By Arielle Hawney

It’s easy to wait until someone’s gone to truly appreciate them. This time, I’m doing it differently.

Many of you know my grandmother well, Birdie James, who has called Forks home for over three-quarters of her life. I’m thrilled to announce she just celebrated her 90th birthday last week, on May 22nd. Ninety years is a remarkable milestone, especially when you’ve outlived so many friends; it can be a bit lonely. But beyond the years, I want to celebrate the true riches she’s filled those decades with—pursuits that have shaped and inspired me, becoming part of her living legacy.

Birdie Jo Stegall was born to Joseph Hardy Stegall and Rose Lowe Hightower in 1935 in Towaoc/Cortez, Colorado. The eldest of eight children, her early life was filled with caretaking her younger siblings and helping her Mama with keeping the house. My great-grandfather’s work often led them to new places. This included a stint of about seven years down in Margarita, Panama, while he worked on the Panama Canal. This having been the only time my Grandmother had left the United States and a formative part of her childhood, it was a real treat for her to revisit Panama in 2015 when she took some strangers up on their offer to host her after a serendipitous conversation at 7 Cedars Casino. (For those of you who know this side of my Grandmother, it will not surprise you that she would be so spontaneous and courageous as to ‘Old-Gal-a-vant’ herself off on an international trip with strangers! This is a quality I have inherited and love about her!)

Returning to the States after Panama, the family landed in Montesano, WA, where Birdie eventually met her future husband, my grandfather, Ron James. The couple was married in 1955 and moved to Forks, where Birdie has maintained a moorage, despite some outbound voyages, ever since. Ron and Birdie had two children together, my uncle, Robert, and my mother, Kristi, but eventually ended their marriage. After this chapter, my Grandmother fulfilled a long-held desire and took herself to live in Honolulu, Hawaii for some years. There, she met my step-grandpa, Tofa Tumaua, with whom she shared adventures, friendship and life for many years until he died, while he was living back in Samoa. Birdie James is the proud grandmother of four grandchildren: Ashley and Joseph Oakes of Port Angeles, Arielle Hawney (me) of New Mexico, Annalise Hawney of Virginia, and two “bonus grandchildren”, Tristan and Sloan Tumaua of Forks. She is also blessed with four great-grandchildren: Alden, Malik, Tucker, and my vivacious two-year-old girl who’s inherited her love of art and nature.

A Life of Passion and Discovery

For nearly my entire life, over 30 years now, my Grandmother has been a dedicated anchor at the Kalaloch Visitor Center as a seasonal interpreter. Working in the name of Jefferson County and Olympic National Park, she has been their unofficial “Best Representative of the Park Ever Employed” (my suggested title). I think she is likely their eldest employee and quite possibly one of their longest-serving. Her role in representing the history, ecology, and natural wonders of our Olympic Peninsula and advising visitors on where to go and what to see has been a source of joy and delight for her as well as countless visitors throughout the decades, evidenced in the hundreds of greeting cards, postcards and letters she has received from visitors over the years. It is this very joie de vivre that has kept her going strong!

Beyond her dedication to the park, Birdie is an avid historian, a lover of old buildings, and a strong supporter of the West End Historical Society. She is also a proponent of the arts, often traveling to Port Angeles or Sequim for musical, artistic, and cultural events and happenings. She has pursued passions as a watercolor artist, entering paintings for years in the Clallam County Fair; as a gardener, cultivating blooms in her little “Fairy Garden” every season; and as an amateur bird watcher. Above all, she is a ravenous, lifelong learner and consumer of knowledge; a self-educated, engaged citizen.

Indeed, Birdie is a seeker of ephemeral grandeur: regularly driving to La Push for a sunset, or down the coast of 101 to see the bioluminescence; finding a good dark spot to catch a meteor shower or eclipse; stopping to take photos of clouds, flowers, or any scene that particularly strikes her sense of beauty, as evidenced by a stack of camera memory cards.

Her courage to explore, venture, and try new things introduced me at a young age to new experiences that have been formative and instrumental in my life. These include the international cultures of Polynesia, as facilitated by my Samoan step-grandfather; new foods, where her rule was you had to try one bite regardless of how it looked or smelled; countless performances at the PA high school auditorium and shows at the Fine Arts Center; and watching her confidence in taking herself (and sometimes her sister, Darla, or a girlfriend) on cross-country road trips, spontaneous weekend ventures, and side trips that have often made her late and always made her richer for the experience.

A Living Legacy

As you can see, Birdie James is not just a resident of Forks who recently turned 90. She is a woman who has lived nine decades to the fullest, embracing life with an adventurous spirit. From her childhood in Panama to her enduring love for the Olympic Peninsula, and from her dedication at the Kalaloch Visitor Center to her spontaneous travels and artistic pursuits, her life has been a testament to curiosity, resilience, and the relentless pursuit of beauty in all its forms.

Her legacy isn’t just in the years she’s accumulated, but in the vibrant tapestry of experiences she has woven and the profound impact she has had on those around her: transient visitors and more permanent fixtures alike. My grandmother has taught me, and countless others, that life is an ongoing adventure, rich with opportunities for learning, appreciating, and experiencing the world. One of her favored quotes is “In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years,” and she embodies this well. So, the next time you see Birdie around town, perhaps give her a knowing nod or a warm smile. You’re looking at a true Forks treasure, a woman who has not only lived a long life but has truly lived it—and inspired a whole lot of living along the way.