My name is Bill Warfield, my wife is Michelle, and our boys are William (12) and Frederick (11). We live about 20 miles SE of Seattle Washington in Ravensdale WA, an old coal mining and timber community of less than 900 people.
I was born in Wichita Kansas, and moved to Seattle 15 years ago as a promotion for my job working for the Boeing Company. Michelle is originally from Calgary, and we met six years ago while completing a Masters in Learning Technology program at Royal Roads University in Victoria. We married March 2 in 2008, which is also when Michelle and the boys moved to Seattle.
My wife’s mother Anne Stubach lives in Cranbrook, which we visit a few times each year. While searching online for a route to Cranbrook (that is different than the one we normally take) I discovered the village of Warfield. When I showed it to Michelle and the boys we immediately knew we would have to plan a trip for a visit to Warfield!
I further searched the internet for information on the village that shares my family name, and found the Village of Warfield website, which included a phone number for contacts. Soon I was speaking with Teresa and Alana who both helped me plan our trip, suggesting that we attend the annual Warfield Day event. It just so happened that our trip was timed perfectly with the 60th anniversary jubilee, which made it even more special for us.
We arrived late Thursday so we could attend the Warfield Day Tea Party, which we found to be delightful! Over the few days we were in Warfield we met so many sincerely nice people, I think we invited half of Warfield to come visit us in Seattle!
We especially enjoyed meeting former Mayor Jim Nelson and the current mayor and council members.
The one question we were asked many times was “Are you related to Carlos Warfield who founded the Village of Warfield?”
Unfortunately we don’t know. I do know that my family heritage traces back to England so now we will have to research more to find out if there is a connection. Whether related to Carlos or not, we will definitely be back to visit our new friends and this wonderful place where we were made to feel like everyone is our family!
Bill WarfieldRavensdale, Wash.