By Gretchen Wing

This Friday, May 20, at 5 p.m., a special ceremony will take place at Lopez Farmers Market, on the eve of its opening. A plaque will be dedicated to commemorate Sally Bill, who donated the land in the heart of Lopez Village fondly known as “Sally’s Garden,” which is home to the Lopez Farmers Market, Lopez Children’s Center, and Fertile Ground, the community garden. Newer Lopezians may not realize how much vision, generosity and hard work underlies this vibrant yet peaceful Village core.

Sally and her husband Sandy Bill bought their Lopez land in 1964 and became full-timers in 1980. Neither had grown up farming. Daughter Peggy Bill says, “It has always been a bit of a mystery how Sally came to be a sheep farmer. She started learning to weave and spin while in Seattle, so maybe that was it.” Still in Seattle, Sally bought two sheep as a Christmas present for adolescent Peggy and brother David—”but they were really for her,” Peggy says. The sheep hung out with the dogs on the porch (“not a typical Washington Park scene,” Peggy adds), but got moved to farmland that Sally bought shortly after that. Years later, Peggy and David surprised Sally with Angora goats for Christmas, joining her ever expanding herd of natural colored sheep. Sally loved all aspects of her Lopez life: farming, gardening, spinning, and working with the animals, and of course, the community.

In 1998 as her health began deteriorating, Sally decided that she wanted to gift the Lopez community somehow before she passed away. The legacy of farming and community were important elements. Sally purchased 3.63 acres of Village property from her friend Sara Mae Eads, where 13 commercial lots and two roads were planned, and developed a vision for the land by brainstorming with family and friends. The idea that resonated was a permanent home for the Farmers Market, open space for solitude, a place for people living in the Village to garden, and space for a community building of some sort, which was later defined as Lopez Family Resource Center and Lopez Children’s Center.

Sally hired Sandy Bishop to work out the land development strategies and place a conservation easement on the majority of the property. Says Sandy, “Land dealings with the Village Corporation were complicated, due to the liens on the property. It took Read Langenbach, Jerry and Sara Mae Eads and me two and a half years to untangle the mess of liens.” Despite the difficulties, Sandy remembers this as a “sweet time.” “Sally was so happy and focused. It was a pleasure to work with her, and later on to work with all those involved.”

Logistics aside, Sally’s vision was ultimately welcomed by the community. Sandy says, “In some ways it was a relief to those who developed the original plat, because in one fell swoop 13 potential lots were vacated and that meant 13 fewer reminders of just how difficult it was to develop a small viable business, given the Lopez economy, culture and community.” It took Sandy’s team another two years after Sally’s passing to work out all the details. “Parking was a very emotional issue,” Sandy says. They also had to exchange a piece of property with Public Works, settle driveway access, create a view corridor, and countless other matters. The family donated a permanent conservation easement to San Juan Preservation Trust to ensure that it would be protected as Sally wished. Sally passed away on Valentine’s Day 1999, before the project was completed.

Today, Sandy says, “Some people think that Sally’s idea was akin to Central Park in New York: a visionary idea, ahead of its time.” Peggy adds, “Sally would be thrilled to see how this has all worked out. It is both vibrant and tranquil, and encompasses everything that she had hoped it would be—community gathering, children, farming, gardening, and a bit of wildness, right in the heart of the Village.” This Friday, the community will gather to celebrate Sally’s “vibrant and tranquil” vision.