I never imagined I’d grow up to become a wily French peddler wandering the countryside and hustling people out of rocks. But here we are, and here I am at the Chamber of Commerce, constantly talking to folks about stone soup.

Why? It’s a tidy metaphor. The work of the Chamber is to help build an island economy that’s better than the individual ingredients; to help the Vashon businesses and community at large find those scraps we stashed away at the height of COVID, pull them all together, and create a Vashon that’s more than the sum of its parts — as it always has been.

Stone soup isn’t just a meal.

It’s an act of collaboration and sharing that teaches us how much there actually is to go around. At the end of this particular allegory, the village is no longer divided into hungry families. Rather, it’s unified to pool resources and create something that’s much more than the sum of its parts. What better story could we evoke as the Chamber to build community investment?

But as with any good tale, there’s a problem (or two) to be solved before you get to the happy ending.

One of our big ones: how to make soup when a lot of villagers, out of necessity or otherwise, are sending their scraps outside the village.

Back in the day, island businesses quite literally turned a buck. I bought groceries at Becks. The checker earned the wage, went to Leightons, and bought a fly new pair of Jordache jeans. Then those folks took their cash and went to the Islander for breakfast, bought a yard of gravel out at the pit, dog food at McFeeds, and on the cycle goes. The more we had, the more we had.

Now, instead of heading down to Robinson’s for a couch, we go to Ikea. Instead of dropping by Sears and ordering from the catalog, we go to Amazon. That money never touches the Island. (Except for the small wage the overburdened USPS worker takes home).

To make the tale even more suspenseful, let’s compound our problem. Let’s say our village economy is increasingly driven by folks who only visit on the weekend and have already given their scraps away. Or, more accurately, send their kids to schools and dentists in Seattle, buy pet food at Costco, and don’t really come around in February when it’s raining.

Certainly, the pressures of economic globalization aren’t unique to Vashon. And we’ve always had the summer spending high tide. But it’s hard to deny that our stone soup is starting to taste awfully gritty.

Am I unveiling an answer to these entrenched problems inherent to late-stage capitalism in this hometown editorial? Not today. But the metaphor applies. The harder the times, the harder we have to lean on each other. And the Chamber is certainly invested in working together to address our economic issues head-on. When were islanders ever afraid of a little grit, anyway? Seems we’re made out of it here.

A couple of important notes about the Vashon stone soup recipe in particular, if you’re looking to recreate this miracle in your neighborhood: know ahead of time that there are a number of villagers with carrot sensitivities. Roast those on the side.

Additionally, it’s traditional that a number of strawberries will be contributed to the meal. Disregard at your own peril the vast and conflicting diversity of very strongly held opinions about how strawberries should be prepared. You will need to set up a committee to determine how they’ll be served, and to recruit chefs to prepare a dish large enough for all to share. Rest assured that many people will greatly enjoy the final disposition of the strawberries, but no one will be completely satisfied.

On an unrelated note – Strawberry Festival vendor booth applications are now open! The entire Vashon community is invited to participate, as “For and By Vashon” is still very much the primary focus. We need you to make the vendor program interesting, diverse, and truly community driven. Visit ThisIsVashon.com/vendorbooths to apply today.

We are also now accepting nonprofit signups for Unofficial Mayor, and parade entries opened on May 1.

And – we’re still looking for a number of volunteers to help plan and execute several aspects of Strawberry Festival. Please contact the Chamber if you have an hour or two a week through July to contribute. We need folks from every corner and community on the island to help make our biggest stone soup event of the year fantastic.

Amy Drayer is the executive director of the Vashon Island Chamber of Commerce.