The Vashon Heritage Museum has many dedicated volunteers — volunteers who see a need and roll up their sleeves. More than 60 regular volunteers are cataloging, collecting, writing, docenting and sharing our history in numerous ways.
One such volunteer is Mike Sudduth. If you are on Facebook, you’ve seen the iconic images he shares from old Beachcombers. He comes from a Vashon newspaper family and has spent years making images and stories more searchable.
Last year, Mike dove into another subject area. He wanted the museum to collect more oral histories, so he started recording them. He taught himself how to use the technology, how to back it up, and best practices for oral history.
Mike interviewed more than 25 people in 2025. Most of the conversations are about an hour long, and now these stories are archived for future islanders and researchers.
His efforts inspired us, and this past weekend, we captured some shorter stories. Another committed volunteer, videographer Peter Ray, recorded 12 islanders.
Omar Malik spoke about being a newcomer to Vashon Island and his experiences as Camp Sealth’s director of camping.
Tina Shattuck shared what brought her to the island and her experiences at Women Hold the Key.
Barbara Wells, Sally Fox, Lynn Greiner, Steve Brown and Mary Rabourn spoke about their experiences working together to preserve Mukai Farm & Garden.
Forever Islander Carol Slaughter shared a great story about her family’s pigs getting loose and all the folks who pitched in to round them up.
Because two heritage organizations working in tandem is better than one, we partnered with Mukai Farm & Garden — and we will again. Our goal is to widen our pool of storytellers and collect more stories of island life. We would like to hear from teenagers, folks who have been marginalized, recent arrivals to the island, kids and you.
If you have a short or long story to share, please email us, and we will be sure to inform you about the next round of recordings. If this sounds like a ton of fun and something you’d like to volunteer for, we’d love to hear from you. Email: admin@vashonheritage.org.
Marissa Tsaniff is the communications manager at the Vashon Heritage Museum.
From left top: Barbara Wells and Keith Prior. From left down: Omar Malik and Carol Slaughter. (Peter Ray Photos)
