The small city of Sequim is honoring Janet Ellis Duncan with the title of Honored Pioneer at the Sequim Irrigation Festival, a recognition she holds dear with gratitude and pride. Janet, a 1956 graduate of Sequim High School, has fond memories of her childhood in the Dungeness area, where she grew up surrounded by the rhythms of farm life and a close-knit community.
As a young girl, Janet remembers her mother guiding her through the steps of the traditional Maypole Dance, a cherished annual event during the festival. She also recalls attending the Dungeness Schoolhouse, where her mother often helped cook lunch for students. Janet’s father, a farmer who grew Silver Lake Peas and worked at the Clallam Co-Op and Dungeness Creamery, instilled a love of agriculture in her. The family’s move from Bellingham back to Dungeness was marked by her father’s passion for moving, as Janet fondly recalls, “Dad liked to move.”
Growing up on a farm, Janet often had chores like feeding the calves and working in a large vegetable garden. The McAlmond Farm, where the family lived and worked, is now on the Historic Registry, and Janet’s memories of her time there are full of affection for the hard work and sense of community that defined her upbringing. Janet even saved time walking across fields and climbing fences to catch the school bus, demonstrating her resourcefulness and determination.
Janet’s personal life is just as rich, with four children from her first marriage: Anita, Howie, Shelly, and Steve. She later married Clinton Duncan in 1969, who owned Duncan’s Backhoe Service.
When asked to accept the title of Honored Pioneer, Janet was initially surprised but soon felt deeply honored. With her signature humor, she quipped, “Well… I AM old!”
Betty Kettel and Janet Duncan are sisters and have a shared history.
Their parents, seeking stability after difficult years in North Dakota during the 1920s, packed up their belongings and set out for a more peaceful and prosperous life in the lush Sequim-Dungeness Valley. The Fuller grandparents, who had settled in Sequim on Secor Road years earlier, were instrumental in drawing the family westward. The five children (Donald, Betty, Mary, Janet, and David) grew up in Dungeness, attending school at the Dungeness Schoolhouse in the earlier grades before heading to Sequim High School.
Betty and Janet’s family history runs deep, with their ancestral ties to the S’Klallam Tribe through their great-grandmother, Henrietta Stevens, also known by her tribal name Sea-litza, meaning “Little Quail.” Henrietta Stevens, born in 1849, is remembered as an important figure in the S’Klallam community, and her legacy continues to inspire Betty and Janet today. This connection to the region’s Indigenous roots provides an enriching layer to their story and serves as a reminder of the cultural significance of the Sequim area.