Dear Editor,

For those of you who have lived in Forks for a while, you will recognize that the new Rainforest Arts Center now sits on more land than was occupied by the former International Order of Odd Fellows building.

In mid-September 2013, representatives from the Rainforest Players and the West Olympic Council for the Arts signed the closing papers to purchase the land located at the corner of Division Street and Forks Avenue. This corner property was privately owned and formerly housed the old Olympic Pharmacy and later the Fern Gallery and Dazzled By Twilight. RFP and WOCA signed, at the same time, the paperwork to transfer the ownership for this land to the City of Forks. What took just moments to sign was the culmination of a lot of effort on the part of a small handful of RFP members in collaboration with WOCA who were determined to include this land in the footprint of the new Rainforest Arts Center building.

The idea to purchase the land was hatched in early summer 2013. By then, the remains of the burned down buildings had been removed and the land at the corner of Division Street and Forks Avenue was for sale. The price was high but that did not dissuade this determined group from their vision of having this land be a part of the soon-to-be constructed building.

The RFP along with WOCA set out to gather the money for this purchase and were blessed with several wonderful things that happened in the process. The needed funds came from a compendium of sources: a grant the RFP successfully applied for, a contribution from a community member, a couple of temporary loans from community members, the proceeds from insurance, to name a few.

With these funds in hand, the RFP contacted the seller to discuss a more reasonable price for the land. The seller, after several conversations, agreed to a price that WOCA and RFP could afford to pay for the land.

This story would be incomplete without mentioning the kindness of real estate agent Don Grafstrom and Lunsford and Associates. Don reached out to WOCA and RFP and offered to represent them in this purchase, with Lunsford contributing both Don’s commission and their fees for this purchase. Don helped WOCA and RFP navigate the complex details associated with buying this land and transferring it to the city.

For this humble storyteller and member of RFP, I see the purchase of this land and the consequent gift of it to the City of Forks as nothing short of a real life miracle. Kudos to the members of RFP and WOCA who shared the vision of having the new RAC grace the corner of Division Street and Forks Avenue and put the effort into making it happen.

Ellen Matheny

Forks