The Major Players
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Joanna Ford
Investigative Journalist (@joannajford) Laura Tanaka Retired Investigative Journalist Vi Mitchell Publisher, Makah Island Quartermaster Frank Tanaka Owner, Tanaka Antiques Brittany Roebuck Student, Makah High School Randy Fuller Janitor, Kibo Outerwear Elijah Hill Captain, King County Sheriff’s Office Brian Stewart Sociopath and CEO, Kibo Outerwear Jered Brasier Wannabe |
Tyler Sealth
Artist Luke Sorensen Artist Ashley Sorensen Student, Makah High School Beth Berge Managing Editor, Seattle P.I. Valerie Larson Veterinarian Tolliver Larson Student, Makah High School Brenda Locke Captain, King County Sheriff’s Office Connie Wilcox Legendary Bargain Hunter Wendy Roebuck Occupational Therapist |
Joanna Jackson Ford
Curious and persistent, Joanna “Jo” Ford always gets her story.
She grew up well in Annapolis, Maryland, daughter of parents who loved her hard and raised her right and expected she only ever do her best. Her father, Captain Jackson “Big Jack” Ford, was a career military man. He attended the Naval Academy in Annapolis and eventually came back to serve as a Commandant for twenty years. Boats were Big Jack’s passion, and morning runs with his young daughter came to define the word joy for him.
Jo’s mother, Dorothy, “Dot” Ford, was as practical as Big Jack and even warmer hearted. She was devoted to her family and her community. She chaired the Junior League in Annapolis for more than ten years while Jo was growing up and ran her house with a level of precision that bested even her husband’s strict needs. Dot fought ovarian cancer for three years before moving on to the next world. Her loss destroyed her husband and marked the passage to adulthood for her eighteen-year-old daughter.
Through his despair, Big Jack made sure Jo clung to her dreams and coaxed her through that tough first year in Georgetown with carrots and sticks. Jo said goodbye to her mother and put that homeless love into a new passion that had been seeded early in her childhood. She joined the staff of the campus paper, the Hoya, where found herself, her first girlfriend Beth Berge, and a lifelong commitment to the fourth estate.
Four years later she took scrap assignments for lead reporters on the beat at the Baltimore Sun, mostly covering crime and the race-driven decay eating the city alive. It calcified Jo’s growing commitment to social justice and excising corruption. She set her sights higher and took the first opportunity she made with the Washington Post.
Ten years later, with her new girlfriend Laura Tanaka’s help, Jo exposed the Charlie Abish criminal enterprise. Abish ran one of the biggest racketeering organizations every busted up in U.S. history. She walked away with a Pulitzer Prize and a hefty amount of emotional baggage but the surety that investigative reporting was going to be the toughest job she’d ever love. The move to Makah Island was one she made without hesitation, though relocation proved a long road to peace for Jo.
She loves most in this world, in order; Laura, their dog Spot, Helen Thomas, black coffee, and Maryland Blue Crab. She’s come to accept Dungeness, but still eats it with Old Bay.
Curious and persistent, Joanna “Jo” Ford always gets her story.
She grew up well in Annapolis, Maryland, daughter of parents who loved her hard and raised her right and expected she only ever do her best. Her father, Captain Jackson “Big Jack” Ford, was a career military man. He attended the Naval Academy in Annapolis and eventually came back to serve as a Commandant for twenty years. Boats were Big Jack’s passion, and morning runs with his young daughter came to define the word joy for him.
Jo’s mother, Dorothy, “Dot” Ford, was as practical as Big Jack and even warmer hearted. She was devoted to her family and her community. She chaired the Junior League in Annapolis for more than ten years while Jo was growing up and ran her house with a level of precision that bested even her husband’s strict needs. Dot fought ovarian cancer for three years before moving on to the next world. Her loss destroyed her husband and marked the passage to adulthood for her eighteen-year-old daughter.
Through his despair, Big Jack made sure Jo clung to her dreams and coaxed her through that tough first year in Georgetown with carrots and sticks. Jo said goodbye to her mother and put that homeless love into a new passion that had been seeded early in her childhood. She joined the staff of the campus paper, the Hoya, where found herself, her first girlfriend Beth Berge, and a lifelong commitment to the fourth estate.
Four years later she took scrap assignments for lead reporters on the beat at the Baltimore Sun, mostly covering crime and the race-driven decay eating the city alive. It calcified Jo’s growing commitment to social justice and excising corruption. She set her sights higher and took the first opportunity she made with the Washington Post.
Ten years later, with her new girlfriend Laura Tanaka’s help, Jo exposed the Charlie Abish criminal enterprise. Abish ran one of the biggest racketeering organizations every busted up in U.S. history. She walked away with a Pulitzer Prize and a hefty amount of emotional baggage but the surety that investigative reporting was going to be the toughest job she’d ever love. The move to Makah Island was one she made without hesitation, though relocation proved a long road to peace for Jo.
She loves most in this world, in order; Laura, their dog Spot, Helen Thomas, black coffee, and Maryland Blue Crab. She’s come to accept Dungeness, but still eats it with Old Bay.
Laura Tanaka
Born and raised on Makah Island, Laura Tanaka was a favorite daughter favored to fly high when she graduated MHS with honors. She blazed a trail across the globe until one fateful spring day when her glory and her world came crashing down in a shower of anger and C-4. An IED ended Laura’s career, and ultimately took her back to Makah Island.
Her father is widower Frank Tanaka, who owns and operates Tanaka’s antiques. He helps care for his daughter, splitting the caretaking with Laura's wife, Jo Ford. It's an uneasy balancing act between him and his daughter in law. He feels the loss of his wife, artist Hanna Tanaka, keenly. His hollow heart reminds Frank that our time with those we love is precious.
Laura took a one-way boat off Makah Island after high school and earned honors in Communication Studies and Middle East Studies at UCLA. She started her journalism career in public radio on the West Coast, but soon realized the opportunities she needed would best be sought in Washington, D.C. She was proved right and offered a job with the AP not long after moving across the country. Through a string of shit assignments and hard work she earned her way to the frontlines reporting for almost a decade on the US invasion of Afghanistan and operations in Pakistan.
She loves most in the world her father, Jo Ford and their dog, and Ivar’s Alaskan cod fish and chips.
Born and raised on Makah Island, Laura Tanaka was a favorite daughter favored to fly high when she graduated MHS with honors. She blazed a trail across the globe until one fateful spring day when her glory and her world came crashing down in a shower of anger and C-4. An IED ended Laura’s career, and ultimately took her back to Makah Island.
Her father is widower Frank Tanaka, who owns and operates Tanaka’s antiques. He helps care for his daughter, splitting the caretaking with Laura's wife, Jo Ford. It's an uneasy balancing act between him and his daughter in law. He feels the loss of his wife, artist Hanna Tanaka, keenly. His hollow heart reminds Frank that our time with those we love is precious.
Laura took a one-way boat off Makah Island after high school and earned honors in Communication Studies and Middle East Studies at UCLA. She started her journalism career in public radio on the West Coast, but soon realized the opportunities she needed would best be sought in Washington, D.C. She was proved right and offered a job with the AP not long after moving across the country. Through a string of shit assignments and hard work she earned her way to the frontlines reporting for almost a decade on the US invasion of Afghanistan and operations in Pakistan.
She loves most in the world her father, Jo Ford and their dog, and Ivar’s Alaskan cod fish and chips.
Violet “Vi” Constance Mitchell
A third generation Islander, Vi Mitchell’s heart beats along with the rhythms of life on Makah. She plans to take her last boat off feet first.
She’s been the Editor in Chief at the Quartermaster since 1984, when her parents retired, tired of making ends meet and ready to spend their days fishing for cutthroat trout instead of small-town stories. Vi’s approaching her leisure days but won’t let the Quartermaster go for anyone who won’t promise to keep ownership local. It’s a tough bar but Vi suspects Jo Ford might be the one to hit it.
Vi never married but she’s certainly been in love. One broken heart was enough for her though. She’s a confirmed bachelor, preferring the company of Connie Wilcox to any man’s, any day. She’s plenty generous of spirit, body, and heart, and most fears the day when her deepest secrets will come calling.
She loves most in the world her cat Paula, summer blackberries, and a fresh bottle of Johnnie Walker.
A third generation Islander, Vi Mitchell’s heart beats along with the rhythms of life on Makah. She plans to take her last boat off feet first.
She’s been the Editor in Chief at the Quartermaster since 1984, when her parents retired, tired of making ends meet and ready to spend their days fishing for cutthroat trout instead of small-town stories. Vi’s approaching her leisure days but won’t let the Quartermaster go for anyone who won’t promise to keep ownership local. It’s a tough bar but Vi suspects Jo Ford might be the one to hit it.
Vi never married but she’s certainly been in love. One broken heart was enough for her though. She’s a confirmed bachelor, preferring the company of Connie Wilcox to any man’s, any day. She’s plenty generous of spirit, body, and heart, and most fears the day when her deepest secrets will come calling.
She loves most in the world her cat Paula, summer blackberries, and a fresh bottle of Johnnie Walker.