Community

Being Neighborly | Wollochet Harbor Club puts the ‘neighbor’ back in neighborhood

Community Sponsor

Community stories are made possible in part by Peninsula Light Co, a proud sponsor of Gig Harbor Now.

On the west side of Wollochet Bay, a neighborhood has been practicing the art of kindness and neighborliness since the 1950s. Over the years, the residents of Wollochet Harbor Club have hosted potlucks, game nights and more.

Eighty-nine homes make up the homeowners association, and resident Buffy Via said WHC is full of kind, helpful people. One of her neighbors created a community corner, with benches and chairs in their front yard where friends can gather anytime. One bench was dedicated to a beloved neighbor who died this year, she said.

Some residents of Wollochet Harbor Club gather for Bingo at the Beach, organized by the Wollochet Harbor Club Social Committee. Photo courtesy of Cynthia Feek

The 1950s were a time when neighbors knew one another, felt welcome, felt comfortable asking to borrow something, and hosted dinner parties. Wollochet Bay seems to have held onto those ways of connecting and fostering relationships. Via said the neighbors of WHC are still doing all of those things, and more.

“We have a Facebook group where people in our neighborhood post their needs, and things they have to give, and people respond,” Via said. “Someone baked extra cookies, someone has extra produce, bought too much milk on accident, they post it to share.”

Resident Cynthia Feek created a formal social committee in 2021 to come up with scheduled ways to have fun. By having the committee, the residents have more opportunities to socialize, and keep or deepen the connections. The group schedules social events, as well as organized ways to express appreciation, sympathy and celebration.

“We spread neighborly love to new neighbors, as well as families dealing with illness, death of a loved one, or a new birth or other significant life experience,” Feek said.

The social activities — such as beach games, plant swaps and the progressive cocktail party — help the residents of WHC to maintain a neighborhood that is reminiscent of bygone days. 

Via said that she had been looking for cedar starts a year ago and a neighbor remembered that, and delivered. She said a florist who needed a particular plant for a wedding was able to get what she needed, a teenager looking for flowers to make homecoming perfect for his girlfriend reached out. Via said residents of WHC know that they will receive positive, caring responses.

“It’s a pretty cool place, and generations of families have lived here, and stay, and come back,” Via said.