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Syndicated |
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August marked the loss of two civic leaders whose humble origins and a
“close to the earth” approach to civic engagement appears at times
to be all but lost on today’s national and community leaders. Congressman
Lloyd Meeds lost his battle with cancer at age 77 and former Northshore
School District superintendent Lee Blakely died on his birthday at age
87. They shared a work ethic and compassion for others that should prove
a model for today’s youth, as well as to those who seek to enter
public life. Neither was too busy to consider the needs of those they
served nor did either duck the tough issues of their day. Lee Blakely
moved to Kenmore in 1955, where he became principal of Kenmore
elementary and later advanced to the role of assistant superintendent
for instruction. In 1974, he was appointed to direct the entire district
for the next seven years until his retirement. Like so many of
his long-time friends and associates, I have many fond, personal
memories of Lee. I could always count on a friendly greeting from him
when he would slap a huge helping of spaghetti on my plate at the annual
Kiwanis dinner held before each Inglemoor-Bothell football game. In
attending school board meetings, I vividly recall the times a school
board member would ask Lee for a recommendation and his response would
invariably be pointedly wrapped in “whatever will be in the best
interest of the kids.” His wife of 64
years, Velma, preceded Lee’s death by only a month. He was devoted to
her, and, for many years following his retirement he continued to nurse
her through a long period of declining health. To keep in touch with
friends and build new friendships, Lee turned his hobby of tinkering
with lawnmowers into a backyard, cottage-style repair service. Here was a man
who held the respect of teaching peers, parents, graduates and community
leaders alike. He knew how to listen and he surely had learned how to
lead. Lee was old-school when it was still fashionable to exemplify what
you learned growing up: a farm boy from the heart of the Palouse country
who started a lifelong career in education in a town called Plaza. At
Plaza, with enrollment only 40, Lee Blakely taught grades five through
eight, served as acting principal as well as coach, janitor and bus
driver. Shared rural life Congressman
Lloyd Meeds shared a rural upbringing, having been born in Dillon,
Montana. Lloyd’s family moved to Monroe, where he attended high school
followed by a Navy tour, then graduation from Everett Community College.
He owned and operated a service station in Monroe for four years, then
went back to college to obtain a law degree from Gonzaga University in
1958. He followed the late Senator Henry (Scoop) Jackson as Snohomish
County prosecutor before his election to Congress. Lloyd served
the public in one capacity or another for 40 years. Of importance to his
constituents in the Northshore area during his time in the U.S. House of
Representatives was his sponsorship of legislation to create Head Start,
the Youth Conservation Corps, school nutrition programs as well as
vocational-education support. He was instrumental in obtaining a grant
that made it possible for Bothell to move the city library into a new
building which served until the regional facility was built by King
County a scant 10 years ago. What was so
remarkable about both men was their welcoming nature and an open door
policy they maintained throughout their public life. They knew the
struggle. They were compassionate men and the best of citizens. Graceful at age 35 I heard only a
few grumbles about moving Bothell’s 35th annual Art Fair
from the more visible downtown location of previous years, but its new
venue last month made for a worthwhile dual purpose – exposing the
citizenry not only to the work of our arts and crafts community but to
our young college community as well. The event was staged at the
co-located campus of Cascadia Community College and University of
Washington-Bothell. A whole lot of people discovered for the first time
that Bothell was home to these growing institutions and, for most, it
was the first time they had stepped foot on the picturesque campus
overlooking the nature trails of North Creek Valley. If I were to
nominate a single entry in the fair, I was intrigued by Angela King’s
array of handcrafted novelty candles. She operates her business,
“Dessert Anyone?” out of her home kitchen in Bothell, producing a
plethora of dessert candle creations. Each has its own distinctive
smell, so good one would be tempted to take a bite just to make sure it
was really a candle. She displayed candle replicas of root beer floats,
donuts, ice cream sundaes, fruit cobblers, gelatin desserts, cakes,
cheesecakes and pies. One’s waistline was preserved. Opening their facilities on a weekend in August was just the first of what interim chancellor Steve Olswang of UWB and new president Bill Christopher of Cascadia hope to be many occasions in which the schools reach out to attract members of our communities for a look-see at the interesting programs under way on Bothell’s college campus.
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The Previous Columns for
August 17, 2005 for
August 3, 2005 for
July 20, 2005 July
6, 2005 June
18, 2005 June
4, 2005 May
18, 2005 May
4, 2005 April
20, 2005 April
6, 2005 March
16, 2005 March
2, 2005 February
16, 2005 February
2, 2005 January
19, 2005 January
5, 2005 December
15, 2004 December
1, 2004 Nov.
17, 2004 November
3, 2004 October
20, 2004 October
6, 2004 Sept
15, 2004 Sept.
1, 2004 August
18, 2004 August
4, 2004 |
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John
B. Hughes |
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Hughes
serves
as grand marshal |
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Hugo
and (425) 482-4076 |
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