scuba divers swim near the shore Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023, in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ferry system increases ridership by a half million in 2024

Edmonds-Kingston route remains second-busiest route in the system.

Ticket and ORCA card kiosks at the Lynnwood Light Rail station on Thursday, April 4, 2024 in Lynnwood, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Beginning March 1, Community Transit to reduce some fares

Riders eligible for reduced fares will pay $1 for a single ORCA card tap and $36 for a monthly pass.

The amphitheater at Deception Pass during the 2021 concert series. (Photo provided by Deception Pass Park Foundation Facebook page.)
Deception Pass Foundation seeks Adopt-A-Trail volunteers

If you’re looking for a way to get outside and… Continue reading

A pedestrian is struck and killed by vehicle Wednesday in Everett

The pedestrian was a man in his 60s. The collision happened at 5:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Robin Cain with 50 of her marathon medals hanging on a display board she made with her father on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Running a marathon is hard. She ran one in every state.

Robin Cain, of Lake Stevens, is one of only a few thousand people to ever achieve the feat.

People line up to grab food at the Everett Recovery Cafe on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Coffee, meals and compassion are free at the Everett Recovery Cafe

The free, membership-based day center offers free coffee and meals and more importantly, camaraderie and recovery support.

Devani Padron, left, Daisy Ramos perform during dance class at Mari's Place Monday afternoon in Everett on July 13, 2016. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
Mari’s Place helps children build confidence and design a better future

The Everett-based nonprofit offers free and low-cost classes in art, music, theater and dance for children ages 5 to 14.

The Everett Wastewater Treatment Plant along the Snohomish River on Thursday, June 16, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett water, sewer rates could jump 43% by 2028

The rate hikes would pay for improvements to the city’s sewer infrastructure.

The bond funded new track and field at Northshore Middle School on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024 in Bothell, Washington. (Courtesy of Northshore School District)
Northshore School District bond improvements underway

The $425 million bond is funding new track and field complexes, playgrounds and phase one of two school replacements.

Want coffee? Drink some with the Marysville mayor.

A casual question-and-answer session between mayor and constituents is planned for March 24.

Judge sentences man for role in human smuggling ring

Jesus Ortiz-Plata was arrested in Everett in May 2024. A U.S. District Court judge sentenced him to 15 months in prison.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.