It was a bittersweet celebration Friday of a woman who made a long drive over a mountain pass a treat for everyone.
Her name was Tootsie Clark, and for nearly 20 years she baked homemade cinnamon rolls for drivers as they waited for the North Cascades Highway to reopen after a long winter’s closure.
Clark passed away last year, but through family and friends her tradition lives on.
Clark was affectionately known as "The Cinnamon Roll Lady." For 18 years she baked her warm, sticky goodies and passed them out to Department of Transportation workers and hundreds of travelers, starting a tradition unlike any other.
"It's kinda special for Washington state," said friend Robert Hendrickson. "How many people are gonna come out and wait for a highway to open? She brought us all together."
With Clark now gone, her family and friends are continuing her legacy by using her own special recipe to bake up the rolls and keep the sweetness and friendship rolling.
On Friday, as cars lined up awaiting the unlocking of the gate that closed off the highway for the winter, volunteers handed out those signature cinnamon rolls to hundreds of happy people in at least 114 cars.
"It does my grandma proud," said Clark's granddaughter, Jurene Brooks. "This was her favorite thing. This was near and dear to her."
There were concerns that when Clark passed the tradition might go with her, but nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, it’s growing. A pair of musicians serenaded drivers. For the first time ever, a few old friends, like Jess Brown, camped overnight and tailgated in the morning with biscuits and gravy.
"To let something like this die would be horrible," said Brown. "We'll build on it. Every year we'll get more friends."
More friends and more family – just as Clark would’ve wanted it.
"She was my grandma," said Jurene, "but she was everyone’s grandma."
