Seattle Press on Line - The Heart Of "The Center of the Universe"

Fremont

The Heart Of "The Center of the Universe"

By Laurel Holliday

Boma, chatting with his friend and fellow musician, Jens. Laurel Holliday photo.

Apr 25, 2002 -- Thanks to unprecedented development, The Center of the Universe is quickly becoming a giant office park. But you still can find a little of the old Fremont at the Sunday Market, where people come to enjoy a leisurely stroll, chat with friends, savor homemade delicacies, ogle local artists' work, drive a bargain, and--on occasion--enjoy the sun. So, when market vendors and shoppers learned that the co-owners of Sound Mind and Body Gym (which is directly across the street) are attempting to force the Market shut down or move, they had a lot to say about it.

This is the third year that Boma has come to the market to sell his artwork and hand-printed T-shirts. "There are some antisocial people who don't understand that the market is actually a community," he says. "There's no part of the world where you don't have market places where people meet--common grounds, right?--in Europe, or Africa, or in Asia. People must have a place to meet."

Jonie Bickel, her daughter Alexa, and her sleeping sibling. Laurel Holliday photo.

Susan Plunkett sells a wide variety of goods in her market stall. "It's a great space for vendors who might not have another place to go," she says. "It's affordable. It provides a place for people to come shop. It's free enterprise!"

Rose Eldred, the market's desk manager says, "It's a great energy we have here. We have all kinds of people from all different walks of life. And they sell such different stuff, that it creates this wonderful feeling of festivity. The vendors are selling things, but they're having fun. A lot of them have known each other for years. It has the feeling of a great community event, even though not all of them live in this community."

Ian Balsillie. Laurel Holliday photo.

Josh Logan used to own Ah Nuts!, the Fremont shop with the smoke-blowing rocket in front of it. Now he sells his eclectic wares at the Sunday market. "Coming up here in the morning and opening up and having the first pickers come is exciting to me," he says. "It's exciting to hear the laughter. It's a kind of energy. It's a wonderful thing! I quit my business after 32 years. Now I do EBay and this market is a big part of my income."

Ian Balsillie comes from Maple Falls (a town just east of Bellingham) to sell at the market. While vendors need the money from their market sales, he says, customers need to have a place where they can buy inexpensive things too. "People who buy stuff here aren't coming here because they're doing a public service. It's because they need to buy stuff."

"I try to come every Sunday," says market customer Jonie Bickel, carefully toting the hand-sewn yo-yo quilt she's just bought. "I think the market is wonderful. There's really nothing like it around here. You find fabulous stuff here!"

Peter Muller. Laurel Holliday photo.

Her daughter Alexa agrees. "I think it's really fun!" she says.

From vendor Peter Muller's point of view, Sound Mind and Body benefits from being across the street from the market. "We should charge them, that's what I think. I've seen this everywhere I go. A bunch of people come in and create the ambience, and then the business people make money off of it, and then the business people come and kick us out."

For six years, Stacy Grega has been coming to the market all the way from Gig Harbor to sell her textiles. "For Seattle to lose it--especially in the area that it's been established--that's sad. I don't know why people wouldn't want the market here. It's crazy!"

A frequent contributor to The Seattle Press, Laurel Holliday has lived in Fremont for 17 years.

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