Hate in Spokane

Today the Pacific Northwest was invaded by the hate mongering group known as the Westboro Baptist Church. 

These "Christians" protest the funerals of the very men and women that give them the right to protest.

 

It was inspiring to see so many people, from all walks of life in Spokane, out showing their contempt against this hatred.

There were veterans, riding motorcycles, showing their support for our soldiers.

This couple sent a clear message that Phelps (leader of this church) can take his message and leave town, now!! 

Their words of hate, anger and ignorance were met with signs and messages from the Spokane community letting them know that they are not welcome here and neither is their message. 

The people out there showed they support our troops.  God loves all!!

So before you lie down to rest tonight say a prayer for our soldiers and for those that have given their lives for our freedom.  Pray that this hate will stop, that the Westboro Baptist Church will stop protesting at funerals of the fallen soldiers that gave their lives for them!!

Motion of the Carousel

Motion, we are in constant motion.  Even while we are sleeping our world is spinning around us.  To capture that in a photograph is actually not as easy as it would seem.  When I saw the carousel spinning round and the extravagantly decorated horses going up and down, I knew I had to photograph it for a lesson in motion photography.  The movement of the carousel is similar to how the earth rotates.  I found it amazing how the camera showed the people on the ride so clear and yet the horses show the sweeping effect of movement.

My Spokane - Seen Through the Eyes of Belinda Elton

I was born in Spokane in 1967; 84 years after historic Browne’s Addition had been established by John J Browne.  The history and splendor of Browne’s Addition is one reason I love Spokane.  This is where so many beautiful homes were built for Spokane’s well-to-do just before, and immediately following, the turn of the 20th Century.  A short walk on any of the streets in Browne’s Addition will take you back in time.  The original street paving bricks peek up from the gutters and through segments of streets long ago covered with asphalt. 

The most famous home in Browne’s Addition is The Patsy Clark Mansion.  This home was built in 1897 for Patsy Clark (Spokane mining millionaire) and his family.  It is adorned with sandstone from Italy and stained glass windows designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany, son of Tiffany & Company founder. 

Directly across the street from Patsy Clark Mansion is Fotheringham House.  This residence was built in 1891 by designer David B. Fotheringham.  Fotheringham went on to become Spokane’s first mayor at the age of 35.  This home with its white picket fence and beautifully adorned English style gardens is now the scene of many wedding receptions.

Located next to the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture is The Campbell House.  It was constructed in 1898 for Amasa B. Campbell and his family.  Campbell made his fortune in mining exploration out of Coeur d’Alene Idaho.   This home was given to Eastern Washington State Historical Society and Cheney Cowles Museum in the 1920’s by Helen Campbell, wife of Amasa Campbell, and is open for public tours.

The Wakefield House, built in 1889 for W.J.C. Wakefield, is considered a Mission Style home.  This home was inspired by the early Spanish Missions of California.  Wakefield was a prominent Spokane attorney who hired Kirtland Cutter, one of Spokane’s most famous architects, to design this home for him.  Cutter's work, which includes, The Davenport Hotel, Patsy Clark's Mansion, and The Spokane Club, is listed in several State and National Registers of Historic Places throughout the United States.

The Edgington House is an example of American stylized Queen Anne architecture which became vogue in the 1880's.  This home, erected in 1889, was built for mining operator and investor Thomas J. Edgington.  The wraparound porch, stained glass windows, overhanging eves and polygonal tower are indicative of this Americanized style.

Browne’s Addition, named one of the nation’s top ten neighborhoods in 2009, is populated with inhabitants from all walks of life.  You can’t help but feel the pride in this community as you stroll along its tree-lined sidewalks, making your way to the park, coffee shop or one of the quaint restaurants it has to offer. 

 

                                   

After 120 years these buildings still stand, as if frozen in time.  When you visit them you feel the spirit of a time long gone, an era filled with grandeur and etiquette. The memories are hidden in the oak walls and marble fire places of these majestic homes.   When you stroll the sidewalks of this historic neighborhood you may even catch a glimpse of J.J. Browne’s wife and daughter walking hand in hand,  admiring the legacy of a neighborhood that her husband could only dream would one day be such a momentous part of Spokane’s history.

Amateur Archeologist

 Latah Creek runs right under the freeway just below my house and sometimes I just take a walk out to sit on the bench and watch the trains go by or just stare down at the Creek near Highbridge Park.

When I was walking today I immediately heard the big orange backhoe digging into the soil & rocks just over the edge of the embankment.   It was scooping its plunder into the back of a large begrimed dump truck.  This truck would then transfer the dirt into a heap that was about 18 feet deep.  I watched for about an hour as it did this over and over.

As I peered over the edge, trying not to fall, I saw several bottles, pottery and plates lying in the dirt.   They looked like they had been there a few years, and how deep they were buried in the ground was a clear sign they had been there for a number of years.   While I gazed down the slope the employee told me he felt some of these bottles may be over 100 years old, and invited me down to see their discovery. 

I grabbed my gloves and tennis shoes and hiked down the embankment.   As I started sifting through the dirt and rust my heart started pounding quickly from the anticipation.  I love history and this was unfolding right in my own hands.    I found old teacups stamped with Matthews & Kerr, Spokane WA on the bottom of them.   I grabbed my phone and Googled the name immediately, thank goodness for G3 networks.  I discovered that the company started their business in the mid 1930’s and lasted through most of 1940’s.  Their specialties were coffee, food supplies and  teacups.

 

There were thick glass bottles with lids rusted on from age and years of being buried.  Some of them had liquid in them and raised etching giving the name of a drug company and indicating that they were once somebody’s medication.   There were some that looked like old whiskey bottles and they appeared to still have whiskey in them.

I am still unsure of what these people  had come upon, maybe it was once an old landfill, or maybe somebody’s home had been there ,  destroyed and all their belongings had been left behind, just buried in time.  Sure I would like to know how these things got to their final resting place, but there is something exciting about the mystery of not knowing.   Let my imagination take over and try to put together a time long gone.

There is one thing I am sure of, I have embarked upon a dream, I have become and amateur archeologist for a few hours.  In my mind the greatest unearthing was an old Davenport coffee cup.   I don’t know if it has been buried here for 30 years or 60 years.  What I do know is how exciting it was finding these treasures from another moment time.  This was a time my grandparents and great grandparents spoke of with an adoring tone in their voice, reminiscing about the splendor and beauty of the Davenport Hotel, and Spokane. 

What was once buried in the sands of time have now been discovered and given a new beginning. There are many questions to be answered and if I am lucky maybe they will share their secrets with me.