The office in Ralls Clotfelter's A-frame house in Lowfall, a town near Poulsbo, is covered in framed newspaper articles chronicling news of his campaign to bridge Bainbridge and Bremerton. Clotfelter's effort has seen its share of support over the years. Among those who sympathized was former Gov. Dan Evans. In his scrapbook, Clotfelter keeps a copy of a letter he received from Evans in 1991, which reads: "When I was Governor, we looked seriously at a collection of feeder bridges on the west side and a concentration of ferries at Bainbridge Island and Seattle locations. The overwhelming opposition to such a proposal kept it from receiving any significant legislative support. I would personally be delighted if the Legislature would authorize such feeder bridges, but I don't believe that it's likely to happen and the only other alternative is more significant capacity for our ferry system. Otherwise, we will totally choke the transportation of people and goods between the Olympic Peninsula and the Seattle metropolitan area."
But Clotfelter's letters to the editors of local newspapers are rarely printed anymore, and he hasn't added an article on bridge progress to his scrapbook in years.
McMahon, Renee
Libby Anderson has witnessed the Bainbridge/Bremerton divide since she moved to
the island in 1977.
Renee McMahon
Bremerton has been known as a blue-collar Navy town for decades.
Details
Click here for an audio slideshow featuring the mayors of Bainbridge and Bremerton.
Related Content
More About
To this end, Clotfelter's mission came to an abrupt halt in 1992 at a town hall–style meeting on Bainbridge Island, when the consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton presented its recommendation that a bridge be built between the Illahee area of Bremerton and the south end of Bainbridge Island, and another between Southworth, Vashon Island, and Burien. Clotfelter said that of the hundreds of people who showed up at the meeting, he was the only one in favor of the bridge.
"You would have thought we were trying to sink their island," he said. "That night, I was embarrassed. Residents saying, 'This is the only place there's that kind of clam. This is the only place there's that kind of bird, right there where you're gonna put the bridge. We don't want the riffraff from Bremerton over here.' Why do we let [22,600] people dictate and control the entire economy of [240,000] people [in Kitsap County]?"
Sherry Appleton, who represents the 23rd legislative district (Bainbridge, Poulsbo, and part of Bremerton) in the state House of Representatives, was also at the meeting, and doesn't recall any discussion of keeping Bainbridge separate from the rest of the county. She opposed the project because of the estimated 250 homes that would be destroyed on both sides of the water to make way for the bridge. Hence, the bridge is destined to remain nothing more than a bumper sticker for the foreseeable future.
Growing up in Seattle, Anderson and her family spent summers in Suquamish, just across the Agate Pass Bridge from Bainbridge. For this, she says, they were looked down upon by Seattle's upper class, many of whom who vacationed in nearby Indianola.
"And it goes on in Seattle: 'Oh, Bellevue? Oh, Mercer Island?'" she says mockingly. "I think it's always been a love-hate with people you perceive to be wealthier than you, even though there are certainly a lot of people on Bainbridge who are not wealthy."
Sipping a pink cocktail at the Drift Inn, Carol, a baby boomer who has spent her entire life in Bremerton (and declines to provide her last name), can only remember a handful of trips to Bainbridge Island. The closest she gets these days is the real estate section, as she ogles the beautiful homes. She admits to being a little jealous, but claims to be perfectly happy where she is.
Like several people in Bremerton interviewed for this story, Carol has nothing negative to say about the people on the island, or the class divide. She is impressed, however, by the Gilligan's Island connection. "They're lucky to have the professor living out there," she says of the actor Russell Johnson.
After a career making shoes in Redmond, Bill and Sandy Noble moved to Bainbridge Island in 1977, just like Anderson. The Nobles are both over 65 now, and make their living selling arts and crafts at fairs around the Northwest and as far away as Colorado. While they say they've always liked Bremerton, the couple attributes the chasm between the two communities to the "newbies" who came to Bainbridge in the late '80s—the same people, they say, who were responsible for getting the entire island annexed into the city of Winslow in 1991. The annexation issue was so contentious that the Seattle Times reported "loose talk of car bombs."
As time has passed, the Nobles' customers at their home-based shop have gotten more demanding. Now they're surrounded by new Bainbridge money on both sides of their waterfront property, the same plot they've owned for 30 years. Sandy admits there have been several times she's contemplated moving.
"I hate that we have that reputation, but we have it," Bill says. "Ten percent of the people that are snooty seems like 90 percent because it overwhelms everyone."
ckornelis@seattleweekly.com
With additional reporting by Halley Griffin.
