Ravenna Circle Park

I am currently the president of a local neighborhood improvement group called Friends of Ravenna Cowen (FORC). We formed the group back in 2017 with the intent of preparinga National Historic District Nomination for our neighborhood. Our nomination was approved and palced on the National Register of Historic Places on September 13, 2018. Rather than disbanding after the creation of the Ravenna-Cowen North Historic District we have continued to tkae on various project including

applying for and receiving a grant to install 12 signs identifying the neighborhoodas a National Historic District and conducted four well attended historic walks through the neighborhood and our adjacent Ravenna Park.

Our latest project included refurbishing the park stools, adding two benches, and a historic dedication sign in the small native landscaped traffic at the core of the district.

For more information on our activities see:

https://www.friendsofravennacowen.org/blog/

Arctic Adventure

My wife, my son, and I just returned from a quick trip to Finland with a side trip to Estonia. Great fun through the University of Washington's Alumni Tours and AHI Travel.

Saarinen's Helsinki Train Station Tower

Helsinki's new Central Library Exterior

Helsinki's new Central Library Interior

Tallinn, Estonia Old Town

Our cabin at Northern Lights Village in Saariselka, Finland

Northern Lights (We were exceptionally lucky to experience this on our fist night in Saariselka)

Us with Reindeer

Never too old to try something new

Scott Rohrer, Sailor and Friend

Recently I lost a cherished friend and colleague, Scott Rohrer. He was a victim of a hit and run accident in Everett, Washington, while he was out on a morning walk on October 9, 2023.

I initially met Scott when I learned of an effort to return the historic R-Class racing sloop, PIRATE, to the Northwest from California where it sat languishing at a dock. Together we formed a syndicate and brought the vessel to Seattle where a crew of Scott's volunteers from the Center for Wooden Boats restored her to past glory over several years. Scott and I teamed up to put PIRATE on the National Register of Historic Places. Scott ran a program focusing on PIRATE at the Center for several years until health issues prevented his active participation. http://rboat.org/

PIRATE

Scott was a well respected competition sailor and an eminent maritime historian. He knew more about the rumrunners that were built on Lake Union than anyone and for several years wrote a vessel history column for the Seattle Yacht Club. He was also a member of the Royal Northern & Clyde Yacht Club after sailing 8s in the United Kingdom with Sir Eric Maxwell and in Sweden on WANDA.

I hope we get a chance to raise a glass of Scotch in Scott's honor soon.

Scott Rohrer (1945-2023)