Mikala Staples Hughes and How a Vintage Sign Inspires Love for Farmland

Mikala Staples Hughes proudly displaying a piece of history in its new location on Fir Island (Photo: Bryony Angell)

Skagitonians is pleased to share voices and stories from our wider ag community through our new series, Voices from the Field.

I feel deeply connected to the Skagit agricultural community, even though I’m from Oregon originally. I moved here to work for the Sakuma Brothers Farms and Processing in 2017, and met Corey, my now husband, soon after. Corey’s from the fourth-generation Hughes farming family in Skagit. Along with his dad, three uncles, and three cousins, the Hughes family manages a farm of a few thousand acres of mostly potatoes on Fir Island and the surrounding delta.

Corey’s grandmother ran a farmstand on Fir Island Road for years, and I have the old ledgers from her days running the business. Her payroll records from the 1970s and ‘80s have recognizable names of people from Skagit who worked there as teenagers. Those Skagitonians are now in their 50s and 60s!

The Sign

That sense of legacy shows up in other places, too – that sign that used to hang on the Rex Grocery, that says Protect Skagit Farmland: Pavement is Forever. Corey drove by the Pavement is Forever sign all his life. I have photos of the sign over the years. The sun has really weathered it.

I first learned about Skagitonians to Preserve Farmland (SPF) because of Steve Sakuma’s involvement on the board of directors. I then made the connection to the iconic sign and its greater message.

I noticed how many older vehicles had the original bumper sticker that mirrors the sign—Protect Skagit Farmland, Pavement is Forever. Seeing that sticker on cars driven by people who weren’t farmers made it clear how widely recognized and supported both the message and the organization are.

People who are not even in the ag sector know who Skagitonians to Preserve Farmland is and what the organization does because of that sign. Where else in the country has a county rallied to save farmland with an organization like SPF? The SPF campaign made this awareness possible.

Skagit is extraordinary not just for its beauty but for its soils—they’re truly some of the best in the world. They not only give us higher yields across a wide range of crops, but also unmatched quality. Our maritime climate allows crops like potatoes to size, color, and store exceptionally well.  Our blueberries are large, high-quality, and harvested at a time that sets us apart from other regions. That quality is why our fruit is in demand in selective export markets like Japan. There are only a handful of places in the world that can grow like Skagit can, and that makes it absolutely worth protecting.

Growing up in Oregon’s Willamette Valley you see the difference immediately. In places like Marion County, nearly every field has been cut up and parceled out for homes, businesses, or fragmented agricultural ventures.

Large, contiguous farmland just isn’t there anymore, and the same sense of shared responsibility for preserving it isn’t either. Without incentives that make selling development rights financially viable, values alone often aren’t enough. Skagit is unique because the County’s Farmland Legacy Program provides regulatory and legal protection, and SPF’s mission-driven fundraising and education complement that by creating enough financial incentive to make conservation a real option for landowners.

The SPF sign on the side of the Rex was both an education to visitors and a reminder to residents of the importance of preserving this landscape.

Where did the sign go?

One day, I noticed the Pavement is Forever sign was no longer on the side of the Rex. I had wanted to go in there and ask after the sign and offer to buy it. I know I was not alone. I heard about other people with the same impulse to ask about the sign’s whereabouts. It’s a testament to how important that sign was to so many people!

When I learned the sign was going to be available as an auction item at SPF’s 2025 Celebrate Skagit Harvest Dinner fundraiser, I had to have it! My husband wasn’t able to come—he was still out digging spuds late into the night—but I had already warned him I was taking that sign home “come hell or high water!”

And I won! I took it home that same night.

Mikala Staples Hughes after winning the sign, along with former Executive Director of SPF, and creator of the iconic slogan “Pavement is Forever”, Bob Rose. September 2025 Harvest Dinner event (Photo: Mikala Staples Hughes)

Friends there helped load it into the back of my pickup and haul it home. Before we left, we staged it in front of the event center near the tractors for photos as people exited the auction—the iconic value wasn’t lost on anyone. It was fun watching how many people stopped to take one last picture with the sign before calling it a night.

Now we display the sign on the side of one of our outbuildings. We’ve gotten friendly texts and comments from neighbors and friends about the sign—especially since people recognize it from the Rexville Grocery. I’m excited for spring, when more folks are out on Sunday drives, because I know it’ll bring a smile to people who recognize it from its original location.

The Protect Skagit Farmland: Pavement is Forever sign in its new home on Fir Island (Photo: Bryony Angell)

I stand firmly with the sign’s message: Protect Skagit Farmland. Pavement is Forever. The Skagit region is always under pressure of development. I believe that farmland should stay in active farming, over all other uses.

But beyond the land itself, I look at who this community is. Skagit farmers are the “do-ers.” They’re the people we call when there’s a house fire, a flood, or an emergency. They show up. Whether it’s someone coming over to fix a broken pipe using their irrigation know-how, a volunteer fireman responding during someone’s most vulnerable moment, or a farmer stopping to help clean up when a neighbor spills a load on a county road during harvest—farmers here step in without hesitation. They’re woven into the fabric of the community in a way that’s rare. Protecting Skagit means protecting both the land and the people who care for it.

SPF is happy to share that a new Protect Skagit Farmland: Pavement is Forever sign is going up this month on the side of the Rex Dessert Bar and Grille, in partnership with the Rex’s new owners! Thank you to all who helped realize this sign’s enduring display!

As told to Bryony Angell. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.