On August 10, 1976, that 18-foot-tall totem pole was dedicated at Rotary Viewpoint Park (35th and Alaska). In honor of the 50th anniversary, members of the Rotary Club of West Seattle walked to the park today from their regular lunch-meeting location a short distance away at the WS Golf Course, and gathered for a brief commemoration.
Rotary president Stefanie Felix introduced Tom Wise, who told the park and pole’s story at today’s gathering.
Wise’s five-minute speech included the most notorious chapter in the pole’s history, when it was stolen and recovered in 2009:
Rotarians Duane Ruud and the late Ken Wise relentlessly sleuthed until the pole was found, as extensively covered here at the time. Ruud was among those at today’s celebration:
The pole was reinstalled and rededicated in August 2010, four days before Ken Wise died. In telling the story of the park and pole today, Tom Wise noted that the park “is not just a project of the past (but) a living symbol.”
The pole was carved in 1976 by Native artist Robin Young, who attended the rededication after its reinstallation in 2010. Today’s event was low-key, just part of the club’s weekly meeting, so no special guests were on hand, just a brief acknowledgment of the past and a look ahead to the future.