Mon, 13:25: I learned something new today! We've been carrying Stretch Island Fruit Leather since long before I started at PCC twenty years ago—in fact the oldest Stretch Island sku we have in file says it was added in 1993. I had no idea until today that Stretch Island is not only a real place, but a small island (about 301 acres, or just under half a square mile) right here in Washington State, deep in the Case Inlet. This is an inlet that stretches from Puget Sound to the west into the Olympic Peninsula, and is basically on the other side of two other peninsulas southwest of Vashon Island.
We have been flagging "local" as an attribute on our products' shelf tags for many years, but for some reason never had this product flagged. I got notification today from a POS person at one of the stores who happened to be at wedding on Saturday where he sat next to a man from Stretch Island: "You know, the fruit leather place!" He had no idea it was a real place either. There's a state park on it! I'll have to swing my trusty Discover Pass by there when I can get a chance.
The brand's social media presence is ... spotty. No updates to their Facebook page since 2018, where they have a link to a website URL that is no longer live. Neither their Twitter feed or Instagram account have been updated since 2018 either, but they did reply to a comment on Instagram . . . last May! So, someone is still alive and looking at social media there. Anyway, their Instagram page notes that they are manufactured not on Stretch Island itself, but all of five miles away: "crafted in small batches in our very own facility in Allyn, Washington."
I know Allyn, Washington! My cousin Jennifer drove me through there the last time I visited her, during my Birth Week in May. We stopped at a local joint called Big Bubba's Burgers and they sell the biggest bags I have ever seen of onion rings.
...
...Oh. Well, this just in: I think I figured out why their socials haven't been updated in so long. I guess they were acquired by a company called Ferrero in 2019, and they moved the candy manufacturing to Chicago in 2020 (https://bit.ly/3DjLehK). That accounted for 54 jobs lost in Mason County right at the start of the pandemic. That sucks: I'll have to do another 180 on flagging the products as "local." I've still learned of where their history remains, I guess.
This has been quite a journey today. 🤔 pic.twitter.com…

Mon, 17:21: I need to stop looking at perfect 26-year-old bodies with envy and start thinking about how saggy and/or potbellied they’ll probably also look at 46. HAHAHAHA YOUR TIME IS COMING https://t.co/k8wI3er2Il
Mon, 19:11: Would Jerrod Carmichael have worn this outfit to the #Emmys if he hadn’t come out in his standup special earlier this year? Who cares! There’s room for me in that coat too, right? https://t.co/klGgy3r13G