Being named a grand pioneer or honorary grand pioneer is a Sequim tradition and honor.

Grand pioneers must have been born in the Sequim-Dungeness Valley, attended Sequim schools and lived in the area continuously for the past 20 years.

Honorary pioneers must be community residents of at least 40 years and the grand marshal is a person who has greatly contributed to the community.

The Sequim Pioneer Association selects pioneers.

The duties of the pioneers, led by the grand marshal, are to attend the Irrigation Festival annual kickoff dinner, Crazy Daze breakfast and royalty luncheon, and to ride in the grand parade.

As a group and as individuals, the pioneers represent Sequim past, present and future.



Meet the grand marshal: Jeri Smith

Jeri Smith, office administrator at the Sequim-Dungeness Valley Chamber of Commerce, is one of the first faces most people see upon entering Sequim.

She answers questions, recommends restaurants to dine at, and shares interesting facts unique to the North Olympic Peninsula with residents and tourists.

Born in raised in Sequim, Smith grew up attending the Irrigation Festival and said she passed the tradition along to her four children and nine grandchildren. Each year, the group gathers downtown to watch the grand parade as a family.

"I'm really amazed at the honor (of being named grand marshal)," Smith said.

"It's just now starting to sink in and I'm getting excited."



Grand pioneer

John Jarvis

John Jarvis has strong roots in Sequim.

He reminisces about the year he and a friend got to be part of the Irrigation Festival as young boys. Dressed up in white shirts and ties, the second-graders served as pages to queen Dorothy Bell in 1939.

After graduating from

Sequim High School in 1949, Jarvis attended Washington State University for one year before enlisting in the U.S. Navy in 1950 and serving during the Korean War.

Upon disharge from the Navy, Jarvis returned home to Finn Hall Road.

He married Carmen Stence, a classmate of his sister, two years later. The couple has one daughter.

Eventually, Jarvis bought the 80-acre family farm, cows and equipment and followed in his father's footsteps. Starting with only 30 cows, Jarvis had more than 100 before quitting the dairy business in 1986.

Afterward, Jarvis pursued a career with the post office and became a full-time rural route carrier for five years.

He is a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and Korean War Veterans Association.

Jarvis and his wife continue to live on the Finn Hall Road family farm. Their granddaughter lives less than 100 yards from them in the log house Jarvis's grandfather built with his own two hands many years ago.

The couple is working with Friends of the Fields to establish a conservation agreement guaranteeing that the land will stay a farm forever.



Grand pioneer Margaret Eberle Lotzgesell

Margaret Eberle Lotzgesell is one of five children and a mother of five.

Family is very important to Lotzgesell. She speaks animatedly of her children, of their participation in Scouts and football games years ago, and affectionately refers to them as her "bears."

Growing up, Lotzgesell was labeled the family clown, routinely entertaining the family with her acrobatics: walking on her hands, doing the splits, and performing multiple handsprings.

Her brothers and sisters used to tease her by saying she should join the circus.

Instead, Lotzgesell started the Sequim Happy Tymer Clowns chapter - a group that dresses like clowns and is known for attending community events, handing out animal balloons and entertaining children.

Lotzgesell Road, off Cays Road, is named after her family.



Honorary pioneer

Cliff Vining

Cliff Vining is a familiar face at the Sequim Food Bank.

Twice a week, he helps hand out food to the needy and has done so for almost 20 years.

"It was a surprise to me (to be named an honorary grand pioneer)," Vining said.

"There are so many people who are even more deserving than I am."

Born in New Mexico, Vining grew up in Sequim and graduated from Sequim High School in 1939. Afterwards, he went to work for the Clallam Co-op.

In 1942, Vining left Sequim and moved to Grandview to help his father with the family farm.

It was that year he met his wife, Bette Lou King. The couple married six years later.

In 1982, Vining returned to Sequim with his wife.

For the past several years, golf has been Vining's main avocation.

When he's not golfing, Vining enjoys fishing, gardening and, of course, donating his time at the food bank.



In memory of honorary grand pioneer

Mary Schott

Mary Schott, a longtime

Sequim resident and 2009 honorary grand pioneer, died Feb. 17.

She was 89 years old.

The Sequim Pioneer Association plans to recognize and honor Schott throughout the festival. Family members will attend the kickoff dinner and other events in her place.

Schott was well-known in the community for the years she spent as sole manager of Schott's Produce Farm, an operation off Cays Road that grew peas, potatoes, corn and other vegetables for more than 13 years.

"We are very sorry that this happened but feel it is very important to honor her as much as we can throughout the festival," said Jean Wyatt, on behalf of the Sequim Irrigation Festival planning committee.

Ashley Miller can be reached at ashleyo@sequimgazette.com.