Cascade of History

Feliks Banel's guest on this BONUS EPISODE of CASCADE OF HISTORY is Andrew Smalldon, Education Technician at the Bureau of Land Management's Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area near Newport, Oregon. Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area is operated by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and is open to visitors year-round. It features the tallest historic lighthouse on the Oregon Coast, an interp...

On this BONUS ENCORE EPISODE of CASCADE OF HISTORY, Feliks Banel speaks with three-term Republican former Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed about the history and origins of voting by mail in Washington state. This conversation was recorded in September 2025. Secretary Reed was in office from 2001 to 2013, and previously served as the elected auditor of Thurston County. In this earlier role, h...

Feliks Banel's guests on this special LIVE REMOTE BROADCAST of CASCADE OF HISTORY from historic Fort Steilacoom in Pierce County, Washington include Walter Neary, board secretary, and Claire Keller-Scholz, board president, of Historic Fort Steilacoom Association, on the history of the fort; Lt. Colonel Erik Flint, president of the Friends of Lewis Army Museum at JBLM on the recent reversal by the...

Feliks Banel's guest on this BONUS EPISODE of CASCADE OF HISTORY is Chuck Taylor, longtime Pacific Northwest journalist for The Seattle Times, Seattle Weekly, Everett Herald and other newspapers and radio stations. Chuck Taylor recently shared images on Facebook from a hitchhiking trip he took to Washington's Olympic Peninsula in 1976 as a student at Whitman College in Walla Walla. CASCADE OF HIST...

Feliks Banel's guest on this BONUS EPISODE of CASCADE OF HISTORY is Scott Sistek, CASCADE OF HISTORY's official meteorologist - as well as the man behind the Emerald City Weather Blog. We spoke with Scott Sistek late on the evening of Friday, March 13, 2026 in order to create an "instant history" of the "Friday the 13th" snowstorm that struck much of the Puget Sound region earlier in the day. Marc...

Feliks Banel's guest on this BONUS EPISODE of CASCADE OF HISTORY is Tom Heuser, Seattle-based Architectural Historian with Willamette Cultural Resources Associates - or WillametteCRA. Under Mr. Heuser's leadership, WillametteCRA in 2024 began offering a service called "Pacific Northwest House Histories" to give homeowners, real estate agents and others interested in the histories of specific homes...

On this BONUS EPISODE of CASCADE OF HISTORY, Feliks Banel speaks Jim Providenza, co-author (with the late Mike McLaughlin) of "Life Along The Tracks: Candid Stories From A Career Railroader." The book was published in March 2026 by the Basalt Books imprint of WSU Press in Pullman, Washington. "Life Along The Tracks: Candid Stories From A Career Railroader" is a collection of first-person anecdotes...

Feliks Banel's guest on this BONUS EPISODE of CASCADE OF HISTORY is Margo Vansynghel, Arts Economy Reporter for The Seattle Times. Margo Vansynghel published two stories last week about layoffs at Seattle area arts & culture non-profit organizations: the 5th Avenue Theatre and Pacific Science Center. CASCADE OF HISTORY spoke with Ms. Vansynghel on Monday, March 9, 2026 to ask if these layoffs - al...

Feliks Banel's guests on this LIVE BROADCAST of CASCADE OF HISTORY include Marriah Thornock, Executive Director of the Wenatchee Valley Museum & Cultural Center in Wenatchee, Washington on the museum’s expansion and renovation plans, and their upcoming major effort to serve the community while the work is underway; and Michael Calhoun of Vernonia, Oregon on efforts in his community to support the...

Feliks Banel's guest on this BONUS EPISODE of CASCADE OF HISTORY is Casey Taylor, Park Ranger at the Bureau of Land Management's National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center near Baker City, Oregon. The National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center is a 500-acre site with a museum and hiking trails, and public programs offered year-round. The site is operated by the Bureau of Land Manag...

Feliks Banel's guest on this BONUS EPISODE of CASCADE OF HISTORY is Barbara Mahoney, author of "Dispatches and Dictators: Ralph Barnes for the Herald Tribune" from OSU Press. The book, originally published in 2003, has just been issued in a new paperback edition. Ralph Barnes was born in Oregon and educated in the Beaver State in the early 20th century. He became a journalist and worked as a newsp...

Feliks Banel's guest on this BONUS EPISODE of CASCADE OF HISTORY is Douglas D. Peach, PhD, Folklife Specialist for the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. The Library of Congress is partnering with the non-profit group StoryCorps to collect oral histories of Americans and their experiences related to the COVID 19 pandemic. The StoryCorps team is traveling the country - including a...

Feliks Banel's guest on this BONUS EPISODE of CASCADE OF HISTORY is Nicole Strachila, Communications Marketing Specialist for the City of Stanwood, Washington. The City Council of Stanwood recently unanimously approved a new ordinance protecting the city's historic brick roadways. It's part of a bigger plan to enhance and restore distinctive elements of the Snohomish County community's history, an...

Feliks Banel's guest on this BONUS EPISODE of CASCADE OF HISTORY is Larry Brewer, Supervisor of the Bridge Design Engineering Group for Snohomish County Public Works. The agency is seeking a new home for the historic 1934 bridge that carries the Mountain Loop Highway across the South Fork of the Stillaguamish River just north of the community of Granite Falls. A new and larger bridge is planned fo...

Feliks Banel's guests on this LIVE BROADCAST of CASCADE OF HISTORY include Cliff Sjolund, Jr., retired Air Force B-52 and volunteer leading the effort to search for a B-52 that disappeared over the Gulf of Mexico on February 28, 1968; Daniel Poor, who recently got help from local historians to compile a list of the best books for understanding Seattle history; and Barbara Swift, Seattle landscape...

Feliks Banel's guests on this BONUS EPISODE of CASCADE OF HISTORY are Rita Welch, director of the Tillamook Air Museum in Tillamook, Oregon and museum curator Christian Gurling. The Tillamook Air Museum is located in a World War II blimp hangar, the roof of which was badly damaged in a windstorm in December 2025. The museum - which is located on the Oregon Coast roughly 90 minutes by car from Port...

Feliks Banel's guests on this LIVE BROADCAST of CASCADE OF HISTORY include meteorologist Scott Sistek of the Emerald City Weather Blog on the historically strange weather this winter; Walter Neary of The Cascadian on last week's Honor Walk for Chief Leschi by the Nisqually Tribe; Malin Bergstrom, board president of the Pasco Aviation Museum on the upcoming Air Mail Centennial Celebration which kic...

Feliks Banel's guest on this BONUS EPISODE of CASCADE OF HISTORY is Ken Johnsen, founder of the non-profit Yakima Valley Trolleys in Yakima, Washington. Earlier this week, the Yakima City Council voted to withdraw financial support for the trolley portion of a project key to Yakima's future, and key to the future of Yakima Valley Trolleys. Now, the City of Yakima says that Yakima Valley Trolleys h...

Feliks Banel's guest on this BONUS EPISODE of CASCADE OF HISTORY is Susan Johnson, Historic Preservation Coordinator for the City of Tacoma. The Tacoma Landmarks Preservation Commission is seeking nominations for their 2026 Historic Preservation Awards, which will be presented on Thursday, May 21, 2026 as part of Historic Preservation Month. Categories include Broadening Perspectives (Awareness of...

Feliks Banel's guest on this BONUS EPISODE of CASCADE OF HISTORY is Moira Nadal, Preservation Programs Director for the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation. The Washington Trust is launching a new grant program called CPARC, which stands for "Coastal Preservation & Adaptation for Rural Communities." According to the Washington Trust website, CPARC "supports historic buildings and districts...

Feliks Banel's guests on this special LIVE REMOTE BROADCAST of CASCADE OF HISTORY from the Kalakala Room at Ivar's Acres of Clams on the Seattle waterfront include folksinger Al Hirsch; Ruri Yampolsky, Waterfront Program Arts Manager for the City of Seattle's Office of the Waterfront and Civic Projects; Emily K. Cantrell, President and CEO of Seafair; Lissa Kramer, Park Curator & Resources Managem...

Feliks Banel's guest on this BONUS EPISODE of CASCADE OF HISTORY is Cecily Marcus, Director of Collections for the Minnesota Historical Society in St. Paul, Minnesota. For the past few months, Minneapolis and St. Paul have been the target of the Trump Administration’s Department of Homeland Security and what the federal government calls “Operation Metro Surge.” Two American citizens - Renee Good a...

On this BONUS EPISODE of CASCADE OF HISTORY, we dig into the archives for an interview with the late Jim Robson, legendary Canadian sportscaster who was a beloved figure in British Columbia for decades. News broke today - February 10, 2026 - that Mr. Robson has passed away at age 91. Robson was the “Voice of the Canucks” on radio and TV from their inaugural NHL season in Vancouver in 1970 until 19...

Feliks Banel's guest on this BONUS EPISODE of CASCADE OF HISTORY is Lloyd Lytle, a leader of the grassroots group working to prevent demolition of the historic Masonic Home of Washington in Des Moines, Washington. Lytle’s group is called Citizens for the Protection of Des Moines Historic Resources. They formed a coalition with Des Moines Historical Society and the Washington Trust for Historic Pre...

Feliks Banel's guests on this LIVE BROADCAST of CASCADE OF HISTORY include Barbara Swift, landscape architect and advocate for Seattle’s Gas Works Park on recent developments with the City of Seattle Landmarks Preservation Board and the City of Seattle Department of Parks & Recreation; Matt Smith of the grassroots group Save the Dr. Annie Russell House and Eugenia Woo of Historic Seattle on an imm...