Peter Gargaglino (he/him)
Age: 59
City: Lummi Island
Lived here for: 1 year
Originally from: Larchmont, New York
Notable: Lummi Island ferryman, set builder and former member of Bread and Puppet Theatre.
What about moving to Lummi Island stands out to you?
I find the Pacific Northwest stunning. What I love the most is this sense of community on a small island. Everyone’s interdependent on one another. So you’re a neighbor first and foremost before you’re anything else to other people.
You moved out here without a job, but got a position on the Lummi Island Ferry. How did that come about?
I was dating someone long distance for a few years, and it was time for it not to be long distance. I was kind of put up to a job on the ferry, and I’m still on call — it’s like being a substitute teacher. It’s a fast track to getting to know everyone on this small island, all 800 — at least, the daily commuters.
You’ve previously described the role as something akin to a New York City doorman, can you tell me more about that?
I never lived in a doorman building, but the legendary New York City doorman is kind of what the ferry worker is: They’re kind of invisible, but they kind of see everything that comes and goes. They are there to help. They’re also there for discretion. They’re a very professional group.
How have you integrated yourself into the community on Lummi Island?
I’ve always been attracted to community — intentional community environments — and the ferry gets you to know everyone on the island.
I’ve also volunteered with the church. They’re doing an Oktoberfest fundraiser, and I’ll be building a photo booth. Another ferry worker is doing the photography.
Anything that needs getting done, I usually will say yes to.
What was your career path prior to moving to Lummi Island?
I’ve had several big transitions in careers. As a young man, I was a carpenter, and I became a set builder and a set designer. I worked on some very big sound stages in New York and Hollywood.
I did that for about 25 years. Then, after sort of a respite, taking care of my parents in their older age, I decided to change my life. And, I worked at an arts collective puppet theater that’s famous for street theater and protest theater and social justice theater in Vermont called Bread and Puppet [Theatre].
About five years into that, I started going back and forth to Washington state. It was time to not be so itinerant and to settle into a real community. I found everything I ever wanted here.
What other ways have you become involved on Lummi Island?
I love helping out on the reef net gear. I’m learning about it. It’s an old style, derived of Native American techniques. There’s only a few licenses left, and they’re here mostly.
It’s a very sustainable way of fishing, because all the bycatch, you can put back very gently without harming it, and you keep just what you need.
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Isaac Stone Simonelli is CDN’s enterprise/investigations reporter; reach him at isaacsimonelli@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 127.