Greeters Dick Brown & Roger Allington [filling in for John Uppendahl]
John Uppendahl began the meeting by offering the following meditation:
- Motivation
- Mahatma Gandhi reminded us that, "It is the action, not the fruit of the action, that is important. We have to do the right thing. It may not be in our power and it may not be in our time, that there will be any fruit, but that doesn't mean we stop doing the right thing. We may never know what results come from our actions, but if we do nothing, there will be no result." Doing justice is easy. Doing right is often terribly difficult, especially when we find that we must take a stand that makes us unpopular. May we leave this room today motivated to do the right thing, no matter how large or small that action may be, so our actions bear fruit for our communities and future generations. Amen.
- Quoted text by Mahatma Gandhi. Additional text contributed by Leigh Salisbury and John Uppendahl.
Dick Brown kindly led the presentation of many fine guests and distinguished visiting Rotarians from far and near. As a bonus, Steve White joyfully announced the birth of his grandson, William David Tyler White, to the delight and applause of the gathered Rotarians.
Dick Brown
Dick Brown talked about his introduction to Rotary. While he had been a student of the month some 25 years earlier, he had lost track of Rotary as an adult.
He was challenged to reconsider Rotary when he was accosted by "the jeweler downstairs" some 24 years ago. After joining Rotary, as a member, he felt that he was giving back to the community, "but what I didn't realize," he said, "was what I was doing for myself. Interviewing young people for service awards of student of the month, he thought, "Wow, what a treat! What a privilege to be part of this group, to be a Rotarian and a member of this club!"
He ended his fond memoire of the past quarter century by addressing new Rotarians directly: "So, I encourage you to get as involved as I was at an early stage. I'm a better person for those 24 years, and I'm in this room with my best friends."
Howard Johnson
Howard Johnson reminded the club that the next opportunity to participate in Rotary First Harvest is next week at the Kent site. He admonished us that "we are behind our target on volunteer hours, so think about coming out a week from tomorrow. There will be a carpool from the Park and Ride."
Howard also announced that we have two Paul Shanahan Award winners in the club: Tom Smith and Chuck Barnes, as well as our serial visitor and perennial friend, the venerable Frank Young. Frank is one of those unique individuals who is a Harvest Partner (donating $1,000 per year.)
Lenny Lutes
Lenny Lutes, who works in the graphic design business, was presented to the club as the newest Rotarian in the world, a lofty position from which he quickly slipped. Paul Martin was his proud sponsor.
Mr. Lutes was presented with a new member badge, so club members will be on the lookout to make him feel welcomed and fittingly involved. "Wear your pin proudly, and every day," said President Margie Burnett.
President Margie Burnett, Lenny Lutes & Paul Martin
Paul Martin said, "I met Lenny about 20-plus years ago, when we handled the insurance for the company he managed, and we became good friends." Born in Southern California, Mr. Lutes came up to Washington over 20 years ago. He is one of the new owners of Barcentia, a company involved in graphic design and production. "He likes to golf, but plays like me--not good," explained Paul.
In addition to his new duties as a Rotarian, he also serves on the board of directors at Stephens Hospital and is very active in community matters.
Cary Kopczynski
Cary Kopczynski called attention to The Rotarian magazine and asked people what stood out to them. As if conjuring the spirit of Gonzo the Muppet, Frank Young called out, "The chickens!" to general and raucous laughter. Committee members stood, and the club was enjoined to please make Foundation gifts this month.
Paul Martin, Alan Pratt, Norm Johnson & Morris Kremen
Cary then recognized several members as Paul Harris Fellows with award pins with appropriate sapphires for their giving. Alan Forney, Alan Pratt and Paul Martin (3 sapphires, $4,000), Morris Kremen (4 sapphires, $5,000), and Norm Johnson (5 sapphires, $6,000).
Dick Brown shows off Paul Forney's PHF ward.
Alan Forney wasn't in attendance to receive his Paul Harris Award, but Dick Brown used his award to show how beautiful the framed award looks. Not many Rotary clubs go to the expense of framing their awards. [Yet another reason why the BBRC is TBDCITW!]
Student of the Month: Sarah Poole
Larry May introduced Sarah Poole, who is an artist and is very active as a volunteer. She is passionate about children and animals, and she has served as a camp counselor for the Humane Society, working with children of course. Animals don't go to camp.
Jonathan Koshar
Campaign manager Jonathan Koshar decried the District's inter-club political conflict, informing the BBRC that the opposition to Steve Lingenbrink is running a smear campaign against him, accusing him of being an attorney. "We need to nominate him for District Governor," he cried. "Do it (sob) for Rotary, for America, for the children," he pleaded, proceeding to lead the frenzied Rotarians in chanting the name Lingenbrink). A nominating motion supporting said euphoria was passed on to the District.
Rotary Year 2010-2011 Board Members
President Margie Burnett announced next year's slate of BBRC Board Members:
- President - Chuck Kimbrough
- Past President - Margie Burnett
- President-Elect - John Martinka
- Secretary - Jonathan Koshar
- Foundation Director - Morris Kremen
- Membership Director - Chris Rasmussen
- International Service - Chris Monger
- Returning Board Members
- Club Service Director - Tom Smith
- Treasurer - Lorenzo Hines
- Community Service - Jane Kuechle
- Public Relations - Kaj Pedersen
- SAA (Non-Board) - Elena Howell
The annual BBRC "Golfing with the Elves" will be held on Thursday, December 24th, with a 9:00 AM tee time at Mt Si Golf Course. Greens fees will be $19 if you bring an unwrapped stuffed toy or non-perishable food items for the Mt Si Helping Hand Food Bank.
Take a break from the sound of the holiday with some fresh air and fellowship as we celebrate the Winter Solstice. Guests and family members are always welcomed.
RSVP to Norm Johnson.
"Bellevue — How it Grew," a presentation on the history of Bellevue by Heather Trescases, Executive Director, Eastside Heritage Center
Heather Trescases
Bob Vallat cordially presented Heather Trescases as the morning's guest speaker. A native of Toronto, Canada, Ms. Trescases' impressive education includes study in France (License D'historie from Universite Paul-Valery Montpellier III) and Canada (B.A., Queens University, Kingston; Master of Public History, University of Waterloo). Along with her husband Nick, she moved to Bellevue in 2002 and began volunteering at the Eastside Heritage Center, where she exercised her skills as a professional historian to great effect, winning the Willard Jue Memorial Award for Outstanding Volunteer Contributions to the Heritage Community. She became the Center's Executive Director in 2005, and she is also the mother of an 18-month-old daughter, Elise.
Quickly warming to the theme of Bellevue and its remarkable development, Ms. Trescases presented an interesting and informative PowerPoint, richly documented with historical photographs of our fair city. With the zeal of a convert, she told the story of this city that so many recent comers have adopted as their own. "In the 19th century," she said, "Bellevue was densely forested. Early explorers described a wide variety of trees and an abundance of wildlife. The local Native Americans hunted, fished, and gathered edible plants and berries along the lakeshore. The Native Americans who lived near Lake Washington called themselves the Lake People, or Ha-tchu-absh. Members of the Duwamish and Snoqualmie tribes also lived and travelled in this area."
A prominent heroine from the Native American population was Marie-Louie, a member of the Snoqualmie tribe. "She travelled all over the east side of Lake Washington," explained the speaker, "and she lived to be about 120 years old." Expressions of respect and perhaps even envy emanated from the assembled Rotarians, none of whom quite appear, mercifully, to have yet reached such advanced age.
Bob Vallat introduces the speaker.
"The first Euro-American settlers, Ann and Aaron Mercer and their children, claimed land on Mercer Slough in 1863," she continued. "They had to be completely self-sufficient because, as yet, there was no one else here. Aaron and the boys hunted and fished and made furniture for the cabin. Ann and the girls picked berries, tended a garden, made soap, and did other household tasks. After a few years the family moved to the Duwamish area, where the children could go to school, and the slough property was sold."
Today's Meydenbauer Center stands as a memorial to another early Bellevue landowner. "In 1869, William Meydenbauer, a baker from Seattle, rowed across the lake to a lovely little bay, where he staked a claim on the east end. It was said to be so quiet that he could hear a dog barking in Seattle. He built a cabin and planted an orchard, but his thriving bakery business kept him in Seattle. He sold the land, and later, when he tried to buy it back, he found that it was too expensive." One wonders how he would respond to the subsequent hypervaluation of the land he once owned and sold for a relative pittance.
Another important figure in the early history of Bellevue was Clark Sturtevant, a Civil War veteran who migrated to the area in 1871. "He settled on the land around Lake Bellevue. In the early days, the lake was named after him: Lake Sturtevant."
Today's high-tech business culture strongly contrasts with the natural-resource origins of the Bellevue economy. "With all the trees in the area, it was natural that a lumber mill would be the first industry. The Wilburton Mill was located close to where the Wilburton Trestle now stands. Logs were brought in from the surrounding area including the forests near Lake Sammamish and Issaquah." The logs were huge, and the operation required a large crew, so Wilburton "became a thriving town, much larger than Bellevue at the time. The first Japanese immigrants came to work in the mill and clear the land."
An important feature of the topography which enable the logging business was Mercer Slough, which was navigable at that time as far as Main Street in 1905. The slough not only allowed the logging company to raft logs down to Lake Washington, but also facilitiated tourism, as boats such as the Mercer and the Grub Stake respectively took pleasure parties and tourists up the slough and delivered supplies. Another important means of commercial transport was the railroad, which arrived in Bellevue in 1904. "The railroad trestle was completed in 1904 and at the time was one of the largest in the country, explained Ms. Trescases. The mill would suffer a crushing blow before the passage of many years, as the excavation of the Montlake Cut would lower Lake Washington by 9 feet, making the slough innavegable. "By 1918 the mill was forced to close and Wilburton became a ghost town."
Public Buildings
Today's impressive school system began in 1883, when settlers Albert Burrows and George Miller built the first schoolhouse. "Albert's daughter, 16-year-old Calanthia Burrows, was the first teacher," said the speaker. Reminding the audience that most schools in that period were small, she presented a photo of the Beaux Arts School, which was built after the turn of the century and served only a couple of families. The Main Street school was built in 1892, housing all eight of the grades of instruction offered. "The building lasted until the early 1960s and served as a library, a VFW hall, and Bellevue's first city hall and police station."
President Margie Burnett thanks Heather Trescases for her presentation.
Other public needs would inspire such additions as the post office, established in Isaac Bechtel's log cabin in June 1886. Early mail delivery was only weekly, as Mr. Bechtel would pick up the mail in Seattle every Saturday. Later, in 1895, May Johnson carried the mail twice a week. "She was paid the princely sum of $50 a year. She carried a can of pepper to protect herself from bears." By 1905, Sam Sharpe would adopt the safer and more efficient technology of delivering the mail in his wagon. Other early services to the community would include the Congregational Church, organized in 1895 and built in 1901. "The Bellevue Clubhouse, located on 100th Ave NE, was built in 1913 and was the community center. The Bellevue Development Club met there to lobby for better transportation, good roads, and street lights. The Bellevue Women's Club also met there and the two groups organized many fund-raising events."
The informative presentation of Ms. Trescases included the following data, produced virtually verbatim from her notes:
Crossing Lake Washington
"Before the Lake Washington bridges were built, the fastest way to get across the lake was to take a ferry. The ferry Leschi, began service in 1913 and served the Bellevue Dock until 1923 when it moved to Medina. After the ferries stopped running to Meydenbauer Bay, Bellevue residents had to drive or ride a bus to Medina to board the ferry to Seattle. After arriving at the Seattle dock they rode a cable car to the foot of Yesler. There they took a street car to go to downtown Seattle. Of course, the process was reversed to go home.
Heather Trescases talks with Bob Vallat, Chuck Kimbrough & Mark Gardner after the meeting.
With the construction of the locks, which allowed ships to come into Lake Washington, Meydenbauer Bay became the home of a whaling fleet. The American Pacific Whaling Company had its headquarters in Bellevue until 1947. The first Lake Washington Floating Bridge, which opened July 2, 1940, was the world's first concrete floating bridge and probably shaped the Eastside as we know it today more than any other single thing. Life magazine called it one of engineering's greatest triumphs, right up there with Boulder Dam and the Golden Gate Bridge. It cost $4.18 million, an astronomical sum in those days." As early as the 1950s, Bellevue and Kirkland residents were asking for another bridge across Lake Washington. The 520 Floating Bridge, also called the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge, was constructed in 1963. It is the longest floating bridge in the world — 7,578 feet.
Bellevue Farms
During the earliest years "Bellevue was an agricultural community. Many families grew their own vegetables and owned a cow and a few chickens. Strawberry fields covered the area where Bellevue Square is now located" and "Daffodils were grown where QFC now stands." A vegetable farm and fruit orchard occupied the site of the present Downtown Park. Many of the farms were operated by Japanese immigrants, who rented and farmed the land, but were not allowed to own property. The Japanese-American community formed the Bellevue Vegetable Growers' Association in the 1930s. From a packing shed at Midlakes, they shipped vegetables all over the country. There were also several dairy farms in the area.
Bellevue's most famous crop was strawberries. In 1925 the community staged the first Strawberry Festival, to support the newly opened library and fund other improvements. The first festival was held on the grounds of the Main Street School and attracted many visitors from the surrounding communities. Eventually, the event grew larger, the festivities moved to the Clubhouse, and Japanese princesses were featured. World War II brought an end to the festival, with the internment of the Japanese American farmers and the shortage of sugar.
Early Visionaries and Resulting Developments
"James Ditty believed that Bellevue would one day become a business center. Most people just laughed at him [for his audacious vision]. Miller Freeman spent many years convincing people in Seattle to build the first floating bridge over Lake Washington. His son Kemper, Sr., collaborated with his father in researching shopping malls around the country. The result of the research was the construction of Bellevue Square, which opened in 1946. People came from all around the area to shop in Bellevue. The Pacific Northwest Arts and Crafts Fair started in 1947 at Bellevue Square's Crabapple Restaurant. The event quickly became a tourist attraction. The post-war "baby boom" and the new bridge brought many families to Bellevue. Vuecrest, one of the area's first planned communities, appeared in 1947. Innovative developments like the collaborative community of Hilltop sprang up, as well as Norwood Village, a community started by veterans of World War II.
Thanks to efforts by the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce, Bellevue became known as the ultimate in suburban living. Brochures circulated with the slogan "Over the Bridge to Gracious Living." Civic leaders were convinced that incorporation was the only way to control the growth, and Bellevue became a third class city on March 24, 1953. It had a population of 5,940 people and an area of 5 square miles. Charles Bovee was the first mayor; the old Main Street School became the first City Hall; and the police station was located in the basement of the building. The first ordinance, passed on April, 7, 1953, established a planning commission. Fred Herman was the first city planner. He intended to stay a year and finally retired in 1975. Two years later, in 1955, the fledgling city was declared an All-America City by the National Municipal League and Look magazine. A grand parade and a big celebration were held on January 1, 1956. Growth continued at a rapid pace. The community of Lake Hills opened in 1955 and Somerset in 1961. Highway 2A was widened to become I-405. Thanks to the new highway, a new bridge, and a series of annexations, Bellevue's population skyrocketed in the 1960s.
L. Joe Miller was the city manager for Bellevue from 1961 through 1977. He rebuilt streets, improved the storm drainage and sewer systems and made many other improvements that allowed Bellevue to support more people. Another important city official was Parks Director Siegfried Semrau. When he started his job in 1961, Bellevue had 8 parks. When he retired in 1978, it had 35. Mr. Semrau felt that parks were just as important to a city as buildings. Thanks to Semrau's work, Bellevue started to call itself "A City in a Park." Advertisements for Bellevue, emphasized a balance between green space and downtown development. Some of Bellevue's early farms became parks. The Duey farm, for example, was purchased by the city and renamed Kelsey Creek Park.
The 400 Building, Bellevue's first skyscraper, was built in 1967. It had seven stories. More skyscrapers soon followed. After the collapse of the Boeing company in the early 1970s, many people left Seattle to find jobs in Bellevue. The Bellevue Planning Commission tried to find a way to accommodate all of the new businesses. In 1981, the Bellevue City Council approved a new building code for the downtown area. The tallest buildings would be in the center of downtown, with smaller buildings around them. This was called the "wedding-cake" plan. Not everyone liked the idea. Over time, Bellevue has grown up ... and up ... and up.
Ms. Trescases ended her fascinating presentation with a question none of us can answer, unless we have the foresight of some of Bellevue's early visionaries: "Who knows what the future will bring?"
Courtesy of Chuck Barnes:
A Good Bottle of Wine
A woman and a man are involved in a car accident on a snowy, cold Monday morning; it's a bad one. Both of their cars are demolished, but amazingly, neither of them is hurt. God works in mysterious ways.
After they crawl out of their cars, the man is yelling about women drivers.
The woman says, "So, you're a man. That's interesting. I'm a woman. Wow, just look at our cars! There's nothing left, but we're unhurt. This must be a sign from God that we should be friends and live in peace for the rest of our days."
Flattered, the man replies, "Oh yes, I agree completely, this must be a sign from God! But you're still at fault! Women shouldn't be allowed to drive!"
The woman continues, "And, look at this, here's another miracle. My car is completely demolished but this bottle of wine didn't break. Surely God wants us to drink this wine and celebrate our good fortune." She hands the bottle to the man.
The man nods his head in agreement, opens it and drinks half the bottle, then hands it back to the woman.
The woman takes the bottle, puts the cap back on, and hands it back to the man.
The man asks, "Aren't you having any?"
The woman replies, "No, I think I'll just wait for the police."
