The Bremerton Beat

I’m posting the press release from the Secretary of State’s office without making any “ha-ha” remarks to my good friends who live and work across the Sinclair Inlet from Bremerton. Isn’t that big of me?

This is the second Kitsap resident to be honored in this way be the state. The first was former Bremerton Sun writer Adele Ferguson.

I’m hoping to interview Ms. Walker on Monday.

`Legacy’ honors civil rights pioneer Lillian Walker

OLYMPIA – A 95-year-old Bremerton civil rights pioneer is the latest Washingtonian to have her life story told by The Legacy Project, the oral history program established in 2008 by the Office of the Secretary of State.

Lillian Walker helped found the Bremerton branch of the NAACP in 1943 and went on to serve as state NAACP secretary. She was conducting sit-ins and filing civil rights lawsuits when Martin Luther King was in Junior High.
A biography and an oral biography based on sit-down interviews, plus photos and other materials, have just been posted at http://www.secstate.wa.gov/legacyproject/oralhistories/lillianwalker/default.aspx

A rollout ceremony is planned for 2 p.m. on August 11 in Secretary of State Reed’s office at the Capitol, featuring remarks by Congressman Norm Dicks, Reed, chief oral historian John Hughes, and Dianne Robinson, Bremerton councilwoman and co-founder of the Kitsap County Black Historical Society. The ceremony will be televised by TVW and available on streaming video at www.TVW.org

The Legacy Project e-publishes oral histories and biographies of Washingtonians who have been instrumental in shaping our history. The materials are published online and are free for easy click-on reading or downloading. They are excellent resources for school and college projects.

In the past nine months, The Legacy Project has offered up profiles of Charles Z. Smith, the first ethnic minority on the State Supreme Court; pioneering female journalist Adele Ferguson; rocker-turned-civic activist Krist Novoselic; former Chief Justice Robert F. Utter; and trailblazing federal judge Carolyn Dimmick, who was the first woman on the State Supreme Court.

Soon to be published are the oral histories of former first lady Nancy Bell Evans and astronaut Bonnie Dunbar. An oral history with former Governor Booth Gardner is in preparation, and a biography of the late Congresswoman Jennifer Dunn also is in the works.

“It is a real privilege for Washingtonians to learn more about the inspiring Lillian Walker story, which is emblematic of the work of so many in this state for racial equality and equal rights for all,” Reed said. “It also reminds us that the clock is ticking if we don’t want to lose the chance to preserve these stories. The Legacy Project, which is part of the planned state Heritage Center on the Capitol Campus, is hard at work, on a shoestring budget, to preserve this part of our history and our heritage.”

Mrs. Walker and her late husband, James, arrived in the Navy Yard city of Bremerton in 1941 together with thousands of other African-American wartime workers who thought they had left racism behind in the South and industrialized cities of Midwest and East. But many Kitsap County businesses, including cafes, taverns, drug stores and barber shops, displayed signs saying, “We Cater to White Trade Only.”

In a landmark case, the Walkers took a soda fountain owner to court and won. They also discovered there were “a lot of righteous white folks” in Bremerton. Sixty-five years later, the centennial year of the NAACP finds Mrs. Walker still in the trenches, “reminding people about The Golden Rule.”

She is a charter member of the YWCA of Kitsap County, former chairman of the Kitsap County Regional Library Board, a 68-year member of Ebenezer African Methodist Episcopal Church, and a founder and former president of Church Women United in Bremerton.

Lillian Walker exudes dignity, pluck and perseverance. One of 11 children born to a mixed race couple on a farm in rural Illinois, she dreamed of becoming a doctor, but she was the wrong color and the wrong gender at the wrong time in the wrong place. Still, there’s no bitterness over the fact that she and her late husband took on an assortment of part-time janitorial jobs for 40 years to make ends meet and give their kids a better life. Their son graduated from Stanford University, went on to earn a Ph.D. and is an epidemiologist for the Centers for Disease Control.

Someone once asked her, “Why are you always smiling?” “Frowning and cursing,” she replied, “that’s not going to make you any friends.”

(Carolyn Yaschur | Kitsap Sun)

Even though the archrival Bremelog scooped the Beat on this one, I’ll be big enough to pass along the invite join Sustainable Bremerton folks at Sixth Street’s Hi-Fidelity Lounge for St. Patrick’s Day. Sending Beat readers elsewhere means swallowing my pride, but I can live with it since there’s a chance of swallowing some green beer as well.

But that’s next week. Before our city’s green living movement celebrates the green holiday, I’m checking my Swedish heritage at the door (but not my distaste of Notre Dame football) for two events this weekend: The Main Stream Association’s annual downtown St. Pat’s parade — Saturday at 11:30 a.m. on Pacific, YouTube of the 2008 version here — and a St. Patrick’s Day Dash 5k at Jackson Park, 9 a.m. Call Lisa Bertolacci-Starich, (360) 315-2134, if you need more information on the run, show up early if you want to join the parade. Organizers are looking for cyclists — moto or bi — to join the parade this year. Be at Sixth and Pacific by 10:45 to line up if you’re interested.

— David Nelson

Update: Missed one event. The Admiral Theatre will also get shamrocked this weekend, with traditional Irish music and dance from An Dochas. Saturday night at 8 p.m.

The entry below comes from current Sun intern Angela Lu. My seat in the newsroom has a view of the downtown library’s front entrance, so I’ve watched with mild curiosity the past few weeks as a plaque by the front door was covered, then uncovered, then covered, then uncovered. (I also watch with curiosity every morning when a guy walks by, like clockwork, with either an 18-pack of Budweiser or Coke in his hand. But I digress.) Here’s a little story on the plaque go ’round.
— David Nelson

The Kitsap Regional Library’s downtown Bremerton branch, named for Martin Luther King, Jr., planned on unveiling a new plaque dedicated to the civil rights leader last Monday.

The library used to have a wooden sign in its front lawn to honor King, but last fall felt it had “gotten to look a little worn and needed some refreshing” according to Carolyn Neal, branch manager of the downtown location. The new plaque is on the outside of the bright stucco building, immediately right of the front entrance. King’s face is engraved on it, with opening dates and dedication dates of the building, over the words “I have a dream.”

After it was installed in January, the plaque, about three feet by a foot and a half, was covered with duct tape and plastic. But library staff felt it would be disrespectful to keep the plaque covered over MLK holiday weekend, and uncovered the plaque to zero fanfare on January 19, the holiday that honors King. The covering never returned, and the plaque could be seen by any patron.

That was until Monday. The library planned on a formal unveiling that evening with members from the local NAACP chapter, and Neal dutifully re-covered the plaque with a black veil.

However, after waiting for 20 minutes, the NAACP still hadn’t shown up, and a light rain that had been on and off through the afternoon had started. Neal had no choice but to take the veil back down, in fear that someone would steal it.

Joan Ferebee of the NAACP said the group had visited the library earlier that day, but seen scratches on the plaque. They decided they couldn’t unveil it in that condition, so they called the library and told another librarian that they were not coming. Apparently Neal did not get that message.

Ferebee said she’ll be talking to the library to set a new date for the unveiling. And the covering may go up just once more.

Local heartthrob Ken Schram has noticed Bremerton, and bashed the Bremerton Chamber of Commerce for telling a veterans for peace to go dig a fox hole. It doesn’t want any peace lovers in its parade celebrating military veterans.

Schram takes them to task, and that’s all well and fine, but in his commentary, Schram does not mention anything about giving the chamber a Schrammie.

A Schrammie is a small statuette of himself that he gives to people in the news that he disagrees with.

(My cat does something similar. We’re hesitant to give him wet food because of it.)

I’d like Schram to explain why exactly the Chamber didn’t get a Schrammie. I, and the rest of Bremerton, are a little cheesed off. Sure, read the story on KitsapSun.com, or read a bland rewrite by a wire service, then go on television and bash the chamber, and then don’t follow through with the $5, made-in China bobble-headed doll that sort of looks similar to Schram. That’s real nice.

Talk about getting rode hard and put away wet. Instead of a Schrammie we get a “Schram on the Street,” known in the Grateful Dead-like cult that worships Schram like a god as “the poor man’s Schrammie.”

Listen, Schram, I’m mad as heck and I’m not going to take it. I want an explanation.

Where is our Schrammie?

The Living Statue Lives
The artwork gracing the patio in front of the new police station will officially be dedicated May 22 from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.

The police station, known as the Art Morken Law Enforcement Building, is the first city building to receive money for public art.

Read the Sun’s story about the pieces here.

_______________________________

Now, I’d like to slow things down a bit and present you, dear Bremerton Beat reader, with a few helpful bits of advice for dealing with creative artistic types. You’ve probably been operating under the assumption that personal hygiene, respect and good manners are all that you need to make your mark among the ivory tower elites that rule America’s cultural landscape with a macramé fist. And you are incorrect.

So here it is, priceless excerpts from Andy’s Handy Dandy Guide to Manners and Mannerisms for the Artistically Disinclined.

-Attending a jazz concert, a gallery opening or experimental theater can cause some anxiety in people who make their living by producing useful things for society. First, keep in mind that artistic people are deep thinkers, very progressive. They will immediately judge you by your appearance.

So don’t forget these essential items for these high society events:

Jazz concert – a monocle

Poetry reading – a cigarette holder

Elvis Impersonator at the RV Show – an ascot.

-If you are at an art gallery and are confronted by an artist, try to make yourself as big as possible by crowding close together with your spouse/partner/siamese twin, raising your arms above your head and making grunting, rooting noises. Don’t look them directly in the eye, as artists can become aggressive when confronted by sincerity. If asked an open ended question while viewing a painting, respond only in these two approved ways:
1) “I like it”
2) “It’s good.”

-Here’s a tip for talking about art: if you refuse to admit that you don’t get it, everyone else will think that you do get it and they will begin to question their own intelligence. The trick is to admit nothing. Suspicious? Think this will never work? OK, smart guy, answer me this: why do you think “No Country For Old Men” won Best Picture?

-Often gallery openings serve free wine. They do this so other artists will show up. Don’t be afraid to overindulge.

You’re saying: OK, Andy, you’ve given me these tips, but what about on the ground, in real time, when the rubber meets the road, what do I do then, huh? What do I do when an amateur novelist is bashing the corporate media and I’m afraid the living statue in the corner is actually a homicidal statue?

First, don’t panic. Artistic types can smell fear (through the patchouli haze).

Second, here is another excerpt from my book, that you really need to think about buying. It’s only $25.

Here’s the scenario:

You’re standing in an art space watching a grown man pour chocolate pudding on his head while he recites the Crispy Critters cereal jingle with a heavy Austrian accent.
Do you say:

1) You know, my friends and I do this all the time. I never knew we were artists.

2) By drowning his fears of a strong paternal figure with the dark, creamy substance of denial, the artist bridges the juxtaposition of verisimilitude and conjecture by arousing the fleeting and facile spiritual infrastructure that bogs down existence with the saturated fat of ennui.

3) Pour it on! Yeah! That’s right! That’s what daddy likes! Shake it over here and I’ll put a Lincoln in your leotard!

4) So, uh, what happens to the pudding when he’s done? You’re not just going to throw it away, are you?

The correct answer is: none of the above. Remember, we went over how to talk about art, and the secret is to not talk about it. Try to appear aloof and slightly drugged.

A house on Fernwood Court, not far from the intersection of Sylvan Way and Trenton Avenue, provides lighting synchronized with music from 91.9 on the FM dial. The Bremerton High School TV class provided three videos of the house on YouTube. This was my favorite. Happy Holidays!

Somehow I doubt that this would be the first place you’ve heard of the Bremerton guy who put the Santa on the Cross. I’m pretty confident of that, because if you didn’t see it first on another blog entry, the original story, you could have seen it

on KOMO-TV,
on Q13 FOX,
on KING 5,
in the News Tribune,
on Yahoo!,
in The Seattle Times,
in the Spokesman-Review,
on Free Republic,
on Drudge,
In Illinois,
in Michigan,
in New York,
in Texas,
in Canada,
or in China.

I wrote the story later Friday and when I got home I checked the Web to find the comments. By Saturday the story had been published in Germany and Australia. I got an e-mail from a radio reporter in Norway.

Monday I called Art Conrad, he said he’d been interviewed by stations in New York and was was scheduled to speak with Neil Cavuto as his last interview. He wished me a merry Christmas.

Santa looks down in a display that’s sending a message from Art Conrad’s front yard.

Several times I’ve driven by a house on 11th and Highland that is lit like the Griswalds for Christmas. It made me think I’d like to drive around town and capture some of the other noteworthy displays. Perhaps I still will.

In the meantime, however, I received an e-mail tipping me off to an odd sight in West Bremerton.

The other night I was walking home when I came across a home on Olympic Ave. between fourth and Burwell. In the front window you can see a nicely done tree for the holidays. The odd thing about this house was what was on the front porch and out in the front lawn. On the porch was a life size decapitated Santa Claus holding a knife. In the front yard is a 20 foot tall cross with another life-sized Santa nailed to it.

Thursday night I drove by the house and saw what he was talking about and sure enough it’s as he advertised.

Friday I went back to the house, had Larry Steagall shoot a couple photos, talked to some neighbors and passers-by and came back to the office. Later I was able to get in touch with the owner. Surely there had to be a story behind it. There is.

Read the story and tell me whether you think Art Conrad belongs on the “naughty” or “nice” list.

src="http://web.kitsapsun.com/1newsroom/blogphotos/stennis.jpg"> Stennis sailors await liberty.

Earlier this week one of our editors threw out the suggestion that we needed another reporter to attend the arrival of the USS John C. Stennis, which happened early Friday. Our regular military reporter Ed Friedrich is on vacation, so two of us would be needed to fill in for him. I volunteered, reasoning that I shouldn’t leave Bremerton without having been on hand for the reunion of sailor and loved ones. Not that I’m leaving or anything.

I’m glad I went. I’m always a little touched by parents reuniting with children. The husband-wife and boyfriend-girlfriend thing isn’t bad, either, I suppose. But it’s the kids, man, it’s the kids.

It’s also a piece of history, too. As the Stennis pulled in I tried to get my head around a number of how many times the same scene has been done here and elsewhere. I didn’t do that very long. Immediately I go back to World War II, because that’s a time my parents talked to me about often. My grandfather was a Seabee and, I’m told, was at Normandy. The history of him in regards to my mother isn’t great, but I can do nothing but admire him for being part of that tipping point in history.

src="http://web.kitsapsun.com/1newsroom/blogphotos/waterfront.jpg"> This group got to the Bremerton boardwalk early to watch the Stennis pass.

That’s something other people around here appeared to appreciate as well, evidenced by how many people were standing at Bachmann Park and the boardwalk near the Bremerton Marina just to watch the ship pass. They had no one to greet, they just wanted to offer their respect.

Going to the main event required getting out of bed at 5:30 a.m., standing around a long time, struggling to come up with questions that would somehow make this homecoming story different and then walking from the Delta pier to the Kitsap Sun office downtown. That was quite a haul.

I can’t wait for the next one.

Andrew Binion writes:

Q: How do you know your city has arrived?

A: The Mariner Moose shows up at a restaurant opening to sign autographs, schmooze with fans and frighten children.

src="http://web.kitsapsun.com/1newsroom/blogphotos/moose.jpg"> “He’s more afraid of you than you are of him, Timmy.”

Such was the scene Wednesday, when the Warren Avenue Burger King hosted a party for fans of baseball and burgers featuring the moose, KOMO sports reporter and Mariner’s announcer Tom Hutyler plus a chance to spin a wheel and get a prize.

The restaurant had been shuttered since May 20 for a remodeling, said owner Jeff Rose, and reopened Aug. 14 but held the official reopening festivities Wednesday. He’s been advertising with the Mariners recently, noting that the King (The Burger Kind, not Elvis) threw out a opening pitch and sponsored a post-game activity where fans could file out on to the Safeco Field diamond and run the bases. Those eligible to run the bases were kids, not portly, 30-something former athletes, which didn’t go over well with this reporter.

Beside making appearances at local fast food restaurants, the moose had 15 more minutes of fame recently, when earlier this month, while driving a four-wheeler during a game nearly crippled Red Sox outfielder Coco Crisp. Crisp was unhurt and played a pretty decent game.

A gaggle of school kids were on hand Wednesday to meet the moose. But when one mother tried to push her boys toward the towering, fur-covered corporate mascot, they slid out from under her arm and cowered behind her legs.

“I think the moose is probably the draw,” Hutyler said of the crowd that turned out, but noted that the prospect of free stuff appeals to children and adults alike.

“If there’s anything free to give away people will come to stand in line for it,” Hutyler said.

That’s what drew Bremerton resident Bob Cline.

“No, I didn’t come for the moose,” he said, a little annoyed at the question.