Local library veteran checks out

Published 12:37 pm Thursday, October 2, 2008

NORTH BEND – It’s easy to figure out what the loves of Pat Simpson’s life are.

Books, people and somebody called The Mountain Man.

Simpson got to nurture all these loves during the almost 30 years she has lived in North Bend and the 16 years she has worked as a librarian. But Simpson will be moving to Chinook this week, and is hoping to leave behind a little bit of those loves for the community that became her home.

“I have really enjoyed this community,” she said.

Simpson was born and raised in Port Orchard, on what she called a “commune before any of the hippies did it.” She lived in the same house her father was born in and on the same land as her grandfather and her aunts and uncles. Puget Sound was her front yard and Simpson has many fond memories of her childhood in a town where everyone knew everyone else in a place she wishes other children could experience.

“I could walk into anyone’s store and make a phone call if I needed to because everyone know who you were,” Simpson said. “Kids don’t really have that anymore.”

When she got older, Simpson moved from Port Orchard to Seattle, but didn’t like the city life. She longed for the small town she grew up in and knew some friends who lived in North Bend, so she packed up her things and moved there in 1974.

For the complete story, pick up a copy of this week’s Valley Record