NOW AND THEN

The People of Point Roberts

by Davea Fisher

Joan Thorstenson (Murphy) Linde lives in the family home that her parents built on the Thorstenson homestead. As a child she lived here, but, because of a tragedy, she also lived in a number of other homes in Point Roberts.

When Joan was 10, her mother, Bertha Olson Thorstenson, (born August 18, 1901), was stricken with tuberculosis. Bertha was taken to a TB hospital in Seattle, where she later died. Consequently, Joan was raised by several women in the community - Helen Solomon, (Bunny MeikleÕs mother), Aunt Ella Thorstenson, (Sylvia SchoenbergÕs mother), and Laura Samuelson, (Lola LoreenÕs mother). ItÕs a credit to these extraordinary women that Joan never felt she was Ôpassed around,Õ but instead was made to feel she was a welcome addition to their families. Joan admires these women immensely and feels fortunate that she had them as her role models.

JoanÕs father, Jonas Thorstenson, (born March 3, 1900), was a fisherman, and a machinist for work, an artist, poet and singer for pleasure. Joan describes her dad as, Òmy big, tall hero.Ó A kind, intelligent, and gentle man, he was self-educated. When Jonas was 16 he took a correspondence course in political cartooning and created wonderful cartoons and pencil drawings for the rest of his life. He wrote for the Ocean Star, the Point Roberts newspaper of the day, about his travels to Alaska. He was a member of the ÔQueenÕs Quartet,Õ a singing group composed of men who worked on the pile driver ÒThe Queen.Ó

Other members of the quartet were Bunny MeikleÕs dad, Pauline De HaanÕs uncle, and Lola LoreenÕs dad.

Joan went to school in Point Roberts for the early grades, and took the bus to Blaine for grades seven through 10. She finished her high school years at Bellingham high school while living with the Samuelsons. She attended Western Washington University and the Virginia Mason School of Nursing in Seattle.

JoanÕs ambition since she was a wee girl was to be a nurse. This seems natural when you consider that her mother, two aunts and two of the women who raised her were nurses. Joan considers her years in nursing school the most interesting period of her life, and found nursing to be one of the two most satisfying activities of her life.

The other? Singing! For many years Joan sang solos in church choirs, high school choirs, and at local weddings. She enjoyed being in the spotlight and entertaining felt very natural. When the President of Iceland visited in 1988, Joan was her tour guide. Today she is one of the chief organizers behind the annual ÒOld TimersÓ pot luck lunch, and enjoys being at the microphone again, this time acting as M.C.

Though Joan no longer sings solos, she relishes the opportunity to tell stories about Òthe good old days.Ó Active with the Point Roberts seniors, and the Alter Guild at the church, Joan is also a member of the Point Roberts Historical Society and the Trumpeter Swan Society.

When Joan was growing up she worked at two of the fish canneries. One, owned by her uncle Bill Olson, was called the Point Roberts Canning Company which was located at the end of Gulf Road near where the former Breakers is today. The other cannery was IversonÕs Canning Company, in the large yellow building that still exists near Lighthouse Park.

Joan married Bob Murphy in 1954, a purchasing agent for Boeing Marine. They lived in Edmonds, where they raised four children - Jim, Bob, Joe and Joan, (known as Dolly). All the children, plus six grandchildren, currently live in the Seattle area.

In 1996 Joan married Jim Linde, a high school teacher who specialized in working with Òtroubled teensÓ and in helping kids complete their GEDs. Joan came back to the Point twice: the first time from Edmonds in 1986 to take care of her father; the second time from Yakima, when Jim retired from teaching. This time she says, ÒIÕm here to stay!Ó

Joan lists her hobbies as rock collecting, gardening, and flower arranging, but her passion is her collection of swans, most of which are figurines. In the last few years Joan has organized the Olson Family Reunion, which is held annually at Lighthouse Park for 45 or 50 people. JoanÕs grandmother, Sarah Olson, was once the lighthouse keeper. Joan is the only Olson descendant still living in Point Roberts, but the Olsons love to come Ôback homeÕ and recount stories of their early years here.

When Joan talks of her childhood she tells about kids taking a short cut through the frog ponds, catching a frog and putting it in their lunch bucket. What fun it was to wait quietly for their moms to scream when the frogs were discovered! Swimming was a daily diversion in the summer. The kids went to the beach every day, taking peanut butter and jam sandwiches and bottles of milk, so they wouldnÕt have to go home for lunch. It didnÕt matter if the milk was warm; lunch on the beach was delicious!

Another fond memory is of walking home from school and finding a penny on the path. They would race to BenÕs Store where jawbreakers were two for a penny. Ben and Runa Thordarson owned the store, which was located at the top of Gulf Road where the USA gas station is today. It was a very popular after-school spot. It didnÕt make any difference to Ben if there were three or four kids in the group with only one penny. Ben gave each of the children a jawbreaker.

Joan counts her friends as her most precious possessions. In her photo album there are many snapshots of Ôthe gang,Õ Joan, Sylvia, Bunny, and Lola. Then as now, time spent with good friends is happily woven into our tapestry of life.

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