The nicest man in Maryhill

Pepper the farm dog takes in a little sun while Ron Gunkel digs holes for some new peach trees on his orchard in Maryhill, Wash., just upriver of the I- 97 bridge at Biggs Junction this morning, Wednesday, Feb. 3.  

Gunkel said he was planting a variety called  Zee Prides.

He also took the occasion to say that Maryhill was not always Maryhill. In fact, it was Columbus Landing, a busy shipping port where wheat and sheep were loaded in the 1800s and early 1900s. It was later renamed Maryhill in 1909 when Sam Hill moved in, and he named the property after his wife and daughter, both named Mary.

Throughout our conversation, I came to a pretty good conclusion. Ron Gunkel seems like the nicest guy I had met all day. He’s the nicest guy in Maryhill.

Just a tad more on Maryhill - it’s kinda personal.

Just further down the road, stands the Maryhill Church, est. October 1888. And this is where it gets personal.

My wife, Peggy, from Hillsboro, inherited a print of a drawing of a church from her grandmother, and it has hung in our house for years. I had always wondered if the church still existed.

Guess what?

It does.

I ran into the church in Maryhill this morning, I knew I had seen it before. Just not in color. Check out the drawing and the real church below. 

This drawing of Maryhill Church was done by John Waddingham in 1971. It has hung on our walls for decades.

Here is the real church in Maryhill, Wash., this morning.