Orcas Island sits in the far northwest, more exposed to the Pacific than Seattle. Still, it sees less than half of Seattle’s rainfall. The Olympic Mountains block much of the moisture before it reaches the San Juan Islands.
Betty Marcum has spent most of her life in the small town of Olga, not far from the Orcas Hotel. The drive takes nearly 20 miles, winding through the island’s horseshoe shape.
Past fields and lavender stands are a private road with her family’s name. It leads to a cluster of homes still lived in by Betty and her relatives. Their family farm earned the state’s Centennial Award in 1989 for 100 years of continuous operation.
The Willises, her ancestors, arrived early and established what became the nation’s longest-running weather station, active from 1890 through 2018.
John Willis, Betty’s brother, continued that tradition. With help from their sister Mary and her husband David, he recorded temperatures and rainfall by hand every day. He shared his notes with the local paper and the National Weather Service. He was so in tune, they say, he could read the temperature in the shape of an icicle.
“He was one-of-a-kind,” Betty says.
When George W. Bush was president, the family was invited to the White House to receive an honor. A letter from UW’s Cliff Mass praised their contribution to climate science, particularly for their use of rural, unaltered data.
But locals loved John for more than that. He brought firewood to neighbors, cleared roads after storms, and after one intense one in 1990, he was called a “Hero of the Storm.” When he needed hip surgery, the community raised the money.
“I feel overwhelmed,” he said at the time. “I guess I’ll just have to pay it back.”
He passed away one year ago today. So many attended his service that some had to be turned away.
When I visited last month, Betty showed me the family property before leading the way up to the old rain gauge on the hill.
Through each generation, the Willises lived with grit and independence—sawmills, stonework, sheep, and weather logs.
Later, on the lawn connecting the family homes, I asked Betty about the winters.
“Oh, it’s not so bad,” she said.
That’s one of the many reasons people love living on Orcas Island.
