West Seattle, Washington
13 Saturday
From tonight’s quarterly Morgan Community Association meeting, concluded about an hour ago at The Kenney (WSB sponsor):
MORGAN JUNCTION PARK EXPANSION UPDATE: Ed Pottharst from Seattle Parks and Zack Thomas from Board & Vellum led this briefing about the site north of the current park. Site remediation is required because of the former dry cleaners at the site; some drilling has been done to gauge the extent of the contamination. They’re sampling and testing groundwater too, as well as soil-vapor analysis before year’s end. Pacific Groundwater Group is working on all this. They hope to have a cleanup plan by January.
On to the design – all the input has been narrowed down to one unified final schematic design that was delivered yesterday to Parks, and will likely go through a few more tweaks. The project team said the idea of a stage and promenade went over well during feedback, as did a “loop trail.” SDOT wants alley updating to jibe with the site’s underlying mixed-use zoning; Parks hopes to “grade it out and gravel it.” A turnaround was requested. They’ll remove the vegetation at the original park site so that there’s a line of sight there. There’ll be a 20-foot-tall net climber, for all ages, in the park.
From David Hutchinson of Seal Sitters Marine Mammal Stranding Network tonight, the photo and more information on Tuesday’s sea lion removal and necropsy on the West Seattle shore:
Seal Sitters would like to thank Seattle Parks for their participation in the removal of the deceased California Sea Lion from the shoreline yesterday. They moved the carcass from Cove #3, along Harbor Avenue, over to the Don Armeni boat ramp where Casey Mclean of SR3 performed a limited necropsy due to the advanced stage of decomposition. Parks’ staff has arranged for the disposal of the carcass now that the necropsy has been completed. Seal Sitters Marine Mammal Stranding Network had been tracking the location of this dead animal as well as another that had floated up on Port of Seattle property last Saturday.
Yesterday was a busy day for Seal Sitters. As well as coordinating and assisting at the necropsy site, our volunteers responded to a dead harbor seal pup on the other side of the West Seattle peninsula and watched over a live pup resting on the rocks along the Elliott Bay shoreline. Seal Sitters responds to all reports of marine mammals on West Seattle beaches – alive or dead. Please contact our Hotline (206-905-7325) if you observe any of these while out on local beaches. Our volunteers are on duty to protect any live animals and are responsible for entering details about any dead ones in NOAA’s online database.
We asked a followup about whether the necropsy had revealed anything about why the sea lion died: “All we can say at this point is that the sea lion was robust. Due to the very advanced decomposition after being dead for several weeks or more, the necropsy was much more limited than if the animal was fresh dead. The skull was removed and taken for x-rays.” They’ll report back if those show anything.
You might already know this through your workplace, or your kid’s school – tomorrow is the annual “Great Washington Shakeout” earthquake drill, with more than a million people expected to fake a quake at 10:17 am (on 10/17). The goal this year: To be sure you know how to “drop, cover, and hold on” to protect yourself as best you can once the shaking starts. P.S. For West Seattle-specific preparedness info – covering more than quake readiness – go here!
Thanks to Jim Borrow for the photo. Purse seiners often make a brief appearance off West Seattle this time of year, fishing for chum salmon. The state Department of Fish and Wildlife website says this area is open for purse-seine fishing until 6 tonight.
The Southwest Seattle Historical Society has announced a new project – “War on the Homefront”:
The Southwest Seattle Historical Society (SWSHS) is conducting an exciting new oral history project. Staff at the Society’s Log House Museum are interviewing the West Seattle High School classes of 1944 and 1945. These classes had the unique experience of having their high school years during the Second World War.
Seattle is a strategic military location, both now and during World War II. Seattle’s southwest district is a particularly strong historical backdrop for the experience of wartime Seattle due to its placement between the waterfront and Boeing. As we lose period sites and markers, it is urgent now than ever to document the imprint of this period in history. Through oral histories, the SWSHS is asking: what was it like to live in Seattle in a time of war? High school is a formative time in a young person’s life – interviewing the classes that experienced wartime during their years of high school provides a particularly rich snapshot of those years.
Several interviews have already been conducted, during which these now 93 and 94-year-old West Seattle alums shared their experiences from rationing, USO programming, to wartime jobs. Jim Bonholzer related how he and his classmates would pool their gas ration stamps together to rent a U-Haul in order to go skiing in Snoqualmie.
Nancy McPhee (shown in both photos above) told of her time as a popular USO hostess versed in all the latest dances and entertaining servicemen. Bob Windom, a doctor’s son, shared that he would go on calls with his dad at night during blackouts, which meant driving without lights on through West Seattle neighborhoods. These and so many more stories and vignettes help us understand a critical time in our history at a local, and very personal, level.
Interviews will be conducted through the rest of the year and early 2020 and will be turned into a future exhibit. The interviews will also be added to the permanent collection of the Society, which already includes over 10,000 documents, archives, oral histories, and artifacts.
In order to preserve their collection; collect stories; and share local history through exhibits, tours, and special events, the SWSHS needs support. You can help by visiting loghousemuseum.org/get-involved/donate. This project is partially funded by a grant awarded to the SWSHS from 4Culture.
If you have any questions, please contact Registrar Rachel Regelein at the Log House Museum, registrar@loghousemuseum.org, 206-350-0999
ADDED: Thanks to Forest for pointing out a video interview with Nancy McPhee from 2014:
Thanks for the tips. Seattle Police are working to clean up a crash near the bottom of Highland Park Way hill. While it’s had traffic impacts, apparently no serious injuries, as there was no SFD dispatch.
(WSB photos)
Eight and a half months after we first reported that the ex-Alki Tully’s would become a restaurant called Harry’s Beach House, it’s opening day. As our photos show, the space at 2676 Alki SW has undergone a thorough transformation.
It’s the second Seattle restaurant for Julian Hagood, who runs Harry’s Fine Foods on Capitol Hill. As the name implies, the decor is highlighted by a seaside/nautical theme:
As for the food – Harry’s Beach House is serving brunch and dinner for starters. The brunch menu includes biscuits and gravy, steak and eggs, pancakes, granola, and schnitzel; the dinner menu includes fish, beef, pork, chicken, and vegetarian entrees. Hours for fall and winter are 10 am to 10 pm Wednesdays-Sundays, closed Mondays and Tuesdays, with changes expected when the warm-weather season arrives.
Back from talking climate on an international stage in Europe, Mayor Jenny Durkan visited South Park on Tuesday to gird for potential budget battle back home. Public-safety concerns were in the spotlight as Police Chief Carmen Best and Fire Chief Harold Scoggins accompanied her on a walking tour with the Duwamish Valley Youth Corps. The sights ran from gritty to pretty, the former embodied by the “scary trail” (photo above) running along Highway 99 south of 8th and Trenton, where Youth Corps members said they had found four needles during a recent cleanup event. For the latter, she got to see three murals the Youth Corps, led by Carmen Martinez, created in and around Duwamish Waterway Park.
The mayor pronounced the murals “gorgeous.” Corps members explained they had worked with artist/storyteller Roger Fernandes to create the mural telling the Duwamish River’s story, past, present and future.
Between the murals and the trail, a photo-op outside South Park Library:
Serious moments too. The mayor took questions from the teens at the South Park Neighborhood Center pre-tour:
Among those questions, one Youth Corps member voiced worry about the upcoming renovations at the South Park Community Center, and that they’d be “pushed out.” The mayor and Seattle Parks‘ Christopher Williams reassured them that the work would be done in phases and that other locations were being sought for temporarily displaced programs. Another teen asked if there could be a police station closer to South Park than the Southwest Precinct; Chief Best said response times are actually on par with what the rest of the city experiences. South Park is one of the communities where “emphasis patrols” were added earlier this year, and the mayor’s proposed SPD budget would continue that.
WEST SEATTLE NEXT WEEK: The mayor and chiefs are expected to visit West Seattle next week for a similar tour; we’re awaiting specifics on when and where.
(Western Grebe, photographed by Mark Wangerin)
From the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AT THE MOVIES: 1 pm at the Senior Center of West Seattle, today’s classic is “Juke Girl.” $1 members/$2 nonmembers, popcorn included. (4217 SW Oregon)
LEARN ABOUT ZONING: What does Residential Small Lot zoning mean for West Seattle neighborhoods? Learn about it with local architect Matt Hutchins, 5 pm at West Seattle (Admiral) Library. (2306 42nd SW)
MORGAN COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION: Quarterly meeting at The Kenney (WSB sponsor), 7 pm. See the agenda in our calendar listing. All welcome. (7125 Fauntleroy Way SW)
MADISON MIDDLE SCHOOL PTSA: General meeting at 7 pm, Madison MS library. (3429 45th SW)
OPEN MIC: 7:30 pm at The Skylark, free, all ages until 10 pm. (3803 Delridge Way SW)
THE SUFFERING F-HEADS: “Punk/jazz provocateurs,” 9 pm at Parliament Tavern. 21+. (4210 SW Admiral Way)
MORE ... on our complete calendar!
We often feature local libraries’ storytimes in our calendar and daily preview lists. One that’s coming up on Friday is a community member-presented event rather than library-sponsored: Japanese storytime, 11:10 am Friday (corrected: October 18th) in the meeting room at High Point Library (3411 SW Raymond). They’ve been presented occasionally by Sayoko for seven years and she’s hoping to reach families who hadn’t heard. She says, “It is a fun time with Japanese picture books, songs, and craft time for little ones and also for parents or caregivers who seek Japanese community. All are welcome!” 日本語のお話の会 10月18日金曜日11:10からハイポイント図書館のミーティングルームで開催します.
(SDOT MAP with travel times/ Is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE/ West Seattle-relevant traffic cams HERE)
6:57 AM: Good morning! Rain’s back. No current incident/alert reports.
8:44 AM: Tipster says a broken-down trailer is backing things up at the east end of Roxbury corridor.
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