In May 1941, Shirley’s parents Clara and Israel Reandeau moved their family from South Dakota to Sequim. The family, consisted of siblings Helen, Irene, Charles, Mary, Elmer, Lorraine, JoVonne, and Shirley, along with her niece Carolyn. They first visited Port Angeles where their relatives had settled. However, Shirley’s parents were captivated by the beauty of Sequim’s farm land and chose it as their new home.
Renting a home and farmland where the Co-Op stands today, Shirley’s family found paradise. The property boasted fruit trees, and gardening was made easy with the access to water. Later, Shirley’s family purchased a 10 acre property on Hendrickson Road, surrounded by a vibrant neighborhood.
Being the youngest in a large family, Shirley grew up surrounded by joyful memories. She remembers swinging from a rope on the eaves and dropping into a giant pile of hay and running around trying to pet the barn cats. There was a milk house on the property with a platform for the cans that wasn’t in use so her sisters turned it into a makeshift theater. They’d invite the neighbors over and perform plays on the platform. The railroad ran not far from the house, so the kids would walk on the tracks to the Dungeness River where they played making dams and trying to trap fish coming up stream — but would always release them before leaving.
The Sequim school district became a cherished part of Shirley’s life where lifelong friendships were formed. She remembers in fifth grade the school building being demolished, so she and classmates had to go to school in the old workshop, which had a wood stove. Each student had a brick block that was heated by the stove to keep their feet warm. Shirley had a wonderful teacher, Mrs. Wilder, who made the situation fun for her class. The next year they went to the old Carlsborg School, which had three classrooms and a separate lunch room that was used as the music room.
After graduating from Sequim High in 1955, Shirley moved to Port Townsend the following summer with her brother Charles’ family. She found a summer job at the paper mill and later started working for the Port Townsend First American National Bank. She met her husband Arnold and his 10-year-old daughter Arlene. Shirley and Arnold married in 1958 and moved back to Sequim the following year to a home on Old Olympic Highway where Peter and Kristine were born. The couple built a new home on the hill in Dungeness which is now called Dungeness Heights. Shirley’s youngest son, Jonathan was born there and she still lives there today.
Shirley started working part time again at the Bank of Sequim when her children were in school. It was then sold to Seafirst Bank and then the Bank of America. She retired after about 30 years. All four of her children graduated from Sequim High School along with three grandchildren (and two who are currently attending). Arnold and her always shared a love of flowers, which turned into a shared hobby. First they planted a garden of rose bushes and then they seeded wild flowers everywhere and grew dahlia beds. The couple also pursued a travel trailer which the family used to enjoy many trips to the ocean. They’d go razor clam digging or just enjoy walking on the beach. In 1976, they took the trailer on a month-long trip across the United States. Since Arnold’s passing in 2014, Shirley has been taking summer trips every year with her daughter Kristine. They have explored different countries across Europe as well as states that they have never seen before. Shirley says her life currently revolves around my growing family, from the three original members now to a family of 22 (and counting).
Shirley says she will always remember that her father Israel, who had experienced the Dust Bowl, found the irrigation shares in Sequim to be like a pot of gold. There was a flume at the end of the property that he would open up to do flood irrigation. Israel would block off the ditches that ran through the property and irrigate certain parts of farm land.
Shirley says, “to my family, water was wealth, and the Irrigation Festival celebrates the Dungeness River which gives us the water that forms the wonderful green valley.”
“I feel very honored to be selected as a Grand Pioneer, because it is also an honor for my parents, Clara and Israel Reandeau who were so brave to start a new life in Sequim,” she said.