I can’t remember any talk of skin cancer from my growing up years. We certainly didn’t have much information on the dangers of exposure to the sun. We spent our summers outdoors. My usual summer attire was a pair of cut-off jeans and a t-shirt. The shirt was often removed when we were playing in the river. Being fair skinned, I got sunburned often. It was considered to be a normal part of living. I would occasionally get a brief lecture about sitting in the shade when I could and we kept a supply of Bactine in our home. The Lidocaine in the liquid spray soothed the sunburn and I learned to live with a little bit of pain without complaining.

That was a long time ago. Medical research has progressed. I have learned more from reading articles and visits to the doctor. A couple of bouts with squamous cell carcinoma have placed me in the category of people who visit a dermatologist every six months and I often come away from those visits with several places where the doctor has sprayed liquid nitrogen on a pre-cancerous lesion. The resulting blisters peel off in a few days and it isn’t much of a problem. On occasion a larger area requires a biopsy and when cancerous cells are discovered an in-office surgical procedure leaves a bit larger place that needs a couple of weeks to heal. As long as things are promptly treated, there is little long-term health risk.

As a result, I’ve heard the lecture about floppy hats, sunscreen, and covering up when going out into the sun. I own several good sun shirts, some with hoods, that I wear when paddling, walking, and enjoying the outdoors. One day, when we rode the ferry over to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, I forgot my hat in the rush to catch a ferry at the last minute. When we disembarked the ferry onto the island, our first stop was at a shop where I purchased a floppy hat. That hat, with the Friday Harbor logo on the front, is kept in our car to be easily available when we are away from home. I have another that lives in our pickup and yet another that lives in our front hall closet.

From time to time, someone will comment that I wear several hats around the church. Yesterday, I helped with the time with children in the morning’s service, sang at a funeral in the afternoon, and played taps at the end of the funeral. That prompted the comment about wearing many hats from several folks. The thing about the comment is that it makes me smile. I really do have a lot of hats. Despite shedding some of my hat collection when we moved, I have a hat box with white, gray, and black cowboy hats, along with a straw one for summer. I have a leather akubra that I brought home from Australia. I have a ball cap with canvas attached to the back that keeps the sun off of my neck. I like hats and I’ve collected quite a few.

The Friday Harbor floppy hat is one that gets worn a lot. Looking at that hat and wearing it also serves as a reminder to me about an obscure bit of history. Prior to the arrival of European settlers the islands in the Salish Sea were occupied and regularly visited by several different tribes of Coast Salish people. They had centuries of canoe culture and had learned to craft canoes and paddles that enabled them to travel between islands and between the island and mainland with ease. When this region was “discovered” and later settled by Europeans, some of the tribal people and their way of living was disrupted. Nonetheless conflict was rare and trade between the indigenous people and settlers was common. The 1846 Oregon Treaty was between the United States and Britain to establish the border between Canada, which was controlled by the British, and the US. The treaty established the 49th parallel as the border between the two countries in the west, with the border allowed to dip below the 49th parallel in the case of Vancouver Island, allowing the British to retain control of Victoria, capitol of British Columbia. The treaty, however, was less than clear on the location of the border around the island, stating that the border would be the “middle of the channel which separates the continent from Vancouver’s Island.” That left several islands, including San Juan Island, where Friday Harbor is located in uncertain waters. The British claimed that the treaty referred to the Rosario Strait. The Americans claimed that it was the Haro Strait. The conflicting claims meant both countries believed San Juan Island to be their territory. Both countries established military bases on the Island and there was a lot of saber rattling and a disputed butchering of a pig that wandered from the British area into the American area that nearly provoked an armed conflict. Eventually the two countries agreed to submit to binding arbitration. Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany was named as the arbitrator and in 1872 rendered his judgment that the Haro Strait would be the border. The British marines packed up and handed the island and several neighboring islands to the United States.

All of that was 150 years ago. On the island, there is an historic park that includes both the remains of the British marine corps and the United States camp. A new visitor’s center also provides information on the history and traditions of the Coast Salish people who occupied the islands since time immemorial. The formal British garden is carefully maintained and the flag of Britain is flown on the pole at the British Camp as a nod to the history of the place. On a clear day it is easy to see Vancouver Island across the Haro Strait from the west side of the island.

A clear day is the time when I need to wear a floppy hat to protect the skin cells that I have left, and when I don my Friday Harbor hat, I am reminded that we are newcomers - mere tourists - in this place with a lot of history and a host of stories of people who came before us.