Story by Janet Grella with photos by Michael Brunk

Over 300 supporters of the Highline Schools Foundation for Excellence gathered at the DoubleTree Guest Suites in Southcenter on Friday, May 21st to celebrate the Tenth Annual Gold Star Awards for the Highline School District.

The highly supportive audience was also told that the foundation has raised over $1 million in its 10-year history. These donations have funded many opportunities for teachers and students that they may not have had otherwise.

Honored Gold Star recipients were:

Outstanding Administrator – Rick Harwood, Principal at Global Connections High School. Mr. Harwood was honored as he “embodies all the traits of a knowledgeable, dedicated, caring and hard-working principal. All his actions and energies are centered around creating kind, intelligent, thoughtful and action-oriented young adults.”

Outstanding Classified Employee – Jacqueline Faundez, Cedarhurst Elementary. The Gold Star committee found Ms. Faundez “an especially effective advocate for our students most in need, regardless of home language or background. As an ELL tutor, Jacqueline is a professional in every sense – good at what she does and continually striving to improve.”

Outstanding Teacher – Carlyn Roedell, Bow Lake Elementary. Ms Roedell was chosen as she is “the paragon of an effective teacher. She loves to learn and she loves to teach. Her students are inspired by her enthusiasm, joy, and hard work. The test results back up her success.”

Outstanding Volunteers – Klara & Braxton Dunn, Gregory Heights Elementary were selected due to “their dedication, belief in children, and high standards, which led them to introduce themselves and ask to help out ten years ago. They have a passion for inspiring youngsters.”

The last award in this annual fund raising event was for Lifetime Achievement and was awarded to Reba Gilman, CEO/Principal of Aviation High School. Ms. Gilman spent 16 years at Seatac’s Occupational Skills Center prior to becoming the first Principal of Highline’s Aviation High School. The award was presented by Tom Russell, Emeritus Trustee for the Foundation.

Musical entertainment included harpist Clara McMichael from Pacific Middle School and Mt. Rainier High School’s “Music Company” directed by Sara Stricherz. The guests enjoyed a wide variety of song and dance from this award winning choir during lunch.

The Master of Ceremonies was Peter Fewing. Besides being a proud Pirate and Highline High School graduate. Mr. Fewing is known around the Northwest for Peter Fewing Soccer Camps and his broadcast on 710 ESPN radio, talking about what else, but Soccer. He is also coach of the Kitsap Pumas.

Boeing was the Executive Event Sponsor. Event Sponsors included Rogers and Norman, Saint-Gobain Containers and Merrill Lynch Wealth Management.

Photographer Michael Brunk assembled this slideshow with additional scenes from the awards luncheon.

Click to Play Michael Brunk’s Photo Slideshow

by Ralph Nichols

There’s good news for Highline residents who celebrate America’s birthday every summer with the fireworks display at the Des Moines Marina – the show will go on again this year.

Despite earlier concerns about the immediate future of the 10th annual Fourth of July Fireworks Over Des Moines, the event got a green light to proceed from the city council on March 11.

Due to a bare-bones budget this year, the city has no funds to provide either financial support or in-kind services such as traffic control by police officiers, as it has done as a community service in previous years.

But Brooks Powell of Des Moines-based Powell Homes (a WLB Advertiser), the prime sponsor of Fireworks Over Des Moines, told council members that approximately $7,000 in city services required for the event will be paid by private donations from his company – and, he hopes, with other local businesses chipping in as well.

As in the past, the Rotary Club of Des Moines will coordinate the overall event, contract with a professional fireworks company, and work with Powell Homes, other local businesses and the Des Moines Legacy Foundation to pay the associated costs.

The council unanimously approved the resolution authorizing this year’s Fireworks Over Des Moines.

Prior to the action, Parks and Recreation Director Patrice Thorell reported that the Police Department “had offered some solutions for public safety” at the Marina, for traffic, and for boaters. She also said that South King Fire and Rescue again will be involved.

City services paid for with private funds will include coordinating logistics, traffic control and road closures with the Rotary Club and South King Fire and Rescue.

The $7,000 does not include the cost of Marina staff because they work longer hours in the summer and their shifts will be adjusted accordingly on July 4. There will be no additional cost to the Marina.

Access to viewing areas at the Marina will be limited to pedestrians only because of construction there and at Beach Park. Parking is expected to be available at several locations in downtown Des Moines.

The city will promote Fireworks Over Des Moines in its City Currents newsletter, the Parks and Recreation and Senior Services brochure, on the city’s website and on Channel 21.

Advance notice of this Fourth of July celebration will also be made on both The Waterland Blog as well as on sister site The B-Town Blog.

Because the city lacks the funds to support special community events – even through in-kind police and other services – no such activities will be staged in Des Moines this year unless all costs are paid through outside funding sources. Most of these funds likely will come from business, as Powell Homes is doing for the fireworks display.

Confronted by this restriction, the ad hoc Waterland Parade Committee opted earlier this year against having a parade this year and decided instead to play for a bigger, Seafair-sanctioned parade next year that will be supported by private donations.

(Fireworks Photos courtesy Carmen Scott)

by Ralph Nichols

If you live in Des Moines or a neighboring community, and if you love a parade, then you can look forward with eager anticipation to the “biggest and best parade ever” in this Waterland city.

Next year.

There will be no Waterland Grand Parade in Des Moines in 2010, City Councilwoman Carmen Scott informed her fellow council members at their Feb. 11 meeting.

Scott said while members of the ad-hoc Waterland Parade Committee were encouraged by the Waterland Blog’s online poll, in which 76 percent of those responding said “yes” or “maybe” to continuing the parade, they also agreed that “this year is not the year.”

The committee “discussed the practicalities of whether a parade could or should happen this summer,” she said. Factors influencing their decision not to proceed with a 2010 parade included “the city’s financial condition” and scheduled construction projects around town.

They decided instead to stage a parade that will be “better than ever” in 2011, she added.

Mayor Bob Sheckler concurred. “I pressed hard for a parade this year, but Carmen is right. This is not the best year. It’s probably wise not to do it this year. So we’ll spend a year and a half planning a parade for next year, not this year.”

A grand parade was a major attraction of the annual Waterland Festival in Des Moines, but the Greater Des Moines Chamber of Commerce, which produced this event, disbanded in the wake of the 2004 festival.

After a four-year absence, the Waterland Parade, again preceded by a children’s parade, returned last July as part of the festivities celebrating Des Moines’ 50th anniversary as a city.

Last fall, Sheckler said there would be a parade again this year, but left a final decision to the parade committee.

With the City Council making sharp cuts in Des Moines’ operating budget for a second consecutive year, “we are hard pressed for funds,” Scott noted.

Although City Manager Tony Piasecki told committee members there are ways a parade could be put on without costing the city additional money, Scott said the reality of budget cutbacks has left no staff members the time flexibility to handle the additional work that would be involved.

So over the next year, planning for the 2011 Waterland Parade will include looking for private money to sponsor it, she continued.

And planning will also involve businesses along the Marine View Drive parade route so they can attract more customers that day, rather than losing business to events at other locations.

The construction projects that also make a parade impractical this year – upgrades to several streets used for the parade and staging, and the ongoing Marina renovation – “are building for the future,” Scott told The Waterland Blog.

“It’s going to sparkle when we have the parade next year. The city is doing it right.”

(Parade Photos courtesy Carmen Scott)

Des Moines’ annual holiday bonfire will be held at Des Moines Beach Park this Wednesday, Dec. 16th, beginning at 6:30pm.

Here are the details:

WHAT: Des Moines annual holiday bonfire

WHEN: Wednesday, Dec. 16th; Bonfire from 6:30-8:00 pm; Performance from 7:10-7:30 pm

WHERE: Des Moines Beach Park, located at 22030 Cliff Avenue South.

INFO: Holiday revelers will warm by a bonfire and enjoy complimentary cookies, coffee, and cocoa while Argosy’s lighted Christmas Ship anchors offshore to perform traditional holiday songs.

Choir and schedule are subject to change and the bonfire is weather permitting.

For bonfire information, call the Des Moines Park and Recreation Department at 206-870-6527.

For boat parade and Christmas Ship information, call Argosy at 206-623- 1445.

(Photo courtesy Jana Klietsch)

Des Moines’ historic Landmark on the Sound will be playing (g)host to a special “Halloween At The Haunted Castle” celebration on Halloween, from 6:30pm to 9pm, for “kids of all ages.”

The legendary building once served as a retirement home for the Freemasons, and was built on a monumental, commanding ridge overlooking Puget Sound in the Zenith neighborhood.

Crafted of slate and copper, Terra Cotta and Terrazzo, marble and stained glass, the “castle on the hill” opened its grand oak doors in 1926.

This event is FREE as long as you bring a donation of non-perishable food (or cash) to benefit the Des Moines Food Bank.

Here are the details:

WHAT: “Halloween at the Haunted Castle”

WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 31st from 6:30pm to 9pm

WHERE: Landmark on the Sound, located at 23660 Marine View Drive South

INFO: From their poster:

• For Kids of all ages!
• Haunted Walk
• Kids’ Carnival
• Games
• Treats
• Admission is FREE with donation of non-perishable food or cash for the Des Moines Food Bank

Highline Community College’s StartZone is marking its first-year anniversary with a celebration from 5pm – 7pm on Thursday, Oct. 8 in the Highline Student Union (Building 8).

Since opening in October 2008, StartZone has helped more than 120 women, people of color, immigrants and people with disabilities who want to start or expand their small businesses in Southwest King County.

In addition, StartZone members have started 15 new businesses, created dozens of new jobs and obtained nearly $90,000 in financing.

The celebration, which is free and open to the public, will feature speakers who have found success after receiving support from StartZone’s trained business specialists.

Featured speaker Adugna Wubbie, of SeaTac, originally came to StartZone with the hope of building a successful business and helping his family back in his home country of Ethiopia.

He started Rose Super Clean Services, a commercial janitorial service, and is now earning about $3,000 a month in revenue. By the end of his first year in operation, he hopes to generate at least $10,000 a month in revenue.

“Our StartZone business adviser gave us information on what we needed for success,” Wubbie said. “As part of the StartZone community, we have had an opportunity to meet other business owners, network and find support from our peers.”

Ruth Tial Par, of Kent, will also be sharing her success story during the event.

Tial Par, who is wheelchair-bound and came from Burma more than a year ago, wanted to convert her hobby of sewing clothes into a business opportunity.

StartZone helped Tial Par get new sewing machines and her business, Ruthy Tailoring, recently started accepting customers.

StartZone services are free to members and include assessments, referrals, business consulting and planning, loan packaging, workshops, mentoring and opportunities for networking and peer support.

StartZone offers orientations from 6-6:30 p.m. on the first Thursday of the month at the HCC Outreach Center (Building 99), room 132, 23835 Pacific Highway S. in Kent.

For more information about StartZone, call (206) 878-3710, ext. 3388, e-mail startzone@highline.edu or visit http://startzone.highline.edu.

StartZone is funded by a grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Highline Community College was founded in 1961 as the first community college in King County. With approximately 18,300 students and 350,000 alumni, it is one of the state’s largest institutions of higher education. The college offers a wide range of academic transfer and professional-technical education programs, with day, evening, online and weekend classes.

With the most diverse population of any college in Washington state, Highline takes a multicultural approach to education for the success of all its students and the prosperity of its surrounding communities. Alumni include former Seattle Mayor Norm Rice, entrepreneur Junki Yoshida, Washington state poet laureate Sam Green and yes, even Scott Schaefer, the Publisher/Editor of this here blog.

Attachment: Adugna Wubbie, of SeaTac
Ruth Tial Par, of Kent

Click to View Carmen Scott’s Photo Slideshow

by Pat Nardo

It’s true – without a doubt and intolerably accurate, is the age old adage of Murphy!

Now it has to be pondered, did Murphy ever really exist and was he endowed with a wisdom that, to this day, can be seen in any event planned by man? Murphy’s Law is pretty simple and straightforward:

“If something can go wrong, it will.”

Murphy be damned; full parade ahead!

Our 50th Birthday Parade, commemorating that many years since Des Moines became a city, was not exempt from the Law of Murphy, it seems. We got off to a late start and, as luck would have it, some of the units scheduled to appear in the parade, did not. Our good friend and script writer, Earline Byers, was able to overcome another obstacle of units appearing out of the anticipated order that she had listed. Even with this handicap, Earline bravely and accurately fed our announcer the best information she had as each element came marching or riding past the reviewing stand. Quick action on the part of Steve Geogebeur, our announcer, allowed his reporting to go on as if there was not a hitch. His smooth delivery made the parade even more attractive to the crowd down Marine View Drive.

In a normal parade sequence, each unit is expected to halt before the reviewing stand, perform for some 45 seconds and move on to make room for the successor. This happened, only due to experience of seasoned paradees, about four times. Judging, while the parade took on an accelerated pace, was impeded and not much time could be allocated to evaluate all of the criteria for each unit. Still the judges worked feverishly and swiftly to apply scores as fairly as time permitted. At parade ending there was a short period dedicated to a “huddle” and some adjustments to awards and scores. It was not an easy task because there were so many worthy entries and we only had 24 trophies to present to winners.

Now, to the parade itself; a success in any way you could look at it! Anna and BJ Bjorneby, along with Fran Woodard, caused this whole 50th Birthday celebration to be a spectacular event that will live on in memory of the many residents who witnessed it for many years. They and a handful of volunteers caused an eruption of civic pride and, sadly, there is no trophy or award for them other than our thanks for a job well done.

Murphy’s ugly head, much like the mythical dragon of old was met by Anna and BJ Bjorneby with swords drawn and hearts and wallets open. Our city did not have sufficient funds to run a parade, though t hey wanted to. Give our city credit though, they provided us with the best security and traffic control available anywhere. Thank you, Chief Roger Baker! So it was to be that a group of volunteers and dollars made it happen. We gave of time, money and other resources to honor a birthday worthy of our homage.

To avoid the unhappiness that comes with being “second place’, “runner up”, etc; we devised an all encompassing phrase without gradients. It was: “PEOPLES CHOICE AWARD” and was engraved, proudly on each of our 24 trophies. Who are the winners? To be truthful, we thought all in the parade should have gotten a trophy but reality played its hand and we did choose the following units for the trophies, well earned:

• Kennedy High School Band
• West Seattle Hi Yu
• Seattle Seafair Pirates
• Best in Show Pet Salon
• Seattle Lutheran High School
• Kent Cornucopia Days
• Evergreen H/S Lutheran
• Sumner H/S Band
• Life Savers at Mt. Rainier
• Super Steppers
• Seafair Clowns
• Peruvian Community
• Judson Park Pirates
• Des Moines Lions Club
• Pete’s Towing Service
• Harold Hancock (Antique Car)
• Des Moines Farmer’s Market
• Keystone Kops
• Melanie’s Dance Unlimited
• Ron Kinney (Antique Car)
• Des Moines Masonic Lodge
• Elbert Hill (Horse drawn wagon without rider)
• Highline School District
• Friend to Friend

The parade ended and we were all tired and happy to see and share the joy of the crowd. On my way out of the reviewing stand, my judging tour of duty over, I looked up and down Marine View Drive and guess what?

I saw no sign of Murphy!

by Janet Grella

As most people know, this Saturday (July 18th) will be the “big” birthday day for Des Moines, with celebrations from morning to night, culminating in The Waterland Parade (a sanctioned Seafair event), but not without an immense amount of work on the part of a group of very hardworking volunteers.

I was pleased to join their last meeting on July 15th as they efficiently and effectively tied up all loose ends.

The committee is chaired by Waterland Parade vetern Anna Bjorneby and co-chaired by a very capable Fran Woodward. Other volunteer committee members include BJ Bjorneby, Lila Thomsen, Donna Hake, KB Beisle, Jerry & Cathy Reese, Pat Nardo, Jack Kniskern, Joel Girouard and Joe Spears.

DECORATING DES MOINES:
While most of us are enjoying our day at the Marina with all the birthday activities and the Farmers Market, Joel Giroudard and his band of merry balloon artists will be creating magical balloon arches and decorating the reviewing stand, located on Marine View Drive across from EC Computers.

STAGING:
Parade participants should gather at the main parking lot at Highline Community College off 240th at 4pm. There will be signage and balloons directing participants to the staging area. Staging experts from the Seafair Marshalls as well as Lila Thomsen and her group of local volunteers will help assemble the parade participants for their trek down 240th to Marine View Drive!

KIDS PARADE:
The parade will start with the Junior Parade at 5:30. Anybody under the age of 14 can join the fun! There is no pre-registration for this event. Participants should meet in front of Vickie Bergquitst’s State Farm Insurance office at 230th and Marine View Drive at 4:30. (Behind Taco Time). The ‘Red Robin’ from Red Robin’s restaurant will be leading the Junior Parade down Marine View Drive.

PARADE AGAINST HUNGER:
The Des Moines Food Bank will follow them, collecting much needed food and money starting at 240th at 5:45 pm. Bring your non-perishible food for them to collect.

THE WATERLAND PARADE:
The big 50th B-day parade will start promptly at 6pm. This year there are 63 entries and over 600 participants. Among the VIPs and participants will be the Seafair Pirates–batten down your hatches when they appear. Miss Seafair and the Seafair Princesses, and the Award winning surprise float built by Jerry and Cathy Resse (it won the “Best Float” in Kent’s Cornucopia Parade just last weekend). Plus you’ll see the staff of Waterland Blog live blogging and taking pictures of the crowd from their perch atop an Airport Towing tow truck. They’ll be three marching bands from Mt. Rainier, Kennedy and Sumner High Schools.

There are over 50 volunteers that will make sure this Waterland Parade go off without a hitch. From the VIP reception at Landmark on the Sound, to the volunteer “Pooper Scoopers” for the horse drawn carriage, Des Moines and its volunteer community has come together to culminate in a spectacular 50th Birthday celebration.

And a word of advice from the chairman of the Parade Committee – “If someone tells you to do something – listen to the police!”

And a final word for participants…plan a way back to the college, as the parade ends at city hall.

Our readers need to reach out to the volunteers who started this parade proccess in January of this year and thank them for a ‘job well-done.’

Sponsors of the parade should also be thanked:

• Bjorneby’s CARSTAR (a WLB Advertiser!)
• Hertz Rental Car
• Pete’s Towing
• Emerald City Balloon

EDITOR’S NOTE: To see photos from Des Moines’ 50th Birthday & Waterland Parade (on 7/18/09), click here. To read our firsthand account of being in the parade, then hanging out with the Seafair Pirates, click here.]

The sun is shining (well, most of the time…) and summer has officially arrived in the Northwest!

And to celebrate the season and its 50th birthday, the City of Des Moines is (as most folks already know) hosting a series of family-friendly events on Saturday, July 18th, which will include:

• A visit from the tall ships Merrie Ellen and W. N. Ragland
• A wooden boat exhibit
• Strong man competition
• Classic car show
• Children’s fun zone
• Sock hop
• Seafair-sanctioned parade featuring the well-known Seafair Pirates

Des Moines has been a regional destination for the Puget Sound region since 1904 when Redondo Beach was the Northwest’s premier resort, drawing thousands visitors annually. Today, that beach town feeling still exists. Visitors can smell the sea air, dip their toes in the water, stroll along the boardwalk and enjoy the area’s charming shops and restaurants. To celebrate its 50 year heritage (Des Moines officially became a city on June 17, 1959), the city is hosting a series of events throughout the summer, including the Seafair festivities, to capture the feeling of the nostalgic getaway.

Need more evidence of the city’s fun and quirky personality? Look no further than this year’s strongman competition in which feats of strength will be demonstrated by both men and women via a tire flip (100 feet total distance), axle clean and press, farmer’s walk (max weight carried for 200 feet) and keg loading (minimum 4-5 kegs loaded on to a 50 inch platform within 60 seconds). Last year, 40 competitors competed in five events and anticipation is high for this year’s competition.

Visitors will also be treated to sailboat races, a 50th birthday fun run, and performances from the Wenatchee Youth Circus – considered to be one of the top four non-professional groups in the country. Most events will be free, including the classic car and wooden boat show, Seafair parade, and the strongman competition. Minimal costs are associated with other events, such as tours of the Merrie Ellen and W. N. Ragland ($5) and tours of a new 68 foot Ocean Alexander yacht.

Festivities include:

FRIDAY, JULY 17th:

• Wenatchee Youth Circus (Des Moines Field House; adults: $7, kids: $5; 5 pm)
• Dinner & Tour of Tall Ship Merrie Ellen (Des Moines Marina; adults: $20; 7 pm)

SATURDAY, JULY 18th:

• Strongman Competition (South Marina; Free; 10 am-3 pm)
• Waterfront Farmers Market (South Marina; Free; 10 am-4 pm – look for The Waterland Blog’s booth!)
• Classic Car & Wooden Boat Show (North Marina; Free; 10 am-4 pm)
• Children’s Crafts & Activity Station (South Marina; Free; 10 am-4 pm)
• Clowns Unlimited Fun Zone (North Marina; $10 all day; 10 am-6 pm)
• Food, Community Vendors & Beer Garden (North Marina; 10 am-9 pm)
• Tours aboard the Tall Ships Merrie Ellen and W.N. Ragland (North Marina; $5 each; 10 am-4 pm)
• Wenatchee Youth Circus (Des Moines Elementary; adults: $7, kids: $5;10:30 am and 2 pm)
• Carfitti Teen Car Painting & Car Raffle (North Marina; 11 am-3 pm)
• Offshore Boat Races (North Marina; Free; Noon)
• Sailboat Races (North Marina; Free; 2 pm)
• 50th Birthday Fun Run & Walk (Run: Highline Community College, Walk: Marine View Dr. S; starts at 4:30 pm, participants check in at 2:30 pm)
• 50th Birthday Seafair Parade (Marine View Dr. S; Free; kid’s parade: 5:30 pm, main parade: 6 pm)
• Entertainment Stage featuring Pony-Boy All Star Band and Danny Vernon’s Illusion of Elvis (North Marina; performances at 11 am and 1 pm)
• Sock Hop Dance (North Marina; Free; 7:30-10:30 pm)
• 10th Annual Federal Way Symphony Garden Tour featuring speaker Carolyn Jones (Local Gardens and Des Moines Beach Park; tickets at www.federlwaysymphony.org; lectures at 11 am and 2:30 pm)

Many more community events are scheduled throughout the summer such as a Jazz & Blues Series (7/22-8/19), and the Jobies Community Carnival (8/15).

For more information, call (206) 870-6527 or visit www.desmoines50th.com.

Des Moines, as pretty much everybody “in the know” knows, is about to turn 50!

And to help celebrate this Golden Anniversary, the Des Moines Cinema will be offering a mini Film Festival featuring classics originally released in (or darn near) 1959, the year Des Moines officially came into being as a city.

Waterland Blog friend Carmen Scott, who also serves on the Des Moines City Council, tipped us to this fun Fifties film flashback.

Run times are 5pm, Monday July 13 through Friday July 17.

Admission is free for this special presentation only, but donations will be happily accepted at the door.

Here’s the rundown:

Monday July 13:
“North by Northwest”
A Hitchcock classic!

Tuesday July 14:
“Attack of the 50 Foot Woman”
A titanic beauty spreads a macabre wave of horror! A terrifying masterpiece of shock and chills!

Wednesday July 15:
“Sleeping Beauty”
Oscar nominated!

Thursday July 16:
“Gunfight at the O.K. Corral” with Burt Lancaster as Marshal Wyatt Earp!

Friday July 17:
“It Happened at the World’s Fair” Starring Elvis and Joan O’Brien!

Des Moines Cinema is located at 22333 Marina View Drive in Des Moines; Phone: 206-878-1540

By the way, here’s what’s playing right now at the Des Moines Cinema:

“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” (PG-13) through July 9.
Regular admission charge applies.

Showtimes for “Transformers”:

Friday: 5:30 & 8:30
Saturday: 3:00, 5:30 & 8:30
Sunday: 3:00 & 7:00
Monday through Thursday: 7:00

Our nearest neighbor to the north, the beautiful City of Normandy Park, has posted the following schedule for what’s going on there on the 4th of July – everything from a 2.8K Fun Run to a Children’s Parade to a Social at The Cove:

“Join your neighbors and friends at the Normandy Park 4th of July Social sponsored by the Normandy Park Community Club and the City of Normandy Park from 10am until 1pm. All Normandy Park residents are encouraged to join in the fun for these morning and early afternoon festivities:

10:25am: 2.8K Fun Run. It’s free, but pre-registration is highly suggested. The course is from Marvista Elementary to Marine View Drive & Shoremont. Runners be sure to arrive at the starting area before 10:10am as number pick up will close at that time. This year’s custom designed race t-shirt can be ordered in advance by all runners for pick it up at the finish line. Non-runners may purchase any left over shirts at the end of the race. They are only $15 each. Contact the Cove office to register 206-242-3778 or visit www.npcove.org

10:30am: Children’s Parade. Everyone is welcome to join in, either from the start (be at Marvista no later than 10:15!) or from anywhere along the parade route, which ends at the Cove Building. Classic cars, floats, wagons, bicycles, strollers, horses, marching bands – - all are encouraged to participate. Paint your face, decorate your bike, get out your flags; be festive or plain. Please, however, no campaigning or political signs. The Normandy Park Arts Commission will once again offer children prizes for the best decorated bicycles. Children who participate in the Parade are encouraged to decorate their bikes in the holiday spirit and enter the Bike Decorating Contest. Prizes will be awarded for the Best Patriotic decorations

11:15am: Social at the Cove. After the parade everyone is invited for free Ice Cream at the Cove. To satisfy your lunchtime hunger, hot dogs and beverages will be offered. Festivities include Classic Car Show and, Large Blow Up Toys and Temporary Tattoos for youngsters. All of this will be accompanied by Live Patriotic Music on the lawn.

Line the streets, enjoy the parade, and attend the Community Social at the Cove!

Road Closure Information:

• Marine View Drive and Shorebrook Drive will be closed to motor vehicles during the festivites from approx. 9:30am-12:00pm. Please use caution and consider alternate routes.

If you’re considering other local fun on the 4th, here’s a link to our sister site The B-Town Blog’s schedule for 3 Tree Point’s all-day block party.

Celebrate Independence Day this year at the Des Moines Marina with northwest rock legends Jr. Cadillac at “Fireworks Over Des Moines,” which begins at 7pm and runs until 10:30pm on Saturday, July 4th.

The family friendly celebration features a unique vantage point of several Puget Sound fireworks displays.

Entertainment begins at 7pm with a Pacific Island cultural dance performance, followed by the danceable rock mix of Jr. Cadillac from 8-10pm. A 20-minute fireworks display will light up the waterfront at approximately 10pm.

A $1 donation is suggested. Please contribute what you can to help us continue this community event.

To whet your musical appetite for Jr. Cadillac, here’s an MP3 of “Raised On Rock”:

See you at the waterfront this 4th of July!

[EDITOR'S NOTE: To see Photos from the 2009 50th Birthday/Waterland Parade, click here. To read our firsthand account and see photos of what it was like for us to be in the parade (then hang out with the Seafair Pirates, click here.]

by Pat Nardo

With less than 30 days until our 50th Anniversary celebration and Grand Parade, volunteers are scurrying about, not unlike the “Three Blind Mice” trying to pull together all the loose ends that have a tendency to reveal themselves at the least opportune moment.

We are having our parade meetings every Wednesday evening at 6pm at the Bjorneby’s CARSTAR office on 220th and Pacific Highway. Applications are still being accepted although a good number of units for the parade have signed on. This is a Seafair Sanctioned event and the Seafair Commodores will play a large role in our success. Part of our excitement, hardly contained, is the honor of having the Seafair Pirates presenting their playful, threatening antics to an always pleased crowd. The booming cannon and swords slashing the air amid loud “har hars” always gets the kids in the crowd animated.

There will be three marching bands and a few floats, at least three children’s units will begin the march through town on Marine View Drive. Our budget, though small, we are able to come up with appropriate trophies, provided by our own EC Computer owner and Des Moines supporter, Patricio Mendoza. Engraving may cost us but that too is in negotiations. There will be badges for all who are working on the parade, including staff and honored guests. At Landmark on the Sound there is a reception planned with mostly “finger food” and from The Reuben New York Eatery a generous sampling of their famous, delicious brownies! Remember the slogan, “Betcha can’t eat just one”? Enough said!

Our friends at Butler’s Bar & Grill plan a beer garden and a “blues band” to be in the front of their business to invite spectators, residents, and anyone else to join the festivity provided after our parade. Mike Collello is hosting this part of our celebration. Our parade poster is being distributed all over town and the excitement is beginning to build up as we proceed with, what we hope, will be a very memorable event.

Applications are still accepting for participation in our parade, but time is limited now, so if you need assistance with this, you may call Anna Bjorneby at (206) 244-8080 or BJ Bjorneby at the same number. Remember, we are at the time when applications need to be in around July 1st, so don’t hesitate, vacillate or procrastinate. I am not sure what these words really mean but I found them in my thesaurus.

The Junior Parade will start at 5:30pm, and the Main parade at 6pm.

We are now at 30 days and counting for a magnificent parade so plan to be here as part of your “staycation”!

On Wednesday, June 17th, life-sized free-standing photo cutouts depicting some of Des Moines’ most important and influential citizens will be peppered around town to help celebrate the city’s official 50th birthday (Des Moines officially incorporated on June 17, 1959).

The photo project is part of an Open House & Historical display which will also include artifacts, vignettes of life in the area in the 1950s, and videos commemorating local history.

Photo cutouts will feature local citizens, from Herman “Daddy” Draper and his wife Annie “Mother” Draper who adopted scores of orphaned children and started one of the only self-supporting children’s homes in history, to Rilda Martin Moses, who became the city’s first kindergarten teacher in 1918, to Jobby Neal, who operated the Des Moines-Seattle Stage Company – a bus line that ran between Des Moines and Seattle at a time when roads were primitive at best.

These and more stories will be shared at the event, which is part of a summer-long series of 50th birthday events. The Open House and Historical Display will take place on June 17th at the Odd Fellows Hall in Des Moines from 3-8 p.m. Mayor Bob Sheckler and other noted guests will be present and the museum, located above the open house, will also be open to visitors.

Some of Des Moines most famous citizens include:

HERMAN “DADDY” DRAPER
Herman “Daddy” Draper and his wife, Annie “Mother” Draper are two of Des Moines’ most inspiring and heartening examples of dedicated service to children, society and humanity. They established the Des Moines Children’s Industrial Home and Training School in 1908, and for nearly twenty years, took in and taught music and trades to hundreds of orphaned, homeless or abandoned children. They founded and operated the Children’s Home with the purpose to give love and a sense of belonging to their adopted children, and to give them the tools and skills that would help sustain them as adults and productive members of the community.

A 28-room Hiatt Hotel at South 220th and 6th Avenue South was purchased and transformed into the original Children’s Home. The Des Moines Children’s Industrial Home was one of the only self-supporting children’s homes in history. The Draper “family” supported itself with a variety of enterprises, including the “Jolly Entertainers” made up of children from the home who played instruments and sang, touring as many as 38 states and parts of Canada, as well as holding concerts in a barn next to the home, which had been adapted into an “Opera House.” They also ran a printing press, published a monthly newsletter, and operated a campground on the site of Des Moines Beach Park.

ANNIE “MOTHER” DRAPER
Annie “Mother” Draper and her husband Herman “Daddy” are two of Des Moines’ most inspiring and heartening examples of dedicated service to children, society and humanity. They established the Des Moines Children’s Industrial Home and Training School in 1908, and for nearly twenty years, took in and taught music and trades to hundreds of homeless, orphaned or abandoned children. They founded and operated the Children’s Home with the purpose to give love and a sense of belonging to their adopted children, and to give them the tools and skills that would help sustain them as adults and productive members of the community. The children attended local public schools, in addition to the education they received at the Children’s Home.

A 28-room Hiatt Hotel at South 220th and 6th Avenue South was purchased and transformed into the original Children’s Home. The Des Moines Children’s Industrial Home was one of the only self-supporting children’s homes in history. The Draper “family” supported itself with a variety of enterprises, including the “Jolly Entertainers” made up of children from the home who played instruments and sang, touring as many as 38 states and parts of Canada, as well as holding concerts in a barn next to the home, which had been converted into an “Opera House.” They also ran a printing press, published a monthly newsletter, and operated a campground on the site of Des Moines Beach Park.

NATHAN E. MUNGER
Civil War veteran, Nathan E. Munger was an early resident of the Zenith neighborhood in Des Moines. The Munger family grew flowers to sell on the 5 acre property they owned. Captain Commons, another civil war veteran, lived across the street from Nathan and it was said that the two men continued to fight the war for as long as they lived, by moving the boundary road marker continuously. Each man insisted the other had his fence too far out in the road. Nathan and his wife Clara were members of the Des Moines Grange No. 471.

MYRTLE JONES ELSEY
Myrtle Jones Elsey was an enterprising resident of early Des Moines who operated the town’s first beauty shop. Her original business was in her father-in-laws’ house, on 6th Avenue between South 222nd and South 223rd streets. Myrtle and her husband, Everett Elsey later built a new house with a shop in front at 11th Avenue South and South 220th Street. As a young woman in 1909, Myrtle was on the Des Moines Woman’s Basketball Team with her sister, Margaret Elsey and friend, Rilda Martin Moses. Mrytle Jones Elsey’s husband, Everett was the grandson of one of Des Moines’ early settlers, David S. Elsey who homesteaded and farmed 40 acres in Sunnydale. Everett’s father, John C. Elsey operated a sawmill in Des Moines, and platted and sold the remaining parts of the town site of Des Moines in 1896. Everett was the half-brother of Rilda Martin Moses.

GAHAIL CASE
Gahail Case was one of four children in the family of Rollin A. Case Sr., a former representative of the territorial legislature from Asotin, who moved to Des Moines in 1896 and became a popular real estate agent who helped popularize the area. Gahail and his family lived on the property, which is now occupied by the Des Moines Yacht Club, where his father also had his real estate business. Gahail and his brother Rollin Jr. were members of the Des Moines Baseball Team in the early 1900′s playing many successful seasons, competing throughout the region.

“JOBBY” NEAL
“Jobby” Neal was one of the entrepreneurial Neal brothers, from Nova Scotia, Canada who moved to the Des Moines area around 1913. He and his brothers helped start the Des Moines Rural Telephone Company, and also operated The Des Moines-Seattle Stage Company – a bus line that ran between Des Moines and Seattle at a time when roads were primitive at best. In 1915, the Neal brothers bought an unfinished sawmill on the beach in front of Des Moines Creek and finished it as a Dance Hall, called Neal’s Pavilion. They operated it until the Swedish Covenant Church bought it in 1932. Jobby’s brother Melward was the first local resident to serve in the Sate of Washington Legislature. Mel was instrumental in helping get the Des Moines Field House built between 1939-1940.

AGNES MARSHALL
From 1947 to 1963, Agnes Marshall served as the Head Librarian for the City of Des Moines. She was the Head Librarian when the city was incorporated. The library got its start at Grist’s General Store, when citizens would borrow books discarded from the Seattle Public Library. They were told if they returned the books, more would be obtained. Eventually the library made its home at the Des Moines School, until it burned down in 1925. By the time Agnes became Head Librarian, it had been moved into a small room at the Des Moines Field House that held 9,594 books! Agnes and her husband made their home and raised their family on Marine View Drive. Their original home still stands and is occupied by an assortment of small businesses.

CHILDREN FROM THE DES MOINES CHILDREN’S INDUSTRIAL HOME & TRANING SCHOOL
The children who spent their youth at the Des Moines Children’s Home, were adopted by Herman “Daddy” Draper and his wife Annie “Mother” Draper. The Drapers began taking in abandoned, orphaned or homeless children in the late 1800′s in Michigan, and brought their “original” children with them when they decided to start their Children’s Home in Washington State. They taught the children instrumental and vocal music, as well as a variety of trades, such as running a printing press, publishing a monthly newsletter and learning to sew and knit. The Children’s Home was said to be the first and only self-supporting children’s home in history. By performing both band and orchestral music with the “Jolly Entertainers” the children helped pay for the expenses of the Home, and put rural Des Moines on the map. In a barn that had been converted into an “opera house”, they gave musical and dramatic performances. They also toured in a large bus and became regional entertainment favorites. In their last tour, the Jolly Entertainers toured 38 states and parts of Canada. The children also attended the local public school, and with the dedication of the Drapers, went on to become contributing members of the community and society.  The Children’s Home was located in what was originally a 28-room Hiatt Hotel at South 220th and 6th Avenue South.

PASTOR FRITZ HJELM
Reverend Hjelm (pronounced “yelm”) served as pastor of the Covenant Church Camp from about 1931 to 1939. The Covenant Beach Church Camp, was located at what is now known as Des Moines Beach Park. Reverend Hjelm was in charge of the Young People’s evening fireside services in front of the fireplace in the Auxiliary Hall in 1934 and was one of the speakers at the new Covenant Bible Camp’s first Annual Conference in 1932 – giving both lectures and sermons. In 1937, he was President of the North Pacific Missionary Conference, and presided as the platform chairman at the annual conference. Pastor Hjelm was also an editor for the Tabernacel Klockan, a noteworthy and widely read church newspaper, initially published in Swedish.

RILAD MARTIN MOSES
Rilda Martin came to Washington State from Wisconsin with her parents in 1904. She was a popular resident who served as president of her 1911 graduating class in Des Moines. After attending and graduating from Bellingham Normal School (now Western Washington University), she taught school in Neah Bay. In 1918, she married Otto Moses and soon after, moved back to Des Moines where she became Des Moines’ first kindergarten teacher. She taught classes in the basement of the Des Moines United Methodist Church until 1966, instructing over 1,200 children in her years as teacher. Rilda was a very active citizen who made her home, raised her family, worked, socialized and prayed in Des Moines, until her death in 1988, at the age of 95. She was one of our true pioneers.

A kick-off dinner for the annual Des Moines Classic Car and Boat Show will be Friday, July 17th starting at 7pm at the Marina, with the car and boat show continuing all day Saturday during the big 50th Birthday Celebration.

Here are the details:

WHAT: Des Moines Classic Car and Boat Show

WHEN: Kick-off dinner is Friday, July 17th, starting at 7pm; car & boat show is all-day Saturday, July 18th

WHERE: Des Moines Marina, located at 22307 Dock Avenue

COST: $20 per person for Friday night’s dinner, includes Tall Ship tour; Saturday’s car show will be all day.

INFO: This year’s dinner will be catered by “Caveman Kitchen,” and there will be live music, tours aboard tall ships, wooden boats, cool vintage cars and a vintage hydroplane exhibit.

There will also be refreshments, including wine and beer for the grownups.

If you’d like to enter your vintage car in Saturday’s show, security will be on the premises for those who want to bring their cars to the dinner and leave them overnight. You can actually pick your spot for Saturday’s show and leave your car right there.

There’s only room for 250 cars, so you’re encouraged to enter ASAP.

CONTACT: For more info, contact Marina Service Manager Joe Jewell at (206) 870-6724

The Des Moines Yacht Club is holding its annual “South Sound Opening” day of boating season on Saturday, May 9th, starting at 2pm, with a flag ceremony, speeches, drinks, dinner and live music with “The Tropics.”

Here are the details:

WHAT: DMYC’s South Sound Opening Day

WHEN: Saturday, May 9th starting at 2pm

WHERE: Des Moines Yacht Club, located at 22737 Marine View Drive South

COST: $25 per adult, under 12 $5 per child; RSVP to (206) 878-4441, (206) 212-6882 or via email to: wagirl62@comcast.net

INFO: “As you probably know, Saturday, May 2nd is the traditional opening of boating season – Seattle Opening Day – hosted by the Seattle Yacht Club. It has the big parade of boats and the crew races in the Montlake Cut.

Well, the following Saturday (May 9th) is South Sound Opening held at the Des Moines Yacht Club. It is a much smaller event, but is lots of fun, and is open to the public.”

More information on the DMYC web site (www.desmoinesyachtclub.com).

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Photo of Pat and Marianne Nardo by Michael Brunk

We at The Waterland Blog offer a heartfelt Happy 80th Birthday to Des Moines’ own Pat Nardo, whose birthday was Sunday (April 26th)!

He, the perennial young man, who cheers on Des Moines with all appropriate vigor, bumped into a couple of Waterland reporters the other day.

Our reporters asked: What college are you going to? What’s your major?

But instead of answering, as Pat ran off for football tryouts, he said “I’m busy. Talk to my wife.”

What’s the secret to living so healthfully and long? we asked the graceful Marianne.

“Wholesome food,” she said.  “I make it for him.”

“And lots of laughter.”

“Yes, that’s right,” Pat said, between wind sprints. “I asked her out one day, and she laughed!”

Marianne and Pat are going on 55 years together!

Carry on, you beautiful two. You lift us all.

And thanks Pat for all your contributions and energy towards helping us launch this website!

EDITOR’S NOTE: To see photos from Des Moines’ 50th Birthday & Waterland Parade (on 7/18/09), click here. To read our firsthand account of being in the parade, then hanging out with the Seafair Pirates, click here.]

by Janet Grella

It’s official – Des Moines’ Waterland Parade has become a Seafair Sanctioned Community Event!

This means that the Seafair Marshals will be on hand to help with the organization of the parade. It also means parade favorites the Seafair Pirates, the Seafair Clowns and the Keystone Cops will be in our very own Waterland Parade, which will be held Saturday, July 18th.

It will start with a Junior Parade at 5:30pm, where kids 14 and under can participate. They will be followed by a truck from the Des Moines Food Bank to collect food donations.

The Grand Parade will start promptly at 6pm with floats, drill teams and bands. Local businesses and organizations are encouraged to participate.

The parade is part of a summer of outdoor fun scheduled by the city to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Des Moines. And who better to run the parade than parade veterans Anna and BJ Bjorneby. Anna was the parade organizer three times in the 80s.

As co-chairs along with “volunteer extraordinaire” Fran Woodward, Anna and BJ are now seeking sponsors at any level, as well as volunteers and participants.

Interested in joining the fun? Call Anna at 206-571-5568 or 824-1400; or Fran at 253-303-1098.

The Waterland Blog will be participating in this event that is uniquely part of the the Waterland Community. We’re working on exactly what we plan to do in the parade, so if you have any ideas on what grown men and women and our young intern can do to amuse the crowd click here.

We encourage everyone to participate through sponsorship, volunteering or joining the parade!

There still is time to get your tickets for Des Moines’ black-tie birthday gala – but you’d better hurry – the Black Tie Dinner Gala and Auction that kicks off a year of celebrating 50 years as a city is this Saturday, March 21st.

The evening gala – with a silent basket auction, no-host bar, dinner and dancing, and some ring-a-ding-ding entertainment featuring Frank Sinatra vocal stylings by Joey Jewell – will be in the dining room of the Highline Community College Student Union Building, located at 2400 S. 240th Street.

The basket auction and cocktail hour begin at 6pm with dinner at 7pm.

Tickets are $75 per person and a table for eight is $560, and can be purchased at the Des Moines Field House, 1000 S. 220th St.

For information, call 206-870-6527.

The gala is sponsored by the city and Puget Sound Energy – the 50th Anniversary celebration’s major corporate sponsor.

Major 50th anniversary events during the year will also include:

• The official birthday celebration on June 17
• Fireworks Over Des Moines on July 4, preceded by a concert by Junior Cadillac
• An Anniversary Summer Festival on July 18 with a Seafair-sanctioned Grand Parade, car and boat shows, cultural activities, a sock hop and barbecue, children’s activities, a teen dance, and the Des Moines Waterfront Farmers Market.

The 12th largest city in King County, Des Moines incorporated on June 17, 1959. This community of almost 30,000 residents is inviting residents of neighboring South King County cities and beyond to discover Des Moines and experience the historic downtown Marina District during the 50th anniversary celebration.

More information is available at the 50th Anniversary Website: www.desmoines50th.com

Des Moines launches its celebration of 50 years as an incorporated city with a black-tie gala on Saturday, March 21st in the Student Union Building dining room at Highline Community College, 2400 S. 240th Street.

The black-tie gala – sponsored by the City of Des Moines and Puget Sound Energy – includes a silent basket auction, no-host bar, dinner and dancing, with entertainment featuring Frank Sinatra vocal stylings by Joey Jewell.

Tickets are $75 per person, and a table of eight is $560. Seating is limited to 280.

Tickets are on sale at the Des Moines Field House, 1000 S. 220th Street. Proceeds will help fund additional 50th anniversary events.

The second major event is the city’s official birthday party on June 17 – the actual date of incorporation in 1959 – at Des Moines’ historic Odd Fellows Hall, 728 S. 225th Street. This event, free to the public, will include an open house, historic displays and talks, and a community birthday cake, as well as a time capsule and a hot-air balloon.

Fireworks Over Des Moines, the city’s traditional Fourth of July celebration at the Marina and Beach Park, will feature a spectacular pyrotechnic display that also commemorates 50 years as a city – preceded as the sun sets behind the rugged Olympic Mountains with a concert by Junior Cadillac, food and patriotic fun for all ages.

Prior to these holiday activities will be the Des Moines Waterfront Farmers Market. A “Waterland City” 50th Birthday Festival on July 18 will energize the Des Moines Marina with a grand parade downtown with Moby Duck and the Seafair Pirates, and the Marina entertainment stages, sidewalk cafes, and an evening sock hop in addition to the Farmers Market, plus activities just for kids.

A number of additional local events that take place annually will include the city’s birthday theme – making 2009 a great year for those who live nearby to discover this undiscovered jewel in their own backyard – and will be announced soon.

Here are the details:

WHAT: Des Moines’ 50th Birthday Black Tie Gala featuring Dinner, Entertainment, Dancing and Silent Auction

WHEN: Saturday, March 21st

WHERE: Highline Community College Student Union Building dining room

COST: $75 per person, or a table of 8 for just $560 (that equals just $70 per ticket). All proceeds fund the 50th Birthday Celebration.

TICKETS: Available at the Parks & Recreation Office, Corky Cellars, downtown WaMu branch or from Birthday Steering Committee Members.

More info at http://www.desmoines50th.com/

VIDEO: Here’s a sneak peek, ring-a-ding-ding video of Joey Jewell

Des Moines is turning the big 5-Oh this year, and the festivities begin March 21st with a full-blown black tie gala shindig at Highline Community College featuring entertainment from Joey Jewell, an Entertainer who sings like Frank and Dino, with the sensibilities of the Rat Pack.

Here are the details:

WHAT: Des Moines’ 50th Birthday Black Tie Gala featuring Dinner, Entertainment, Dancing and Silent Auction

WHEN: Saturday, March 21st

WHERE: Highline Community College

COST: $75 per person, or a table of 8 for just $560 (that equals just $70 per ticket). All proceeds fund the 50th Birthday Celebration.

TICKETS: Available at the Parks & Recreation Office, Corky Cellars, downtown WaMu branch or from Birthday Steering Committee Members. More info at http://www.desmoines50th.com/

VIDEO: Here’s a sneak peek video of Joey Jewell to give you an idea of what to expect: