Helen Russell celebrates 100 years of tough living, chasing dreams
March 9, 2010
Helen Russell wears a tiara at her 100th birthday party in November, and enjoys the quilt made and presented as a gift to commemorate the milestone. — Photo contributed
Helen Russell has accomplished a lot in her life. After all, she’s been around for a century.
Russell celebrated her 100th birthday Nov. 22. It was a day she won’t ever forget.
“My daughter-in-law threw a party to end all parties,” Helen said of Judy Russell, wife of her younger son Alan. “She took an 80-year-old address book and started writing invitations.
“If you want a party, get Judy.”
There were more than 100 people who came to help her celebrate her birthday, including her three granddaughters and three great-grandchildren.
Cousins, friends, family and neighbors came, said her older son, Mac Russell.
“It didn’t last long enough,” he said. “There were too many people who hadn’t seen her, or we hadn’t seen, in 20 years.” Read more
New training program to restore Berntsen Park
March 9, 2010
Continuing efforts to restore Berntsen Park, the city of Issaquah has partnered with the Washington Native Plant Society to provide community members with local habitat experience through the Native Plant Stewardship Training program. Read more
Military News
March 9, 2010
Tatianna Neidhamer
Issaquah resident graduates from Air Force boot camp Read more
Care to gamble on a good cause?
March 9, 2010
Roulette, craps or black jack, whatever your vice, you’ll be helping a good cause at Habitat for Humanity’s “Everybody’s a Winner” casino night March 13. Read more
Oh, Canada
March 2, 2010
U.S. fans show their support at the ladies’ giant slalom event in Whistler. Photo by Chantelle Lusebrink
Issaquah residents return home with warm memories of the Vancouver Olympics
The hottest item during the Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler: red mittens adorned with a maple leaf on each palm.
By the time Issaquah resident Kristi Feder reached the Olympics, the too-hot-to-handle hand warmers had been sold out, and scalpers sold the fleece-lined mittens secondhand. The mitten episode illustrated the frenzy for all things Canadian at the British Columbia games.
“Vancouver pulled off a winner of Winter Olympics in spite of a rocky start,” Feder said. “Since weather was up to Mother Nature, they put all of their efforts into those things they could control and, for the most part, did a great job.”
Feder and other locals headed north for memorable moments — like watching figure skater Evan Lysacek become the first American man since 1988 to win gold — and high-profile snags — like the malfunctioning cauldron at the opening ceremony — as the Olympics opened closer than ever to Western Washington.
Don Alper, director of the Center for Canadian-American Studies at Western Washington University, said the games helped foster the close relationship between Washington and British Columbia and, in turn, the United States and Canada. Moreover, wall-to-wall media coverage highlighted the best attributes of the Pacific Northwest. Read more
College news
March 2, 2010
Local students make UW dean’s list
The following students from the Issaquah area have been named to the dean’s list at the University of Washington for the autumn quarter.
To qualify for the dean’s list, a student must have completed at least 12 graded credits and have a grade point average of at least 3.5 (out of 4). Read more
Sammamish downhill skier races in Whistler
March 2, 2010
Yina Moe-Lange looks toward 2014 Olympics
WHISTLER, British Columbia
Sammamish skier Yina Moe-Lange rests after completing the second race in the ladies’ giant slalom at the Whistler Creekside venue. By Andrea Collins
The cold rush of snow, blazing fast speeds and butterflies marked 16-year-old Yina Moe-Lange’s Olympic debut.
Moe-Lange, a Sammamish resident skiing for Denmark, put the pedal to the metal the second day of competition, shaving her time dramatically to place 47th out of 60 competitors in the second run of the ladies’ giant slalom Feb. 25.
“I was super nervous yesterday,” she said of the first race, held Feb. 24. “Everything was so different. There were more people there that wouldn’t normally be there at a race. The thought of knowing that was tough.
“I got the first start out of the way and skied today more like I’ve skied every other race in every other course.”
By the second day of competition, the butterflies floated away and what was left, for one of the youngest competitors in the games, was sheer athletic ability. Read more
A bell’s history is discovered
February 23, 2010
A regular look at Issaquah’s past
Above the concrete floor of the Auto Freight Building, where the American Indian trade knife profiled earlier was found, is where the Issaquah History Museums have stored large artifacts for the past 20 years.
Among these are the Peltola Sleigh, the original Issaquah Volunteer Fire Department Hose Cart, and a variety of large logging and railroad artifacts. Most of the items’ rich histories have been documented, and can be matched up to the artifacts through our artifact numbering system.
But during the years when the historical society was low on volunteers and without staff, pieces of history were stored in the building without being numbered, labeled or documented. The history of a number of these artifacts are still being researched. Read more
A party 25 years in the making
February 23, 2010
Quilters celebrate the past and the future
Dorothy Scovell (left), a founding member of Issaquah Quilters Guild, shows her quilt of houses with blocks made by members. Linda Brandon helps hold the quilt and Barbara Magill, current president, looks on Feb. 12 during the anniversary celebration. By Dottie Amidel
In its 25 years, the Issaquah Quilters Guild has helped hundreds of people and etched out a place in the community for itself.
From quilting baby quilts for Eastside Baby Corner to creating a masterpiece that was hung in the Issaquah Community Center, the quilters, past and present, have made their mark and touched hundreds of lives.
Gold and glory in Vancouver
February 23, 2010
To view exclusive photos snapped by Issaquah residents experiencing the 2010 Winter Olympics, click on the link below:
