WSBLI’s Clyde Merriwether, Ashleigh McCurdy, Kateesha Atterberry, Roger Evans (photo courtesy of Kateesha Atterberry, from Thursday’s event)
Story by Jason Grotelueschen Photos by Jason Grotelueschen (unless otherwise noted) Reporting for West Seattle Blog
The vibrant history and bright future of the Black community in the state of Washington were celebrated Thursday night at the Legacy of Learning: Building Futures Together fundraising event at the Washington State Black Legacy Institute (WSBLI) in West Seattle.
As we previewed last week, the dinner and social event was held in the group’s space at 2656 42nd SW in West Seattle’s Admiral District, which opened earlier this year with a mission of community engagement and sharing information about local Black history in compelling ways.
The group says it “doesn’t just preserve the past – we architect the future” through exhibitions, education, storytelling, and strategic partnerships to ensure that “Black stories in Washington are not only told, but celebrated and built upon.”
On Thursday night, the group shared their achievements and vision and rallied support for their ongoing and new projects.
Keynote speaker Dr. Keisha Scarlett, a longtime educator and school administrator with deep history in Seattle, gave rousing remarks later in the evening about the crucial mission of “protecting Black brilliance” and the importance of using imagination and hard work to tackle educational inequity and do amazing things for young people:
To open the evening’s program, WSBLI president/CEO Kateesha Atterberry shared updates about the group’s mission and activities, and implored guests to get involved and support their important work:
Atterberry is the founder of real-estate/development firm Urban Black, which partnered with WSBLI to purchase the city-landmarked building (built in 1924) where the event was held which the group calls home (it’s the former location of Christian Science church and the Sanctuary at Admiral).
As described by Atterberry, WSBLI is designed to be permanent cultural institution dedicated to documenting, preserving, teaching, and celebrating Black history and achievements across Washington State.
“This is your space, your building, your place,” Atterberry emphasized, “and it’s more than a museum,” owned, governed, and operated by the community it serves. It is designed as a place where children and youth see themselves reflected in exhibits, curriculum, and leadership, and where elders’ life work is honored. It’s intended to be forward-looking and also ties cultural preservation to economic empowerment, as part of the same history. Core programs and services include:
Youth and family education programs.
Pilot preservation and research access.
Cultural exhibitions, lectures, and public storytelling.
Entrepreneurship and wealth-building workshops.
Business development and technical assistance.
Leadership development and community organizing training.
Atterberry ran through a list of development projects and initiatives, including a new 113-unit project at 23rd and Cherry, which is a construction collaboration financed by the Amazon Housing Equity Fund. She also described a community facility partnership in collaboration with Fathers and Sons Together (FAST) on the FAST Resource & Outreach Center (aka FAST ROC).
Next on stage was Roger Evans, who serves as WSBLI’s curator, historian and vice president, talked about the strategies that the group employs as it relates to gathering, preserving and sharing stories of the Black community in Washington state:
Evans said his personal interest in fostering intergenerational links and connecting elders to youth began over a decade ago, and he showed two of his family videos that underscored the importance of this work. He also shared stories of families moving from places like Oklahoma to Washington State almost a century ago, buying land and starting business and establishing lasting roots in the area.
Evans added that the WSBLI building is designed “to empower us see ourselves in the future,” with advanced multimedia combined with photographs and portraits for viewing. The group’s activities include oral history collection and digitizing in elders’ homes, schools, libraries, theaters, and residences, and then creating and archiving content including 360-degree videos and VR-enabled experiences to preserve the subjects’ presence, body language, and voice. They also do image restoration using AI. To engage with the larger community, they do public exhibits and outreach and collaborations with schools, museums, and universities.
Evans says the institute plans to soon launch a website featuring 10,000 prepared digital items for public access on mobile devices, which will take the group’s engagement to the next level.
The group then invited Scarlett to the stage for her keynote speech, which focused on the current state of education and society, children’s challenges, and the role of wisdom and faith:
Scarlett emphasized the importance of creating an educational ecosystem that co-develops identity but that “survival isn’t enough” — we need to assert presence, dignity, and purpose, and a strong desire for every child to have the same ecosystem.
She focused on “Black brilliance” as a core topic, and said “education should reveal brilliance, not expose weakness.” She added that it’s important to reframe traditional thinking, because “achievement gaps are just imagination gaps” caused by institutions lacking imagination, courage, and commitment to see brilliance in its students. “Black children are not underperforming; the systems are.”
She acknowledged the challenges of the current political landscape, but recognized continuity with the past: “We have been here before.” Black-led institutions truly matter, and “we don’t wait for the storm to pass, we dance in the storm.”
Scarlett closed by encouraging attendees to remember that “joy is strategy,” “we are the ancestors of the future that we are building,” and that it’s up to us to “build a future where every child has what they need, every family is stable, every community is whole” and to “build ecosystems that protect identity, reveal gifts, and develop leaders who develop leaders.”
Guests on Thursday night enjoyed a Thanksgiving-inspired buffet meal, drinks and dessert:
After the event wrapped up in the main-level room, WSBLI’s Clyde Merriwether took us on a quick tour of the lower level of the building, which houses the institute’s exhibits and displays, and serves as a centerpiece for showcasing the rich history that the group works hard to preserve.
(Photo courtesy Admiral Neighborhood Association)
We also caught up with Evans at Atterberry after the event. Evans said the group has hosted about 10 events this year, with plans to do more in the future. He said the focus of tonight’s event was to “talk about what we do,” and of course to raise money, but he emphasized that beyond money, the group also needs more volunteers in order to really bring its mission to life. Atterberry said that in the time since the group opened its doors in the Admiral District, neighbors have been “amazing and welcoming” and her group wants to return the favor by “being a real pillar to the community.”
There were also several mentions Thursday night of the Seattle Griot Project, which is a local effort and parent organization that formed the foundation for WSBLI as it relates to documenting Black history in the area.
For more information and to get involved, you can contact the organization via e-mail at wsblacklegacyinstitute@gmail.com.
If you have food and/or coats/jackets to donate, but haven’t been able to haul the item(s) to a local donation site yet, the most convenient drive of the season is coming up Saturday (November 22):
The Caudle Family‘s annual drive-up/ride-up donation drive in the lot behind Hope Lutheran started with son Atticus organizing it as a middle-schooler in 2020 (with almost a ton of donations!); this year, it’s happening earlier than past years, as he’ll be home from college to be part of it. Just bring your donation(s) to the lot, entrance on the north side of SW Oregon just east of 42nd SW, 10 am-3 pm Saturday!
Lights and messages lined the path tonight to the gathering hall at St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church, where Admiral Church now worships while awaiting its future new home on its old site, and where church members and other friends gathered to wish longtime Pastor Andrew Conley-Holcom farewell.
We wrote about his impending departure – for a youth-family ministry role at a church much closer to his home in Tacoma – last weekend. Even if you didn’t already know him, that story would give you a sense of his down-to-earthiness. And that was reflected in the simplicity of tonight’s party – pizza and a singalong (Admiral Church’s Anita Shaffer wrote new lyrics for two songs including “Leavin’ on a Jet Plane,” reworked to “Leavin’ West Seattle”).
It’s not a goodbye party without a cake, and this one paid homage to the pastor’s propensity for swearing:
The minister known peninsula-wide as simply “Pastor Andrew” will lead Admiral Church worship for two more Sundays – his last one will be November 23rd, one week from tomorrow.
Story and photos by Hayden Yu Andersen
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
In 2022, when the conflict between Ukraine and Russia finally boiled over into an invasion, longtime West Seattle resident and entrepreneur Peter Gelpi traded the comfort of an office for a bomb shelter on the front lines of the largest war in Europe since World War II. And, Gelpi says if given the chance, he’d do it all over again.
On Monday night at Our Lady of Guadalupe, Gelpi, who’s back in West Seattle after another trip to Ukraine, spoke on behalf of Impact Partners Ukraine, a nonprofit organization he helped found with longtime friend-turned colleague and fellow West Seattle resident Jennifer Gouge. The event was hosted by the West Seattle Hatters, a knitting club who have turned their talents toward making cold-weather hats for displaced Ukrainians. Since Gelpi met them as a presenter for another group’s meeting, he’s taken more than 800 hats to children and families forced out of their homes by the invasion.
Gelpi, formerly the Vice President of Programs and Operations at FIRST Washington, a program aimed toward inspiring and preparing students for careers in STEM, says there wasn’t one single moment that motivated him to volunteer in Ukraine. When the war started in 2022, as he put it, he simply felt compelled to go. “I swore to my wife I wouldn’t start another company,” Gelpi joked, “and look where we are.”
Since touching down in Ukraine for the first time three years ago, Gelpi has seen the conflict evolve, and he’s been forced to adapt alongside it. This adaptability, he says, is a strength of Impact Partners Ukraine. Instead of operating as a large, bureaucratic NGO (non-government organization), they’ve managed to stay nimble. Gelpi and Gouge opt to partner with other small, local organizations and individuals across Ukraine, acting quickly as boots on the ground to help coordinate, fund, and assist with whatever needs their partners have.
While they’ve been successful so far, establishing multiple operational kitchens and contributing to shelters across the country, it hasn’t been without hardship. Gelpi recalled a particularly difficult moment, when they were forced to evacuate a shelter they had set up in Toretsk, a city in Eastern Ukraine next to the frontlines.
“Even a few months before,” Gelpi said, “it became increasingly apparent that we were being surrounded. Slowly, the roads I was used to taking were being occupied by the Russians.” Evacuation itself was difficult, as they tried to convince residents to leave the only home they’d ever known for an uncertain future, against the imminent threat of occupation- or even death. “They kept saying no, our army will be there for us, our God will be there for us, and I had to say no.” Gelpi said, “We’re not going to be saved by anyone; we need to get out.”
A filmmaker following Gelpi’s efforts at the time recorded the process of evacuation, which he presented on Monday Night. Here’s the video:
Camera shots through the stained windows of a truck show Gelpi and his partners driving past burning buildings. Residents tearfully pack their belongings. Some carry elderly loved ones, no longer able to walk. The sound of bullets crack in the distance as everyone instinctively ducks. They drive past empty neighborhoods and the shells of buildings as they evacuate the city proper, all to the steady rhythm of shells on the horizon.
On those days, and there have been many, Peter says, it’s hard to keep going. But, through this work, he’s met so many dedicated, brave people, which he says helps him continue on. “Meeting Jennifer and the other organizers, being able to share stories and experiences, those connections sustain me.”
Jennifer Gouge has been Gelpi’s colleague for less than a year, but in that time, she’s gotten a clearer look at the conflict than many ever will. Her story started at the beginning of 2025, in January. “I felt myself spinning with anxiety with all the chaos, and the emotional upheaval going on in our country and our world,” she said. “I needed a focal point, Something I was passionate about. So, I made my decision to focus on one thing: to keep democracy alive and to support Ukraine.” Gouge had been following Peter’s efforts as a friend, but two months after deciding what she wanted to do, she was touching down in Ukraine as a volunteer.
“I went to witness the situation on the ground firsthand,” said Gouge. “I wanted to meet these Ukrainian partners and peers and see the impact they were having on their communities. I wanted to see who they were.”
As a civilian, Gouge said she wanted to be as prepared as possible headed into the conflict. “I went through all the thoughts of what could possibly happen,” remarked Gouge. “We practiced self-tourniquets. Whenever we went to a hotel, I always knew exactly where a shelter was. When we were walking around, I would always take note of nearby shelters. I was incredibly aware, the last thing I wanted to do was freak out.”
She and Gelpi both had their share of stories from their time in Ukraine. In fact, with the way both of them talked about it, you’d never have guessed that their lives were in danger. Gouge talked casually about looking out the passenger-side window of their car a handful of days in, only to be faced with a low-flying drone, keeping pace with them. Gelpi joked about watching a ballistic missile hit the street near a hostel and feeling asphalt rain down around him.
“Someone, an old woman, stepped outside and asked, ‘What should we do?’ and I said, ‘Well, they shelled once, they probably won’t shell again’,” he said, smiling. “The scariest sound I’ve ever heard was that second missile streaking overhead. In that moment, we could’ve been gone.”
“Our first night in Kyiv,” Gouge interjected, “we got bombarded, and Peter slept through the whole thing,” a remark that drew laughter from both of them.
But beyond the war stories, Peter and Jennifer both agree that what sticks with them the most is the encounters they’ve had with partners on the ground. People who were regular citizens before the war, often displaced from their own homes, have worked ceaselessly to help others and keep hope alive as the war continues into its third year.
Their presentation on Monday wasn’t just about Impact Partners Ukraine and what people can do to help; it was about sharing the stories of people like Sveta, a woman displaced from her home who’s built multiple shelters since the outset of the war. When a shelter closer to the frontlines was destroyed, instead of giving up, she buckled down and kept working. Today, she plans to start a shelter north of Odessa, in Bohhunove, a quieter community with a focus on agriculture. As Gelpi put it, they’re tired of things getting blown up.
Keeping evacuation efforts active is Philip, a longtime friend and partner whom Gelpi met early on during his time in Ukraine. He receives a text from an unknown phone number, usually just a set of rough coordinates, and as missiles and drones close in, he and his team drive straight into the fire to save the lives of people they’ve never met, a routine Gouge says he’s kept up daily for the last three years.
Then, there’s Rise of Ukraine, a group founded by young adults in Dnipro, a city eight miles southeast of the capital of Kyiv. Working together with the community, Rise of Ukraine seeks to give children who have been forced to learn remotely since the COVID-19 pandemic the chance to develop socially and academically. This Christmas, they’ll be hosting a party for the children in Dnipro, which Impact Partners is currently helping fundraise for.
Gouge and Gelpi have friends everywhere, and these connections have continually been inspired to work against all odds to help the cause in Ukraine. “The people I met showed incredible resilience,” said Gouge. “I saw their strength, I saw their compassion, I saw their commitment to rebuild. These are people who didn’t flee. Some of them could, but they chose not to. They chose to stay and make a difference in their communities.”
Peter and Jennifer have taken the compassion they saw in Dnipro, Toretsk, Kyiv, and so many more places in Ukraine to the United States, and so far, while the reception has been overwhelmingly positive, they both expressed frustration that the war has, in their words, faded into the background. “I think people care a lot about Ukraine,” said Gouge, “and frankly, a lot is going on, but they aren’t getting the right news. I feel like we can be a vehicle, people can hear about what’s going on in Ukraine through us.”
Throughout their presentation, they shared countless stories. Quietly sharing a cup of coffee in a basement with Ukrainian soldiers who’d nearly shot them before they identified themselves as Americans. Watching their wi-fi go out, something they quickly learned was an early warning of a drone strike. All of the countless hours spent working with Philip, Sveta, and Rise of Ukraine. Each story held the same throughline, a thread that pulls Peter and Jennifer through impossible odds, and sometimes unbearable tragedy: these stories need to be shared.
There’s one in particular that stands out in Jennifer’s mind, from a day she spent in Kyiv. She saw people sitting in a corner shop, having coffee. People jogged down the street next to her, and others were playing with their dogs, taking advantage of their moments outside before curfew. “And everywhere I looked,” she said, “I would see Tulips in bloom.”
To help support Impact Partners Ukraine and the Christmas for the Children of Dnipro project, you can donate through their website here. Currently, Gelpi and Gouge are focused on spreading awareness. If you have questions or know other organizations that would be interested in hosting them for an event, you can contact them at 206-465-0033 or info@impactpartnersua.org.
Veterans Day commemorations come in all sizes. The senior-living center Quail Park of West Seattle invited us to stop by and say hello to three residents it’s honoring today:
Above, John Poska served in the Army/Reserve from 1964 to 1970. Below, Randy Curntt served in the Navy for five years after graduating from the US Naval Academy in 1972:
Quail Park also presented a certificate of recognition to Larry Johnson, a retired police captain:
The special program Quail Park presented today, in morning and afternoon sessions, featured music.
By Torin Record-Sand
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
West Seattle Indivisible members gathered Sunday for the first time since last month’s second nationwide No Kings demonstration, and while plans for the next protest were part of the discussion, the most urgent topic was community support in a time of growing need.
More than 70 people showed up for Sunday’s meeting at the Center for Active Living in The Junction. Organizers Laurie Reinhardt and Amy Daly-Donovan said they saw this meeting as a sign of their movement’s growth and potential for more of it. “[We’re here to talk tonight about] how we can spread our tentacles, how we can grow and reach, in ways we aren’t able to do today.” said Reinhardt.
They began with a debrief of the second No Kings demonstration on October 18th, held in many locations, including here in West Seattle at The Junction. West Seattle Indivisible said its final count for the rally here was around 1,500 attendees, five times the number who gathered here the day of the first No Kings demonstration.
But mainly they looked toward the future. The biggest announcement for the night was that West Seattle Indivisible is tentatively planning a march for late January, roughly around the time of last year’s inauguration, on either January 17th or 24th. They plan to start around Hiawatha Playfield and proceed to The Junction. One planned feature, a member from the events-planning team said, is an artistic procession of signs: “We want to create 365 signs to embody this year, one for each day naming what we have lost, a display reminding us and the public that our grief is collective, and that these things we have lost are not gone forever, and we are fighting to keep them or fighting to get them back.” They are in talks this week to plan the event, including obtaining permits from the city.
Attendees also heard more immediate ways to take civic action to support neighbors in need.
Keith Hughes of the Westside Neighbors Shelter took the podium, speaking to the need for the shelter. “We are a [non-profit] organization, all of our support comes from this community, […] and a lot of people working at that level together makes a difference,” Hughes said. He said that the shelter had hosted 72 people the previous day, and that recently there has been a sharp increase in the amount of people the shelter has served, so donations to help cover the shelter’s costs are welcome.
Hughes closed his pitch with a somber anecdote relating to the shelter’s need increasing because of the fedeerak government shutdown: “I have right now six ladies coming to the shelter every morning for breakfast, in their late 50s and 60s. All of them are government employees who have been laid off [because of the shutdown]. […] The face of homelessness is changing, and it’s changing quickly. It’s not just drug addicts and alcoholics on the street – it’s people like you and me who have lost their job, and we need to stand up for them in these tough times.”
West Seattle Indivisible members also heard from two representatives of the West Seattle Mutual Aid Party. “We are a mutual aid group, working out of the Highland Park neighborhood, with members all over West Seattle and White Center, helping to support unhoused neighbors. We provide [things like] food, water, hygiene items, survival supplies; we help fill in those gaps that aren’t being served by [public] programs,” they said, adding, “Even though we can’t change material circumstances overnight, we can make things a little safer.”
They said that people interested in the West Seattle Mutual Aid Party could attend one of two events they were hosting this week: their monthly arts and crafts night tomorrow (Tuesday, November 11), 4:30-8 PM at Southwest Library (9010 35th SW), and CPR/Overdose Response training on Wednesday the 12th at The Heron’s Nest (4818 Puget Way SW).
Kate, who described herself as a “recent Chicago transplant,” passed out small whistles to meeting attendees on behalf of the Washington Whistle Warriors. She said she was inspired to take up the cause after activists in Chicago recently used whistles as a way of communicating to neighbors and fellow officers that ICE officers were in the area. If you’d like to find out more about her organization, you can visit the Whistle Warriors’ page here.
The gathering also was intended to gather supplies for local food banks, particularly the West Seattle Food Bank and White Center Food Bank. “As we know, we’re in another precarious moment in the midst of the Trump Administration, where SNAP benefits are being threatened. But people have come to the table to contribute to local food banks and mutual aid efforts,” said Reinhardt. They planned to bring a large amount of donations from the meeting to WCFB this afternoon.
The group also talked about the importance of conversation. Group leaders said that between this meeting and the prior one, they held a challenge for each member to talk to at least ten other people about difficult political subjects. Many participated, and at least one member, Donna, said they’ll continue focusing on ways to engage others in conversation.
The organizers also passed out a flyer to all attendees with 13 actions members could take. Many of these actions reflected the same messages shared by the speakers of the night – donate to mutual-aid organizations and continue strengthening the organization. But they also emphasized that members should contact their representatives on political issues they care about, such as phoning congressional representatives, or participating in Postcards 4 Democracy.
Daly-Donovan also encouraged members to consider several other organizations for mutual-aid support, such as the Long Haul Kitchen, and for members to see the Mutual Aid Hub website for other local opportunities.
The meeting ended with a potluck, and more conversation.
Thanks to Gary Benson for sending the photo and story:
November 10th, longtime West Seattle resident Bob Burnham turns 100 years old!
He was born on November 10, 1925 to Walter and Dorthea Burnham in Wichita, Kansas. He has vivid memories as a young boy of walking in his father’s airplane shop, where a famous racing plane was born: the Travel Air ‘Mystery Ship’ that went on to win the 1929 Thompson Trophy Race. The plane was so fast it missed a pylon on the race route, had to double back and go by it again — and still won the race! One of the ‘Mystery Ships’ is in the Museum of Science & Industry in Chicago.
Growing up in this atmosphere, young Bob knew he had caught the ‘Aeronautical bug’! After military service and graduating from Wichita State U in Kansas, he married Janet Rummer in 1949. They eventually moved to Seattle in 1963, where he was employed by the Boeing Company as an aeronautical engineer for 45 years, creating airplane designs in the ‘Black Box’ area.
He was a private pilot for many years, is a faithful member of West Side Presbyterian Church and a wonderful Dad to his three sons (Charlie, Steve, Don), one daughter (Jane), and five generations of grandchildren that love him.
His secret to long life? Well, his Mom, Dorthea, almost lived to be 102. He loves classical music, the daily challenge of crosswords and sudoku puzzles. Oh — and he can also draw an airplane design on a paper napkin and make your head spin as he describes the aeronautics of it all!
Congratulations, Bob on the legacy you’ve had in your life of 100 years! You are loved by many. -Gary Benson
11:45 AM: That’s just part of the crowd in the upstairs hall at St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church (3050 California SW), where the first-ever West Seattle Joiner Jamboree is the place to be today. We’re here, based at a table on one end of the room (across from the coffee and snacks), and the hall is full of your neighbors, both representatives of more than 50 clubs, organizations, coalitions, etc, (see the list in our calendar listing – many are regularly featured in our calendar and daily event highlights), and people who’ve come to find out more about what’s happening in the community. This is continuing until 3 pm; updates to come!
(Added: Photo by Dave Gershgorn fpr WSB)
Be sure to get a raffle entry card while you’re here – get five participants to initial it and you’re eligible to enter; they’re doing drawings just before the top of each hour, and you need to be here to win.
12:30 PM: If you’re bringing warm clothes to donate, do that right at the lower entrance – we photographed the cart a few minutes ago as it was filled up, again! There’s also a bin for food donations here, and the White Center Food Bank is tabling next to us, too. Sharing our table is a rep from the West Seattle Tool Library. And back downstairs is where you’ll find performances – we caught a bit of the clogging demonstration (video added):
12:50 PM: We’ve had a couple photographers roaming for highlights for us. WSB’s Torin Record-Sand found Amber from Scream Club Seattle (which inspired much discussion when they launched at Lincoln Park, where they’re having monthly gatherings):
Some businesses are here because of the community events they offer – among them, Lori and Tim from West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor), which leads free community runs multiple times a week, and special events like the Gobble Gobble Group Run on Thanksgiving and the Christmas Light Run (December 21):
Both participants and visitors are all across the age spectrum, we’ve noticed – babies to seniors!
1:15 PM: Ever gone to Alki for Silent Dance? They’re here too – with the headsets that make it “silent”:
Thanks to everybody who’s stopped by the table to say hi – including some of the participants – we were happy to meet Perla from the Morbidly Curious Book Club, one of several book clubs whose meetings we list every month (next gathering, November 20, and Perla tells us the group has been growing steadily).
2:07 PM: Time’s passing quickly – less than one hour to get here if you haven’t been already! Adding more photos from Dave Gershgorn: first, below right is West Seattle Joiners organizer Julie Garbutt with Andrea O’Ferrall:
From left below, Kathy Dunn and Kate Wells from West Seattle Bike Connections, and Chun Yu and Lara Gardner from West Seattle Urbanism:
Paula Walters from West Seattle Ukulele Players teaches a song on ukulele.
Kay Paredes from Heavily Meditated, chatting with a potential joiner:
Amy Beaudoin from the Westside Neighbors Shelter:
3:02 PM: The event is wrapping up – to get ready for the shelter-benefiting Boeing Employees Choir in the sanctuary!
Groups, clubs, coalitions, organizations, teams … from two people strong to 200+ people mighty … If you’ve never really known just how many options you have for connecting with other West Seattle/White Center community members to have fun, do good, teach, learn, all of the above and more, this Saturday’s West Seattle Joiner Jamboree will show you!
Four weeks after the plan went public, last we heard from organizer Julie Garbutt is that more than 55 orgs will have someone at the drop-in event, 11 am-3 pm Saturday (November 8) at St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church Fellowship Hall (3050 California SW) to offer info and answer questions. (Many of them are shown in our calendar listing.) Thinking of going? RSVP here! And plan to bring warm clothing to donate, if you can – Julie tells us, “We will have a Warm Clothing Drive station sponsored by Admiral United Church of Christ at the Jamboree.” Other activities that are planned – besides visiting the tables/booths that interest you – are also in our calendar listing.
And if you can, get in the mood via the pre-funk, Friday night’s free screening of “Join or Die” (not an order, but rather a reference to how “joining” can extend your life) at Westside Unitarian Universalist Congregation (7141 California SW), 7:15 pm November 7 – here’s the trailer:
As with the Joiner Jamboree, advance registration is appreciated but not required – the film/discussion RSVP link is here.
By Torin Record-Sand
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
With marine life facing increasing challenges to survive and thrive, you might wonder, who’s the next generation of people studying to help them?
Answer: People like Lola Taylor, a third-year student at Washington State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, with an interest in marine animals. She’s a 5th-generation Seattleite who grew up here in West Seattle and graduated from Chief Sealth International High School. She is currently president of the WSU College of Veterinary Medicine Aquatics Club, which specializes in bringing speakers on the topic of veterinary work for marine animals, as well as offering lab work opportunities for students in the field.
(Officers of Aquatics Club at WSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine, from left, Isabelle Hughes, VP; Katelin Buckley, treasurer; Lola Taylor, president; Katie McDonald, secretary. Photo: Ted S. Warren)
Taylor views her work as a crucial element of the dynamic we have with local marine life. “Humans are the reason marine animals end up in rehabilitation centers, and if humans are causing the issue, they have a responsibility to resolve the issue.” she said.
Her passion started here in West Seattle, on the shores of Puget Sound. As a child, she often visited her grandparents in The Arroyos. She was in second grade when she started taking her visits seriously as a way to engage with local aquatic life. “When I went to the beach, my mom said, ‘If you want to be a scientist, they record the things they observe, so you should take a notebook with you’.”
She started noting as much as she could about the local sea-star population (only now recovering from catastrophic losses): “I’d write down colors of starfish, how many there were, if they were dead or alive, and if one was drying out in the sun at low tide, I’d take it back to the water.” All of this, she said, gave her a solid foundation and appreciation for how deeply connected we are to the life on our shores. “My parents instilled in me respect for animals and the environment from a young age, and it’s shaped the course of my volunteering and career path.” she said.
(Photo courtesy Lola Taylor)
She has continued to work locally, helping animals both on and off shore. During high school, she volunteered with the Seattle Aquarium‘s “Youth Ocean Advocates” program for three years, contributing more than 400 hours of her time. Her relationship with the aquarium has continued, as she’s recently had opportunities to shadow the veterinary work there and continue to build connections. She’s also helped with the Seal Sitters Marine Mammal Stranding Network here in West Seattle. She remembered fondly volunteering at the Alki Art Fair this summer with the group, doing education work while tabling: “I signed up for a 2-hour shift and kept talking the entire time, I hadn’t even realized two hours had passed – one of my fellow volunteers said ‘are you sure you want to go back to school after this?’”
Her dream is to be able to further this work after graduating from veterinary school. She said that while the field of aquatic veterinarians is very competitive, with limited spots, she is dedicated to the cause no matter what path she might follow. “Even if I don’t end up in the dream of working 40 hours a week at an aquarium, I hope to be able to give back volunteering.” she said.
Currently, her club is raising funds for a trip to the University of Washington‘s Friday Harbor Laboratories, in the San Juan Islands. The trip will allow them to tour the laboratories, as well as participate briefly in some of the work there, and see both local Salish Sea marine species and ways they help treat them. They’re fundraising mainly to provide transportation and housing for the trip, as they’re hoping to accommodate the whole of the club – around 30 students.
She’s hoping to share her passion for Pacific Northwest marine life with her fellow students who are from elsewhere. “A lot of students in our club are students from the East Coast or [other land-locked states] who have only really seen Pullman, this is a great opportunity for them to see the Salish Sea.” she said.
If you want to donate to help her club’s cause for further education about local marine wildlife, and help inspire a future generation of doctors and scientists who could help our local marine life, you can find their page here. The campaign runs only until November 12th, and she says time is of the essence so they can make the trip.
But the “giving group” of West Seattle women is far from new – it launched seven years ago, collecting modest donations from members each quarter to amass a large gift for a collectively chosen organization. Back in May, we reported on Impact West Seattle passing the milestone of half a million dollars given.
The group’s latest quarterly gathering filled the big upstairs room at the Center for Active Living last Thursday night, as members learned about three nominees for this round of funding – this time, under the theme “Hyperlocal West Seattle” – and made their decision.
But first, they heard from a past recipient – another tradition at Impact West Seattle meetings, to hear what’s happening with an organization they’ve supported.
NORTHWEST IMMIGRANT RIGHTS PROJECT: Last quarter, IWS donated more than $21,000 to NWIRP. Development director Aarti Khanna told the group Thursday that NWIRP’s work has intensified further, given that immigrants “are under severe attack.” So, she told IWS members, “You’ve had more of an impact than you could imagine.” What they’re doing now, in addition to helping detainees, includes “know your rights” presentations and working toward “systemic change” – “We’ve already sued the government several times this year.” What do they need most right now? she was asked. They’re looking for pro-bono attorneys (who do not have to be immigration-law specialists).
Next, the three pitches for this quarter’s funding. Distinctive to Impact West Seattle’s format, the pitches are not made by officials or representatives of the organizations, but rather by IWS members.
A CLEANER ALKI: This volunteer coalition, founded by Erik Bell, does its work far beyond Alki, elsewhere around West Seattle and even off-peninsula. IWS member Pam, presenting the pitch, declared Bell a “hyperlocal hero” and showed the REI-made video featured here last winter. She explained that A Cleaner Alki does far more than pick up trash – its work parties also focus on “sprucing,” such as clearing away vegetation blocking line of sight. Last year alone, A Cleaner Alki logged 289 organized cleanups and 4,700+ volunteer hours. And she said the organization needed funding because it lost a state grant that had helped cover the cost of tools, supplies, and upkeep on the donated van used for cleanups. She summarized ACA’s work as “community-building as well as community-cleaning.”
SCHMITZ PARK CREEK RESTORE:This project was pitched by Molly, who said she happened onto it “in my neighborhood one day.” She gave a bit of Schmitz Preserve Park‘s history (which we covered at the restoration group’s launch), and the mission of the group: They’re partnering with community groups, schools, and public agencies; it’s a city park but “resources for parks don’t get fully funded” so this would be supplementary. They’ve been working from the outside in to clear and restore. “Their idea is to keep enhancing the trail systems that are in there” – mostly “social trails” – and “someday make it a salmon run again.” It’s a place to “be Seattle’s classroom around heritage, scholarship, this incredible resource … huge trees, beautiful birds …” She also recounted UW students’ design concepts for restoration (as covered here) “to really vision out what could happen at the park over time” and noted that regular work parties are happening, with a big event planned in November to get 400 native plants in the ground (sign up here to help). The restoration group now has 501(c)(3) status, she added.
WEST SEATTLE HELPLINE: This is the West Seattle Food Bank‘s program providing emergency assistance to struggling families, to prevent homelessness. IWS member Charlynn said the need for this assistance has increased by about 30 percent a year, every year since 2020, and it’s not going to drop any time soon, with landlords in King County filing an average of 27 eviction cases a day. The people who are being evicted are neighbors in need, Charlynn said: “These are our neighbors – their kids are going to school with ours – I kept going back to those [news stories about] eviction notices, and my heart keeps breaking.” She was asked a variety of questions about what clients can use the money for – not discretionary spending, but rather housing costs, Charlynn explained.
VOTING: This was open to members not in attendance, via online voting, as well as those who were there, via QR code. West Seattle Helpline was the winner, so that WSFB program will get more than $21,000 from Impact West Seattle. Group leaders also invited members to support the other nominees if they’re moved to do that.
ANOTHER VOTE: The group also voted on topics for next year’s giving – four themes, one for each quarterly meeting. Here are the dates, topics, and descriptions, from the newsletter sent post-meeting:
January 22nd (Thursday) – Issues Impacting Basic Needs – Ensuring everyone in our community has access to essentials like food, housing, and employment. Includes efforts to address housing instability, homelessness, food insecurity, unemployment, and to support low-income residents.
April 27th (Monday) – Issues Impacting Children, Youth & Families – Helping kids and families thrive through support, education, and opportunity. Includes youth development programs, child advocacy, family support organizations, and initiatives addressing legal or social issues impacting children.
July 21st (Tuesday) – Issues Impacting Social Justice & Inclusion – Building a more equitable and connected community for everyone. Includes organizations addressing racial and social justice, immigrant and refugee issues, peacebuilding, and efforts to bridge divides through civic dialogue and polarization reduction.
October 21st (Wednesday) – Issues Impacting Health & Wellness – Promoting mental, physical, and emotional health for individuals and families. Includes mental health services, addiction prevention and recovery, and whole-health supports for parents and caregivers navigating stress, child-care shortages, and health-care access.
(IBIE photo: William Leaman, left, and team after 2nd-place continental finish)
By Anne Higuera
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
William Leaman’s suitcase is packed again.
As his wife and business partner Heather Leaman predicted, the chef’s schedule this fall is also packed, but he is energized and full of new ideas, and his enthusiasm is infectious. Bakery Nouveau’s West Seattle founder is headed to an unglamorous Chicago warehouse for the weekend, and every other weekend until January, coaching an American team that aims to bring home the same international baking award he and his team won 20 years ago. It’s a bit of déjà vu and 20-20 hindsight all at once.
“If I‘d known I would have ended up coaching, I would have sat there all three days,” he says, thinking back to the Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie in Paris in 2005, where he spent a single day baking with his team to win the championship. Leaman was captain of the Bread Baker’s Guild Team representing the United States then, an achievement he says was life-changing. “It really kind of pushed me into having a competition every day,” which led to opening the flagship Bakery Nouveau store on California Avenue SW in 2006, and two more, on Capitol Hill and in Burien.
Though his 2005 Coupe du Monde trophy is displayed proudly on the wall of his West Seattle location, he wasn’t expecting the invitation to return to the competition as a coach all these years later. “Your name came up,” is what Leaman was told, to be one of the working bakers asked to mentor a team. It did give him pause. “How can we get back up to the top of the mountain? I did it before, can I do it again as a coach?” The introspection did not last long. Despite the time commitment of traveling to numerous practices in the Midwest, he was all in. “I’ve never really given up on continuing to learn,” he says. Besides, sharing his expertise with the next generation of bakers moving up in the industry is de rigueur for a baker devoted to constantly improving his craft while encouraging others along the way.
Coach Leaman and Team USA have already made it past the first hurdle during the initial competition at the International Baking Industry Exposition in Las Vegas last month, coming in 2nd behind Canada for teams in North and South America. Both teams will advance to the January finals, where there will be two teams from each continent, plus a couple of wildcards.
Académie Culinaire de France organizes this competition every 2-3 years to “Defend, Improve, Transmit French Culinary Art in the world.” Teams are composed of three members, each specializing on one aspect of artisan baking. This year’s American team includes bakers from across the country: Ambrose Erkenswick from Chicago, Miami-based Sandy Rodriguez (who was born in Cuba), and Nicolas Nayener, who is originally from France. “This is a true all-American team and I love that international aspect,” says Leaman, who sees them as underdogs because they had a much shorter timeline to practice together for the Las Vegas preliminaries than countries like Japan and South Korea, whose teams formed earlier. “It was really good to have a practice under conditions very similar to what they will have in Paris.”
The conditions in Paris can be both intimidating and grueling, with a jury of 10 watching your every move, along with hundreds in the audience and the occasional camera crew taking up space in the work area. Before last month, Leaman said the members of the US team had never competed in front of people. “It’s a little nerve-wracking, and you’re lucky if you sleep the night before.” Throw in other challenges, like a working space that starts out at 50F in the morning and can easily warm to 80F+ with all the ovens going, and the fact that no one knows exactly what kind of flour they’ll be using. The only ingredient bakers can walk in the door with is the starter they bring for sourdough.
All those variables come into play as the team works to meet strict criteria about finished size and weight of what they bake. Erkenswick will be in charge of baking 25 traditional baguettes that must measure a precise length and weight, within 2 grams. Nayener will take on artistic breads – standards like a sourdough levain, and others, including a random bread literally chosen from a hat. That could be a German pretzel, a European rye, or something else entirely. Rodriguez will produce all of the viennoiserie, which are pastries made from yeasted, laminated dough. That means croissants and their like, totaling 16 pastries at 60 grams each, 4 at 300-500 grams, laminated brioche at 80 grams, and some brioche à tête, which has a little ball of dough topping it off. “The most basic things are hardest to make,” says Leaman.
The standards are also not necessarily so standard. Croissants that might be a gentle crescent shape in previous years are now required to have their ends tucked in (see the photo above, on the left), something that Leaman says used to be a sign that croissant was made with margarine rather than butter. They’re still absorbing all of what they need to accomplish on January 20th, their assigned day to compete. “This is an R&D weekend — we just got the rules last week,” he says. There’s also a category of “snacks” —little sandwiches — to plan for the team to produce. It’s just four varieties, but 120 total to make.
This is part of where Leaman’s expertise will benefit the team. Having run the three Bakery Nouveau locations, he and his staff have baked and assembled hundreds of thousands of sandwiches over the years. He’s been poring over ideas for unique sandwiches that fit his formula for a great bite that isn’t muddled by too many elements—just two flavors and a texture. Right now he’s thinking about a brioche sandwich that would feature black cod marinated in shiso, mirin, and sake. “Flavor is #1 what I want them to focus on, but also maintaining authenticity.”
Aside from the food itself, Leaman says he’s coaching his team about the value of how comfortable team members are with each other and those observing them. “Talk to the judge if they come up. They’re bakers too.” He encourages explaining what they’re doing and why, but also arriving looking their best — clothes pressed, clean shoes, fresh haircuts. “Be a showman,” he says, “but don’t let them see everything.” The flourish of a big reveal at the end is worth a little bit of concealment along the way. Leaman was chosen to be team captain in 2005 because he spoke some French, which is required for the captain’s presentation to the jury. It certainly won’t hurt that this year’s team captain is fluent. “I’m really impressed with the chemistry,” he says. “My team [in 2005] had that same chemistry.” On competition day, Leaman will not be allowed inside the working area, but he can give the team advice, as well as being an extra eye on what’s cooking on the stove, or needs to come out of the oven.
As much as the team will learn from Leaman’s experience, he says the benefit is reciprocal. “It’s great to sort of relive my own experience and help a team, but it’s also so enriching for myself as a business owner. I get to bring new and cool ideas back to the neighborhood.” He says he’s ready to look at revamping some of the menu in the new year, with inspiration stirred up in the process of the competition. “Covid took a lot of the fun stuff out. This is forcing me to relook at things that I’ve gotten comfortable with.” He’s also looking ahead not just to the next 20 years, but well beyond. “I want to keep going for another 50,” he says, and continue to focus on quality over quantity. “I don’t want to be the most. I just want to be the best.”
The Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie competition will be held January 20-21, 2026. Team USA will compete on the same day as France, Senegal, Japan, and Brazil.
As Patrick’s widow and WSB co-founder, I want to acknowledge the anniversary with two words:
THANK YOU.
There are so many people to thank, I have to repeat it:
THANK YOU.
Thank you to friends I never realized were friends. Thank you to community members who showed me that Torin and I weren’t the only people who loved Patrick. Thank you to everyone who helped sustain us in so many ways, especially in those agonizing early weeks. Thank you to everyone who reads WSB, everyone who texts and emails story tips, photos, video, calendar listings, lost-pet reports; everyone whose questions lead to stories; all the local businesses and organizations who have continued to sponsor us (or joined the team), so this work can continue. Thank you to everyone who’s worked for and with us this past year – Patrick is irreplaceable, but for WSB to keep going, much of what he did has to be done by someone, and some wonderful, talented people have stepped forward.
THANK YOU.
On to WSB’s 19th year, our second without Patrick. Gone but never forgotten.
Here’s a unique way to celebrate customer loyalty. Last night, the Great American Diner and Bar in The Junction was the scene of a plaque-hanging in honor four local women who have been dining together there regularly for four years.
Since 2021, Tia Rooney and her friends Miesha, Meaghan, and Ashley have been meeting at Great American Diner at least once a month for dinner, dating back to when they were new moms. “All of our kids were born about two weeks apart, and now they’re all about two and four years old. We all went through the same phases of life together.” Tia said. Having a common meeting place and time gave them something to ground themselves through the trials and tribulations of early parenthood. “As working mothers and parents, it’s important to have community.” she said. It was also a way to unwind. “We’re always meeting in the evening when our kids go to bed.” she said with a smile.
But beyond that, they also wanted to support the diner itself. “It was great to find somewhere where we can just sit as long as we want, without much pressure to leave. Excellent service.” Meaghan said. Tia shared the same sentiment. “It’s an incredible and safe space in the community. We have deep respect for the owner.” she said.
The plaque will be permanently displayed at the same booth where “The Four Moms” have met for the past four years.
P.S. We asked about their favorite menu items: Two votes for the eggs benedict, one each for the patty melt and reuben sandwich. For drinks, the chocolate milkshake and French 75 cocktail.
West Seattle Joiners is a new organization evangelizing something that’s been at the heart of WSB for more than a decade and a half – making sure you know about what’s going on in the community, and how to jump in, whether it’s checking out a small club or getting involved with a not-so-small organization. The Joiners are working to bring people together face to face, and their first events – just under a month away – will do just that. Here’s the full announcement we just received:
Community is better in person. Looking to find your people—or your purpose—in West Seattle? Mark your calendar for a weekend of community, conversation, and connection with two back-to-back events designed to inspire civic engagement and local belonging.
Friday, November 7 – Film Screening: “Join or Die”
Kick off the weekend by joining West Seattle Meaningful Movies for a special screening of the documentary Join or Die—a thought-provoking film that explores why joining clubs, civic organizations, and community groups matters more than ever. Stay afterward for an engaging audience discussion about how connection and participation can strengthen our neighborhoods.
Location: Westside Unitarian Universalist Congregation
7141 California Avenue SW
Time: Doors open at 6:45 PM | Film begins at 7:15 PM | Discussion until ~9:15 PM
Admission is free! Pre-registration is appreciated, but not required.
Saturday, November 8 – West Seattle Joiner Jamboree
Continue the momentum at the West Seattle Joiner Jamboree, a vibrant community fair featuring over 40 local clubs and organizations from West Seattle and White Center. Meet current members and discover new ways to get involved–from social clubs and service organizations to creative and outdoor groups.
Location: St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church (Fellowship Hall)
3050 California Ave SW
Time: 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Admission is free! Pre-registration is appreciated, but not required.
Experience the film, then explore the connections, and leave inspired to join in and make a difference right here in West Seattle.
Troop 282 recently participated in an Eagle Scout project led by Wyatt Sherwood at the Rainier Valley Food Bank. The project aimed to enhance the food bank’s outdoor space while supporting its mission of providing fresh and healthy food to the community. Wyatt organized and led a team of scouts and volunteers to complete two major improvements for the facility.
The first part of the project was building a large planter box that doubles as a bench. This creative design provides a comfortable seating area while also offering space to grow fresh vegetables or flowers. The second part of the project focused on creating an herb garden. This addition will allow the food bank to supply fresh herbs for cooking, giving clients access to more flavorful and nutritious meals.
Overall, Wyatt’s project not only improved the functionality and aesthetics of the food bank’s outdoor space but also created a sustainable resource that will benefit the community for years to come. His leadership and planning made the project a success and demonstrated the core values of Scouting in action.
Somehow two West Seattle women are part of a major offroad endurance rally competition that starts in a few days, covering 1,700 miles of Southwestern U.S. desert – though not only are they on different teams, they didn’t even know each other before discovering they’re both on this year’s participant list for the 10th anniversary running of the Rebelle Rally.
We sat down with both of them this week to find out more about the women-only rally and how they got involved with it.
More than 60 teams will participate in Rebelle this year, an 11-day event featuring 8 days of competition starting October 9 from the Mammoth Mountain area – each team consisting of a driver and navigator. Angela Rickerson(above left) drives her 2017 Jeep Wrangler for her team, in her second year competing; Kelli Diann Gordon(above right) navigates for her team (in a 2022 Toyota Tundra), and this will be her first year. And “navigating” is far more than you’d think – they are not allowed to use phones, GPS, other technology – they start each day with coordinates on a paper map. Angela insists the driver is just a team member supporting the navigator. (And the vehicle, which is the “third member of the team.”) Some teams are sponsored by car companies; some – like Angela’s (Team 102, Double A Rally) and Kelli’s (Team 185, Hoot ‘n’ Holler) – are “privateers,” though various kinds of sponsorships and support remain vital, as Rebelle has a five-digit entry fee (which among other things supports traveling “base camps” and meals for the teams during the rally – more on that later).
This is Angela’s second year in Rebelle, Kelli’s first. They stress that it’s a competition but not a race – it’s a competition for staying accurately on course, for getting to certain checkpoints “with the clock ticking” – these aren’t physical checkpoints with someone sitting there keeping track, but rather spots at which a satellite tracker makes note of the vehicle’s presence via its tracker. They are truly out in the middle of nowhere, though – here’s a photo from last year’s course:
(2024 photo by Richard Giordano)
Though the teams can’t use anything fancier than a compass, Rebelle overall makes use of tech for communication as well as tracking. Live streams during the rally follow the teams’ trackers, so family, friends, and fans can follow along. And video is recorded via “tons of drones following all day,” Angela explains – plus human videographers on the course too “although you may not see them.” And it’s not completely a case of “roughing it” – here’s a photo Angela shared of one of the base camps:
So how did they discover Rebelle and decide to pursue participation?
Angela said her feed algorithm served up info about Rebelle, and she “started watching it and just became obsessed with it.” That includes a docuseries about it called “Dead Reckoning,” a reference to the skill that leads you to success in the sport. She also met her teammate online.
After posting a question on Instagram about how to get involved, she received “so many messages” including her now-teammate Adriana, whose previous teammate couldn’t repeat with her. (Adriana lives in L.A.)
As for Kelli, her teammate is a cousin and had immersed herself in offroading culture, in no small part because of the Toyota Tundra she’s driven for many years. But ultimately, she says, the algorithm got her too – her cousin “kept seeing all these ads for Rebelle, then called me in late February, said, ‘I want to do this, would you want to do this with me?’ I said ‘yes, but my wife is pregnant’.”
Eight months pregnant now, in fact, just as Kelli prepares to head out for her first Rebelle. Nonetheless, they decided to go for it, “got a website together, got a team name together.”
So how did Kelli and Angela discover each other, competing on different teams but both living in West Seattle, hardly a hotbed of offroad culture? Angela explains that she reached out online to people in the area, in the spirit of mentoring, passing on knowledge, talking about what it’s like. She says that although the Rebelle rally is a “super-fierce competition,” people “want to share information … that’s very different from other motorsports.”
Kelli says the entire event itself is unique: “The design is very thoughtful, designed by women for women. The design of the scoring is thoughtful and helps teams support each other – (for example) there’s a rule to stop and check if you see someone in distress, or else you can get penalized.”
(Angela driving last year, photo by Nicole Dreon)
The Rebelle Rally’s founder Emily Miller “wanted women to have … a chance to compete on a national stage,” Angela adds. Even aside from the women-only aspect, “this is one of the few big national rallies.” (They note there’s one from Kirkland to Alaska – the Alcan 5000.)
With both women living far apart from their teammates, and in an area that’s not exactly rich in the type of terrain they’ll face in the Rebelle Rally, how do they prepare?
It’s “super-challenging,” acknowledges Angela, but far from impossible. She flies to California a few times a year to work with her teammate, who makes some trips up here too. And “you can practice finding checkpoints,” with the help of a mapping app, wherever you are. Kelli says navigators can practice “several different skills . instead of using GPS, my wife and I will use atlases.” And they practice communication – if you’re telling a driver where to go, how far in advance do they need that direction, for example? With a work history in the hospitality industry, she says, they often work in “kitchen shorthand.”
Speaking of kitchen, the Rebelle Rally doesn’t just provide subsistence-level meals for teams. It has a Michelin-starred Chef, Drew Deckman. The base camps also bring in support mechanics, fuel, water, and power – “huge semi-trucks with solar panels.” Angela observes, “It’s cool to see how the organizers have thought through everything.” That even includes a “crash course” on how to help endangered desert tortoises if they’re seen along the route. And the number of Rebelle staffers, they add, is roughly a “one staff member per participant” ratio.
All that costs money, a major reason for the entry fee, but the West Seattle competitors have found ways to cover it. Kelli and her teammate cousin even have been running fundraising “sweepstakes” online (the cousin has been donating items from her spice shop as well as Airbnb’s, while Kelli’s donations have included a classic West Seattle item, an Easy Street Records gift certificate). She appreciates the Rebelle organization even more because of her work as an event manager for the City of Issaquah.
Angela’s “day job” is bar manager for Ballard restaurant Copine (which supported her by donating proceeds from a menu item). She’s also mom to a 10-year-old son and says competing in Rebelle is further proof that “motherhood doesn’t end everything – you’re not ‘just’ a caregiver; I drag him to everything with me and he loves it.” That includes his visit to the starting line last year, to cheer on his mom.
Kelli takes inspiration from that, as her motherhood journey will begin shortly after the rally; when she returns, her wife will be 36 1/2 weeks pregnant.
The investment of money and time, both agree, is “worth it.” Angela points out that competitors get to meet “all these amazing women.” And it inspires each to transcend any limitations they thought they have. Kelli says even mistakes can be growth opportunities, that Rebelle “challenges you to face yourself when you’ve made a decision (that didn’t work out), to own what you’ve done, and that’s where your power comes from.”
“Physically, mentally, emotionally, every day is challenging,” agrees Angela. “You’re in it with one other person, there’s no option other than moving forward.”
And their journey starts this week. They’ll find themselves at the starting line, Angela says, as “just normal people from West Seattle who decided to say yes to this crazy thing.” And that’s the biggest lesson she’s learned: “Just say ‘yes’ to things – it might change your life. Challenge yourself! I don’t think you know what you are capable of until you put yourself in extreme situations.”
As previewed here, an informal walk was scheduled in West Seattle again this year on the same day as the big citywide Walk to End Alzheimer’s. It happened this morning; we just got this report, from Connie:
The West Seattle Alzheimer’s Support Group rallied to the cause Saturday for the annual Walk To End Alzheimer’s. Upward of three dozen, men, women, children, and dogs from West Seattle walked a stretch of 35th Ave SW near the water tower, to coincide with the larger event at Seattle Center.
The annual walk is part of a nationwide effort to raise awareness about the many forms of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, and to provide support for families living with disease – through resources, advocacy, and research to find a cure. The West Seattle walk was organized by support group facilitator Martha Smith.
West Seattle has a multitude of options for people who love to play trivia, as evidenced in our Event Calendar and daily highlight lists. One of the peninsula’s dedicated, talented hosts, Will, sent this report and the accompanying photos:
West Seattle has a new trivia champion! 2023 champion team “Good Enough Society” took back the trophy at last night’s 2025 West Seattle Trivia Championship. Hosted by Beveridge Place, with hosts from Beveridge Place, The Good Society, and Talarico’s contributing questions-
Good Enough Society bested teams from 5 other bars to take home the trophy!
9:34 AM: We’re at the Pier 1 property in the 2100 block of Harbor Avenue SW, where, as previewed again last night, West Seattle Indivisible is organizing a “human banner” this morning in honor of International Day of Peace. As of our arrival about 10 minutes ago, more than 300 people are here. … and Dave Gershgorn‘s photo for WSB shows they’re already spelling out PEACE (though the speaking program hasn’t begun yet):
10:00 AM: Lots of chanting – “say it loud, say it clear, peace and justice, now and here” – while official speakers are awaited.
10:54 AM: The event has just concluded after about 45 minutes of speeches, including Mayor Bruce Harrell quoting Mother Teresa, Gandhi, and Danny Glover among others. (video added)
Volunteers at the main gate estimate a final count around 450 participants.
12:12 PM: Adding video, starting with Malou Chávez of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, saying that this isn’t a time of “crisis” – because “in a crisis, you can see the end” – but rather, a time of chaos:
Rev. Andrew Conley-Holcom of Admiral Church preached a bit, presided over a moment of silence, and gave a closing blessing. Here’s part of what he said:
Toward the conclusion of the event, bagpipers played “Amazing Grace“:
Earlier, for a global perspective, Irene Danysh spoke, identifying herself as the daughter of Ukrainian refugees, a recent Ukraine resident, but talking about Gaza more than Ukraine:
Hamdi Mohamed, the Seattle Port Commissioner and city Office of Immigrants and Refugees director who came to the U.S. at age three as a refugee, emceed – here’s how she began:
WSI’s leaders, including this event’s organizer Laurie Reinhardt, had stressed in the early going, “We’re sending a message today.”
The words PEACE FOR ALL are outlined on the ground at the Harbor Avenue property known as Pier 1, as shown in the drone photo taken by West Seattle Indivisible today, in advance of their International Day of Peace mega-gathering tomorrow morning.
If 1,000 people show up, they’ll line all the letters, three across, as a “human banner” in honor of Peace Day. If fewer show up, organizer Laurie Reinhardt says, no worries, they have contingency plans, all the way down to 100 people filling out a single letter at a time, then moving to the next, and the next.
We visited the site today for a look at where Reinhardt’s idea will take shape, one way or another, whatever size it turns out to be. She stresses that it’s not meant to be a feel-good quick photo-op – it’s meant as a metaphor for the fact that, individually, people can only do so much, but together, “we are greater than the sum of our parts.” She hopes those who show up to be part of it will “really feel that” before leaving to go back to their everyday activities.
Before we get into how the event will unfold, some logistics points. A banner marks the fence by the main entrance to the property, 3 1/2 acres that have been long up for lease (after housing a crane yard for a while), being borrowed for this event with the owner’s permission.
Reinhardt and 70+ volunteers will get there first thing in the morning, but the gates won’t open for participants until 8:30, so don’t show up before then. Parking is on the street (though a small part of the west/north end of the property is set aside for volunteers to park, maximizing the number of street spaces available for participants).
After checking in, participants will move further into the site, which has an unbroken waterfront view – we asked Reinhardt to pose in the middle of one of the letters in PEACE:
They’ll have some amenities for the crowd – food trucks and portable toilets. Each letter will have a captain to show you where to stand and to hand out the flags made at the event we mentioned last weekend. The photo won’t be taken at one specific moment – there’ll be at least four drones photographing multiple times while the crowd listens to music and speeches, emceed by Port Commissioner Hamdi Mohamed, addressing global, national, regional, and local issues and possibilities. There will be a moment of silence, led by Admiral Church’s pastor Rev. Andrew Conley-Holcom. The speeches and photography aren’t expected to happen until some point after 9:30 am – when they are pretty sure everyone who’s showing up has arrived.
Side note: While we chatted at the site this afternoon, Reinhardt said the original idea was to “think big” and see if this could be done on the West Seattle Bridge. She even got so far as to fill out a “25-page application,” before, she said, city officials including Mayor Harrell himself (who is also scheduled as a speaker on Sunday) realized it wasn’t that great an idea, especially on a day with a home Seahawks game.
So instead, “human banner” participants – all ages ages 14+ welcome – will gather on a West Seattle waterfront site frequented by “real” Seahawks (Ospreys are among the birds Reinhardt said they’d seen while at the site earlier, and we heard Bald Eagles’ distinctive call while talking). They’d appreciate it if you pre-registered, but you’re also welcome to just show up in the 2100 block of Harbor Avenue SW.
One day after a federal-court hearing attended by an overflow crowd of supporters, Chittakone “Alan” Phetsadakone is out of ICE detention and home in West Seattle, a family friend reported in an update on this crowdfunding page. As we reported on Wednesday, he is a native of Laos who was detained by ICE at what was supposed to be a routine immigration hearing. He filed for a restraining order to stop their plans to deport him and to get him released from federal custody; his wife of more than 20 years works at Sanislo Elementary and that school’s community organized a show of “silent support” to fill (and, we’re told, overflow) the courtroom downtown on Friday. The online court docket shows that Phetsadakone’s motion was granted, so after weeks in detention in a federal facility in Tacoma, he is home this morning with his wife and their three children. This is not the final word on the case, though. Federal Judge Jamal Whitehead‘s order calls for a status report in the case by next Tuesday to determine what happens next. Phetsadakone is reported to have been in the U.S. since he was brought here as a two-year-old refugee, more than 40 years ago. The federal government is reported to be seeking deportation because of what the family friend describes as “a non-violent offense [when he was a teenager] for which he has taken full responsibility and long since served his time.” He had been in ICE detention since July.
The Sanislo Elementary community is rallying support for a school employee’s husband who is in ICE detention.
Chittakone “Alan” Phetsadakone, originally from Laos, is at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, the online roster confirms. A flyer is circulating to request community presence at his hearing this Friday morning in Seattle:
The flyer was shared with us by a family friend, who also shared a social-media post made by the Sanislo PTA, reading in part:
This is not the post I imagined for our first day of school, but a Sanislo family member needs your help. One of our own has been caught in the deportations that are sweeping our community and you have a chance to help keep a faily together. Cheryl Eugenio is the backbone of Sanislo. She keeps our school running every day from the front office and knows each of your kids. Her husband was detained during his regularly scheduled check-in with ICE and has been held in Tacoma. He is at ris of deportation to a third country. Cheryl has asked that everyone share the information of his next hearing so we can fill the courtroom with quiet supporters. … If you have ever asked what you can do to protect our community, this is your chance to show up. The courtroom holds 70 and we want it packed with support.
Sanislo community members plan to carpool to the federal-court building.
According to an online docket, the hearing is related to Phetsadakone seeking a temporary restraining order against the Department of Homeland Security, which includes ICE, and seeking release. We haven’t been able to obtain the court docments yet but w will be asking seeking ICE comment tomorrow about the case.
ADDED THURSDAY: Since we published this story, another family friend has started a crowdfunding page, which has more information on the situation.
November 10th, longtime West Seattle resident Bob Burnham turns 100 years old!
One year ago today, WSB co-founder Patrick Sand died, 
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