Legendary Locals Of Anderson Island

Anderson Island, the southernmost of all islands in Washington State's Puget Sound, was settled in the late 1800s by immigrants predominantly from the Scandinavian countries. In time, due to its remoteness and relative inaccessibility, a society of self-reliant yet closely connected residents took root.

From explorer Peter Puget to bachelor Johnson Brothers, whose farm became a regional museum, Legendary Locals of Anderson Island chronicles the emergence of a way of life that unfailingly awakens echoes of days long past. Anderson Island, the southernmost of all islands in Washington State’s Puget Sound, was settled in the late 1800s by immigrants predominantly from the Scandinavian countries. They naturally brought with them and practiced their old-country ways of navigating, farming, and building. In time, due to its remoteness and relative inaccessibility, a society of self-reliant yet closely connected residents took root. The subsistence farming, logging, and fishing practiced by the early pioneers have mostly given way to cottage industries or daily commutes to the mainland. While retirement has become the majority occupation of today’s islanders, a vibrant community life continues to flourish, centered around activities sponsored by the island’s numerous volunteer-staffed organizations.

Amelia Island has been host to remarkable people throughout its 500-year history. These people are responsible for giving Amelia the distinction as the only place in the United States to have seen eight different flags. A new railroad followed the Civil War and brought those who sought to take advantage of the burgeoning shipping center. As opportunities waned, the island became a sleepy, blue collar community supported by the local paper mills. Prior to civil rights legislation desegregating the South, Fernandina's American Beach flourished as an African American coastal community. Meanwhile, local visionaries oversaw tight-knit communities and set the stage for the large resorts that came to the island's south end in the 1970s. Today, Amelia Island is a national tourist destination and home to a diverse of community of longtime residents and newcomers, both with remarkable talents and interesting stories to tell.

The history of Southeast Asia -- especially mainland Southeast Asia -- has been written as a history of kings and states. The modern states of Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam thread their way back into the past, and the emergence of these states, the importance of their capitals, and the power of their dynasties have been the dominant themes of the history of the region. This collection of essays challenges this perspective. Taken together, they question how powerful the great centers and their rulers really were. The authors shift the focus to smaller settlements and more peripheral communities, looking at the capitals and the central authority from this viewpoint. They react against the modern impulse to look at the commonalities of the region and instead concentrate on the variety. The result is an intimate and unusual view of historical Southeast Asia as a society of cosmopolitan cities, mobile communities, and fluid local politics. Essays consider Pegu, Arakan, Phuket, the Vietnamese port city of Hoi An, the eastern Martaban Bay port cities, and the Orang Laut and the Malay kingdoms of Melaka and Johor. The contributors are Sunait Chutintaranond, Tun Aung Chain, Jacques P. Leider, Dhiravat na Pombejra, Nguyen Chi Thong, and Chuleeporn Virunha.