2020 Scarecrow Contest Winners

Worthington Park Awards Scarecrows

This was a week like no other for our town! The Quilcene community gathered at Worthington Park this week to celebrate the fall spirit in an unprecedented display of creative spirit and fun. This year’s third annual Scarecrow Contest provided a much needed morale boost for friends and neighbors alike as they assembled twice the number of scarecrow entries from years past. The 18 entries came from all parts of Quilcene and sported a colorful range of costumes and characters. For the first time and to comply with COVID-19 guidelines, participants registered on-line and the community voted for their favorites posted here on the Worthington Park website.

The contest was so popular that it brought traffic on Columbia Street to a halt with on-lookers rolling and stopping to get a good look. Local students could be seen hanging out of car windows declaring, “Look! That’s my scarecrow!”

The vote count was historic – surging to over 800 by Friday night! While all of the entries were exceptional – there were a few that garnered the highest numbers of community votes. Our 1st place winners are Crystal Manly and Jennifer Tirao. These ladies work hard every day at feeding the students of the Quilcene School District (QSD), serving-up breakfasts and lunches with a smile. They have worked tirelessly to overcome the challenges the pandemic has posed to their meal delivery efforts; delivering to our students in the school building as well as coordinating, preparing and transporting meals to remote learning students. Their tribute to the district’s newly retired Veda Wilson, the face of the scarecrow,“Veda-Crow,” was a crowd favorite. Their entry celebrated Veda’s contributions to the school, but also the hard work that Crystal and Jennifer have been doing for QSD’s students.

Our 2nd place winner belongs to PEARL (Partnership for Excellence in Alternative Remote Learning) student Claire Reinertsen and her mom Lauren Reinertsen. Claire was the creative genius behind the “Man Eating Dragon Chasing Prince,” with a little help from mom. Claire said the secret to a good scarecrow is that “It has to be scary. It has to chase the crows away.”

In the race for 3rd place, Mia Mann’s Third Grade class prevailed with their whimsical “Purple Fairy.” There was a heated competition leading up to the final vote count Friday, until supporters swooped in with the determining votes. Top contenders for 3rd place included: Top Rack Artistry’s “Steam Punk Pirate,” QSD preschool’s “Little Red Riding Hood,” and Lori Bailey’s “Fly Fisherman with a BIG catch.” Sneaking-up from behind was Fiber and Clay’s “Ellen Mae” (in honor of Ellen Worthington). Top Rack Artistry is new to the Quilcene/Brinnon area. Reshel Reid is a Pirate Outreach Re-enactment Volunteer – helping to make a difference in other people’s lives bringing her Pirate persona to birthdays or events. Located in Quilcene, Fiber and Clay’s fiber artist Lise Solvang and husband potter Scot Olson create fun and whimsical pieces together, all in the name of love. Other amazing pieces on display included:

Entry no. 2 – Kindergarten, “Zombie w/Bats”
Entry no. 3 – 1st grade, “Superhero Scarecrow”
Entry no. 4 – 2nd grade, “Whacky Mail Man”
Entry no. 6 – 4th grade, “Pirate”
Entry no. 7 – 5th grade, “Monster”
Entry no. 8 – Jan Gillanders, “Baaaack Off Sheep”
Entry no. 9 – Chirstina Hames, “Spider Master”
Entry no. 11 – Leland & Fischer Munn, “Mechanic”
Entry no. 14 – Abby Ward & Anna Munn, “Gnome”
Entry no. 17 – Christine Chadwick, “Mermaid”
Entry no. 18 – Violet Munn, “Little Miss Heart Eyes”

The newly restored Hamilton-Worthington House was transformed into the perfect haunted house. The mansion became a showcase for local Halloween creations with Quilcene’s First Grade class creating adorable paper scarecrow window décor for the mansion windows (in addition to their class scarecrow entry). The preschool kids made ghosts for the mansion’s third floor windows. They had a spooky good time!

Very special thanks go to the generous contest prize basket donors and sponsors: Rust, Dust, Frills & Lace, Paul Kaiser Wood Turning, The Picket Fence, Pane d’Amore Artisan Bakery, Sugar Hill Farms, Sandy Shea (Quilcene Historical Museum Board Member), Eric Anderson (Museum volunteer architect), Christine Satterlee (Museum Chair-elect), and Richard Chadwick.