Ornamental Stone

Just down the street at the junction of North Bay Road and State Route 3, Ornamental Stone features a classic line of hand cast exposed aggregate stone products constructed onsite for commercial and home use.

Initially founded in 1964 by Spence Chamberlain as a part-time enterprise in his Lake City garage, the business moved to Allyn in 1987 when his son Keith took over. It's been a full-time thriving operation ever since with a crew of six churning out 15,000 pounds of product each week.

"At Ornamental Stone, our goal is to produce quality and competitively-priced products that will last," says Keith.

The five-step process is simple, but requires skilled attention. Once the concrete is hand-packed into a mold, a template is employed to hand sweep the sand inside for a smooth interior finish. After the concrete hardens, it is carefully removed from the mold, washed and readied for sale or shipment.


Stone planters, benches, waste receptacles and many other products designed and constructed by Ornamental Stone are used throughout the Pacific Northwest. Airports, Safeco Field, Key Arena, Microsoft, Boeing, the Tacoma Dome and many other large institutions. Customers request Ornamental Stone products from as far away as Florida and in major cities throughout the country, including Hollywood!

Just as popular are the many stone products designed for home use. Planters of all shapes and sizes are a favorite addition to local landscaping along with garden benches and tables. Imagine the possibilities as you shop the inventory of available homes in North Mason County. Visit www.ornamentalstone.com for a complete listing of what this business has to offer.


"At Ornamental Stone, our goal is to produce quality and competitively-priced products that will last," says Keith. Customers are also attracted to the strength, durability and appearance of these products.

Stretch Island Fruit Leather...
"Always ready outdoors, at home, at school, at work,
for sports, for travel".

Notice: Stretch Island Fruit Company was recently sold to Kellog's!

When Ron and Mary Sagerson first visited Stretch Island back in January of 1972, they immediately fell in love with the area. "Here we were in an absolutely beautiful little corner of God's world," says Ron. "We looked at each other and said, 'Let's stay. Let's find a way to live and work here.'" Soon they had purchased a home and vineyard and became acquainted with neighbors Harry and Mary Branch.

Both families were growing grapes and making natural fruit leather at home. Since fruit leather was not available commercially at that time, they all agreed that manufacturing it on a larger scale was a project worth pursuing. It was Harry's sister, Bonnie, who provided the proverbial laundry room for the first production area in 1977. Soon Harry, a natural-born salesperson, was selling Stretch Island Fruit Leather to local stores.

In 1979, the Sagersons bought out their partners and moved the production to a larger space next door to their home. The company moved or remodeled several more times over the next 27 years to accommodate growth, as the business became steadily larger. Today, Stretch Island Fruit Leather is located about two miles south of Allyn on State Route 3 in rural Mason County.

First Expansion next door to home


So what exactly IS fruit leather? It's simply dried fruit in a bar. "A convenient, portable fruit, in your pocket ... without the squish!" Old-fashioned fruit leather recipes say: Find a fruit blend that you like (apple and strawberry for example). Use ripe fruits, wash them, and carefully take out stems and seeds. Puree them in a blender and spread the fruit on a tray. Let it dry naturally under the sun (or in a home dehydrator) until the texture is just right. Then cut the fruit leather into strips and store in a dry place.

Pureed Fruit in Vat Before
Going Into Drier

Fruit Bars Coming Out of Drier

At Stretch Island, they follow a very similar process, but instead of the sun, they use dehydrators at low temperatures to maintain flavor. The natural sugar of the fruit provides a sweet taste with only 45 calories and no added sugar. Stretch Island Fruit Leathers are also manufactured without the use of artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. The Sagersons strongly believe in the importance of 100% natural food to provide the best-tasting, highest quality, naturally healthy and fat free fruit snack available. In fact, they chose the name "Fruit Leather" to purposely differentiate from the candy version.

In 1994, Ron and Mary were happy to welcome their son, Bob, who joined them in the business. Bob graduated in economics from the University of Washington in 1990 and previously taught high school mathematics while coaching golf and basketball.

Ron still works at the company and maintains the title of President of the Corporation, while Bob, now the CEO (Chief Executive Officer), manages most of the daily operations.

Bob and Ron in the office

Stretch Island Fruit Leather ranks in the "Top 20" of Mason County employers with about 80 employees working two shifts per day. Production is not seasonal and provides steady employment year round. An additional 6,000 square feet of production area is currently under construction adjacent to the original 12,000 square foot building, which will allow for an additional 30 employees and possibly a third shift in the future.

New Construction

Stretch Island Fruit Leather employees are a happy lot. Three of them have worked for the Sagersons for over 20 years each! Most employees live locally and many others have worked at the factory for several years.

Sold nationwide and now even available at Costco, the market for Stretch Island Fruit Leather continues to grow and expand globally. Customers in the United Kingdom, Japan and Canada are also enjoying the product as it becomes more and more available in the mainstream market. Annual sales topped $10 million last year.

Stretch Island Fruit Leather is manufactured in two lines: regular and organic. Pure and simple, the process involves a puree of 100% fruit (the majority of which is grown in Washington, Oregon or California) that is molded into flat portions, spread on trays, dried and packaged for sale. It is approved for diabetics, certified Kosher, and continues to be a favorite with both adults and kids of all ages. The product has also been approved for reimbursement in the school lunch program by the federal government.

Package Quality Control

The regular line includes nine flavors: Great Grape, Sour Apple, Tangy Apricot, Rare Raspberry, Berry Blackberry, Chunky Cherry, Truly Tropical, Sweet Strawberry, and the most recent to be introduced: Mucho Mango. In addition, a second line of Fruit Leather made from organically grown fruit was added in 1990. Stretch Island ORGANIC Fruit Leather is produced in Apple, Grape, Strawberry and Raspberry flavors.

With one 7,200 square foot off-site warehouse located in nearby Kitsap County, the Sagersons are big fans of their high-speed Internet access provided by local Hood Canal Telephone Company's fiber optics. "It has really helped our internal communications in particular," commented Bob. "We share files directly between our production facility and the warehouse, which allows us to increase our efficiency in filling orders."

For more information and a free sample, visit their website at www.stretchislandfruit.com. You can also reach Stretch Island Fruit, Inc. Customer Service at 1-800-700-9687.

The Wonder of Wild Salmon: A Real-World Learning Experience

Our mission is to establish and conduct a research and learning center which will enhance public knowledge and appreciation for the values of Wild Salmon and related ecosystem health.

The Preservation of Wild Salmon is directly linked to the preservation of other life and ecosystems. The Salmon Center will promote public knowledge and enhance appreciation for the value of Wild Salmon. The Center will facilitate a better understanding of ecosystem health through leading-edge research, interactive education, accessible information, unique displays, environmental seminars, and our annual Wild Salmon Hall of Fame celebration.

Our 90-acre location is in Belfair, Washington, "where Hood Canal begins". As part of our hands on learning experiences we will be naturally treating stormwater from the Belfair Urban Growth Area, and returning 45 acres of hay fields to their original state of salt and freshwater marshes.

Come learn with us!

September signals the onset of fall and the lazy end to another satisfying summer throughout North Mason and the Tahuya Peninsula. After Labor Day weekend, the visiting crowds visibly diminish and local life resumes a slower pace. Even the weather seems to mirror the calendar as water temperatures wane and students return to school.

Along Hood Canal's South Shore, the exodus is particularly noticeable at Twanoh State Park. Gone are the families frolicking in the kiddy pond, water-skiing off shore and sunbathing on the beach. While a few campers can be found nestled beneath the towering cedars in Twanoh's campground, for the most part, the park exudes a tranquil existence from September to May.

In late October, however, the salmon come home to Twanoh Creek. This fall run of chum salmon lasts until the end of November or early December and is a spectacular sight to see. Literally thousands of these fish come home to spawn before dying in their native stream.

Twanoh Creek runs through both the upper and lower portions of the park and empties into Hood Canal at the boat launch parking lot. It provides a healthy habitat for the annual salmon run and is well-respected by folks who come to view this seasonal phenomena. Cedar rail fencing has been constructed along parts of the creek to discourage humans from getting too close. Watching as the salmon pair off and begin their reproductive dance is always remarkable, no matter how many times you see it.

The female "digs" the redd or salmon "nest" that is actually a deep narrow indentation in the creek bed, where she deposits her eggs. Males swim along behind and fertilize the cache. Human traffic in the creek bed runs the risk of putting undue pressure on the redds and compressing and killing the eggs. Be careful and resist the temptation to get too close. It's important to preserve the safety of the redds.

Looking at the numbers of salmon swimming upstream, it seems hard to believe that it wasn't always this way. Back in 1986, the salmon run was meager. Local resident Jerry Manuel wanted to change that and with his invention of the Remote Site Incubator (RSI), he was able over the course of about ten years to repopulate the stream. With the assistance of the Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group, Manuel placed two RSIs upstream past the last few sites in the campground. Over a quarter million salmon eggs hatched and released as fry in the stream eventually ensured that the run would survive. In 1995-96, the RSIs were removed, as once again, the Twanoh Creek salmon run had become self-sustaining. And so it has remained, ever since.

Families in the know often choose Thanksgiving Day to visit Twanoh Creek and marvel at the mysterious miracle epitomized by these salmon. After living in the creek for their first month of life, the young fish swim off into the salt waters of Hood Canal and beyond. Forty-three months later, they return home as adults to spawn at the end of their life cycle. Their inbred duty fulfilled, the remains of their carcasses litter the streambed, providing a new source of food for the newly hatched chum fry, birds and animals of the forest.

Witnessing the determination, drive and dogged insistence of these fish as they fight their way upstream to ensure the survival of their species will leave you in awe. Follow the hiking trail that parallels the creek's path as it winds upward into the forest. Be amazed as you watch the salmon conquer woody debris, waterfalls and seemingly impossible obstacles.

How do they know when and where to come "home?" The salmon life cycle is one of life's mysteries that defies a neat and tidy scientific explanation. Go see it for yourself, and bring the family.