The lessons he learned as a champion oarsman served Bud Moore well as he helped La Conner ply uncharted waters posed by its inevitable — though sometimes reluctant — transformation from a tightly knit sleepy village into a widely popular hub for tourism.
At the University of Washington, where in the 1950s Moore rowed for one of the school’s national title-winning crews, it was repeatedly stressed by legendary Husky coach Al Ulbrickson that good things happen when people pull together.
Moore never forgot.
AT THE UW MOORE ROWED
FOR ONE OF THE SCHOOL’S
NATIONAL TITLE-WINNING CREWS
He embraced team building and goal setting during his many years of civic leadership here. He regularly enlisted those values during two separate terms as Mayor; a productive stint as President of the Chamber of Commerce; tireless efforts in support of the successful restoration of Maple Hall as a multi-purpose community center and construction of the downtown public restrooms; coordination of the Town’s participation in the Washington State Centennial Celebration; service as an officer with the Skagit County Pioneer Association and Skagit County Historical Society; and promotion of a bevy of special events, including but not limited to the La Conner Fun Run and Historical Days Parade.
In his 80s and 90s he assumed the role of an elder statesman, dispensing wise counsel when sought.
“Bud was a fantastic neighbor,” recalled Marna Hanneman, the Town’s present Mayor. “When I threw my hat in the ring — not knowing that I’d be running unopposed — I visited him looking for some sage advice. What he said, and what he stressed, was ‘just be honest.’”
“He was quite an amazing man,” Hanneman said, when saluting Moore’s legacy during the May 13 La Conner Town Council meeting.
Moore, who passed away May 12 at age 93 in his childhood home on the hill in La Conner, by all accounts set the standard for a life well lived.
Raised in La Conner, he moved as a teen first to Ballard and then to Greece, where his father, Milo Moore, then a consultant with the United Nations assigned to a post-World War II Marshall Plan program, was tasked with rebuilding Greek fisheries.
After graduating from the newly launched Athens Anglo-American High School, Moore was certified as a messenger for the U.S. Delegation to the United Nations Special Committee on the Balkans.
When the family returned home, Moore enrolled at the University of Washington, where as a trim yet muscular 170-pound fraternity pledge, he was encouraged to try out for the Husky crew. He found Ulbrickson’s training sessions beyond rigorous.
“One of Ulbrickson’s big things in the spring,” Moore recalled in 2024 as he approached his 92nd birthday, and still able to fit into his UW letter sweater, “was to have the team row out around Mercer Island and back to the shellhouse. That was about 20 miles.”
It was on the Seattle campus where Moore met his wife, Lynn, and entered the ROTC program that led to his more than two-decade career as a U.S. Air Force pilot. His assignments included combat missions in Vietnam and flying the Apollo 11 astronauts to celebrations in Berlin commemorating the 1969 lunar landing.
He and Lynn, who in recent years often walked the La Conner boardwalk together, were wed in Tucson, AZ., in 1956, just prior to the start of his military flight training.
Town Council member Rick Dole, who served in the U.S. Navy, lauded Moore’s Air Force career.
“I was Facebook friends with Col. Moore, as I called him,” Dole noted. “On Veterans Day, he would post pictures of him serving in Vietnam.”
In the late 1970s, the Moores settled back in La Conner, opening One Moore Store, a First Street candy and ice cream shop that became a favorite hang-out for tourists and locals alike. In 1979, Bud made his first run for mayor and despite falling short in that race wasn’t deterred from public service.
He seamlessly shifted gears into the Chamber presidency and mounted the campaign for the Town’s first public restroom facility — a saga immortalized in a clever 1982 poem penned by Seattle P-I columnist Jon Hahn that was framed and displayed inside the aptly named One Moore Outhouse.
Moore didn’t just run for office upon returning to La Conner. After turning 50, it wasn’t unusual to see him outpace entrants half his age in area road runs. What he didn’t run away from was civic participation. That, it turns out, was in his DNA.
Milo Moore, after all, was a long-serving Town Mayor, a Washington State Fisheries Director, and in 1957 keynoted the dedication ceremonies for Rainbow Bridge.
Town Council member MaryLee Chamberlain, who researched Bud Moore’s long list of accomplishments in preparation of a municipal resolution honoring him, was impressed with his use of humor and wit while tackling pressing local issues.
“He was so proud of his hometown,” Chamberlain said of Moore, whom she called an exemplary problem-solver.
Upon hearing of Moore’s passing, many social media users posted condolences, universally citing his congenial personality and unwavering devotion to La Conner. Among them was former Swinomish Indian Tribal Community Senate Chair and National Congress of American Indians President Brian Cladoosby.
Cladoosby, a Tribal Senator during both of Moore’s terms at Town Hall, said the two worked well together on topics of common interest.
Town Parks Commission Chair Ollie Iversen offered his own tribute during the advisory panel’s May 14 session.
Iversen praised Moore for having had an unrivaled command of La Conner’s history while not losing sight of the future. He recounted having once been on a walking tour of First Street conducted by Moore.
“That was fascinating,” Iversen beamed. “He knew the history of all the buildings. It was phenomenal.”
Moore’s active civic engagement, much in evidence to nearly the end of his long and impactful life, is yet another link to his UW rowing days. The Husky approach, Moore related, was to finish strong.
“That was Ulbrickson’s way,” Moore said upon viewing “The Boys in the Boat,” the George Clooney film depicting the UW crew’s 1936 Olympic gold medal finish.
“He didn’t want you to expend all your energy at the start,” Moore said of the Husky mentor, sometimes referred to as the Dour Dane. “He wanted you to save your energy to the end. There’s nothing more disheartening than when another boat comes up on you.”
Bud Moore, with his perpetual motion — always looking ahead while mindful of the past — executed the Husky crew game plan to perfection. He even held time at bay for the longest while.
Bill Reynolds: bill@laconnercommunitynews.org. Bill is a general assignment reporter who covers Town government, schools, and spot news.
