7 Decades of Pie on Guemes Island
Kathy Whitman · September 7, 2026 · History, Pie, Guemes, GIHS, GICCA
The legend of the pie sale dates back to somewhere in the 1950s when the Women’s Club on Guemes first offered pies to support the community center. Dawn Ashbach recalls that she moved to the island in 1970 and was enlisted into the “Pie Brigade”! The “Evening Star” newsletter reported about the event in 1995 through 1998 with Jane Read as the pie sale chairperson as a Labor Day event. It came up again in 2007 as a November event. Then in 2018 it was a Memorial Day event… but bakers then “aged out” and the pie sale took a hiatus. New faces and renewed energy brought the event back to life in 2022. The sale date stabilized on Saturday of Labor Day weekend when ripe fruit is abundant on the island. Now over 60 people are involved in the pie sale. From fruit growers, fruit pickers and preparers, to the bakers, pie plate painters and people that set up, serve and clean up at the pie sale. Throughout the year Island “pie professors” share their techniques at Pie Clinics which are held in islanders’ homes to learn, share and eat pie. Proceeds from the pie sale support the Guemes Island Community Center Association (GICCA) for its many programs, to support and build community and to help maintain the Community Hall built in 1914, the Community Stage dedicated in 2023, and the Murray Read Pavilion. Every pie sold and every donation makes a difference in the community. GICCA membership includes ALL residents and property owners on Guemes. Learn more about GICCA at website https://www.myguemes.org/.
Special thanks to those who first offered pie for sale… and those who continue this tradition. Thanks to the fruit pickers, pie plate artists, hands-on bakers and enthusiastic buyers! Thanks to Cairnspring Mills who donated 150 pounds of their top-of-the-line flour! Cairnspring Mills is a regional craft flour mill in Burlington founded in 2016, with modern stone mills that keep the natural nutrients and flavor of the wheat intact. The wheat comes directly from regional farmers who use regenerative agriculture practices to improve soil health and protect the environment. Their flours are favored by top professional bakeries, pizzerias, and James Beard Award-winning chefs across the country. Learn more including excellent pie recipes at www.cairnspring.com.
Interested in learning more? Check out these GIHS videos on YouTube at https://tinyurl.com/GuemesPieSale for “Mary Holmes Pie Sale Interview”; or the “Guemes Pie Sale Story” https://tinyurl.com/PieSale2 and. If you can help honor the early pie sale years, please contact GIHS through their website https://guemesislandhistoricalsociety.org/ .
