Tacoma visitors laud Mattawa's open spaces

MATTAWA - Julian Hernandez, his wife Maria and his family, all of Tacoma, enjoyed Mattawa Comm"Unity" Days right along with all of the locals last weekend.

Actually it's not so much the festival they liked as it was the town.

Julian and Maria, natives of the states of Michoacán and Guanajuato in Mexico, took a roundabout way to find Mattawa. They came to Tacoma, where Julian landed a job, eight years ago.

That job didn't last very long. It went away with the economic downturn of the late 2000s.

"We all lost our jobs," Julian said.

The answer to the Hernandez's challenge was business, being self-employed. Taking stock of their assets, they determined they could start a restaurant cleaning business.

"Maria had experience in the cleaning business, and both of us know how to work hard," Julian said.

The Hernandezes have been working almost non-stop since then. They finally took a break earlier this year when they learned they had relatives in eastern Washington.

"My mother told me she has a sister in Mattawa," Julian said.

Mom did better than that. She traveled to Tacoma to guide the Hernandezes over here so Julian could meet his aunt and cousins and his children could meet their cousins.

The Hernandezes came over in late June and stayed through the Fourth of July. They were so excited that they planned to come right back for Mattawa Days.

Strange it must be to those who profess to want to get out that the Hernandezes are enamored with their small city.

"We love it," Julian said. "Everybody's so friendly. Everybody knows everybody."

"It reminds me of little towns in Mexico when you drive in," Maria said. "Everybody says hi, everybody waves."

In addition to liking Mattawa, the Hernandezes are tired of city life. They live in an apartment, and there is no yard for the children to play.

"They're making the houses smaller and smaller, and lots are tiny," Julian said. "The houses are nearly up against each other."

"There is space here," Maria said. "There are yards. You can let the kids go out and not worry about the cars."

The Hernandezes didn't say they plan to move their business here, but they certainly sound as if they have that in mind.

That's a compliment to all of the residents of Mattawa.