Jessica Jackson Hutchins “Wrecked and Wretched” Frye Art Museum, 704 Terry Ave, ph. 206.622.9250; Wed-Sun 11am-5pm, FREE; runs until May 5 Jessica Jackson Hutchins began the tour of her exhibition with a tall narrow stained glass window Shadow Swing  commissioned by the Frye Art Museum for their lobby. Comprised of beer bottle glass that is fused and leaded with other types of glass, it is over 24 feet high and only 19 inches wide. As we looked, it changed color several times, responding to the light. But this wonderful window, off beat as it was with its bulges and cracks, was by far the easiest piece to look at in “Wrecked and Wretched.” As we enter the first large gallery, we see two large painted canvases hung over ladders to create an enclosure, with strange ceramics at their base. The works do not attract us, but rather push us away with their odd colors and forms. As we enter the largest gallery we are confronted with large, oddly shaped ceramics placed on broken off chairs: sometimes the ceramic echoes the colors in the patterned out-of- date upholstery as in Lascaux Reprise 2012/2018 . Lascaux  played a major role in the performance that activated these pieces for one evening. One dancer sat behind it in a chair embracing it as another dancer put on a ceramic form that looked like a very heavy set of containers that hung over his shoulder. A third dancer moved more freely around the room interacting with ceramics hanging on the wall. The three performed an excruciating dance that suggested constant effort to connect to each other and occasionally almost succeeding: one dancer held out a long carrot while another dancer reached toward it with a strange device. The most moving moment was when they briefly came together in spite of their heavy loads. Hutchins has said she doesn’t like the idea of art being “about” something. But for me, especially after seeing the performance and seeing so many addicts in the street every day, it is about addiction in many different ways. In describing work like Milagros 1 Blue Arm , a painting with ceramic arms attached to it, the artist said, “I made arms for junkies I knew.” Milagros  is made for healing. Hutchins felt her works were “on behalf of suffering people, as symbolic stand ins for their enfeebled body parts.” The artist declares “The title ‘Wrecked and Righteous’ just came to me, as sometimes titles do; it has a cool musicality and a punky sensibility. The hard-lived, the desperate, the urgent is much more beautiful and profound (and funny) to me than the refined or skilled. It also suggests the presence of real authenticity, real righteousness.” If you can overcome your basic aversion to these unbeautiful works, they open a door to our suffering addicts that is strikingly empathetic. To know more come to her conversation with Curator Amanda Donnan May 4, 3-4:15pm. Seattle has several other innovative exhibitions at the moment: Asian Art Museum in Volunteer Park, 1400 E Prospect St., ph. 206.654.1300, Thurs- Sun 10am-5pm Adults $14.99; Seniors $12.99 At the Asian Art Museum, Anida Yoeu Ali’s exhibition “Hybrid Skin, Mythical Presence” (until July 7) features chadors in brilliant colors. Like “Wrecked and Righteous,” they are going to be animated in performances. The Buddhist Bug  on March 23, 2024 (sorry that date has passed.) and The Red Chador  will be performed on June 1, 2024. The Red Chador  was previously performed in Seattle and all over the world: seven women, each with a different color chador walk through the city and assert the power of women, the opposite of the way we perceive chadors. Ali grew up in Cambodia, where as a Muslim, she was in a small minority in a dominantly Buddhist country. These works assert her special identity and transform our perceptions. Her second work The Buddhist Bug  is a 328 foot saffron colored creature that twists and turns within the museum into several galleries. There is a human face that emerges from one end (seemingly wearing a hijab) and a pair of feet from the other. Come to the performance on June 1! Henry Art Gallery 15th Ave NE & UW, ph. 206.543.2280, Thurs 10am-7pm; Fri-Sun 10am-5pm, Free 1st Thursdays We are lucky to have “LOVERULES —From the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation” by the well-known Hank Willis Thomas at the Henry Art Gallery (until August 4.) Thomas explores the many techniques of the advertising industry to dehumanize African Americans while also targeting them to buy products. A large painting in the first gallery pays homage to African Americans in Hollywood, but you can only see their faces if you use a flash picture. I was disappointed there was no list of the names. At the Twilight’s Last Gleaming , a flag covered with stars, hanging from a flag pole and spreading across the floor represents the 20,923 lives lost to gunfire in this country between 2012 and 2022. The artist’s own cousin was shot and killed, leading to this homage. Winston Wachtler Gallery, 203 Dexter Ave, ph. 206.652.5855,Tues-Fri 10am-5pm, Sat 11am-5pm Another artist who pays homage to relatives who died, here of drugs and addiction is Barry Johnson. “Never Leave Before Saying Goodbye” subtitled “lost Boys” is a deeply felt series of oil paintings on exhibit at Winston Wachtler until April 13 (203 Dexter Avenue). The artist stands, sits or lies among large trees, by the sea, and in a field, deeply grieving his loss. ~Susan Platt, PhD www.artandpoliticsnow.com

Our neighborhood’s Frink Park is named for Leschi residents John and Abbie Frink, who donated the land to the city of Seattle in 1906. Born in 1845, John Frink arrived in Seattle in 1874. Starting out as a day laborer, and later a schoolteacher, he made his fortune as Seattle’s first manufacturer of industrial equipment, including iron and steel products for logging and mining. His Washington Iron Works, established in 1880, remained in the Frink family until 1969. The factory, destroyed in the Great Seattle Fire, was replaced in 1892; the building still stands, at 400 Occidental Avenue South. In 1885 he helped establish the Seattle Electric Company and was named its superintendent. After a while it took over most of the city’s private streetcar lines, until it was acquired by the predecessor of today’s Puget Sound Energy, and then municipalized in 1919. The Frinks were members of the First Presbyterian Church, headed by the Rev. Mark Matthews, an indefatigable anti-vice crusader and the bane of open-town politicians—the ones who tolerated, endorsed, or profited from vice and corruption of all sorts here in the early 20th century. John Frink, a member of the school board and the city council, later served eight years as a Washington State senator, from 1891 to 1899. In 1900, Mr. Frink ran a losing campaign for Washington governor. He was nominated as a Republican with the backing of John L. Wilson, who, with money from the Empire Builder, James J. Hill, of the Great Northern Railroad, had recently purchased the Seattle Post-Intelligencer . But Frink was a victim of the vengeance of Seattle’s popular mayor, Tom Humes, who thought he should have been the candidate. Humes, who ran a wide-open city, spent the campaign attacking his fellow Republican with more vigor than he mustered against the Democratic nominee. In a big Republican year, Frink, presumably on the anti-vice side, given his choice of pastors, was the only one to lose, not even carrying King County, while Republicans won everything else statewide. Frink did come within 1% of victory, nonetheless. But he was only a bit player caught in the political machinations, a saga told well by Murray Morgan in his book “Skid Road.” For a good time, read it. Any historian should aspire to be as good a storyteller as Morgan. John Frink became a member of the park board in 1906. That year, the board was attempting to obtain financing to acquire the roughly 15-acre parcel known as “Washington Park,” which had been platted for private use. Instead, the Frinks bought the parcel and quickly donated it to the city. Since there already was a Washington Park (now part of the UW Arboretum), the board renamed it to honor the benefactor. He remained on the park board until 1914, serving as its president from 1908-1909. Frink also involved himself in civic affairs in other ways. He spoke out in opposition to the planned Lake Washington Ship Canal and locks. In a 1908 speech he cited numerous reasons, largely having to do with cost and usefulness. He also complained that, since the canal was first proposed in 1854 by early settler Thomas Mercer, very little had been accomplished towards the goal. It would be almost another decade before the canal was completed—63 years to the day after Mercer’s proposal. Most of Frink’s reasons for concern do not seem to have stood the test of time. However, he failed to speak to the environmental disruption that would result from the elimination of the Black River outflow from the south end of Lake Washington—an important Indian fishing area. The lowering of the lake also eliminated wetland areas of Native sustenance around the lake, including in Leschi. In 1905, the Frinks built a mansion just across 31st Avenue South, at Jackson Street. The Olmsted Brothers, who developed plans for the park, also prepared designs for the private residence. The house remains, having left the Frink family in either 1978 or 1984. A friend of mine, the Frinks’ great grandson, told me that the family sold it for much less than it was worth, due in part to racism fueling their fear that Blacks were going to be moving into the neighborhood and lowering the property values. I met a woman who went there with a friend for an estate sale in 1984. They ended up buying the whole house, for $111,000. Upon returning home, she thought better of it and disposed of her share soon afterward. In recent times, the house has been known for the sign on its north side counting down daily the number of days till the end of Trump’s presidential term. The house went on the market in 2021 for $2.5 million, selling for a bit less. The new owners have preserved the sign. Perhaps before long it will be repurposed to enumerate the days remaining in Trump’s prison term. John Frink died in 1914; Abbie died in 1946. ~Roger Lippman The author writes monthly about Leschi history and his experiences over his 48 years in the neighborhood. In the coming months we will meet some past Leschi residents who once upon a time were inspired to creativity by their walks in Frink Park.

If you’ve lived in the Central Area for 14+ years you may remember a project called the Pollinator Pathway. It was conceived by Sarah Bergman to plant native, pollinator attracting plants in the planting strips along E. Columbia from Madrona to Seattle U. The Central Area District Council (CANDC) wants to resurrect the pollinator project, expanding it to include any yards and/or containers along with planting strips. We are in the very early stages of Bring Back the Birds and Bees CD, but envision providing various levels of support to people in the CD who want to create pollinator gardens. There will be an initial pilot program to work out the kinks and then we hope to have the funding to run with it. If you are looking for a fun volunteer opportunity, we’re looking for help with grants, plant acquisition, website design, posting flyers, outreach and more! Below is the beginning of the document we’ll use for funding and outreach: Bring Back the Birds and Bees CD Purpose: The Central Area Pollinator Pathway project is designed to create Central Area-wide opportunities to build community through gardening. There is an additional goal of improving the natural environment in the Central Area by increasing habitat for bees and birds, which then helps improve all aspects of neighbors’ well-being. Scope:  Through social media, posters, neighborhood blogs, community councils and other community groups we will offer free native plants. The free plants come with the opportunity to be mentored in creating habitat for bees and birds by partnering with groups such as (TBD), and/or any other group that makes sense. In addition to mentoring, if the gardener is interested, we will also encourage neighbors to volunteer to help with the planting. Eligibility:  Anyone living within the Central Area Neighborhood District Council defined Central Area boundaries: Broadway/Boren/Rainier/MLK/Massachusetts/Lake Washington/Madison who has access to a planting area may request participation in the Central Area Pollinator Pathways project. Plants and mentoring will be allocated on a first come first served basis as long as funding is available. Funding:  In order to purchase the plants and provide a stipend for our mentors we will explore funding through private charitable organizations. Contacts: Mary Pat DiLeva: mpd12000@hotmail.com , landline 206.324.5161, cell 206.839.7468; John Stewart: stewartj@seanet.com , cell 206.658.3700. ~Mary Pat DiLeva

Join us on April 27 for a day of community, commemoration, and music! At 12pm on Saturday, April 27, we will welcome members of Powell S. Barnett’s family and former King County councilman Larry Gossett to rededicate the portrait of Mr. Barnett which adorns the entryway of our school. Beginning at 1pm on the same day, our annual jazz concert sponsored by the Garfield Golden Grads student support group will commence, featuring Butch Harrison and Good Company! Attendance is free and open to all, but if you are able, please consider making a contribution to the Leschi PTA’s family support fund. Please visit our website at leschipta.org  for updates and to support our work on behalf of educators, students and their families. Our Annual Giving Campaign is currently in full swing and 10% of the funds raised will be shared with other low-income school communities in central and south Seattle. Please check with your employer as many will make matching contributions for charitable donations! ~Benson Wilder

Date: Wed, Mar 6th, 7pm Location: Grace United Methodist Church, 722 30th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98144 The goal of this meeting is to kick off the effort to collaborate as a community to build a plan and momentum to work towards solutions. Please check back on this post ahead of the March 6th meeting for potential updates to the attendees and agenda. At the meeting we will briefly review last year's meeting takeaways and status (spoiler: not much progress, so let's discuss how to change that). We'll then open up the floor to discuss whether those issues still feel the most pressing; we welcome folks to surface new concerns. We'd like to propose forming a Leschi Public Safety Committee to help us hold ourselves accountable to keeping this conversation going and working towards solutions. That group would meet on a to-be-determined basis, likely monthly via Zoom. This will be a community meeting without any official panelists. We have invited Councilmember Joy Hollingsworth to our April meeting. We are working to get in touch with SDOT about status of our questions to them from last year and to find a time for them to join a meeting.

Fall City Roadhouse: 4200 Preston Fall City Rd SE, Fall City; ph: 425.222.4800; fcroadhouse.com   Hours: 4pm–7pm Wed–Sun; Closed Mon & Tues Should you find yourself heading eastward along Route 202, you’ll stumble upon a haven nestled at a crossroads: The Roadhouse Restaurant & Inn, also known as the Fall City Roadhouse. Just a half-hour’s drive from Seattle, this charming outpost beckons weary travelers, adventure seekers, and locals alike to indulge in a hearty dinnertime escape. Founded in 1916 as the Riverside Tavern, it’s been known by other names as well. A memorable one is the Bang Bang Bar. If that rings a bell, it’s because this Roadhouse happens to be the Roadhouse featured in David Lynch’s early ’90s serial television murder mystery Twin Peaks . If that doesn’t sound appetizing, don’t worry: The real Roadhouse is nothing like its fictional counterpart. The atmosphere is cozy and warm, a respite from the monotony of the long road. A fireplace burns just off the main entrance, though diners were not seated next to it. While the interior could stand some quality of life updates, the overall dining experience is excellent. Orders arrive quickly and the caliber of the food is top notch. On the menu, the main event is the Roadhouse Burger. Eight ounces of juicy, well-seasoned American Wagyu beef cooked to perfection on a glossy, toasted, artisan bun. Comes with most of the usual trimmings: shredded lettuce, tomatoes, onion, mayo, house special relish. The cheese will cost a little extra, and so too will the caramelized onions if you opt for those — highly recommended. Bacon too if that’s your thing, but this burger stands well on its own without it. Once you sink your teeth in, you’ll realize this is heaven. Served with tasty French fries and ketchup, or a house salad. For a premium, you can sub out for a Caesar or onion rings instead. The pandemic was not kind to the Roadhouse: In a 2021 interview with the owners, KCPQ-13 reported that it was “on the brink” of closing. However, it’s managed to survive, and with food this good, hopefully it’s thriving. In last year’s June edition, I listed some of the great gourmet burgers in Seattle, such as those at Heyday, Yard House, and Nordstrom Grill. There’s still others I still lament like Gordon Biersch that we don’t have locally anymore due to pandemic closures. I mention this to say that I would put the Roadhouse Burger that we almost lost up against any of those other delightful burgers any day of the week. It’s that good, and we’re lucky to have it. ~Brian Ward, Leschi resident

Seattle Art Museum, 1100 First Ave, ph: 206.654.3100 Mon & Tues Closed, Wed-Sun 10am-5pm This show: Feb 29–May 12. See website for ticket prices. We are so lucky to have the major retrospective of the outstanding Native American artist, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith until May 12. Smith is a brilliant artist as well as an activist for other Indigenous artists. For example, early in her career, she participated in ensuring funding for the Institute of American Indian Arts, a crucial school that has trained many successful Native artists. She usually works in the European technique of oil on canvas and printmaking with Abstract Expressionist and Pop art stylistic references, although an early series was painted on animal skins. She turns the modernist tradition on its head. Rather than the utopian abstractions that mask imperial drives, she fills her work with Native perspectives on ecological and political conditions. She inserts into her drips and strokes and bright colors pictograph-like images of horses, humans, dogs, coyotes, birds, and salmon. These two dimensional signs are often combined with written comments and collaged texts that directly comment on the catastrophes that result from White people’s greed and ignorance. One work includes the entire text of an Isaac Smith treaty from 1850’s that took Native land. Trade canoes are a major theme in Smith’s work. In this exhibition we have eight, two actually built of pinewood lath with her son Neal Ambrose-Smith. As an object in itself a canoe can simply refer to a means of transportation and community connection. The cultural significance and challenges of canoe journeys are now familiar to us. Revived in 1989, this year hundreds of canoes from all over the Northwest came to Alki Beach where the Denny party landed in 1851 greeted by Chief Seattle. The artist states: “Remember when the trade canoes came up river, they would be piled with bags of moldy flour, wormy beef, whiskey laced with lead and blankets smeared with smallpox” (p. 21 Memory Map, interview with Lowery Stokes Sims) Jaune Quick-to-See Smith began depicting canoes at the time of the 1992 celebration of Columbus’ arrival in 1492. Needless to say, the arrival of Columbus was no cause for celebration among Indigenous peoples. So this first canoe called Trade Gifts for Trading Lands with White People  is full of amusing details, such as the “gifts” strung across the top of the painting are Indian themed kitsch. The canoe is empty unlike her subsequent canoes. The trade canoes in the exhibition are full to capacity with people, animals, trees, and imaginary creatures. They are often surrounded by a sea of collage that speaks to the abuses and contradictions of native life. But one of Smith’s amazing talents is taking the dreadful and making it amusing even as we don’t lose sight of the horrors. I think this is called Indian humor. Tongass Trade Canoe  1996, a blockbuster painting, refers to the attempt to bring oil drilling to the fragile Tongass National Forest, the calving land of the Caribou, whom we see galloping across the top of the painting. Above are real laundry baskets suggesting a commodity that comes from oil drilling. The Tongass, after a decade of fighting, was finally protected in 2023 from development (we hope). Smith’s takes on famous white artists and, in my opinion, outdoes them by adding much more meaning. The maps in the exhibition were initially inspired by Jasper Johns but look where the artist goes with them. In Homeland , we see the focal point of the radiating lines is Montana in the upper left where the artist was born. There is a US map underneath, but the radiating lines and colors create an entirely new dynamic. Smith dismisses the traditional lines of US maps, the states, as arbitrarily cutting across Indian lands and tribes. Look for other repeated icons in her work, especially horses and buffalo and food and General Custer in deep trouble. What the artist cares most about is the land and the deep connection of all Indigenous people to their land in spite of the ravages of the White greed for oil, gas, and other sources of “energy’. In 2023 she curated a major exhibition at the National Gallery called: The Land Carries Our Ancestors , Contemporary Art by Native Americans  that demonstrated that this theme pervades contemporary native art. It included fifty Native artists and essays like “Sky as Place, Land as Body, Landscape as Spiritual Compass,” by heather ahtone and “Land/Landbase/Landscape” by Smith. Creating this exhibition simultaneously with her own retrospective speaks to her deep connection to her community. So clear your schedule and come see more than once “Jaune Quick-to-See Smith Memory Map” an outstanding exhibition by one of the most creative thinkers working today. ~Susan Platt, PhD www.artandpoliticsnow.com

For over 25 years, Darrell Howe and Darcy Thompson have been restoring and maintaining Frink and Upper Leschi Parks. Together they have donated thousands of hours on their own and helped organize thousands more hours from other volunteers. They were recognized in 2011 with the Seattle Parks and Recreation Department’s 2011 Denny Awards for Outstanding Volunteer Stewardship, for helping to successfully restore about half of the park’s acreage by removing invasive species and replanting with native ones. Additionally, they helped restore and protect Frink Creek and the half dozen wetlands and seeps that dot the park. They also obtained funding for park maintenance and restoration projects, including: In 2007 the Green Seattle Partnership funded a project to remove invasive plants, including ivy, and plant native species. In 2011, EarthCorps crews were funded to improve trail sections in the northern part of the park, improving trail stability and protecting against erosion. One section of trail was relocated from a boggy area to drier ground, with invasive vegetation removed. In 2014 the King County Conservation District funded the restoration of two degraded wetlands and their buffers in partnership with the Friends of Frink Park to reduce invasive species and increase native plant and wildlife habitat. To get involved with Frink Park preservation efforts, go to frinkpark.org . Where, actually, is Frink Park? Some of its boundaries are pretty clear, since it bumps up against streets and residences. King Street (mostly stairway) and 31st Avenue South are evident. But many people, including me, probably assumed that once you are going down Washington Street from 32nd, you have entered Frink. Wrong! You have entered Upper Leschi Park, which is managed by the city in the same way as Frink – that is, basically wild and undeveloped, with a few primitive trails. Upper Leschi Park is that part of Leschi Park lying west of Lake Washington Boulevard South. Continuing east on Washington Street, you come to a curve, where a street sign indicates the beginning of Frink Place. As the road briefly straightens out again, there is a small meadow on the left, and a footpath on the right. That footpath is within Frink Park. The meadow across the street, on the left, is mostly in Leschi Park. The trail descending from the meadow to the left takes you through Leschi Park. It later forks, bringing you either to the south side of the tennis courts or to the lowest remnants of Yesler Way. The trail from the meadow to the right goes down through Frink Park to the remnants of the old caretaker’s cottage. The abandoned ruins were sometimes a site for graffiti and Garfield High School student beer parties. Lately the place looks fairly clean. Now head back up to 32nd and Washington. This time, go south on 32nd to the dead end. There you’ll find paths into Frink Park. The Main Street right-of-way right there, but not evident, but there is a small park boundary sign where the foliage begins. Parks Department maps show the entire Main Street right-of-way as within the park boundary. Continuing on the paths will keep you in Frink. Now, let’s look at the parks from the east, along Lake Washington Boulevard South. The dividing line between Leschi and Frink is Main Street, which not only is not very main, but in this area only exists on maps. Walking south from the tennis courts, you are bisecting Leschi Park, between Lower and Upper. After rounding the big curve, you’ll eventually come to a row of houses on the left. Looking down the hill, there are three houses below, on 35th Avenue South. Align yourself with the north end of the northernmost and you have found the notional Main Street. A straight line from there to the west defines the boundary between Leschi and Frink parks. South of the King Street stairway, lying to the east of Lake Washington Boulevard, there’s a triangle of land purchased by the city’s park fund in 1908. At one time, much of it was the clay tennis court described here last month. Now it’s rugged woods. It narrows as it goes south, ending at Lane Street. ~Roger Lippman The author writes monthly about Leschi history and his experiences over his 48 years in the neighborhood.

Typically, we would have held Board elections last May but with the changes to the Constitution and Bylaws, the State had requested that elections be moved to even years. Both our President and Vice-President had been term limited (Two-2 year terms) but they graciously agreed to stay in office for one more year. The Leschi Board consists of 4 officers (President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer) and all four positions are elected every 2 years. Any officer who is not term limited can opt to run again. The Chairs of committees who are appointed by the President but have usually come forward and expressed an interest in serving. Committee chairs have voting privileges. The Board meets monthly on the Tuesday after the first Wednesday. Our general meetings are held on the first Wednesday. Board meetings are held by Zoom unless we are able to find a meeting place that is free. Changes in meeting date and time must be agreed on by the Board and publicized. We are printing the duties of the officers as defined in the Constitution/Bylaws in BOLD and suggested additions proposed by the board will be in italics . ARTICLE VI Officers – Duties Section 1. President. The President shall: preside over all meetings of the Council and of the Executive Board; appoint committee chairpersons, write President’s Message for the Leschi News the months that it is published; and be an ex-officio member of all committees except the Nominating Committee. Suggestions: The President should work with the board and the community to establish strategic priorities for the council. Priorities have to be set across programming, community engagement and what causes to focus on. The president will also ensure that the council builds and maintains meaningful, sustainable relationships with community leaders, the city and county. Lastly, the president is responsible for running an effective board, which includes facilitating meetings, making committee appointments, and encouraging progress on strategic priorities. Section 2. Vice-President. The Vice President shall assist the President as needed; perform the duties of the President in the President’s absence; and act as chairperson of the Nominating Committee. Suggestions:  The Vice President supports the president, specifically in efforts of relationship building. The vice president also helps committees be effective and leans in on organizing and driving community meetings. Section 3. Treasurer. The Treasurer shall execute and maintain records, collect dues, maintain a list of all paid members, receive funds, pay bills, keep records of all transactions, balance all funds, and prepare monthly financial reports for Council meetings. Treasurer shall prepare a proposed budget for Board annually. The treasurer shall retrieve Council mail from the post office. Suggestions: In addition to the duties stated in the articles, the treasurer is responsible for keeping the organization in good standing with tax and licensing authorities and ensuring it retains its 501c(3) status. The treasurer also oversees the grant process, ensuring that the application and administration of any grant follows the requirements stated in the grant. Sec. 4. Secretary. The Secretary shall prepare meeting agendas, execute and maintain records and minutes of all general and Executive Board meetings and provide a copy to the newsletter editor, provide all officers with copies of relevant documents, maintain copies of all outgoing correspondence, channel correspondence to appropriate persons, maintain lists of meeting attendance and council members, and maintain all records, reports, and documents of the Council. No suggestions were submitted for the office of the Secretary. The President will choose a nominating committee consisting of 2 persons led by the Vice-President by April 15 of even-numbered years. If you are interested in running, please contact the Vice-President. It is also possible to nominate from the floor at the May meeting. Do not hesitate to contact any Board officer to discuss the position. Contact information is listed on the masthead of the Leschi News . ~Diane Snell

Lawrence Pitre will be presenting his art at our monthly community meeting Wednesday, February 7 at 7pm, Grace United Methodist Church 720 30th Ave. S 98144. Lawrence Pitre is an artist for our times. His artwork brings together people at a time when everybody seems to be isolating themselves into separate identities and those identities are fragmented as well. For his long series of paintings called “Who We Are” (visible in a small version at 12th and Yesler), Pitre did a lot of research to find many aspects of the history of the Central District that have not been acknowledged in art before. He begins with Chief Seattle but comes back to Indigenous peoples later in the series. We see the effort to assimilate Native Americans in boarding schools and the Duwamish in 1890 preserving their culture. He then depicts the Denny family and the Yesler lumber mill (called Skid Row, because the logs were “skidded” to the water). Pitre moves on from the founding white families to Chinese Coal miners and Japanese Farmers. He depicts Jewish and Chinese grocery store owners, Filipinos and Irish. Another focus is individuals like the Gang of Four, (Roberto Maestas, Bernie Whitebear, Bob Santos, and Larry Gossett). Pitre based one panel on a photograph of James W. Washington, Jr. with his Fountain of Triumph  sculpture (recently restored and now at 24th and Union). Others feature Bruce Lee, De Charlene and Earl’s Cuts and Style as well as his own parents. Several panels address gentrification, and inequity particularly in housing, but there are also celebratory subjects like a Japanese Wedding. Pitre grew up not far from all of these places. His trajectory to become an artist is unusual and reminds us of the privilege especially white artists enjoy in gaining access and opportunity. At an art class his teacher singled him out and he did go to the UW School of Art where he was fortunate to take classes with Jacob Lawrence. Lawrence said to him “promise me you won’t ever quit.” There is an affinity with Lawrence’s “Migration” series, but Pitre’s paintings are larger in scale and focus on Seattle as an immigration hub for many different ethnic groups. Pitre tried to find work in the arts in the 1980s, graphic design on a Mac, but nothing worked out, so he joined the military for 13 years: he had three deployments to Iraq and even volunteered to go there! Fortunately, he came back whole. Then he worked for the Veteran Benefit Administration for 10 years He took art classes toward a Masters at Seattle University because his children nagged him into it. As a thesis project he proposed “How does art affect communities?” and that was the springboard for his work. In addition to the series “We Are One,” he is currently working on 14 signs for a path in Beer Shiva Park in Rainier Valley, scheduled to open to the public this spring. In another project he worked with Hawthorne Elementary School students. Each grade level was asked “what does culture mean to you and your family.” He put their drawings on a canvas which now hangs over the library door. A project for the new Africatown apartment building on 23rd is also in progress and he has completed a work for the Bob Santos building in the International District. “Jazz,” a large 3 panel work, appears as you enter the parking garage for the Amazon grocery store at 23rd and Jackson (which sadly is supposed to make up for destroying the beloved Red Apple that was there for so many years – the subject of another one of Pitre’s panels). As you go into the garage (I walked in), you can easily see his multi-panel series, with the theme of music that honors a few of the many musicians who performed in this area. Pitre has created more than ten different series each one with twelve works, including recently the “Stations of the Cross.” He also experiments with different media such as painting on burlap or compost (!). Pitre is an artist who brings communities together and thinks about the place of art in our lives. What a wonderful endeavor. Lawrence Pitre shares both the joys and sorrows of urban life. ~Susan Platt, PhD www.artandpoliticsnow.com

A couple of bits of Frink Park history that did not survive the ages were two clay tennis courts. One was on South King Street, just below 31st Avenue. Built in 1911, it was beset by weeds and required continuous maintenance, leading to its abandonment by 1935. Perhaps due to the demands of tennis players, it was restored in 1941. But by the late 1940s, most tennis courts were asphalt or concrete. It was abandoned permanently by 1956. I have only known it as an open but shaded site that seemed like it would be a good picnic place on a hot day, except that I never saw anyone gather or even walk there. Just in the past year it has been partially filled in with some plantings. Another clay tennis court is much less known or visible. One of the add-ons to the original Frink land donation was a triangle on the east side of Lake Washington Boulevard South, between the King Street and Lane Street stairways. Looking down from the Boulevard, one would have to strain to see a flat area through the foliage below. According to Ariel Stout, who lived nearby and played tennis there as a child in the 1920s, it had a concrete wall and “had always been there.” She honed her skill at an early age by hitting tennis balls against that wall. Searching for the wall, I was rewarded after bushwacking through the low foliage just south of King Street. I found the original wall, about three and a half feet high and a hundred feet long, holding up the steep embankment coming down from the Boulevard. The tennis court must have been carved out of the ground below. It has long since been abandoned, leaving no evidence of its former use save for the flatness, covered with soil. Alder trees, which enjoy that kind of damp, open space, have been growing for a while. A few years ago, the space was cleared of weeds and replanted with native species, including cedar trees that are now thriving. While we’re on Lake Washington Boulevard, what about those decaying wooden bollards along the curves just south of the intersection with Frink Place? They were visually pleasing, made of sections of what look like telephone poles, and they lasted 40-some years. Now they are mostly lying on the ground, decomposing. I reported them to the city using the Find It, Fix It app and got no response. A member of Friends of Frink Park explained why. The bollards were installed in the 1980s with Parks Department approval but private funding and labor. Now, since the city itself didn’t install them, it doesn’t want to be bothered with maintenance. Another of the few human-made things in the park along the Boulevard is the attractive concrete bridge over the outflow of Frink Creek. Never seen by motorists, or by most pedestrians, are the engravings on the sides of the bridge walls facing away from the road. They are worth a look, while out on a leisurely stroll on a bright day. At one time there were stairs up the hill to the north of the bridge, where the rhododendron grove is now. There was a sidewalk just above the road on the west side, as shown in the old photo above. The bridge was built between 1909 and 1911. Above the bridge is a waterfall, also created by humans. Trails from the road allow for up-close appreciation. The organization Friends of Frink Park works to preserve the park as a natural urban forest. To get involved with the group’s preservation efforts, see frinkpark.org . ~Roger Lippman The author writes monthly about Leschi history and his experiences over his 48 years in the neighborhood.

On Tuesday, 1/9, the Central Area Neighborhood District Council’s Land Use Review Committee (LURC) held an open meeting with council member Joy Hollingsworth to discuss the merits of public meetings as part of the design review process. One goal of the design review process is to ensure that new housing or commercial developments consider the needs of the community. Public input, however, has come under fire in recent years as an obstacle to necessary development. The argument goes that the process is used by not-in-my-backyard (NIMBY) neighbors to slow down or stop development. Secondly, feedback is usually provided by a group of engaged neighbors who have the time to show up at review meetings and who are generally not representative of the community members affected. And lastly, the people who currently live in the neighborhood can’t represent the interests of those who need housing and are looking to move into the neighborhood. As such many states have been looking to streamline public input or eliminate public input altogether. At this meeting, however, attendees’ main concern was that development plans are often submitted without regard for how a building fits within the larger space and plans for the community. Besides affordability, does the building provide space for families and for people who want to live in the neighborhood long term or just studios and one-bedroom apartments? How is the building connected to public spaces? Does its curb invite pedestrian traffic or leave room for trees? LURC provided Joy Hollingsworth with several examples of major projects in the Central District where public input improved the development for the better. Jeff Floor, the committee chair, pointed out that in Seattle a study commissioned by the city found that public meetings had a negligible impact on the total turnaround time for a Master Use permit. Lastly, a way to streamline the process may be to address adherence to good urban design principles upstream. What if city planners established relationships with the community and pushed developers to adhere to design guidelines, rather than helping developers make just enough changes to obtain a permit? As the city is working this year towards establishing a new comprehensive plan for the decades to come, the committee asked council member Hollingsworth to advocate for a neighborhood-friendly design review process and reject a process that would let developers simply focus on buildings over how a building enhances the neighborhood. Should you have concerns about land use in Leschi or public input for the design review process, bring it to our attention at leschicouncil@gmail.com . We will connect you with LURC or help facilitate the dialog with the city. ~Matthias Linnenkamp