pat loughery

The below article on Burt Mann of North Bend captures a real local character.  He’s a GREAT guy, very lively, wonderful heart, very feisty.  Burt walks miles each day; he told us that when his wife passed away years ago, he decided to walk and think, and he hasn’t really stopped.  The guy’s in great shape and is a wonderful human.  He also LOVES his plants, as the story below (check the full link) will  show you.  He’s pretty much single-handedly landscaped the local senior center, a plant at a time.

Turning a gravelly, lifeless storage yard into a green space for seniors is the passion of North Bend resident Burt Mann.

At a point in life where most people are retired, the 87-year-old Mann is still working, as the janitor at the Mount Si Senior Center. His favorite place is the atrium between the center’s old and new wings. Now, with a little help from a North Bend landscaper, Mann is working to turn the space into a garden and koi pond to the delight of fellow seniors.

“Burt is great,” said Ruth Tolmassoff, Mount Si Senior Center Director. “He works here. Everyone knows him.

via Growing Burt’s garden – Snoqualmie Valley Record.