A memorial for Luke T. Gullberg,  the 26-year old Des Moines man who was killed on Oregon’s Mount Hood last week, will be this Sunday, Dec. 20th from 3pm to 6pm at Pacific Middle School, located at 22705 24th Avenue South.

Luke died on Saturday, Dec. 12th while climbing Mt. Hood with Anthony Vietti and Katie Nolan, who are still missing. His body was found on a glacier at 9,000 feet by searchers. Reports are that Luke may have fallen and experienced some trauma, then crawled a couple hundred yards before dying of hypothermia.

Here are the details:

WHAT: Memorial for Luke T. Gullberg

WHEN: Sunday, Dec. 20th from 3-6pm

WHERE: Pacific Middle School, located at 22705 24th Avenue South in Des Moines.

INFO/RSVP: Here are some links to various pages created in Luke’s honor:

• Facebook tribute page
• Facebook page on the Mermorial here where you can RSVP and/or leave comments
• Tribute page from fellow climber Richard Lutz
  

And here’s a video of a press conference held at Mt. Hood about the incident:

The Des Moines Historical Society is holding a special “Honoring Veterans” celebration Tuesday night, Nov. 10th, beginning at 7pm downstairs at IOOF Hall, which is located at 728 South 225th Street.

Folks are asked to bring mementos, photos, stories and/or remembrances of those who served in war(s), or to come tell their own stories (or if you’d prefer, written and read by a historical society board member) if they’re a Vet.

Refreshments will be served, and mementos will be on display for all to share.

Here are the details:

The Des Moines Garden Club has installed a Blue Star Memorial Marker in honor of all veterans with the help of Anette Chameke, John Blackburn, Phil Grader, and Dave McGinnis or the Des Moines Park and Recreation and Scott Willekins of the Marina.

The memorial will be dedicated this Saturday, Oct. 31st at 10:30 am at the South Marina Park (near where the final Farmers Market & Chili Cookoff will be taking place).

The memorial honors all the men and women of the Armed Forces.

The Blue Star Memorial Marker Program of the National Garden Clubs, Inc. began in 1945. The name was chosen for the star on flags displayed in homes and businesses denoting a family member serving in the Armed Forces during WW11.  The memorial has since come to honor all service men and women.  The Blue Star Memorial Program grew to extend across the continental United States, Alaska and Hawaii.

The Des Moines Garden Club proudly presents this marker to all the veterans of Des Moines.

A special Veteran’s Day Commemoration is coming to the SeaTac Community Center on Wednesday, Nov. 11th to celebrate both the history of Des Moines Memorial Drive as well as honor women who have served their country.

Here are the details:

WHAT: Veteran’s Day Commemoration: Women in Service

WHO: Scheduled speakers include:

• Kitty Milne, Highline Historical Society
• Congressman Adam Smith, 8th District
• Peggy Caudill, Intertribal Warrior Society (former Nurse in the U.S. Army)
• Carol Reed, American Legion (former Sergeant in the U.S. Marines)
• Kit Ledbetter, City of SeaTac

WHEN: Wednesday, November 11th from 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

WHERE: SeaTac Community Center, located at 13735 24th Avenue South SeaTac, WA 98168; (206) 973-4680

INFO: The Des Moines Memorial Drive – The Living Road of Remembrance, is an eight-mile stretch of road through the cities of Des Moines, Burien, SeaTac and the Boulevard Park area of unincorporated King County. The Drive was completed in 1922 with the planting of 1,100 American elm trees, each commemorating an individual from Washington state who died in World War I. On November 11, 1963 a memorial wall commemorating the history of the Drive was dedicated at Sunnydale School in Burien.

ABOUT: The Des Moines Memorial Drive Committee, a citizen advisory committee created in 2000, developed a plan for restoring and enhancing the memorial road. The plan outlines how jurisdictions will implement enhancement efforts as part of future road improvement projects. For more information, visit www.roadofremembrance.org.

From their press release:

Community members are invited on Veterans Day, Wednesday, November 11, to celebrate a local historic road which honors the fallen soldiers of World War I. In addition to highlighting the history of Des Moines Memorial Drive, the event this year will honor women who served in the military during World War I and over the decades since that conflict. The event will be held at 2:00pm at SeaTac Community Center, located at 13735 – 24th Avenue South, in SeaTac.

Des Moines Memorial Drive is an eight-mile stretch of road which winds through the Boulevard Park area of unincorporated King County, SeaTac, Burien and Des Moines. In 1922 the project was completed with the planting of 1,100 American elm trees to line the roadway as a “living” memorial to those who lost their lives in World War I. Over time, the impacts of disease, radical pruning and utility installations have decimated most of the elms. Forty-six years ago on November 11, 1963, a memorial wall commemorating the history of the Drive was dedicated.

While held on Veterans Day, the event will also mark the day formerly known as Armistice Day, which is the anniversary of the official end of World War I (November 11, 1918). Elected officials including Congressman Adam Smith and local mayors will honor the historical nature of Des Moines Memorial Drive and the special role that women played in the country’s military history.

An Advisory Committee was created in 2000 with representation from King County, local cities, other interested public agencies, and concerned citizens to develop a coordinated vision for restoring and maintaining the living memorial. The resulting plan, which has been accepted by all the participating jurisdictions, outlines how the local cities can also incorporate similar memorial elements in their future road improvement projects along the Drive.

Des Moines Memorial Drive has national significance on several accounts:

1. It is the earliest planned “living road of remembrance.”
2. It is the only “living road of remembrance” that uses Elm trees.
3. At 10 miles, it is the longest “living road of remembrance.

In addition to the celebratory event, interpretive displays prepared by the Highline Historical Society will be available for public viewing. Local veterans and school groups are expected to take part in the event that will also recognize the ongoing cooperative efforts of the cities and county. learn more about Des Moines Memorial Drive, visit www.roadofremembrance.org.

Des Moines native Tom Pfaeffle, who was tragically shot and killed in July, will be memorialized on the evening of Thursday, August 13th at The Moore Theater in Seattle.

Doors will open at 5pm, and everyone is welcome.

Pfaeffle, an acclaimed 30-year veteran sound engineer, worked with bands like Nirvana, The Black Crowes, Aerosmith, Heart and many others.

According to a website set up as a tribute:

We’ll be celebrating the night in the only way Tom would’ve wanted. With great stories, music & friends

All proceeds from the evening will go to the Pfaeffle family. There will be no ticketing, we ask that you donate whatever you can.

We’d like to thank The Seattle Theater Group, Triamp Group and The Art Institute of Seattle for their generosity.

For those of you who are unable to attend, please feel free to use this site as a place to share memories, stories, songs and anything else you’d like to share in remembering Tom, his life and his work.

The site also gives this recap of Tom’s life:

On Friday, July 17th, a loving wife lost her husband, a family lost their father, students lost their teacher and friends lost a smiling face they could always count on. We all lost something that this world has far too few of… a generous, caring, sincere, heartfelt person who gave all he could to those who became a part of his life.

Tom was a great man to many people for many different reasons. We’ve put up this website to honor the memories we have of him and to come together to celebrate his life and contributions to our collective successes, creativity and happiness.

Anyone who knew Tom knew that the single most important part of his life was his family. A trust has been set up in their name to help provide some support. We ask that you give what you can.

Tom’s generosity knew no limits. This is our chance to show that not only was Tom a generous person but he knew how to surround himself with people of equal character and generosity.

We hope the trust not only provides the family with support now but will continue to provide for them in the future.

Here’s a poster with more info:

by Janet Grella

By now many of our Readers have heard about the death of Tom Pfaeffle, a noted sound engineer who was recently killed in Twisp, when he apparently put his hotel room key into the wrong door then was shot.

But what you may not know is that Tom was born and raised right here in Des Moines. He continued to live in his family home here until he and his family needed more room for the kids and sound studio and moved to Black Diamond where he opened “The Tank Studios.” This was about five years ago.

The Waterland Blog first learned about the shooting death of this music industry sound man extraordinaire when Matt Pina and his wife stopped by our booth at the Des Moines Farmers Market last Saturday. Matt alerted us to the news, and was visibly shaken.

At that point we Googled Pfaeffle’s name, and there was no information yet about his death since it had happened just the night before. Now there’s numerous sites reporting his death and paying homage to him, remembering him as the great sound guy that he was. Pfaeffle, a 30-year veterean, worked as a sound engineer with these bands:

• Nirvana
• The Black Crowes
• Great White
• Heart
• Queensryche
• Scorpions
• UB40
• Aerosmith
• Alice Cooper
• Rodney Crowell
• B.B. King
• and “countless others”
  

But what mainstream media and the internet aren’t saying is that Tom Pfaeffle was born and raised in Des Moines.

His childhood friend Aaron DeAnda remembers him with the Waterland Blog:

Tom and I first met in our neighborhood Delrose Manor in Des Moines near Highline Community College. He was a few years younger than me. We had such good times as kids. His dad is gone now, and his mother, Charlotte, lives in Arizona. Tom was an only child, so he considered all the neighborhood guys his brothers. We played a lot of football in the streets. Tom was in our band, “Session,” in high school. Tom played guitar and was the sound man. He wanted to do sound as long as I can remember. He was very focused. Of all of us he was the only one to make a living in music. He had a good ear for sound…a critical ear.

He was passionate about music and he reached out to everyone. He considered everyone ‘family’. We’d still get together for sushi or at 909 in Burien listening to live music.

Aaron is now a Burien resident and is in a band with fellow MRHS graduate Matt Pina. Their band, “Uncle Ernie’s,” recently performed at Mick Kelly’s and hope to be back there soon. Aaron plays drums while Matt plays bass.

Matt not only played in the band “Rolling Boulders” with him, he provided these exclusive photos of he and Tom in younger years (Tom is in the striped shirt):

Matt and Tom were in the class of ’79 at Mt. Rainier High School. We asked Matt to remember his friend and fellow Des Moines native.

I was very proud of Tom, he had a great ear and knew how to make the music sound great.

Like everyone, we fumbled as we learned our craft, but Tom persevered. He became successful and turned his dream into reality. In fact he’s the only person I know who ever turned their musical dreams into reality (more than a hobby).

One of my most vivid memories of Tom is about 12 years ago. He was engineering a recording for a few of us from Instant Karma that were getting re-aquainted. On a break when everyone had headed outside, Tom picked up an acoustic guitar and began strumming a favorite song of mine, Neil Young’s “The Needle and The Damage Done”. I was captivated and really enjoyed that moment. I can’t say why it was special, but it was. It was just a moment of purity. A short performance by the man who ran the board. He wasn’t really known for his guitar playing, but that moment was genuine and awesome.

Friends from Tom’s life, the music industry and others from Des Moines will celebrate his life at St. Philomena’s Church, located at 1790 South 222nd Street on Wed., July 29th at 11am.