In July and December of the past two years, an old firetruck has camped at the corner of Eaton Boulevard and 503. In July an enormous American flag waves from the top of its fully extended ladder, and a Christmas tree hangs down in December. The firetruck only appeared in the last couple of years, but it’s become iconic in Battle Ground. I didn’t expect to meet the family behind the display when I arrived at Bark Ranch for my interview with the Pearsons.  

             In the main office two blonde daughters greet me, manning the phones and computers with ease, trafficking papers back and forth. I’m able to abscond with their parents into the private office while they keep everything running. Ward and Laurisa opened Bark Ranch in 2022 as a family business, but Laurisa is also a labor and delivery nurse by night. “This is the hardest working woman in the county,” Ward says. “I’m serious.” I ask what attracted Ward to Laurisa when they met in 1994, and he says: “Ah, we’d be here all day.” The couple married in 1997 after a timeless American college romance between the captain of Walla Walla University’s hockey team and a dedicated nurse-to-be. Their first date was the symphony because, as Laurisa tells it, “Ward got extra credit for his music class.” “We enjoyed the symphony! Don’t downplay it,” Ward protests, after more than 27 years.

             In 2001 Macey was born, joined by Leah in 2003. In that time, they lived in six different houses in Battle Ground (and around)—moving in, flipping the place, and moving on to their next project. They love Battle Ground, and use their business and their patriotism to give back to the small town that’s been so good to their family. Ward was born in Canada to a Canadian father and American mother from Washington state. When he was old enough to choose, he made this nation and community his home. His work brings him into constant contact with immigrants and other citizens from abroad who choose to make their life in America. Raising the flag is the Pearson’s way of honoring the people and the country they love: “It’s our gift to Battle Ground,” he tells me earnestly. “We didn’t do it as any kind of marketing for the business.” And that must be true, because I’ve driven by it dozens of times without realizing it had anything to do with the Pearsons or Bark Ranch.

             It wasn’t simple to fly the flag as high and as large as Ward imagined. Initially he envisioned an extremely tall fair-style flagpole, but was foiled when it came to getting the permit. One day, he heard of a rancher selling off a decommissioned fire truck. At it’s fullest extension, the ladder would be seventy-five feet. This was an acceptable compromise to Ward. He bought the truck. With the first step in his plan complete, Ward turned his attention to finding the perfect flag. The Pearson's current flag, which will be raised this year a week or so before Independence Day, has a majestic thirty-foot wingspan. It’s twenty feet tall. I get the feeling that as far as Ward is concerned, it still has room to grow. But he’s proud of their flag, that can’t be understated. “Sometimes he’ll just be like, ‘The wind is great today, do you wanna go for a drive and look at the flag? I bet it’s really going,’” says Laurisa. The rest of Battle Ground noticed the flag’s majesty. It hadn’t been flying for long when another local business, Herc Rentals, donated a generator and light kit to keep the flag reverently lit and visible. “They brought gas and everything, we didn’t have to do a thing,” Laurisa says, “and then we all stood together and played music while we raised it, with our hands on our hearts.” In the future, Laurisa can see a Battle Ground flag-raising event with the community.

             The flag is a reminder to the Pearson family of everything they enjoy about life together, in America, and in their town. It’s a simple thing, but they’ve gone to lengths to make it a reality. They don’t miss their chances to enjoy it; together, Laurisa and Ward went up to the very top of the ladder on Independence Day of last year to watch the fireworks over all of Battle Ground and beyond, in the company of their flag.