In Memory of Roger Robinson – Decades long Defender of Green Cove

On July 4, we lost Roger Robinson. Roger lived adjacent to the Sundberg Gravel Pit since 1999 and spent decades documenting the illegal dumping, grading and disturbances that were taking place there, endangering his neighbors and the surrounding area with unknown toxic substances.

Roger meticulously mapped the areas where he found various kinds of debris – old rusted barrels with unknown contents, diesel fuels, household garbage, asbestos, concrete and other construction debris that was buried in different areas of the property. It was this map, documented with photos Roger took over the years, that finally convinced the Department of Ecology to list the site as a hazardous waste dump in July 2020, and begin the process of cleaning it up.

Through his good friend, Jim Elliot, whose family sold the land to Mr. Sundberg and who lived in the immediate area all his life, he learned about the history of the parcel and how it was logged, mined, and used as a convenient and cheap dumpsite for the Port of Olympia, numerous contractors, the City of Olympia and people in the surrounding area. Through Roger, we learned how the Port of Olympia dumped the toxic wreckage of creosoted pilings from the 1949 earthquake, and how Mr. Elliot had told him he’d seen a whole train car buried on the site. He told us about Mr. Sundberg’s policy of “Take a load of gravel and dump a load of garbage.”

Roger was an experienced contractor who understood construction and the many flaws in the numerous iterations of the Green Cove Park development plans.. His knowledge of the instability of the parcel due to the decades of dumped garbage and toxic waste contradicted the developer’s rosy assessment that the site was suitable for 187 houses.

Roger was also a talented glass blower who worked in Petaluma CA at the Swallowtail Studios, founded in 1973. Now an AirB&B, Swallowtail Historic Art Studio has several unique buildings on the property, one of which Roger designed and built mostly by himself using materials from the community and an old church. Roger named the studio after the swallows that made their home on the property. Swallowtail Studios was a famous glass blowers co-op where the Grateful Dead and other musicians hung out and played in the 70s. Here, he produced many beautiful works of art, specializing in custom lamps, sold all over the United States as well as Canada.

We thank Roger for his dogged persistence in stopping the development of this toxic site and are grateful to have known him as the good friend and neighbor he was.

Favrile Studio Glass Lamp 1975, by Roger Robinson (lstdibs.com photo credit)

Esther Kronenberg worked with Roger on the Green Cove Project since 2018.