Knute

When people came from other places to the Seattle World’s Fair in 1962, Knute “Skip” Berger is the person they expected to meet…a true Northwesterner, independent, curious, smart and a little bit “bushy”.  Skip and I first got know each other in the 1900’s (you remember them) when our offices were in the same building on the Seattle Waterfront in what is called Pioneer Square.  We used to run into each other as we walked the alley behind our building to lunch or home.

Just over a year ago, the Space Needle chose Skip to write the definitive book on the Space Needle for its 50th Anniversary and I whole-heartedly concurred.  We had a book deal celebration at the Needle with publisher Petyr Beck on the left, Skip, me and Mary Bacarella, VP of Branding for the Needle.Skip is a great writer, journalist and, above all, a World’s Fair aficionado par excellence.  He attended the Seattle Fair in 1962 and has been to every World’s Fair since then.

We ‘ve gotten to know each other better during the past year while Skip assumed his title of “Writer-in-Residence” atop the Needle with chairs and a table where he could write and interview.  I helped him open some doors to people and stories that make the Space Needle really come to life.
During the year, we both met many of the founding family members, people who actually built the Needle and those who drew attention to it here and around the world.  When Astronaut Buzz Aldrin came to help celebrate the 50th Anniversary, Skip was actually a bit in awe of the guy and wrote about it. I accompanied him to many interviews for the book. One that comes to mind was a meeting with one of the original builders and his family.  I got to the location early in a driving rain storm.  Shortly, a figure in a thin hooded parka came out of the mist down the street.  It was Skip, looking somewhat like an otter with his hair and beard drenched.  Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat…you know the line.
Last weekend on April 21, Seattle celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the Space Needle and the opening of the Fair.  It was a glorious day in every respect.  I’ll write more about it later but one of the highlights for me was seeing the smile on Skip’s face as he signed copies of his just-delivered book, Space Needle, The Spirit of Seattle.  He said he was “as high as the Space Needle”.  We all were. It’s a trip into the heart and history of our city.

At noon on Saturday, Jeff Wright, chairman of the Space Needle and son of its builder Howard S. Wright, and his whole family hosted a Legacy Luncheon at the Needle.  A couple hundred people with very close ties to the Space Needle and the World’s Fair had the time of their lives reminiscing. Pictured here is Jeff Wright with two ironworkers who actually bolted the Needle together. In the middle of the festivities, there was a short program with three speakers…Jeff Wright, Mayor Mike McGinn and, you guessed it, Knute “Skip” Berger.  The text of Skip’s remarks follows and, if it doesn’t entice you to read his book, you’re not paying attention.  I’m proud to call Skip a friend and colleague. He represents the soul of our city. He makes me even more proud to call Seattle my home.  It’s a very special place on this planet.

The Space Needle 'has a thousand fathers'
By Knute Berger
Editor's Note: The following remarks were made at the Space Needle's 50th Anniversary Legacy Luncheon on April 21, 2012. The event marked the official opening of the Needle and the Seattle World's fair in 1962. Also speaking were Space Needle chairman Jeff Wright and Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn. Attending were individuals and families who played roles in the fair and Needle's history, from ironworkers to engineers, from elevator operators to executives. There were many familiar names represented: Gandy, Carlson, Rochester, Wright, Steinbrueck, Graham, Minasian, Dingwall, Clinton, Moffett, Rockey, to name a few. This was a day to pay tribute to the amazing people and unique accomplishments that gave Seattle not only a fair to remember, but a permanent civic center and an international icon.
As the Seattle world's fair was being built, President John F. Kennedy quoted an old saying in the wake of the Bay of Pigs debacle in Cuba: "Victory has a thousand fathers, defeat is an orphan."
Century 21 and the Space Needle were victories — huge successes. They are certainly not orphans. They have a thousand fathers, and mothers, and children and grand children — including you, the people attending this 50th anniversary Legacy Luncheon. You represent their vision and their living legacy, their memory and impact. You were witness to amazing events and part of an important story in the history of our city, our country, and the world.
A year ago, I was hired to write the story of the Space Needle for its 50th anniversary. I was given the title of Writer-in-Residence at the Needle and  a desk and chairs on the Observation Deck which I used to conduct interviews, write for the Needle's blog, and to meet the people who pass through the "Eye of the Needle" on a daily basis.
I quickly realized three things on this project. First, that I couldn't complain about the deadline. If the Space Needle was built in a year, I certainly could research and write a book about it in a year. The Needle sets the bar for all of us.
Second, I came to understand that the Needle, like Century 21, has no single story. How could it? More than 50 million people have visited the Space Needle since it opened in 1962. It has been a place featuring births, anniversaries, engagements, marriages, first dates, and even a few deaths. When the flag was raised on the 10th anniversary of 9-11 last fall, it was a statement about endurance, remembrance and hope. The Needle has been at the center of Seattle's civic and cultural life for half a century. I met more than one person who told me proudly, "my father built the Space Needle."  No one is putting the Needle up for adoption.
Although some have tried to steal it away. You might remember that the city of Fife offered to buy and move the Space Needle there in the late 1970s. Some said they'd change its name to the "Fiffel Tower." As Walt Disney predicted when he visited the Seattle fair, Needles would soon be cropping up everywhere. This one is staying where it is.
The third thing I realized was that if you want to experience the thrill of the world's fair, if you want to experience the wonder, the fun, the chaos, the energy, there's one place in America where you can still do it. America has not hosted a world's fair since 1984, and likely won't for many years, if ever. Generations of Americans are growing up with no sense of what world's fairs are like, or even that they are still happening around the world, which they are. There's one this summer in South Korea, in a coastal city not unlike Seattle in '62.
But our fair is still here to remind Americans of the power of such events to inform, entertain, to reshape cities, to uplift people with science, technology, the arts, even Belgian waffles. The Seattle Center has some of the characteristics of a permanent fair.
If you want to experience what a world's fair is like, go to the top of the Needle on a crowded summer day. You will hear the gasp of newcomers as the elevators lift-off. The restaurant still turns and the view still stuns. You will meet passengers from around the world as they look out on the amazing city and landscape that inspires and nurtures us, and hear them exclaim in many languages. As King Olav of Norway said when he saw the view, "Dette var flotte" — "That was impressive."
He could have been speaking of the entire Century 21 legacy.
Wonder, inspiration, fun, aspiration. The Needle and the fair were offered as antidotes in a world threatened by nuclear war. It was a statement to the world: While you build walls and guard towers and bomb shelters, in Seattle we build global vistas and dream of new frontiers. The utopian vision still lives in our civic discourse.
I fell in love with the Needle, when I first saw it from the Smith Tower, as it was being built in 1961. I was an 8-year-old Cub Scout. You could get a clear view of the Needle from the Smith Tower back then; there were no skyscrapers in between. To me, the Needle was the future, being built right there on the horizon, in my home town. It was being built by some of you, for a fair that galvanized the city as nothing else has before or since.
I'm here today to thank you fathers, mothers, families and friends of the fair and Needle, for what you have done for the city. It was an honor to tell my version of the Space Needle's story because it embodies the collective story of Seattle's spirit.
Thank you.
Knute Berger is Mossback, Crosscut's chief Northwest native. He also writes the monthly Grey Matters column for Seattle magazine and is a weekly Friday guest on Weekday on KUOW-FM (94.9). His newest book is Pugetopolis: A Mossback Takes On Growth Addicts, Weather Wimps, and the Myth of Seattle Nice, published by Sasquatch Books. In 2011, he was named Writer-in-Residence at the Space Needle and is writing the Needle's official 50th anniversary history. You can e-mail him at mossback@crosscut.com.

Big Doin's

Spending my summers on the farm growing up while my dad was moving every year in the Army, I learned a lot from my grandmother.  One of her favorite terms was “Big Doin’s”.  Whenever she saw a gathering with lots of cars and people around, she would say “There’s Big Doin’s over there.”  The family joke that my dad and uncle always told was when she made that exclamation one time and they drove a mile to get closer to the cluster of cars which turned out to be a junkyard with “no doin’s” at all.

Well, there is going to be “Big Doin’s” in Seattle this summer, thanks mostly to the “Big Doin’s” in the summer of 1962 when the Space Needle and the Seattle World’s Fair opened.  Earlier this week, we brought out three generations of World’s Fair and Space Needle Seattleites to begin painting the Needle back to its original “Galaxy Gold” color from the Fair. It got everyone in town excited about all the activities coming up, starting with the official 50th Anniversary this weekend on April 21.
From now until the end of year, we’ve got a series of openings, events and activities that qualify as “Big Doin’s” and we’re knee-deep in all of them.  I’m outlining all this commotion mostly to let you know we’ll be distracted from time to time.
Space Needle’s 50th Anniversary—it coincides with the 1962 World’s Fair celebration, which means a lot to Seattle.  That really marks the time when Seattle became a world city and has grown ever since.  Elvis even came to the Fair and made a movie about it.  The Needle has become an icon for our city around the world and a beacon to our future.  It’s always leading the way.

University of Washington, Professional and Continuing Education Centennial comes next.  It’s nestled inside of the University’s 150th Anniversary and it celebrates the tens of thousands of local citizens who have come to the University with life-long learning as their goal.  We’re instituting a way for graduates to continue their education for years to come. And bring all who have participated over the years together in a series of reunions and gatherings.

Space Race 2012—the brain-storming session that spawned this idea started by talking about the success of sending Visitor Number 45 Million to our sister landmark, the Eiffel Tower.  Because of the success of that promotion, we began to discuss other places we could send people and someone said “How about sending them into space?”  We all looked at each other and asked “Could we really do that?”  The answer was yes and, since then, we have gone from 50,000 online entries to 1000 invitations to send a video about why you would want to go into space, to 20 semi-finalists who were voted for online and now it’s down to 5 people from around the country who will compete in tests of skill to determine the ultimate winner.  Astronaut Buzz Aldrin will open the envelope in May to congratulate the winner.

Not slowing down a bit, King Tut hits town on his final stop ever in the US next.  He’s going back to Egypt to his permanent home and will not ever tour again.  I still have the program from his first visit to Seattle over 30 years ago.  The real significance of that is that it tells me there is entirely too much “stuff” in my basement.  Being the marketing member of the board at the Pacific Science Center, host for the visit, makes this exceptionally sweet.  Advance ticket sales and exposure for his visit are way ahead of any previous venues.  The city is even changing the name of King Street Station to King Tut Street station during the 6 months of the visit.  Exciting!

Then comes Chihuly Garden and Glass—this spectacular exhibition has been almost 3 years in the making.  When a space became available next to the Space Needle, its owners approached renowned artist Dale Chihuly with the idea of a major exhibition of his work there.  We faced the test of Seattle’s process, gained permission from the city and have been working 24/7 since August to open in May.  It is all coming together in an amazing way and the artwork is being installed as I write this.  The most comprehensive exhibition of his work will move Seattle’s position in the world of art up a significant number of notches and those of us involved will be very proud to help open its doors to everyone.
Never far from the mountains, at the same time, we’re working on a PBS documentary about the love and attraction of the mountains.  We’re using the life of famed mountaineer and consummate guide, Lou Whittaker, whose career has spanned over 60 years, as the foundation for this program.  Lou is highly respected and revered in outdoor circles and he is a close and valued friend.  This documentary for network placement next winter or spring pays appropriate homage to Lou and his influence on climbing and guiding around the world.
All this is just in time to connect with the XXX Olympiad in London.  We’ve worked on the last several games with the local organizing committees including Beijing and Vancouver, BC.  We continue to talk with our Olympic contacts and have several lines in the water that we hope will bring us onto the scene in London.  Right now, our talks have been focused on security, which is a very delicate subject as we get closer to the Games.
All these “Big Doin’s” play out through the end of 2012.  What a benchmark year for this city.  If there weren’t an important election coming up in the fall, people would be dancing in the streets already.  It’s going to be incredible though and we’re smack dab in the middle of it all.  Grandma couldn’t have said it better.  There are “Big Doin’s” here and we’re in the game. In case you’re wondering what we’re up to…now you know.

The Tokyo Declaration...Part 2

In Tokyo at the New Otani hotel, the evening panel discussions were filled to capacity with on-lookers.  Even Crown Prince Naruhito came for two nights, sitting next to Mrs. Miura in white and carrying an armload of books for the climbers to sign in our private audiences.  Mountaineering is a favorite hobby of the crown prince. His younger brother, Prince Akishino, spent a lot of time with climbers during the course of our stay and seemed to feel a great connection to the gathering, as well.

Each afternoon, we spent time in closed-conference developing what became known as the Tokyo Declaration.  I was amazed at how committed the group was to making this something that would endure.  Doug Scott was very philosophical. John Roskelley was protective of the mountain environment. Jim Wickwire was his usual lawyerly-self, doting the i's and crossing the t's. And Sir Edmund and Messner weighed in long distance. On the last day, it all came together and consensus was reached.  I was given the honor of reading the declaration to the assembly and then we celebrated.

It was a tipping point for climbing. Never had a group of such celebrated and respected mountaineers and adventurers made such a strong statement about life in the mountains.  The following year, the Tokyo Declaration was read into the minutes of the now famous UN Earth Summit in Rio by a delegation from Japan.  It influenced the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development that stands as a guide to preserving our outdoor environment to this day.

It was an exciting time and Jim and I talked late into the night at the Lady Ottoline about the experiences we shared from then.  Since the Tokyo Summit, the mountains and access to them have seen many peaks and valleys.  The tragic Everest disaster of the mid-90’s, chronicled by Jon Krakauer, who was a Mountain Summit participant; the rise and fall of Greg Mortenson, subject of the best-selling book Three Cups of Tea; and the reality of Messner’s prediction that we would eventually have guided climbs to the summit of Everest, all speak to the call of the mountains and their influence on our overcrowded planet.  As Sir Edmund told the Tokyo Summit audience, “I personally believe that we have to make it more difficult for people to get into the wilderness areas. I think it’s most important that we don’t, for instance, have road access or even access by aircraft or helicopters.  Unless you can walk in there, you shouldn’t be able to go.”

Text of The Tokyo Declaration

• We the undersigned believe that the pursuit of adventure is an inherent right of the individual.
• Throughout history, man has been inspired to challenge the unknown on a journey of discovery into the wild places, and into the hidden aspects of his own nature.
• As the right of adventurous opportunities in nature must be preserved, so must the individual assume the responsibility of preserving those natural places.
o We must respect the local peoples and diverse cultures.
o Our presence in the wilderness must leave no permanent trace.
• We resolve to make our actions reflect these principles.  We will, along with kindred spirits, educate others—including our children—to aspire to the challenge of personal adventure, guided by the principals of this declaration.

Our world is smaller now.  There are even more people wanting to go into the mountains. Most are looking for the singular experience then they are on to the next thing.  That doesn’t make you a mountaineer.  True climbers crave the high altitude experience like a drug.  They would never come down if their personal lives didn’t require them to.  Chris Bonington and Colorado’s Jeff Lowe both said that everyone has a right to go into the mountains.  But they also said, if you want the real mountain experience, just walk 50 yards off the trail and you will be alone.  It was a simple statement but the Tokyo Declaration pointed the way to making the wilderness last forever.  It was definitely ahead of its time...at least 20 years.

The Tokyo Declaration...Part 1

It didn’t start out as an anniversary celebration.  The Lady Ottoline Pub doesn’t have a connection to mountaineering, as far as I know.  To W. B. Yeats, T.S. Eliot, Virginia Wolf and D.H. Lawrence, yes.  The Lady herself, an angel to the arts and Central London’s “hostess with the mostest” in the 30’s and 40’s , was said to be the inspiration for Lady Chatterley.  That’s a long way from the early British climbers Mallory and Irvine, who were spending their time at the Royal Geographic Society back then.

Anyway, the Lady Ottoline Pub in London’s Bloomsbury neighborhood, the home of its namesake, is where Jane and I met recently with my good friend Jim Wickwire, retired lawyer and noted first American to climb K2.  It was Sunday and, in England, Sunday roast is mandatory so we enjoyed the mix of beef and pork with our Guinness.

Jim had been on a tour throughout the UK with other celebrated mountaineers who had connections to K2, the second highest mountain and, many say, the most difficult of the world’s 8000 meter peaks.  The tour was a benefit for our British friend Doug Scott’s charity  Community Action Nepal and now Jim was ready to get a good night’s sleep and head back to Seattle.

And finally to the anniversary.  As we reminisced over dinner and counted the passage of time, we realized it has been just over 20 years since a group of us ventured to Tokyo and Mt. Fuji for the fifth edition of the Mountain Summit. A New York Times reporter friend of mine suggested that the mountains were very good at getting bad press for the accidents and tragedies that occur on them. So why not get lovers of the mountains together with journalists and talk about meeting the challenges safely and  rewardingly.

We put out the call and the leaders of the climbing community at the time all responded.  From Reinhold Messner and Chris Bonington to Sir Edmund Hillary, John Roskelley and famed sled-dog racer Susan Butcher, who took a dog team to the summit of Denali, everyone was anxious to put some perspective on adventuring in the mountains. Even rock stars like Lynn Hll and France's Catherine Destivelle joined the enclave. Initially we took over the Lodge at Paradise on Mt. Rainier, then as years progressed, Dick Bass, the first person to climb the Seven Summits, hosted us at his Snowbird Resort in Utah.  When Robert Redford heard we were right next door to Sundance, he invited us there. Our timing was impeccable and the media responded as well.

USA Today, Time magazine, the New York Times, Sports Illustrated, NPR and ABC Sports, among many others, sent reporters to listen and discuss the mountains of the world. Jack Skow, writing for Time magazine, reported “The first Mountain Summit conference ever convened among world-class climbers has been calm. Forty foot chimneys rise above the huge stone fireplaces at each end of the great hall here at Paradise Lodge, and thus far, oddly, no one has climbed them…Everybody is just talking, quite peaceably…What drives (the adventurers) to exasperation is talk of more regulations to snarl freedom of movement in (the mountains of the world).”

When Yuichiro Miura, better known as “The Man Who Skied Down Everest” showed up in Sundance, he and I had an instant connection. He has ski schools in Japan and takes Japanese kids around the world to play golf and ski. An amazing athlete, even now at 82, he’s planning another trip to climb Mt. Everest. He felt it was very important to carry the message of the Mountain Summit to Japan and as we talked the Tokyo Mountain Summit was born.

The Summit reached every corner of the country through live coverage on Tokyo Broadcasting TV and the mountaineers and adventurers were celebrities everywhere we went.  We were front page news.  We walked around the city to drink up the culture of that amazing country. People lined up for photos and autographs when we climbed Mt. Fuji to pay our respects at the prayer temple.  We rode the bullet train, sailed in a tall ship and ate an amazing sushi dinner as we made the climbers visible from one end of the country to the other.

On being Irish...really

America is a land of immigrants. Even the Native Americans came from somewhere else, if you go back far enough. Ireland holds the second spot as far as ancestry goes. Germany is first, don’t ask me why. There are almost 40 million of us here with ties to our homeland.

You would think that after a couple of generations, our allegiance to the "auld sod" would begin to wane. Things change over time. My great-great grandfather married a Sioux Indian woman. Another ancestor hitched a milk cow to a wagon in the Midwest and drove the Oregon trail to the Pacific Ocean to find his fortune.

The McConnell’s were farmers as far back as I can trace them…all the way to County Cork and beyond.  My grandfather started out that way but became a banker.  My dad did too, but he became a soldier. Both of them were staunch Republicans, which is just about all the change I could stand growing up.

My family were strong-willed hard workers, good athletes and singers…always singers.  Every McConnell I’ve known had a song ready when asked…and sometimes when not asked. Grandpa had “Jimmy Crack Corn and I don’t care”.  Dad loved “I love you truly”.  They taught me “I’m looking over a four-leaf clover” when I was about 4-years-old. If company was there and entertainment was called for, that was my song…no dancing, though.

Thank goodness my mother could play the piano. It would drown out some of the off-key voices. The collection of Celts that are my family were full of music.  Mom’s grandfather played the guitar and sang “Danny Boy” at the drop of a hat.  It was her favorite. So regardless of the changes in our lives, when it came to me, the Irish easily won out. Mom had only one choice for a name.

St. Patrick’s Day is an unofficial holiday in America.  But, interestingly, more people talk about it, wear green and claim to be Irish, than express such  passion for any other of the “official” holidays I can think of.  My trips back to Ireland for business or pleasure, always make me feel closer to the earth…closer to my roots…and, of course, closer to a pint of Guinness Ale…or two.

On a trip to kiss the Blarney Stone, (You need help to do it) the gentleman doing the holding asked me where I was from. “America, but my people are from here,” I said. “What do you do there?” “ I’m in public relations.” “You’ve come to the right place then.  What’s your name?”  “Dan McConnell.”  “Well, Danny Boy,” he said, “you’re about to get a big refill on your Blarney…and it sounds like you might need it.”

I’m proud to be an Irish-American…and all that comes with it.  Happy St. Patrick’s Day.

Tradition

The Japanese culture is built on tradition.  There are rituals that are both formal and informal that go with tradition.  We know folks in Japan but, most frequently, we are with our Japanese friends in Hawaii.  There is great Japanese influence in the islands.  Japanese people have lived there for over 200 years.  One-fifth of Hawaii’s residents are of Japanese ancestry.

A special Japanese family tradition that is carried on in Hawaii is the making of mochi (pron. moe-chee) for the New Year’s holiday.  The Japanese New Year is the same as in western cultures…January 1.  Traveling to the island of Kauai for many years, we have made several friends there who are locals.  The Umakoshi family is very special to us.  The matriarch is Akiyo Honjo or, as she is affectionately known, “Ma”.  Her daughter Amy Umakoshi and her family have welcomed us into their home for many years now to make mochi.

In fact, we remember making mochi 12 years ago for the last Year of the Dragon and we had been partaking in the tradition for some time before that. Amy has three sons and a daughter and they have families, so the holiday date is set when they can all be together.  Jane and I are honored that they would include us and, for a while, we only observed because we felt like we might be intruding.  Eventually we were invited to the table to make the mochi and I’ll say being good at it is not easy. However, I take advantage of the tradition that if you make a bad mochi, you have to eat it.  Sometimes I’m not as careful as I should be…on purpose.

Mochi is sort of a rice dumpling.  It’s filled with sweet beans, herbs or sweet potatoes, among other things, and shared with family and friends as a holiday treat.  There are mochi-making machines but tradition so often comes with old-fashioned methods and the Umakoshi’s make mochi from scratch.

There are several days of preparation, buying and cooking the beans and herbs, soaking the special rice and getting the trays and other utensils together in the special covered garden addition to their home where the mochi is made.  When the day arrives Sueharu Umakoshi, who helped build the famous Coco Palms resort and actually saw Elvis when he made the movie Blue Hawaii, is up in the early hours building a fire of koa wood in his home-made barbeque grill.  It is there that rice is steamed to perfection before being pounded into dough.

The rice pounding is the trickiest part of the process.  It is pounded with a long wooden mallet in a marble pestle.  The rice dough has to be turned when it is piping hot.  So it takes two people, one to pound and one to wet their hands with cold water and turn the dough. It takes rhythm and getting out of synch could get someone hurt.  I haven’t seen it happen but I’ve also never volunteered to be the dough-turner.

When the dough is ready, it is placed on a large table, covered with flour, torn into pieces which are then formed into the mochi dumplings with filling inside.  Amy told Jane that it is best to make a little parachute with the dough and then roll it around the filling.  Jane is getting pretty good at it and I still end up eating more than I make.  I bought a headscarf while in Japan recently and thought that wearing it for the ceremony would improve my mochi-making skills.  When Sueharu told me the Japanese characters said “Banzai!”, I decided that might force me into the dough-turning job and so I gave up the scarf.

Tradition strengthens relationships.  It builds families, friends and allies.  It is a powerful bond.  Jane and I have been so honored by our friends the Umakoshi’s that making mochi has become an important part of our lives.  While we go through the process with them, we “talk story” as they say in Hawaii.  We share our life stories with each other.  We have watched their families grow and seen the grandchildren thrive while making mochi.  This year, Ma turned to me and said “I was born in 1914.”  Then came a series of childhood remembrances from Japan that were captivating. How lucky we are to be able to encounter other cultures and traditions from around the world.  The sharing breaks down barriers and brings us all closer together.  Happy New Year.

Freedom

Today is the celebration of Martin Luther King’s birthday.  It is a federal holiday.  Only two other federal holidays are observed in honor of a person…George Washington and  Christopher Columbus.  Columbus Day doesn’t quite seem to fit the mold but so be it.

For over twenty years, I have been attending the Martin Luther King Day observance at the Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Seattle.  Seattle Central Community College, where I was a long-time board member and former board president, has sponsored the event since 1974.  President Reagan made it an official holiday and it was first observed nationally in 1986.  But all 50 states did not recognize it until 2000.  It was a hard-fought battle to create this holiday.  But in Seattle, a city known for its diversity, there was never any question about the impact of Martin Luther King on our society.

Growing up in the 60’s when Reverend King’s star was getting brighter has made me look closer at the importance of this celebration throughout my life.  For me, this has always been about freedom.  Our country was born on this premise and all of us, no matter what race or religion, have experienced freedom, or the lack of it, in some aspect of our lives.

That’s why the Mt. Zion event is always a must-do for me.  It brings thoughts of the freedoms we have in this country to the top of my mind.  There is a formula for the program.  It begins with the playing of Reverend King’s “I have a dream” speech.  Then there is some fantastic music and a chorus that rocks the room.  We hear from and acknowledge many of our elected officials from city, county and state.  And I have to say that those who spoke this year were unusually eloquent and on-target with their comments.

Then come the children with a special presentation of some sort.  This year, it was a dramatic reading inspired by Dr. King’s famous speech.  I tell you, when the bus driver told Rosa Parks she would have to move for the white passenger that just boarded and those kids said “NO!”, you felt it all over your body.

More music and singing and then an inspirational speaker.  This year is was Nate Miles from Spokane and now an executive with Eli Lilly.  He had more valuable messages than you can count and he related his life to every one of them.   He spoke directly to the kids about how to deal with bullies and to all of us about how to help the children who are our future.

He even gave us some trivia.  Did you know that the “I have a dream” speech was not what Dr. King was giving as he began to talk on that well-known day on the mall in DC.  He had given that speech before and now he was talking about ways to get DC politicians to pay attention to jobs for all.  The famous gospel singer Mahalia Jackson was behind Dr. King and, if you listen closely in the background, she says “Martin, tell them about your dream. They want to hear about your dream.”  He changes the speech in the middle and turns it into “I have a dream.”  What a fortunate bit of stage direction that was.

A community college student is then awarded a scholarship in the name of Reverend Samuel McKinney, retired pastor of Mt. Zion and an important community leader.  Reverend McKinney makes the award and finally then leads us all, after joining hands, in a few choruses of “We shall overcome”.

Freedom for all is a goal that is not easily achieved.  This country has been working on it for over 200 years.  We’re still taking tiny steps.  This celebration of the life of a man who wanted equality and freedom should at least make us think about how important each of us are in the process.  I hope you’re reading this tomorrow after taking today off and thinking about where we are all headed and looking for ways you can help.  Everyone can make a difference.