2012 sammamish scene
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sammamish scene, communityTRANSCRIPT
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PublisherDeborah Berto
EditorAri Cetron
Advertising managerJill Green
Advertising staffNeil BuchsbaumMichelle ComeauTerry SagerVickie Singsaas
Page 5 photoBen Watson
Production Breann GettyDona Mokin
Cover designDona Mokin
Page designDavid Hayes
Cover photoCarol Nadalin
WritersTom CorriganCaleb HeeringaWarren KagariseChristina LordsMichelle MihalovichSebastian MoragaLillian Tucker
PhotographyGreg Farrar
PrintingRotary Offset Press
TABLE OF CONTENTSPARK-A-PALOOZA
Sammamish has dozens of gems in the city catering to different tastes.
Page 6
YEAR AT A GLANCE
Sammamish is city chock full of events.
Page 12
LACROSSE EXPLOSION
As the sport gains in popularity, plateau teams are among the best in the region.
Page 14
TEEN TIME
The Sammamish Teen Center is quick-ly becoming a hub for the city’s youth.
Page 20
WHERE ARE YOU?
The state’s political map has shifted many residents into a new district.
Page 24
MOMS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN
Sammamish mothers’ groups share stories, tips and support.
Page 28
CAST AWAY
Fishermen have some choice spots to visit on the plateau.
Page 34
CRAFTSMEN
A father and son team, including a rock ’n’ roll hall of famer, design guitars for the masses.
Page 42
20 YEARS AND COUNTING
The Sammamish Review celebrates its second decade this year.
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City emphasizes park activities
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Beaver Lake Park [1]q Acres: 83q Amenities: Barbecue grills, baseball field, beach/waterfront, dog park, group picnic area, indoor rental facility, picnic shelter, picnic tables, play structure, restrooms, softball field, trails and wildlife viewing areasq Location: Southeast 24th Street and West Beaver Lake Drive Southeast
Beaver Lake Preserve [2]q Acres: 76q Amenities: Trails and wildlife viewing areasq Location: North end of West Beaver Lake Drive Southeast
East Sammamish Park [3]q Acres: 19q Amenities: Barbecue grills, base-ball field, group picnic area, lacrosse field, picnic shelter, picnic tables, play structure, restrooms, soccer field, softball field, tennis courtsq Location: 21302 N.E. 16th St.
Eastlake Community Fields [4]q Acres: 3q Amenities: Baseball field, lacrosse field, restrooms, soccer field, softball fieldq Location: Eastlake High School, 400 228th Ave. N.E.
Ebright Creek Park [5]q Acres: 12q Amenities: Barbecue grills, basketball court, climbing wall, group picnic area, picnic shelter, picnic tables, play structure, rest-rooms, trails and wildlife viewing areasq Location: 1317 212th Ave. S.E.
Evans Creek Preserve [6]q Acres: 179q Amenities: Restroom, trails, wild-life viewing areasq Location: State Route 202 and 224th Avenue Northeast
Illahee Wetland Trail [7]q Acres: 8q Amenities: Trailq Location: Northeast Eighth Street and 235th Avenue Northeast
Northeast Sammamish Park [8]q Acres: 6q Amenities: Basketball court, pic-nic tables, play structure and tennis courtsq Location: 21210 N.E. 36th St.
Pine Lake Park [9]q Acres: 19q Amenities: Barbecue grills, baseball field, basketball court, beach/water-front, climbing wall, group picnic area, picnic shelter, picnic tables, play structure, restrooms, soccer field, soft-ball field, tennis courts and trailsq Location: 2401 228th Ave. S.E.
Sammamish Commons Park [10]q Acres: 25q Amenities: Barbecue grill, basket-ball court, climbing wall, group pic-nic area, indoor rental facility, picnic shelter, picnic tables, play structure, restrooms, skate park, trails and wildlife viewing areasq Location: 801 228th Ave. S.E.
Sammamish Landing Park [11]q Acres: 8q Amenities: Trails, picnic shelters, public docksq Location: Along East Lake Sammamish Trail, near Redmond city limits
Southeast Eighth Street Park [12]q Acres: 16q Amenities: Trailsq Location: Southeast Eighth Street and 218th Avenue
Skyline Community Fields [13]q Acres: 4q Amenities: Barbecue grills, baseball field, lacrosse field, picnic shelter, restrooms, soccer field, softball fieldq Location: Skyline High School, 1122 228th Avenue Southeast
Thirty Acres Park [14] at Soaring Eagle Parkq Acres: 30q Amenities: Trails and wildlife viewingq Location: Trossachs Boulevard and Southeast Ninth Way
Parks directory
Soaring Eagle Park
Pine Lake Park
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By Caleb Heeringa
Buying up land for parks was one of the first priorities for Sammamish’s leaders after the city incorporated in 1999.
Since then, the city has added about 446 acres of park land, from Ebright Creek Park to Soaring Eagle Park to Sammamish Landing — which will become the city’s first park on the shores of Lake Sammamish when it officially opens this summer.
And while adding more park land – particularly in the northeast corner of the city – remains a goal of city leaders, the city must also grapple with what to do with the land it has and whether its parks are meeting the needs of the entire community. But does that mean more playgrounds for young children, more ball fields for teenagers, more trails and forests for the city’s many naturalists or an indoor community and aquatic center for those that want to get out of the Pacific Northwest weather?
While there isn’t one right answer to that question, Daniel Winterbottom,
a professor of Landscape Architecture at the University of Washington who studies the role of parks and open space in urban design, said it’s prudent for the city to be thinking decades into the future when devel-oping its parks. Though nearly a third of Sammamish residents are under the age of 18, there’s no guarantee that will be true 20, 30 or 50 years from now.
“There are diverse needs for diverse communities,” Winterbottom said. “All those 18-year-olds are not going to be 18 forever. In addition to designing for now, you have to design for 15 or 20 years from now. Parks can’t all be geared towards one demographic.”
The city’s young demographics have been a significant force in parks development in recent years and con-tinue to inform the city’s parks priori-ties. The city has its own sports fields at Beaver Lake Park, Pine Lake Park and East Sammamish Park and runs fields at Skyline and Eastlake high schools in conjunction with the school districts. But it still sees demand for
Sammamish Commons Park
Pine Lake Park
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field time outpace supply during the spring and fall sports seasons.
But the city has plenty to offer residents looking for a tranquil walk in the park and opportunity to see some of the city’s wildlife. In addi-tion to the city’s longtime gems – Pine Lake Park, Beaver Lake Park and Beaver Lake Preserve – the city has opened two parcels in recent years that offer pristine forest, mead-ows and wetlands.
Evans Creek Preserve, just out-side city limits and accessible off of state Route 202, contains 179 acres of natural beauty and interpretive signs educating users on the inner workings of the park’s flora and fauna.
Southeast Eighth Street Park, the first of three parcels that local resident Mary Pigott is donating to the city, also opened to the public in 2011. The city is currently embarking on a master planning process that will determine how the park is used. But until then, the 16-acre park offers more than a mile of wooded trails, wetlands and pastures for
walkers and hikers.For Kathy and Jack Waldron,
walking their Golden Retriever Sophie on a drizzly March afternoon in Beaver Lake Park, less is more when it comes to park development. The Waldrons, who have lived near Beaver Lake since the late 1960s and remember when there wasn’t even a road around the lake, said they appreciate the natural habitat that abounds in Beaver Lake Park and Preserve.
“As much open space as they can leave us,” Kathy Waldron said when asked what she wanted from Sammamish parks. “We really are lucky to have as much open space as we do.”
Trish Rector said she’s happy with the city’s current parks offer-ings while watching her children Caleb, 12, and Connor, 8, blow off some steam at Ebright Creek Park. Asked for a wish list item, she said it would be nice if the city offered
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Southeast Eighth Street Park
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some sort of water feature like a spray park for young kids during the summer, but she admitted that it might not get a lot of use outside of a couple months out of the year.
Overall she said the city has done a good job of offering a little bit for everyone.
“So much of what you want (from parks) depends on the age of your kids,” she said. “I like Sammamish because it has a good mix of things.”
With the city now into its sec-ond decade of existence, city lead-ers have begun concentrating on how best to use the parks land it has. The city has adopted multi-million dollar plans for Beaver Lake Park and Sammamish Landing aimed at increasing accessibility and usability. A similar process has begun for Southeast Eighth Street Park.
And while getting the most out of what the city has is impor-
tant, Winterbottom said the city shouldn’t stop looking for opportu-nities to purchase more park land and open space. With development continuing at a decent pace in the city and property values trending up, a present investment can pay dividends in the future.
“It’s a lot easier for an evolv-ing community to plan for parks and open space as it develops rather than trying to retrofit things afterwards,” said Winterbottom, who recently helped the city of Redmond develop long-term plans for six of their parks. “Think about if you were trying to build Central Park today in New York City.”
Just as important as having parks and open space is having a good way to get there – preferably by foot or on bike, Winterbottom said. Sammamish got a leg up in this department with the opening of the East Lake Sammamish Trail shortly after incorporation, but the city’s long-term parks plan, sched-uled to be approved in the fall, envisions a more extensive trans-
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portation network for non-automobile forms of transportation – whether that be sidewalks and bike lanes or dedicated paths off of the roadway.
The Parks Commission, which advises the City Council on parks development, suggests moving towards this goal in the coming years. Their suggested list of capital projects in the next six years includes approximately $1.1 million
for a connector trail from Beaver Lake Park to Beaver Lake Preserve and about $321,000 for a connector between Lower Commons Park and Southeast Eighth Street Park.
“I like to compare it to a circulatory system,” Winterbottom said. “You’ve got the ‘organs’ as far as parks, but you need the veins so that the blood can flow between them.”
Turf and lighting
In recent years, the city has elected to address the shortage of athletic fields by upgrading its grass fields to turf, rather than investing in brand new fields.
Artificial turf is more durable, and allows more frequent and heavier use than a grass field. In the rain-soaked northwest, where grass fields can become swamps for days at a time, turf drains more quickly.
Additionally, while cleats can rip hunks of dirt from a grass field, turf holds together, meaning less time needed for re-seeding and less worries about divots turning players’ ankles.
The city recently approved spending $1.9 million to upgrade Eastlake’s baseball field to a multi-use sports field.
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Beaver Lake Park
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While Sammamish is still a fairly new city, several annual traditions and celebrations have taken root. While many events don’t yet have a date set, here’s what to expect:
Christmas Tree Recycling Tree collection is the first week of
January, by local Boy Scouts as a fun-draiser for troop activities. Go to www.ScoutTreeDrive.org.
SAMMI AwardsSammamish Acknowledging
Magnificent Moments of Inspiration Awards are presented. Community members nominate their peers, co-workers and friends, and the win-ners are announced, celebrated with music and dance performances. Go to www.sammiawards.org.
EggstravaganzaThe annual Easter egg hunt com-
bines entertainment, arts and crafts for the kids, is hosted by the Sammamish Family YMCA. Call 391-4840.
Spring Home TourView choice real estate for sale in a
free drive-yourself affair, April 28 and 29. Go to www.sammamishreview.com.
Sammamish Farmers MarketOpens for the season at 3 p.m. May
16. Every Wednesday through Oct. 3.
Sammamish WalksTake guided walks through differ-
ent parks around Sammamish the third Saturday of the month through October. Go to www.SammamishWalks.org.
Citywide events become traditions
March
January
April
May
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q Tastin’ and Racin’, complete with hydroplane boat races and sum-mertime food and live music, at Lake Sammamish State Park, June 9-12, 2012. Go to www.tastinracin.com.
q Teen Fest is a teen-only event, 1-9 p.m. June 15 at Sammamish Commons, featuring live music from local teen bands, skate competition and free food and games. Sponsored by Sammamish Youth Board and Boys & Girls Club.
q Lifeguards on duty noon to 7 p.m. at Pine Lake Park from June 16 to Sept. 3.
q Fourth on the Plateau is City Hall’s backyard barbecue for about 20,000 friends and family featuring food, entertainment and grand fire-works display, 6-11 p.m. July 4 at the Sammamish Commons.
q Summer Nights in the Park concert series, every Thursday evening at Pine Lake Park, 6:30-8 p.m. July 12 through Aug. 30. Bring your picnic! Go to www.ci.sammamish.wa.us.
q Kids First! Performance Series brings live entertainment to various city parks. Times and locations change, but the shows are on Tuesdays July 10 through Aug. 21. For details, go to
www.ci.sammamish.wa.us.q Shakespeare in the Park is
free for all, 7-8:45 p.m. July 21-28 at Pine Lake Park. This year, Wooden O Theatre presents “Twelfth Night” and “The Winter’s Tale.” Go to www.ci.sammamish.wa.us.
q Safe and Sound Sammamish from 2-5 p.m. Aug. 7 at Sammamish Commons. The event features visits with police and firefighters and an interactive workshop with circus per-formers.
q Challenge Day Race, a soapbox derby-type race for physi-cally and mentally challenged chil-dren, is presented by The Rotary Club of Sammamish and Life Enrichment Options in August. Go to www.sammamishrotary.org.
q Beaver Lake Triathlon will be held Aug. 18. Registration has already begun for this year’s 15th annual .25-mile swim, 4.3-mile run and 13.8-mile bike ride. Go to www.beaverlake.org/blt.
q Sammamish Nights wine tasting and jazz event, presented by the Sammamish Chamber of Commerce is from 6-10 p.m. Aug. 18 at Sammamish Commons. Go to www.SammamishChamber.org for tickets.
q Sammamish Days, an annual birthday party for the city is from
10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Aug. 18 at City Hall. Starting with the “Kids Parade” at 10 a.m.
Homecoming Pep Parade for Skyline High School along 228th Avenue Southeast is before the home-coming football game. Call 837-7700.
q Sammamish Art Fair is usually in October at City Hall.
q Ski and Sport Swap meet, sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Sammamish, is usu-ally held in early October. Go to www.sammamishkiwanis.org.
q Fall Home Tour of choice real estate for sale is a free drive-yourself affair, Oct. 27 and 28, 2011. Go to www.sammamishreview.com for details.
q Nightmare at Beaver Lake, a Halloween haunted house and outdoor event, is held every year at Beaver Lake Park for two weeks, sponsored by Sammamish Rotary Club. Go to www.nightmareatbeaverlake.com.
q Breakfast with Santa is in early December. Includes visits with Santa, music and holiday crafts. Go to www.sammamishkiwanis.org.
q Sammamish’s annual Christmas Tree and Menorah light-ing, usually early December. Go to www.ci.sammamish.wa.us.
June
July
August
September
October
December
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EXPANSIVEEXPANSIVE
NOT EXPENSIV ENOT EXPENSIV E
Sammamish athletes
have high hopes
for the sport with growing passions — lacrosse
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By Sebastian Moraga
One of the fastest growing sports in America, lacrosse, has found devoted followers in Sammamish who say their sport is as underrated as the percep-tion of it as a rich man’s game is over-blown.
“It’s a very fast-paced game, and there’s a certain cachet to the equip-ment. Lots of kids can play at one time and it’s not as sedentary as many posi-tions are on the baseball field,” said Jim Rambaldini, head of the Eastside Catholic Youth Lacrosse program.
Darren Peterson, board president of Eastlake Lacrosse, described lacrosse as
a springtime contact sport for all ages and genders that the ever-present north-west rain cannot stop or postpone.
“We take lacrosse seriously on the plateau,” he said. “Much like the football programs at Skyline and Eastlake. Before
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EXPANSIVEEXPANSIVE
By Bert Atwater
Eastside Catholic lacrosse player Vic Guevara passes the ball during a game against Eastlake March 17. In the gray, wet weather of the Eastside, a rain-proof sport like lacrosse has found scores of devotees.
CONTINUE TO PAGE 16
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long, you are going to find a couple of state championships under our belts.”
Whether those championships happen with lacrosse as a club sport not sanc-tioned by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, is unknown. The association is the statewide governing body which sets rules for sports at the high school level.
As a club sport, lacrosse has more independence from the rules and regula-tions of the WIAA. Then again, lacrosse lovers have to rent high school fields instead of using them outright. That hikes costs and aids the perception of lacrosse as a pastime for the Lexus set.
“We are challenged from a finance standpoint,” Petersen said, “We don’t have the same benefits from field rentals and promotions, it’s hard to make people aware of the availability of the sport and aware of the games, hard to rent the fields. We have to account for that cost, which compounds the problem.”
If lacrosse were a WIAA-sanctioned sports, fields would be free of charge and equipment costs would lower,
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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15
ContributedThough some of its most ardent followers say it’s not a rich man’s sport, lacrosse equip-ment can get expensive, sometimes into the hundreds of dollars.
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Petersen added. “That’s one of the reasons it’s seen as
a rich person’s sport, it’s not as acces-sible to kids within a school district,” he said. “In football you don’t have to buy your own equipment. In lacrosse you have to buy your own equipment.”
Rambaldini placed first-year expenses for a child wanting to start in lacrosse at about $400.
“To get started you need a helmet, gloves, arm pads, shoulder pads and a lacrosse stick,” he said.
The second year, the costs plummet. The largest expense becomes re-string-ing the stick’s mesh pocket, known as a head, for about $30 to $40.
Rambaldini said the perception of lacrosse as an expensive sport varies.
“As the sport grows and becomes more popular and more accepted, you will see more kids participating, not just from the Eastside but from all over,” Rambaldini said.
To Rambaldini, being a WIAA-sanctioned sport gives the activity a sense of maturity, although the sport has
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CONTINUE TO PAGE 18
ContributedThough still a club sport, not sanctioned by the WIAA, lacrosse teams play under the name and mascot of a high school. Eastside Catholic (blue) and Bainbridge (white), are among those teams.
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thrived while governing itself.“They have done a really good job of
developing programs, rules for eligibil-ity and allowing kids to transfer or not transfer schools,” he said.
Meanwhile, several clubs play under the banner of a school without actually belonging to it. Teams like Rambaldini’s Eastside Catholic, Skyline and Eastlake also exist under that arrangement, some-times even using the school’s nickname as their own.
For Petersen, lacrosse has bigger issues than whether it’s a rich-kid game. With the sport still in its infancy in Washington, few people can coach it.
Rambaldini agreed.“If you’re a local guy in Seattle,
there’s very little chance that if you’re older than 30 you played lacrosse in middle school or high school or maybe even college,” he said.
That will change as some of the high schoolers now playing graduate and move on to coaching, like Ryan Tyler, the 21-year-old head coach of Bishop Blanchet, or Chris Panos, the new head
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17
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ContributedThe arrival of a professional lacrosse team, the Washington Stealth, has brought the popularity of the game to a new level. Now young lacrosse players have role models and players to idolize and emulate.
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coach at Eastlake.“We’re very lucky to get him,”
Petersen said. “Because there are so few people with his experience.”
The presence of the pro team Washington Stealth will also help turn that tide, Petersen said.
“They are bringing a lot of players to our area who will eventually retire,” he said.
Having a pro team also helps the younger players have someone to look up to, like the local hoopsters who grew up idolizing Gary Payton or the baseball players who had Ken Griffey, Jr. posters in their room.
With children starting play at the first-grade level, it’s hard for Rambaldini and Petersen to contain their enthusi-asm about the future of lacrosse on the plateau, an area Rambaldini calls ‘the epicenter’ of the sport.
“It’s just going to get bigger and better,” he said. “It’s just a fun sport to watch.”
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Eastside Catholic lacrosse goalie Josh Matte makes a save during a
game against Bellevue March 3.By Bert Atwater
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For more about the Sammamish Teen center, go to, www.SammamishEX3.org.
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By Lillian Tucker
From beautiful lakes to top notch schools, Sammamish has a lot to boast about. Yet, ask any of the roughly 6,000 teens that call the area home and they are likely to say something different.
“I hate it up here because there is nothing to do,” said 13-year-old Kayleigh Wright as she sipped a smoothie and looked around at what could be the answer to her problem. On that par-ticular afternoon, Wright accompanied her friend Ashley Kovacavie to the Sammamish EX3 Teen & Recreation Center.
The center, run by the Redmond/Sammamish Boys and Girls Club, is the result of years of planning and maneu-vering and a three-and-a-half month renovation of the town’s former library. The city leases the facility to the club for $1 per year so that local teens will have
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Ongoing events
q Keystone, a high school leadership and service group, meets from 6:45-7:45 p.m. Tuesdays.
q Torch Club, a middle school service and leadership group, meets 4-5 p.m. Tuesdays.
q SMART Girls, a group to help girls develop a healthy atti-tude and lifestyle, meets 4-5 p.m. Thursdays.
q Homework help is available every day, but there are dedicat-ed times to meet with staff from 3:30-4:30 p.m. Mondays and 3-4 p.m. Wednesdays.
q Kendama Club meets 4-5 p.m. Fridays.
q Open mic nights are usu-ally from 7-9 p.m. on the third
Thursday of the month.q Friday Late Nights are from
7-10 p.m. on the first Friday of the month.
q Saturday late nights/movie nights are from 4-8 p.m. May 12 and June 9.
Summer camps
The teen center offers a vari-ety of week long summer camps. Some are geared for students going into grades 6 and 7, other for students going to grade 8 and above. Camps run from 9 a.m.-4 p.m., but children can be dropped off as early as 7 a.m. and picked up as late as 6 p.m. The cost is $225. For more infor-mation and to register, go to www.SammamishEX3.org.
File photo
Above, members of local band Catalyst perform at the grand opening of the new Sammamish EX3 Teen and Recreation Center last year. At left, teens try their hands at one of the foosball tables (below) and one of the ping-pong tables (above).
CONTINUE TO PAGE 22
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a safe and positive place to hang out. “Kids like it and that’s why they are
continuing to come,” said the operations director, Meaghan Jowdy, adding that teens visit the center throughout the month. “They are gaining some leader-ship skills, meeting new friends because we are melding the different schools, and they are getting a place where they can explore their interests, whether it is cooking or music.”
There are a variety of options for passing the time at the center, from playing pool to testing out skills in the state-of-the-art technology lab. Teens can also get help on homework, kick back and gab with friends or challenge each other to ping pong, foosball or Xbox.
“Before this opened everyone would
hang out at Safeway and when you tell people that you hang out at a grocery store it sounds pretty weird,” said Devyn Sawyer, who has now traded in local parking lots for the teen center as a place to meet up with friends.
The teen center also provides some-thing else for Devyn, the chance to sing her heart out on stage for an audience of all her peers. Apart from its every day programs the club also hosts events like Friday late nights and open mic nights.
With her own YouTube channel Devyn is no stranger to sharing her voice with others. But because she usually has a camera, a computer screen and count-less miles between her and her viewers Devyn said she was still nervous.
So to help make the singer more comfortable one of her friends sat in the audience with the camera going. Once Devyn opened up her mouth to sing Ingrid Michaelson’s “The Way I Am” her
voice portrayed nothing but confidence and maturity. The audience of her peers responded by pulling out their phones to record the performance and plenty of applause at the end.
“It felt really cool because I want to be famous,” said Devyn. “The only other time I’ve sang in front of people before was at camp.”
Controlling the spotlight and the blazes of blues and greens in the back-ground was 13-year-old Kyle Heller. He can be found every week at the teen center goofing around with friends, mak-ing new ones while gaming on the Xbox or helping out with the technical light-ing, which is a hobby that Kyle said he might like to turn into a job someday.
“When I saw it (the lighting equip-ment) I was really interested. I asked to volunteer and they said ‘yeah, we’ll totally hook you up,” said Kyle about how he got started being unofficially
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ContributedTeens jam under the flash of the stage lights at March’s open mic night
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21
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mentored by the staff at the teen center. “It’s for people out there. Don’t be afraid to come in; you’re like family here.”
The teen center has been open since November and still has a lot on its wish list. The Boys and Girls Club is looking
to the community to help fundraise the approximately $3-$3.5 million that is needed to build a high school size gym-nasium.
According to the club’s website the goal is to eventually also offer basketball, volleyball, dodge ball and exercise class-es as well as a climbing wall. Already the teen center has begun adding cook-ing classes, volunteer groups and sum-mer camps to its original options for kids. Jowdy said that someone wrote on the center’s Facebook wall asking about sewing classes and now that is under consideration as well.
“They are definitely very excited for some of these things to start up,” she said.
Located at 825 228th Ave. N.E., the teen center is open from 2 to 7 p.m. on weekdays, except on Wednesday when the doors unlock at noon to accommo-date students from the Lake Washington School district that get out of class two hours early on that day. Saturdays the center is open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. For special events, like “late nights” the club will stay open even longer. A year-long pass costs $120 or students can pay $5 for the occasional drop-in.
File photo
Sammamish youth try out the XBox Kinect at the Sammamish EX3 Teen and Recreation Center.
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The census came and went two years ago. Last year, a state commis-sion poured over the numbers and drew new lines for legislative districts across the county and the state. The Legislature signed off on the plan during their session earlier this year, and come November, residents will be voting in their new districts.
For Sammamish, some things stayed the same. The city will remain in the 8th Congressional District, currently repre-sented by U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert (R).
At the county level, Sammamish will remain in the 3rd District, represented by Republican Kathy Lambert.
State seats are where the changes happened. Sammamish will be moved out of its longtime home largely in the 5th District and will now be split roughly along the school district boundary into the 41st and 45th districts.
In this even-numbered year, all of the seats for the state delegates will be up for grabs.
In the 41st District, incumbents Rep.
Marcie Maxwell (D-Renton) and Rep. Judy Clibborn (D-Mercer Island) will both stand for re-election. On the Senate side, Steve Litzow (R-Mercer Island) will be up for re-election.
In the 45th District are incumbents Reps. Larry Springer (D-Kirkland) and Roger Goodman (D-Kirkland). Sen. Andy Hill’s (R-Redmond) term runs through 2014.
Primary election day is Aug. 7. The top two finishers in each race will go on to the general election Nov. 6.
A new decade brings new lawmakers
Dave ReichertU.S. Rep.
8th District
Kathy Lambert
King County Council
3rd District
Marcie MaxwellState Rep.
41st District(Renton)Judy Clibborn
State Rep. 41st District
(Mercer Island)
Steve LitzowState Sen.
41st District(Mercer Island)
Larry SpringerState Rep.
45th District(Kirkland)
Andy HillState Sen.
45th District(Redmond)
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Roger GoodmanState Rep.
45th District(Kirkland)
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Area moms’ groups
q The La Leche League is com-mitted to helping mothers breastfeed. They plan to meet on the second Wednesday of each month from 10 a.m. to noon at the Sammamish EX3 teen Center, 825 228th Ave. N.E. Visit www.lllofwa.org/la-leche-league-sammamish.
q Redmond Toddler Group, a parent-child program with art, music, play and parent education has openings in pre-toddler, toddler and family classes. Call 869-5605 or visit www.redmondtoddler.org.
q Foster Parent Support Group meets the last Thursday of each month from 6-8 p.m. at Mary, Queen of Peace. Earn your training/foster parent hours. Refreshments and child care are pro-vided. Call 206-719-8764.
q Single Mom Community was started by a Sammamish resident of a single mother with two daughters. The group offers support, advice and encourage-ment for women navigating the world of single motherhood. Learn more at www.meetup.com/Single-Mom-Community.
q Eastside Romanian Stay at Home Moms is organized by a Romanian mother of two daughters who lives in Sammamish. Set up play dates and share advice about the Romanian cul-ture, childhood education and healthy food. Learn more at www.meetup.com/Eastside-Romanian-Stay-at-Home-Moms.
q Eastside Playgroup is a group of women with babies born in 2009 through 2012 who organize weekly activities including play dates, weekend barbe-cues, walks and library story times. Go to www.meetup.com/Eastside-Playgroup.
Photos by Greg Farrar
Mother-Son Field Day was held March 16 at the Issaquah Community Center, featuring fun relays, crazy competitions, goofy games and refreshments, all enjoyed by 25 families of moms and sons during the annual event.
By Christina Lords
Lindsey Walsh didn’t yet have a house picked out as she began to plan to move her young family to the area from Los Angeles three years ago. What she did know, though, was that she’d be a member the MOMS Club of the Sammamish Plateau as soon as she got here.
“I knew they were going to know important things about schools, things about where you go and things about what there is that you can do,” she said. “For our group up here, there are about 60 members at this point, and I’d say less than 10 of them are native to this area. Almost everyone is a transplant. We know what it’s like to be in a new area.”
The MOMS Club of the Sammamish Plateau is one of dozens of moms’ groups offering interaction, support and networking for mothers and their chil-
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Mothers reach out to local moms’ groups for help in raising their kids
Subject matter experts
Subject matter experts
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CONTINUE TO PAGE 30
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dren throughout the Eastside.Walsh became involved in her first
MOMS Club in Los Angeles after she realized she needed a little extra support when her first son turned 11 months old.
“It’s all about being able to go into a group and have someone understand that you’re not getting any sleep and the baby cried for two hours straight yes-terday and all you were really able to do with yourself that day is take a shower,” she said. “There’s a real benefit to hav-ing someone there who understands. It’s a relief to understand you’re not on your own.”
After at-home mother Mary James started the first MOMS Club in California in 1983, the organization now boasts more than 100,000 members in 2,100 chapters across the country.
For Sammamish resident Annette Richards, joining the MOMS Club three years ago enabled her to stay on track and connect to the community after her transcontinental move from Australia to the United States.
“Meeting other moms regularly
By Greg Farrar
A circle of moms walks in one direction and the circle of sons walk in the opposite direction while trying to remember the name of the last person they stopped in front of in a memory game.
By Greg Farrar
Rachel David (left) and her son Aiden, 7, of East Lake Sammamish, work in a team to make the tallest tower out of the same supply of blocks, a soda straw, typing paper, a paper clip and tape given to other Mother-Son Field Day teams.
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through playgroups — and in a moms-only setting through moms night out and other interest groups such as craft club and book club — really helped us to integrate into the culture and meet some fabulous people,” she said. “It was great for our kids to have some ‘instant’ friends, too, and eased their transition.”
Richards and Walsh agreed a mom group is an easy and reliable way for expectant, new or experienced moth-ers to network and learn with and from other moms.
Those in the group can offer advice on anything from finding adequate child care to recommending a good plumber, Walsh said.
“For those of us without a nearby family, it is the cornerstone of the family we choose,” Richards said.
Some mom groups, such as the MOMS Club, offer a broad base of activi-ties and discussions. The Sammamish group hosts several child-friendly events per week, such as playgroup times or library story times, as well as mom-only events, such as mom’s night out and book clubs.
Other moms’ groups, like the La Leche League of Sammamish, offer insight into one specific topic.
La Leche League member Tiffany Smith-Fleischman said the group offers a safe environment for mothers to ask questions and gain a better understand-ing of how, when and where to breast-feed their babies.
“We talk about places to breastfeed for mothers, wherever they are,” she said. “It is her legally protected right to do so in this state … we want her to feel comfortable and having this community of mothers does that for you. These are the people that get what you’re going through. These are the people who understand.”
The La Leche League is an interna-tional organization that started in 1956 to promote and educate women on the importance of breastfeeding. It now has chapters in more than 60 countries and was referenced in Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin’s 2011 Call to Action on Breastfeeding to encourage mothers to reach out to community-based breast-feeding groups.
CONTINUE TO PAGE 32
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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 29
“MEETING OTHER MOMS REGULARLY THROUGH PLAYGROUPS — AND IN A MOMS-ONLY SETTING THROUGH MOMS NIGHT OUT AND OTHER INTEREST GROUPS SUCH AS CRAFT CLUB AND BOOK CLUB
— REALLY HELPED US TO INTEGRATE INTO THE CULTURE AND MEET SOME FABULOUS PEOPLE.”
ANNETTE RICHARDS SAMMAMISH RESIDENT & MOMS CLUB MEMBER
By Greg FarrarRandall Garbutt, 7, and his mom Etlir Gadison scramble through the ‘Above and Below’ maze, one of eight hazards in an obstacle course, to finish in a time of 1 minute, 5 sec-onds.
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By Greg FarrarRandall Garbutt, 7, and his mom Etlir Gadison scramble through the ‘Above and Below’ maze, one of eight hazards in an obstacle course, to finish in a time of 1 minute, 5 seconds.
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Meetings for the group are the sec-ond Wednesday of the month from 10 a.m. to noon at the Sammamish Boys and Girls Club Teen Center, 825 228th Avenue N.E. Phone and email help are also available for mothers through the league on a day-to-day basis.
“In our country we tell moms breast is best, and we send them on their way,” she said. “Many times we don’t under-stand what a breastfeeding mom needs … We need to understand what normal looks like, because many times normal behavior is interpreted by others as some-thing that needs an intervention.”
Smith-Fleischman said the league focuses on four revolving themes: the importance of breastfeeding, how to overcome the obstacles of breast feed-ing, how to integrate breastfeeding into a family and nutrition and weaning.
“We support women no matter how long they want to breastfeed,” she said. “If you’re a woman looking at try-ing to achieve the one year mark, it is understood this is a safe place to be to achieve that goal.”
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 30
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Gone fishingGone fishing
By Warren Kagarise
Washington claims more than 7,000 lakes, but anglers interested in landing a trophy fish do not need to head east of the Cascades or out to the Olympic Peninsula.
Opportunities for anglers abound on landmark Lake Sammamish, as well as at smaller Beaver and Pine lakes on the Sammamish Plateau. The proximity to neighborhoods, abundant fish stocks, picturesque settings and urban amenities make the lakes popular choices for local anglers.
The placid surface of Lake Sammamish lures anglers from the Eastside and elsewhere in the region on cool spring mornings and balmy summer afternoons. The lake is also a historic salmon fishery for local American Indian tribes.
Lake Sammamish is among the only lakes in the region to remain open to anglers year-round.
“It is an urban fishery for the most part, but when you’re out on the lake and you’re throwing flies toward docks, it’s pretty cool to feel like you’re the only one out there,” said Dave McCoy, owner and head guide at Seattle-based Emerald Water Anglers, a fly-fishing guide ser-vice.
The company led fishing trips to Lake Sammamish in recent years. Local anglers need not travel beyond the Sammamish area for prime fishing oppor-tunities.
McCoy said Lake Sammamish is something of a gem hidden in plain sight for anglers, because the lake is often
Opportunities abound for anglers
in local lakes
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By Greg FarrarWenna Zhang, of Sammamish, shows off a trout she caught on the first day of fishing season in 2011 off the dock at Pine Lake Park. The young girl is a good fisherman who has caught her limit of five fish during visits in previous years to her local lake.
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considered as a spot for waterskiing and water sports other than fishing.
On the plateau, Beaver and Pine lakes act as a magnet for anglers in the months after the spring rain stops. The lakes present seasonal offerings for locals.
“Beaver, in particular, gets a lot of traffic from anglers,” McCoy said. “There’s just a ton of people that fish that.”
The state Department of Fish and Wildlife stocks fish in Beaver and Pine lakes each year. The conditions enable the hatchery-raised fish to thrive — a major attraction for anglers.
“For big trout on the west side, in particular, lakes are where you go,” McCoy said.
Officials close many creeks on the Eastside to anglers as a salmon conser-vation measure, so the stocked lakes fulfill a need for recreational fisheries. Lowland lakes usually open to anglers in late April. (Though the state stocks Beaver and Pine lakes, Sammamish maintains the public access to the lakes as city parks.)
Justin Spinelli, a Department of Fish and Wildlife inland fish biologist based in Mill Creek, said the agency plans to stock thousands of fish in Beaver and Pine lakes to meet the needs of busy urban fishery.
The plateau lakes rank as a top choice for anglers due to easy access and simple-to-reach locations.
“There’s a lot of people that can access it — you can access it through the public park and you can also access it through the Department of Fish and Wildlife access. So you’ve got easy access, a good location and we stock a lot of fish there,” he said. “It’s popular.”
What to knowFind the latest Washington
sport fishing guide and licens-ing information at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing. Find fish stock-ing information at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/reports_plants.html and follow the “Fish Plants and Stocking Reports” link.
CONTINUE TO PAGE 36
By Greg FarrarMarche Byrd (foreground) and Danny Burkhardt (left), put their lines in the water from the fishing dock as their friend Conner Neves (right) looks on during the first day of fishing season in 2009 at Pine Lake Park.
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In the spring, state fish and wildlife officials plant catchable-sized rainbow trout, rainbow trout and kokanee salmon fry in Beaver Lake. Come fall, the agency stocks jumbo-sized fish in the lake. In addition, bass and perch ply the waters.
“Most of our lakes on the west side have a very complex fish community,” Spinelli said.
Pine Lake is due to receive catchable-sized rainbow trout from the Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The rainbow trout come from state-run hatcheries, including the Issaquah Salmon Hatchery.
Fishing tips
State Department of Fish and Wildlife experts offer some tips for anglers ready to head to local lakes:
q Planted trout tend to remain in the top three feet of water for up to a week after planting. Anglers can improve their suc-cess rate by shallow-trolling small lures or baits during this period.
q Trout fishing, especially for rainbows in lowland lakes, is usually best in spring and fall
when the water is cool but not frigid.
q Larger, deeper lakes can be good for trout all year. Fishing shallow waters in the spring and fall and deeper waters in the summer months will add to the success of a fishing adven-ture, especially when fishing for warmer water species.
q May, June and July are usually best for kokanee, a landlocked species of sockeye salmon.
q Source: Department of Fish and Wildlife
By Greg FarrarSunny, clear and warm (for early February) weather brings out a fly-fisherman onto Beaver Lake for some peace, some quiet and hope-fully a catch.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 35
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The fish and wildlife agency stocks catchable-sized fish because establish-ing a fishery from fry is a complex and lengthy process. Fry face risks from hun-gry predators, lake conditions and other potential hazards.
“To drive a fry fishery — which are those fish that are very, very small — you need a very productive lake first, and then you also need less competition,” Spinelli said.
Dallas Cross, a longtime fishing guide and a columnist for The Issaquah Press, and sometimes the Sammamish Review, said understanding how the hatchery raised the fish can aid anglers.
“The fish, quite frankly, are biting in shallow water because they’ve been in these fish ponds looking up for their food that people throw in,” he said.
The hatchery-raised fish need some time to adapt from the manmade ponds to the lake environment.
“If you had a fly that looked like a piece of fish food, it would be wonder-ful,” Cross joked. “They haven’t been able to invent that yet.”
Initially, hatchery-raised fish might be
easier to catch in the morning, depend-ing on the former hatchery feeding time. Then, as the fish become more accus-tomed to the lake environment and start feeding on natural food sources, evening is a better time. Cross also said overcast days might yield better results, because fish tend to be sensitive to light.
Lake Sammamish, meanwhile, hosts a burgeoning cutthroat trout population. In the lake, the fish eat other species, including salmon, and pose a potential threat. Cross urged anglers to catch the cutthroat trout.
“They’re fun to catch and good to eat,” he said.
During the fall salmon run, Lake Sammamish hosts American Indian anglers participating in the traditional salmon catch. Nowadays, the process is governed by a treaty among state, tribal and federal fishery managers.
McCoy, Emerald Water Anglers owner and head guide, said although the region features numerous opportunities for anglers — the company runs expedi-tions from the Nooksack River up north to the Kalama River down south — the Seattle area offers plenty of choices, too.
“There’s so much water, there’s so many different fisheries to take advan-tage of,” he said.
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By Greg FarrarPine Lake Park’s new fishing dock gets a workout from patrons April 25, 2009, on the first day of fishing season, having been completed right on deadline with other park improvements, including complete wheelchair access, landscaping and restrooms.
“IF YOU HAD A FLY THAT LOOKED LIKE
A PIECE OF FISH FOOD, IT WOULD BE
WONDERFUL. THEY HAVEN’T BEEN
ABLE TO INVENT THAT YET.”
DALLAS CROSS LONGTIME FISHING GUIDE
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Guide dogs guide lives, inspire generosity By Tom Corrigan
Bob Seville said he was out walking with his guide dog, Ike, when, as he learned later, the trailer of a semi-tractor basically jumped the curb. A witness told Seville he thought the truck had mowed him down.
It very nearly did. What actually happened was Ike pulled his owner out of the way of the truck so abruptly that Seville was knocked to the ground.
Seville, 48, had lost his sight while he was in the mil-itary. He just retired Ike, but plans to keep him around even though he has a new, younger guide dog named Cash.
“We are still pals,” said Seville.Ike, like numerous other dogs each year, got his
basic training from volunteers linked with Eager Eye Guide Pups. The group is based in Issaquah but helps people from all across the area, including Sammamish, raise puppies into guide dogs. Sammamish’s Bob and Naomi Sheller have taken in five would-be guide dogs themselves.
Naomi Sheller said she absolutely loves dogs, but was devastated some years ago by the loss of a pet. Nevertheless, about five years ago, partly due to repeat-ed requests from their son, the Shellers began consid-ering getting a puppy. They just happened to spot a booth sponsored by Eager Eye Guide Pups at Issaquah’s Salmon Days.
They decided to give raising a guide dog a try as a way to have their puppy and help someone else out in the bargain. That first dog, Pierre, even became a senior project for the Sheller’s son.
Before they were allowed to adopt a dog, Bob Sheller said his family and his home went through a fairly thorough screening process by Eager Eye Guide Pups.
“They talked to us quite a bit,” he said. The group also studied the Sheller’s home
to be sure any dogs would be safe and couldn’t run away.
So far, the Shellers have helped raise five black labs. Bob Sheller said most guide dogs are Labradors,
although golden retrievers also can be used.For the most part, Naomi Sheller seems to have taken on the task of raising the
guide dogs. Families keep the dogs for about 15 months before the ani-mals are sent for specific guide dog training at facilities in California or Oregon.
“It’s sort of like sending them off to college,” Bob Sheller said.Naomi Sheller said during their early
months with their host family, guide dogs must learn socialization skills and become house-
broken. This is where groups such as Eager Eye
On the Web
Learn more about Eager Eye Guide Pups atwww.eagereyeguidepups.com.
By Tom CorriganBob and Naomi Sheller, of Sammamish, have raised sev-eral pups as potential guide dogs, including Parkes, who, ultimately didn’t make it as a guide dog. The Shellers now have permanently adopted the animal.
So you want to raise a puppy? Source: guidedogs.com
Guide Dogs for the Blind welcomes new fami-lies interested in raising guide pups.
The organization, which runs the advanced training campuses for guide dogs, has some requirements for prospective puppy raisers including:
• Joining a local puppy raising club and attend pre-liminary club meetings. Once you receive your pup, you’ll need to continue to attend regularly scheduled club meet-ings and outings.
• Ensuring all members of your household must be committed to raising a puppy.
• Providing a safe and secure living environ-ment.
• Keeping your puppy on leash at all times when not in a secure area.
• Providing daily exercise and socializa-tion.
• Using Guide Dogs for the Blind-approved training and management
techniques when working with your puppy.• Being willing to travel to meet with
Guide Dog representatives for evaluation of your puppy’s progress and/or attend train-
ing workshops.
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CONTINUE TO PAGE 40
“YOU JUST NEVER KNOW WHERE THIS IS GOING TO TAKE YOU.”
SANDY BONSIBLEADER OF EAGER EYE GUIDE DOGS
come in. The group meets weekly and dogs (and human hosts) are put through their paces, said Sandy Bonsib, the leader of Eager Eye.
Sometimes the dogs are given socialization lessons, learning to interact with other dogs and people. Sometimes, dogs are handed off to other trainers so they become used to dealing with more than one person. Field trips are com-mon. The dogs learn to ride on public transportation, visit the airport, go to a grocery store, all things they would even-tually be doing with their permanent owners.
“Everything is done with the idea of moving the pup-pies forward,” Bonsib said.
Having started in 1999, Bonsib has raised about 18 dogs, including the recently retired Ike.
“I still cherish him,” Seville said.None of the Sheller’s dogs ultimately have become
guide dogs. Bob Sheller said about half of the young dogs who start formal training don’t finish for one reason or another. In the case of Pierre, he just wasn’t able to transfer his training to real situations and real people, Sheller said.
For those dogs that don’t make it through their schooling, most make a career change, according to both Bonsib and the Shellers. Many become companion or service dogs of one type or another, while some return to the family that helped raise them. That’s what happened
By Greg FarrarA member of Eager Eye Guide Dogs for the Blind takes a break with her companion while enjoying an afternoon out.
in the case of Parkes, who now resides permanently with the Shellers. They only recently sent another dog off for formal training and should have a new puppy in a few weeks.
Naturally, many people become attached to their pets. Bonsib and the Shellers said the most common question asked of them is how they can give a dog up after raising it as their own for over a year.
“It’s tearful sometimes,” Naomi Sheller admitted.
Still, if a dog makes it through train-ing, there is a graduation ceremony involving the animal, its original fam-ily and its new owner. Bonsib said it’s incredibly gratifying to hand a dog you helped raise to a person whose life that animal is about to change.
“It’s totally amazing,” she said. “It’s ‘pass the tissue time.’”
One man who received one of Bonsib’s dogs gave the animal away upon learning he had terminal cancer.
The man later regretted that decision and Bonsib tells a long story of the effort to get the dog reunited with its owner. Despite some roadblocks, it eventually
happened, and Bonsib ended up taking the dog to the man herself.
“You just never know where this is going to take you,” Bonsib said.
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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 39
ContributedGuide Dog pups and their owners arrive for training practice, as the future adult guide dogs learn at an aircraft cabin mockup to navigate their masters onto airplane flights, to become used to aircraft noise, takeoffs and landings, and even to use emergency slides.
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425-681-5641
Submit JPEG by email: [email protected]
Include name, address, phone, email, and the photo’s story. Limit 3 entries per photographer.
Deadline: August 12, 2012
Winners announced:Sept. 5 in The Issaquah Press & Sammamish Review
ISSAQUAH - SAMMAMISH
In 3 categories:PEOPLE • SCENIC ANIMALS
AmateurPhoto
Contest
All submissions come with permission to be reproduced, with photo credit, in any publication of The Issaquah Press or Sammamish Review.
Judging criteria:Originality, composition, lighting & strength of Issaquah/Sammamish identity.
WINNERS!
1ST PLACE!
2012
GUITAR GODS
ittle did Don Wilson know that the $15
electric guitar he bought from a pawnshop
in Tacoma in 1958 would lead to world-
wide fame, more than 100 million albums sold and
now his own line of custom-made guitars.
ROCK PIONEER DON WILSON AND SON TIM ENGINEER GUITARS TO CAPTURE CLASSIC SOUND
BY CALEB HEERINGA
By Tom Harrington
Don Wilson, a founding member of The Ventures, plays guitar in front of a wall showing off The Ventures’ gold records in his Sammamish home.
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Wilson, a Sammamish resident and the sole surviving original member of seminal rock and roll band The Ventures, has partnered with his son, Issaquah resident Tim Wilson, to translate his band’s rabid international following into a signature line of Ventures guitars.
The story of Wilson Brothers Guitars is closely intertwined with the story of The Ventures — the meteoric rise of two 20-something Tacoma-area construction workers to superstardom in the pre-British Invasion 1960s, their influence on countless later bands, and enduring popularity in Japan and the rest of Asia, where The Ventures still perform to thou-sands of adoring fans.
Tired of working construction, Wilson and friend Bob Bogle picked up a pair of beat-up old electric guitars and set to practicing and playing club shows around the area. The band’s modest goals were quickly surpassed when they reworked Chet Atkins’ “Walk Don’t Run” into an instrumental surf-rock anthem. The song was a hit, peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard Singles charts and turning The Ventures into worldwide stars.
“We had aspirations that we could get out of heavy lifting and not pick up anything heavier than a guitar,” Don Wilson said. “We hadn’t even played guitar before.”
The band would spend the ensuing decades touring relentlessly behind many other hits, including the theme to the tele-vision show “Hawaii Five-O.” By the time The Ventures were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008 — becoming only the second Washington state-based artist in the hall after Jimi Hendrix — The Ventures’ legacy was undeniable.
Q Q Q
The band was credited with pioneering the “surf-rock” genre, though Wilson and the rest of the band are still lukewarm about being called a surf-rock band. The list of musicians and bands that cite The Ventures as an influence spans genres and gen-erations — George Harrison, Jimmy Page, John Fogerty, The Ramones and thrash-metal band Anthrax are just a handful.
And nothing is more central to the ethos of The Ventures than their guitar tones —
“I KNOW WHAT I LIKE AND WHAT I DON
,T LIKE IN A
GUITAR. I WANTED THEM TO BE AS LIGHT AS POSSIBLE.”
DON WILSONCO-FOUNDER OF THE VENTURES
CONTINUE TO PAGE 44
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full of reverb, a bit of fuzz and the round, warm sound commonly associated with surf rock. After beginning their career with a trio of Fenders — a Jazzmaster, a Stratocaster and a Precision Bass — the band adopted the guitars of Los Angeles-based Semie Moseley, who had been working for Rickenbacker International Corp. — a seminal American guitar maker.
As The Ventures became a household name throughout the 1960s, Moseley’s “Mosrite” brand guitar became a hot commodity among players eager to piggyback on the band’s unique sound. During their heyday, The Ventures would carry five or six extra Mosrites with them on tour and sell them after their shows.
“Whatever The Ventures were playing, people went out and bought,” Tim Wilson said.
The band’s distribution deal and sponsorship of Mosrites came to an end in 1968 due to dis-agreements over money, Tim Wilson said. That was bad news for the Mosrite Co., which ended up filing for bankruptcy a year later.
The band was quickly courted again by Fender and would continue to play the gui-tars for much of the rest of their career. The Ventures would go on to endorse a custom-made line of guitars for Fender and Aria guitars.
Q Q Q
It wasn’t until 2003, though, that Don and Tim decided they would try to capture “The Ventures sound” themselves. The two founded Wilson Brothers Guitars and set to designing a line of gui-tars that encapsulated the long story of the band.
Though they are father and son, The Wilsons elected to name the company Wilson Brothers, partly in honor of Tim’s brother Kelly Wilson, who died in a horse riding accident at the age of 4 in 1966 while Don was touring Japan. The name also speaks to Tim and Don’s relationship over the years, which was stunted at times due to Don’s constant touring.
“As I got to know him better over the years … we really became more like brothers rather than dad and son,” Tim Wilson said.
Q Q Q
Don and Tim Wilson helped design the guitars, though they are actually produced and assembled by Aria Guitars in Asia, because it would be cost-prohibitive to have it done domestically.
Don said Wilson Brothers Guitars have a body design similar to the Mosrites the band used to play, with a playing feel along the lines of a Fender Jazzmaster. The guitars are also designed to be
light and feel natural on a player’s shoulders.“I know what I like and what I don’t like in a
guitar,” Don Wilson said. “I wanted them to be as light as possible.”
The guitars are designed for players of all experi-ence levels and financial fortitude. Entry-level guitars start at $200, while deluxe custom-designed versions — modeled after the vintage Mosrites that collectors pay $4,000 or more for — start at about $2,000.
J.C. McCormick, the nephew of long-time Ventures band member Nokie Edwards, sells the gui-tars at his Puyallup music store, J.C.’s Music. Though much of the market for Ventures memorabilia and guitars comes from a small group of rabid Ventures fans, McCormick said he’s surprised by how well the entry-level Wilson Brothers guitars play.
“We get kids that come in here that have never heard of The Ventures that pick these up and start playing and say, ‘Wow this sounds good,’” McCormick said. “I’ve sold so many of these guitars — I didn’t think it was going to go quite so phenomenally.”
Q Q Q
Tim Wilson said they’ve made a conscious effort not to turn the company into a large-scale mass production — they distribute through “mom and pop” guitar stores as well as on their website.
“A lot of the people that run those mom and pop stores are ex-guitar players and band mem-bers that can really appreciate” the guitars, Tim Wilson said. “We felt like they would get lost in the shuffle at Guitar Center.”
Wilson said the recession has taken a toll on sales in recent years, but the company still moves several hundred guitars a year.
Tom Ott, a Poulsbo resident and self-described Ventures nut, owns three Wilson Brothers guitars along with several of the vintage Ventures mod-els. He said he’s impressed by the Wilsons’ ability to approximate the distinct Ventures sound of the old Mosrites in the new line.
“The finish is nice, the look is nice and it plays real well,” Ott said, adding that the sound “feels completely controlled when you’re playing.
“I’m really pleased” with them, he added of the company’s guitars. “It’s a lot of value for the buck.”
Ott said the fact that The Ventures are able to sustain their own line of guitars more than 50 years after the band burst onto the scene speaks to the band’s timelessness. Ott recalls first hearing the band while driving around with friends in high school.
“I was driving around with one of my buddies that could afford a car and I heard The Ventures on the stereo,” he said. “I didn’t know what it was but it affected my soul … I’m 67 years old now and I still love this stuff.”
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 43
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“WHATEVER THE VENTURES WERE PLAYING, PEOPLE WENT OUT AND BOUGHT.”
TIM WILSONCO-FOUNDER OF WILSON BROTHERS GUITARS
By Caleb Heeringa
Tim Wilson displays a Wilson Brothers Guitars instrument in a memorabilia-lined
room at his father,s Sammamish home.
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20CELEBRATING 20 YEARSCELEBRATING 20 YEARS19
92 2012
August marks the 20th anniversary of the
Sammamish Review. For those of you doing the math, yes, this makes the newspa-per seven years older than the city we cover.
When our birthday rolls around, we plan to take a look back at how the paper and the community
have changed. For now, here’s an appetizer — the front page of the first-ever issue of the
Sammamish Review from August 1992.
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Schools & Activities
4848
SnoqualmieTribe
8130 Railroad Ave. SE Snoqualmie, Washington 98065 • 425-888-6551
Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust
Seattle Aquarium
KUOW – NPR
Woodland Park Zoo
University of Washington
Issaquah Salmon Days
Swedish Hospital
Bellevue Art Museum
Mt Si Helping Hand Food Bank
National Parks Conservancy Association Wild Fish Conservancy
Mt Si High School Booster Club Red Cross – Seattle Chapter
Moyer Foundation
SIFF
Seattle Symphony
Snoqualmie Valley Schools Foundation
Proud to Invest in Our CommunityOver $2 million donated in the past 2 years!