Just Around the Corner

I dare you to come here and say out loud: “Wow, look at these crowds. This place is like a zoo!” The Woodland Park Zoo is in full swing. But be ready to hunt for a parking spot, as they are as rare as some of the species. I also recommend strollers or wagons for…

This house is like the one in the Disney animated movie, Up. In that movie, an elderly widower refuses to sell his abode to a developer. The widower latches balloons to his house, and the audience watches it float up to the sky, to new adventures. In reality: This century-old house was owned by a…

Sweet! It looks like the century-old Liberty Orchards, maker of Aplets and Cotlets, will not wrap up business after all. A potential buyer is in negotiations to keep the business blooming. Earlier this spring, Liberty announced it would cease operations in June after three fruitless years were spent trying to pick a buyer. The core…

Sunny skies greeted over 150 people this morning who attended the Memorial Day service at Evergreen Washelli Veterans Cemetery in North Seattle. Although I missed the bagpipes, I had the opportunity to watch 5,000 flags being handed out, one for each service member’s grave. “This past year, more so than others, has given us all…

With news that the last independent video store, Reckless Video, is closing July 31, I remember the first time I visited in August 2019: I wandered into the “Reckless Video” store for the first time, because after seeing so much change in Seattle, I Want to hold on to something that’s old.  It is the…

After being cancelled last year, the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival is well underway, running through April 30. The two main sites where you can visit and take photos are: Roozengaarde:  www.tulips.com Tulip Town:  tuliptown.com Visit the websites to purchase tickets before arriving. — Photos by David Carlos Mountlake Terrace resident David Carlos often submits photos and videos profiling…

A brief history… Probably one of the most recognizable landmarks in the city of Carnation, the chapel wasn’t the original building for the church. The first church was destroyed in a fire in 1936. To help raise funds for a new chapel, Nan Fullerton Stuart, the wife of wealthy Carnation Farms owner Elbridge Stuart, started…

All’s not flour and roses at Borracchini’s Bakery. The business has turned off the ovens, put away the spatulas, and bundled up the aprons.  The 100-year-old Seattle institution is closed forever. Egged on by the pandemic this past year, customers could no longer hold weddings, birthdays and other celebrations, leading to a great decrease in…

Probably going out of business: The 103-year-old Liberty Orchards, maker of Aplets and Cotlets, announced it will cease operations this June after fruitless attempts to find buyers of the company. If necessity is the mother of invention, that’s at the core of this enterprise. Farmers had lots of apple surpluses (to be expected in the…

The windmill at Marymoor Park in Redmond is on property originally owned in the early 1900s by banker and developer James Clise. Cattle and horses were raised on the property, which was called Willowmoor Farm. During a visit to the Netherlands, the Clise family fell in love with the windmills. Upon returning home, they had…

Black Coffee Northwest, at 16743 Aurora Ave. N. in Shoreline, has reopened after two days of being closed due to vandalism. This past Tuesday, swastikas were spray painted on the outside walls. Three months ago, Molotov cocktails were used to try to burn the building. The Black-owned coffee house has survived its first three months…

The building housing the Green Lake Spud Fish and Chips in Seattle is no more. The 1959 building designed by architect Edward L. Cushman did not qualify for landmark status, and was torn down this week to make way for a 59-unit apartment complex. Spud Fish and Chips will return at the same spot once…

One year ago today: In Arlington, John and Heather Norman are putting the final touches to an exact replica of The Spirit of St. Louis. That was the plane that Charles Lindbergh flew non-stop from New York to Paris in 1927. With little in the way of creature comforts — no heat, no bathroom except…

As of the year 2000, there were 299 residents in Custer, a small town just south of the Canadian border. Back in the 1950s-early ’60s, there was one special resident: Loretta Lynn, before she became a country star. Loretta, then 14, and her 21-year-old husband, Oliver “Doolittle” Lynn, moved to Custer from Kentucky in search…

The Seattle International District celebrated the Lunar New Year Saturday, Feb. 7, at Hing Hay Park. Events included lion and dragon dance performances, a hula dance, costume parade, martial arts demonstrations, children’s book reading, Korean and Hmong cultural performances, and Japanese Taiko drums. You are a “Rat” in Chinese Zodiac terms if you were born…

First & Pike News at Pike Place Market closed Dec. 31 after 40 years in business. The corner news stand has been a local landmark at Pike Street and First Avenue, once offering over 2,500 types of magazines and newspapers from all over the world. Owner Lee Lauckhart, 78, plans to retire and work on…

The first public flight of the Spirit of St. Louis replica plane will take place at 9 a.m., Sunday, Sept. 8, at the Arlington Municipal Airport. According to the plane’s owners and builders, Heather and John Norman: “Our plan is to make a few flights around the airport so that folks can see the aircraft…