By Luisa Loi

La Conner Community News

A vintage-looking blue trolley bus is slated to make its public debut at this Independence Day extravaganza in La Conner.

Despite being built in 2012, “Ol’ Blue” looks like it materialized from an old postcard. With the community’s help, it could very well become a new town icon (and a remedy to the occasional traffic congestion), rolling around to scoop up residents and visitors during events like the July 4 parade.

To make this possible, the La Conner Thrives Association launched a campaign to raise $130,000, with the goal of raising $75,000 by July 31, according to Director Nicky McGarity. As of Monday, the community has donated $37,000, with donations coming from as far as Atlanta, said Director of Community Outreach and Events Gina Torpey, who was among a group of Thrives members who spent several hours scrubbing the trolley on Monday.

The trolley was delivered about two weeks ago to allow the nonprofit to debut it in hopes it will inspire people to contribute to make a donation, McGarity said.

If the trolley is insured by Saturday, it might join the parade. If not, it will still be available for the public to check out, she said.

La Conner Thrives had been considering the idea for some time, initially envisioning a little train on wheels (commonly used for city tours), though that would have been challenging to drive in the hilly parts of town, McGarity said.

The Ol’ Blue, which was built on a Ford motorhome chassis and has a V10 engine, turned out to be a much better option, according to Vice Chairman Warren Smith.

The trolley can accommodate 34 passengers and features wooden benches, a wheelchair ramp, reader boards, air conditioning and heating.

Volunteers will freshen up the paint and add any logos.

“It needs a lot of love, but we’ll get there,” McGarity said.

In the coming weeks, La Conner Thrives will get a feel of what the community would like to be done with the trolley, and will talk with local businesses to determine where to place the bus stops to avoid disrupting their operations.

To make a donation, visit laconnerthrives.org.

Luisa Loi is a general assignment reporter for La Conner Community News.