Q: What do Apple and Fiddlesticks have in common? A: They both turn 50 in 2026.
Apple celebrated its 50th anniversary with celebrity concerts
throughout the world, and CEO Tim Cook wrote a letter titled “50 Years of Thinking Different.”
”Through every breakthrough, one idea has guided us — that the world is moved forward by people who think different.”
Fiddlesticks may not be hosting celebrity events to celebrate its 50th, but it lives up to the “50 Years of Thinking Different.”

It started with ‘What if?’

More than 50 years ago, Jeanie McWhorter and I started brainstorming about opening a store in Yakima.

Jeanie envisioned a shop filled with home accessories and gifts, while I imagined a unique fabric store offering fun fabrics, classes and project ideas.

We got together several times to talk about it, and then one of us said, “Why don’t we do both — in one store?!” We started thinking different.

The planning was half the fun. When we found a spot to rent on the corner of 16th and Summitview avenues, we rolled up our sleeves and transformed the former laundromat into an inviting store. We covered the floors with sisal, installed track lighting, added wooden shelves built by friends, and repurposed old electric cable spools as fabric tables.

In the midst of the remodeling, we also did the really fun part — shopping!

We went on buying trips to San Francisco and Portland, ordered merchandise, bags and gift wrap, bought a cash register and planned a grand opening party.

On Oct. 4, 1976, after months of dreaming, planning and plenty of hard work, we opened the doors.

Our adventure had officially begun.

Jeanie remembers Linda Salsbury, still a Yakima resident, as Fiddlesticks’ very first customer. One of the store’s earliest hits was the Moses baby basket lined in Fiddlesticks fabric. We could hardly keep them in stock.

Wicker decor, antique bobbin-spool candlestick holders and special-order area rugs in custom colors also became customer favorites. Longtime shoppers may remember table runners sold by the yard, Folklore patterns and colorful Polish woven wall hangings — all signature touches of Fiddlesticks’ distinctive style.

Classes were a hit

Fiddlesticks’ mailing list quickly became a must-join, especially when the first newsletter announced a lineup of classes. Customers could learn to make quilts, bows, broomskirts and teddy bears. Over the years, the creative offerings kept growing — another example of Fiddlesticks thinking different.

“Color Me Beautiful” classes were also popular, helping women discover which colors flattered them most. Many women signed up with friends because, at Fiddlesticks, learning was always more fun together.

Class teachers were customers and employees, paid to share their creativity and talents. And some classes were anything but ordinary: “Quilt in a Day,”

“Santa and the Big Chicken” and even a strip-quilted toilet seat cover all made the list.

Classes continued for about 15 years. Women loved showing off what they had created to the Fiddlesticks girls, who appropriately oohed and aahed at their accomplishments.

The Sticks Chicks

Behind every great Fiddlesticks display, class, window and irresistible find were women with talent, imagination — and a willingness to think different. They became known as the Sticks Chicks, and over the years, they helped make Fiddlesticks much more than a store.

After a short time, Jeanie sold her share of Fiddlesticks to me, but thankfully she didn’t go far.

She continued helping out for several years, opened a store in the Tri-Cities and then took her talents and creativity to Memorial Hospital, where she managed the gift shop for 13 years. Jeanie and I remain great friends who treasure the fun of starting Fiddlesticks together.

Michele Sink was fresh out of college when she came back to Yakima in 1979 and began working for me. She was an excellent seamstress and had studied at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City.

Clearly, she had both talent and style.

In 1993, when my boys started middle school, I felt I needed to be home more and sold the business to Michele. Thirty-three years later, she’s still at it — and still loving it. She treasures the people who come into the store as well as her employees and carries on the Fiddlesticks tradition of thinking different.

So many other Sticks Chicks have left their mark.

Janni Stelzer joined in 1976, first making samples for the fabric department and later teaching classes and managing the store.

Carol Von Stubbe has been part of Fiddlesticks for 45 years, including managing our neighboring Shoesticks store. Janet Buege joined in 1985, bringing her creativity to advertising and store displays, and Kristi Eshleman has worked her magic in the clothing department since 1993.

Debbie Mumm is our most famous former Sticks Chick. She learned to quilt in one of Janni’s Double Irish Chain classes and started designing quilt patterns for Fiddlesticks to sell. After five years, she moved to Spokane and launched her own business, “Mumm’s the Word,” eventually building a multimillion-dollar business.

And it all started with a quilting class at Fiddlesticks.

The newest Sticks Chick is Essie Schwecke, Michele’s 11-year-old granddaughter, who checks battery-operated products to make sure they’re working.

Essie already has her eye on the future. “I’ve got to start learning,” she said, “because someday I’m going to own this business.”

For now, Michele just needs to keep working until Essie’s ready!

Trends and transitions

When Fiddlesticks opened its doors, there were no stores like Michaels or Hobby Lobby down the street. Fabric was just the beginning. Soon the store was stocked with wreaths, silk flowers, ribbons and all sorts of creative supplies.

And customers didn’t just shop; they learned.

Fiddlesticks hosted demonstrations on wreathmaking, stenciling, fabric frames and cross-stitch. So many trends over the years!

Clothing was added to the merchandise mix around 1990. Just a little bit at first, but it has grown to be about 40% of the business.

But not every transition was easy.

As lifestyles changed and more women entered the workforce, fabric sales gradually declined. Around 2006, Michele and her team made the difficult decision to close the fabric section and make room for betterselling merchandise.

It was a bittersweet goodbye. Customers were sad. The Sticks Chicks were sad. Fabric had been at the heart of the business from the beginning. But the change opened up space for a baby and children’s department as well as gourmet foods.

Through the years, Fiddlesticks has changed, adapted and reinvented itself. But one thing has remained constant: the willingness to try something different.

Fun traditions

Fiddlesticks has never been just a store. Over the years, it has become a place for surprises, food, music and traditions — many of them dating back to the early years.

Spring Fling brings special sale items, personalized cookies, chocolate eggs and big plastic eggs hidden throughout the store with prizes inside. Every summer, the Sidewalk Sale moves marked-down treasures into the parking lot, along with mystery grab bags and free popcorn.

An evening before Christmas is set aside for Men’s Night, when wives are encouraged to leave a gift list for their husbands to follow. And because nothing says “Christmas shopping” quite like hamburgers in December, burgers have sometimes been barbecued in the parking lot.

Then there’s the Fiddlesticks Employee Christmas Party, a dress-up affair held a few days before Christmas. About 15 employees participate in a gift exchange, but first comes the main event: gag gifts from the owner.

For 16 years, I handed them out; for the past 33 years, Michele has carried on the tradition. The gifts might poke fun at something comical a woman did during the year — or simply be given because everyone deserves a good laugh.

And there is plenty of laughter!

Do you remember?

How many of you made a puff wreath with fabric and batting? Cross-stitched wall hangings and ornaments? Collected Snow Village and Dickens’ Village pieces? And then there were Beanie Babies — the must-have craze of their day.

One Christmas, a revolving snowman tree stole the show. Janet topped a 7-foot tree with a snowman’s head and hat, added puffy white arms and set it spinning on an electric turntable base. Decorated with 700 fiber-optic lights and snowman ornaments, it was an instant hit — and the ornaments quickly sold out.

After Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980, customers may remember the envelopes we printed: “We have more ash than we need in Yakima, so we’re sharing some with you!”

Each held a tiny Ziploc bag of ash. We sold them for about a week — until the post office banned them. Thinking different sometimes has a downside.

And today?

After 50 years, Fiddlesticks still knows how to keep up with the times.
Barrel jeans are flying out the door, camo is making a fashion statement, and denim jackets with cozy sweater-knit accents are proving that cozy and cool can coexist.

In the kitchen and food department, Rill Soup mixes, made right next door in Thorp, have been warming hearts (and tummies) for years.

Microfiber towels made from recycled bottles are doing their part to save the planet — one countertop at a time.

Then there are the things that simply make people smile. GurglePots, those colorful fish-shaped pitchers, bring a little whimsy to the table — and, true to their name, a delightful little giggle when they pour. And for the ultimate wilt-proof bouquet, Pop-up Bouquets arrive flat in the mail and spring to life in seconds.

No watering or green thumb required. A gift that keeps on blooming.

After all these years, one thing hasn’t changed at Fiddlesticks — there’s always something new to discover and usually something you didn’t know you needed until you saw it!

Uh-ohs

Fiddlesticks has weathered its share of “uh-ohs,” surviving both the crash of 2008 and COVID.

During the pandemic, the staff even hit the road, making home deliveries to keep a little business moving.

Then there were the two customers who, over the years, managed to get locked inside the store after closing. One had to call down the employee list posted by the phone until she found someone who could come to the rescue. That pesky deadbolt meant there was no easy escape!

But the biggest “uh-oh” came in 2024, when a car crashed through the store — right beside the main entrance. Thankfully, no one, including the driver, was injured.

Fiddlesticks was closed for five months for repairs.

The silver lining? The extended closure gave the store a chance for some wonderful updates.

Magnum P.I.

Michele’s first day as owner of Fiddlesticks was April 1, 1993 — so naturally she celebrated with an April Fool’s joke. She ordered pizza for the employees, played “Magnum P.I.” reruns and announced that the pizzas were compliments of Tom Selleck.

Thirty-three years later, the tradition is still going strong. Every April 1, the Sticks Chicks get their pizza and their dose of Magnum.

By now, though, I have a feeling they’re on to her!

Hoping to add a little star power to Fiddlesticks’ 50th anniversary, I wrote to Tom Selleck’s fan club and shared the story. I also mentioned that the Sticks Chicks think Tom is pretty “spiffy” and asked if he might sign a photo with a “Congratulations on 50 years” note to Michele.

Wouldn’t that be something? Apple may have had some spectacular 50th anniversary shows, but I doubt they received anything from Tom.

Happy 50th, Fiddlesticks!

You’ve been a wonderful addition to Yakima, bringing creativity, fun and always something just a little bit different.

Here’s to many more years of making our community smile!

• Kathy Myers finds joy in family, friends, faith and a fun costume closet.

Whether planning gatherings, helping with a decorating project or enjoying a thought-provoking conversation, she considers Yakima a great place to live.

Kathy on occasion submits stories for Explore.