One day, I hope to identify every actor and extra that appeared in David Lynch and Mark Frost’s Twin Peaks. While researching history about the show via old newspaper clippings, I believe I discovered the gentleman seated behind Josie Packard, Catherine Martell and her husband Pete at the Twin Peaks Town Hall meeting in the pilot episode.
WHO IS THE GUY BEHIND JOSIE PACKARD AT THE TWIN PEAKS TOWN HALL?
After attending the 1992 Twin Peaks Fan Festival from Aug. 14-16, 1992, The Daily Herald reporter Leslie Moriarty wrote about her experience for the August 23 issue. Organized by the Snoqualmie Valley Chamber of Commerce and New Line Cinema, the three-day event attracted an estimated 10,000 “Peakies” to the towns of Snoqualmie and North Bend.
During her visit, she spoke with lifelong resident Howard “Ed” Stow, who was staffing an information booth in the town of Snoqualmie.
“You just can’t imagine how people have come here and spent their money since [Twin Peaks] first started,” said Stow. “Now I’ve heard some folks say they don’t like what’s happened. But look at all these people here, spending their money on everything from souvenirs to gasoline to motels to dinner. It’s been a gold mine for us.”
Stow also said that the most-asked questions during the festival were, “Where are the falls?” and “Where’s the peaks?” He also stated that 3,000 new signatures were added to the visitors book in August 1992, including at least seven signatures from “foreign countries.”
At one point, Moriarty wrote that Stow “played an extra in one episode of the series.” It was this line that started my quest to find Mr. Stow.
HOWARD EDWARD “ED” STOW
I quickly searched “Howard Stow Snoqualmie” and immediately found an obituary in the Snoqualmie Valley Record from 2014.
Stow passed on Sunday, August 17, 2014 at the age of 91. He was born on May 16, 1923 at the Snoqualmie Falls Hospital. Ed graduated from Fall City High School in 1942 and then joined the United States Army a year later. After the war, he met his wife Ann Garbe at Washington State University. Tying the knot in 1947, they couple remained married for 67 until Ed’s passing. They had four children, seven grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren.
The hospital was located in the mill town of Snoqualmie Falls found just above the Snoqualmie Lumber Company. The sawmill served as the Packard Sawmill in Twin Peaks and the administration office (now Dirtfish Rally School) was the Twin Peaks Sheriff’s Department.
In this aerial photo once displayed at Dirtfish, you can see the Sheriff’s Station building in blue. On the hillside above, you can see the town that was set up by the lumber company.
W.W. Warren, the company’s first mill manager, cared deeply for his mill workers, especially when he pushed Weyerhaeuser to build a hospital near the mill. There were some injuries at the sawmill and the closest hospital was in North Bend.
They not only built a hospital but they created a new town named Snoqualmie Falls. It had 250 houses, a community hall, schools, a post office, baseball fields, company store, barbershop, hospital, Japanese bunkhouse, hotel and a railroad depot. Low cost electricity was supplied to homes by burning scrap wood in the mill.
During the first two seasons of Twin Peaks, you could see the stone marker dedicated to Warren outside the Sheriff’s Department. By the third season, it was gone and no one knows where it is today.
Stow was born in the mill hospital only a few short years after the lumber mill became operational.
But what character did he play in the show?
FINDING HOWARD “ED” STOW IN TWIN PEAKS
He said he was an extra in one episode, which most likely meant he appeared in the pilot episode. I first searched the sawmill scenes but didn’t find a match. So I turned to the Twin Peaks Town Hall Meeting hosted by Special Agent Dale Cooper.
This scene was held in a building in Carnation, Washington and contained numerous extras. I always assumed those in attendance were from Washington state.
Going frame-by-frame, I caught a glimpse of a guy wearing eye glasses seated behind Josie Packard (Joan Chen). His frames looked similar to Stow’s obituary photo.
A few frames later, I had a much better view of the gentleman as Ben Horne (Richard Beymer) approached Josie.
At the time of Stow’s passing, more than 25 years had passed since this scene was shot. Comparing his brief on-screen appearance with his obituary photo made me believe this is the same guy. Compare his hairline, shape of nose, oversized glasses, size of his ears and the smile lines near his mouth. I haven’t found another character that matched Stow’s obituary photo.
This would also make sense as to why he would openly share that he appeared in the pilot; his character has great screen time behind several main characters. Let’s take a look at his appearances during the Town Hall meeting.
Stow stops speaking with the gentleman next to him as Ben Horne stands next to Josie. I’m wondering if the guy next to him is a one of his two sons.
We catch part of Stow’s face when the camera cuts to a shot of Josie, Pete and Catherine.
We get one more look at him while Cooper addresses the townsfolk.
From comments I read on Stow’s obituary, he sounded like a funny guy who was alway quick with a joke. I wish I could have met him. If you have any memories from this scene or if you recall speaking with Mr. Stow, please comment below or reach out to me via email or social media channels.
