Category Archives: History

Before modern measurement standards, finding the length of a foot took a village

From Aeon: “The foot is a most easily accessible tool and it had a lengthy history as a means of measuring before the introduction of national and international standards. So how were earlier standards created? In this short video from … Continue reading

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Happy 4th of July

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Incarcerating families is the American way

Natasha Varner is the Communications and Public Engagement Director at Densho, the Seattle-based Japanese American history nonprofit. This opinion piece is published in Crosscut.                   Over the past week, a torrent of images, … Continue reading

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Edward Curtis – photography at the SAM

We haven’t been to SAM yet for the Curtis exhibit, but will go soon I hope. Having read the book Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher: The Epic Life and Immortal Photographs of Edward Curtis, I’m anxious to see his photographs. From … Continue reading

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Nagasaki Survivor Visits Hanford and the “Home of the Bombers”

An 81 year old survivor of the nuclear bombing of Nagasaki becomes the first visitor to Hanford. One of his wishes is to have the history of the suffering and the survivors part of the history of a new National … Continue reading

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Bringing back our historic street cars

This project was highlighted by King 5 – thanks Tom! “A group in Seattle is working to bring back the historic streetcars to the city. ‘Friends of the Benson Trolleys’ is a new non-profit trying to raise funds so !they can … Continue reading

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“American Democracy on the Brink: Donald Trump, Technology and a Free Press” by David Domke part 2

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“American Democracy on the Brink: Donald Trump, Technology and a Free Press” by David Domke

Invited and introduced by Peggy Newsom, Skyline is fortunate to have Professor David Domke return to Skyline to give a very important series of five lectures. With thanks to the Transforming Age Foundation these presentations were videoed using our new … Continue reading

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 Still cold in Philadelphia

You’ll love this story. (from Tom Gibbs) A Norwegian Icebreaker heads up the Delaware River As you may have seen on the news it’s been very cold in Philadelphia… So cold, in fact, that the City Government has borrowed a … Continue reading

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Waiting for a charge

Two hours north of of LA we pulled into a small town to check into a motel. Right next door was this beautiful well-lighted place that looked weirdly futuristic. It was one of multiple national Tesla charging stations. In a way, … Continue reading

Posted in History, Science and Technology | 1 Comment

There was a time B.A. (before Amazon)

Posted in Business, Finance, History, Humor | 2 Comments

A hotel from the past – “The Del”

Have you ever been to the Hotel Del Coronado, the historic landmark which opened in 1888? Here it is all lit up last night – January 1st. We’ve never stayed here (very pricey) but one Skyline resident remembers her stay well: … Continue reading

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Why Whitman College teams are no longer “the Missionaries”

Have you visited Walla Walla (not sure why it needs to be more than one Walla), but then there’s others (wasn’t there an old poem about these double names where the maiden’s heart goes Hamma Hamma)? There’s more there than the … Continue reading

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“So about that Space Needle time capsule…”

I was fortunate to visit the Space Needle in 1962 on my first visit to Seattle – what a thrill to have a drink in a rotating restaurant! Apparently there was no thought of a time capsule until 1982. From … Continue reading

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Another lovely couple from a few years back – guess who?

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Chopin’s heart revisited

Seattle author, pianist and physician Steve Lagerberg has written a book Chopin’s Heart: The Quest to Identify the Mysterious Illness of the World’s Most Beloved Composer. Chopin’s body rests in Paris, but his heart in Poland. The heart was recently secretly exhumed … Continue reading

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Here today, gone tomorrow and so it goes

This is a trip down memory lane. So many things the younger generation will never see. What do we have now that will so quickly be forgotten? Thanks to Rosemary Wehrman for sharing!  

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Candice Bergen talks about her father

From Deadline Hollywood: “Before she was Murphy Brown and the star of such films as Carnal Knowledge, Candice Bergen grew up watching her father Edgar Bergen scratch his way to stardom with his arm up the back of the wooden puppet Charlie McCarthy. She has teamed with James … Continue reading

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The Underground Railroad – a necessary memory

The Slave Pen, the principal artifact at the Freedom Center, was transported from its original Kentucky location and reconstructed on the second floor of the Center. The Skyline book club is reading The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead, a best … Continue reading

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A few thoughts from Martin Luther King, Jr.

“I have a dream that one day little black boys and girls will be holding hands with little white boys and girls.”  “Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal.”   “We must live together as brothers or perish … Continue reading

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Why Afghanistan remains unconquerable

The Soviets were happy to leave Afghanistan in 1979 after a miserable 10 years of war there. They left a ruined country with more landmines than anywhere else in the world. The United States helped defeat the Russians but basically … Continue reading

Posted in History, Politics, War | 2 Comments

Tom Gibbs tells us how Safeco Field came to be

Above is a video of the recent presentation at Skyline. It’s also available on the resident portal.

Posted in Business, History, In the Neighborhood, Politics, Science and Technology, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

The USS Indianapolis is found after 72 years

Paul Allen’s team has located the final resting place of the Indianapolis, the subject of intrigue, disaster, lives lost and a controversial court-marshal.

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Mendeleev: The chemist, the vodka and the hot-air balloon

From Ann Milam: Click here for the article on line. “Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev (1834-1907) a Russian chemist who created the periodic table of elements. The table went on to have the same transformative effect on the world of science as … Continue reading

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This one’s too easy!

1964 was the memorable time, more than 53 years ago! Please send me your wedding picture to post!  

Posted in History | 2 Comments