For Christmas 2025, Feliks Banel presents a BONUS EPISODE from the archives: a special Christmas 2022 broadcast of CASCADE OF HISTORY, drawing on the archives of “The Holiday Express,” a live Christmas Eve show he produced and hosted live on Christmas Eve on KBCS 91.3 FM in Bellevue, Washington from 1999 to 2004.

Highlights include beloved kids' KIRO TV show host J.P. Patches reading “The Night Before Christmas,” and a 2002 recording of Seattle Mariners’ broadcasters Rick Rizzs and the late Dave Niehaus reading O. Henry's “Gift of the Magi” and splitting the duties as if it were an inning of baseball – plus plenty of vintage and local audio surprises!

CASCADE OF HISTORY is broadcast LIVE most Sunday nights at 8pm Pacific Time via flagship station SPACE 101.1 FM in Seattle and gallantly streams everywhere via www.space101fm.org. The radio station broadcasts from studios at historic Magnuson Park – located in the former Master-at-Arms’ quarters in the old Sand Point Naval Air Station - on the shores of Lake Washington in Seattle.

Subscribe to the CASCADE OF HISTORY podcast via most podcast platforms and never miss regular weekly episodes of Sunday night broadcasts as well as frequent bonus episodes. "LIKE" the Cascade of History Facebook page and get updates and other stories throughout the week, and advance notice of live remote broadcasts taking place in your part of the Old Oregon Country.

Feliks Banel's guests on this LIVE BROADCAST of CASCADE OF HISTORY include Moira Nadal of the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation with this year's winners of Sivinski Preservation Grants; Derek Nguyen of the Washington State Historical Society in Tacoma with details about this year's model train exhibit; Malcolm Crockett of Crofton, BC on the history of that Vancouver Island community and his new book; Kerry Tymchuk, Executive Director of the Oregon Historical Society on this year's holiday exhibit of Meier & Frank department store Santaland decor and a look ahead at next year's Highway 101 centennial exhibit; lost & found sound from World War II with Chris Byrd, who hears his father Clifford Byrd - a B-17 gunner - on a recording from a radio show broadcast from London on Christmas Day 1943.

More info about the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation Sivinski Fund:

https://preservewa.org/programs/grants/valerie-sivinski-fund/

More info about the Washington State History Museum Model Train Show:

https://www.washingtonhistory.org/exhibit/trainfestival-29/

More info Malcolm Crockett's book about growing up in Crofton, BC;

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/no-backup-a-setup-and-more-malcolm-crockett/1148702514

More info about Oregon Historical Society's Meier & Frank Santaland:

https://www.ohs.org/museum/exhibits/meier-and-frank-santaland.cfm

Links to more information about most topics discussed on the show are available at the CASCADE OF HISTORY Facebook page:

www.facebook.com/groups/cascadeofhistory

This LIVE broadcast of CASCADE OF HISTORY was originally presented at 8pm Pacific Time on Sunday, December 21, 2025 via SPACE 101.1 FM and gallantly streaming live via www.space101fm.org from historic Magnuson Park - formerly Sand Point Naval Air Station - on the shores of Lake Washington in Seattle.

Subscribe to the CASCADE OF HISTORY podcast via most podcast platforms and never miss regular weekly episodes of Sunday night broadcasts as well as frequent bonus episodes.

Feliks Banel's guest on this BONUS “O Tannenbaum” EPISODE of CASCADE OF HISTORY is Gary Chastagner, Professor Emeritus of Plant Pathology at Washington State University. He’s an award-winning and much honored academic scientist with the enviable nickname of "Dr. Christmas Tree."

We spent almost an hour and a half on December 19, 2025 talking with Dr. Christmas Tree – aka Gary Chastagner - about his research, and about how you can take better care of your Christmas tree this year and every year, to keep it from drying out, and to keep the needles from falling off.

For more information about Gary “Dr. Christmas Tree” Chastagner:

https://magazine.wsu.edu/web-extra/the-christmas-tree-doctor-is-in/

CASCADE OF HISTORY is broadcast LIVE most Sunday nights at 8pm Pacific Time via flagship station SPACE 101.1 FM in Seattle and gallantly streams everywhere via www.space101fm.org. The radio station broadcasts from studios at historic Magnuson Park – located in the former Master-at-Arms’ quarters in the old Sand Point Naval Air Station - on the shores of Lake Washington in Seattle.

Subscribe to the CASCADE OF HISTORY podcast via most podcast platforms and never miss regular weekly episodes of Sunday night broadcasts as well as frequent bonus episodes. "LIKE" the Cascade of

History Facebook page and get updates and other stories throughout the week, and advance notice of live remote broadcasts taking place in your part of the Old Oregon Country.

Feliks Banel's guest on this BONUS EPISODE of CASCADE OF HISTORY is Martin Hansen, an attorney and vintage railroad expert based in Bend, Oregon.

Much of the 1986 film "Stand By Me" was filmed 40 years ago in Oregon. Rob Reiner, director of the film, was found dead along with his wife a few days ago. One iconic scene in the film involves a steam locomotive bearing down on a bridge over a body of water, while the young boy characters in the film are standing on the railroad tracks near the middle of the long span. Martin Hansen was the fireman on that steam locomotive when the iconic scene was filmed over several days in September 1985.

CASCADE OF HISTORY spoke with Martin Hansen on Tuesday, December 16, 2025.

For more information about Martin Hansen:

https://www.facebook.com/martin.hansen.5895

CASCADE OF HISTORY is broadcast LIVE most Sunday nights at 8pm Pacific Time via flagship station SPACE 101.1 FM in Seattle and gallantly streams everywhere via www.space101fm.org. The radio station broadcasts from studios at historic Magnuson Park – located in the former Master-at-Arms’ quarters in the old Sand Point Naval Air Station - on the shores of Lake Washington in Seattle.

Subscribe to the CASCADE OF HISTORY podcast via most podcast platforms and never miss regular weekly episodes of Sunday night broadcasts as well as frequent bonus episodes.

This episode of CASCADE OF HISTORY features a live broadcast of a performance of “We Hold These Truths," a radio play written by Norman Corwin and originally performed on December 15, 1941 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights. This live broadcast was performed before a live audience at Town Hall Seattle on December 15, 2025 - the 234th anniversary of the Bill of Rights.

The 2025 cast featured Frank Abe; Enrique Cerna; Lisa Craze Brooks; Jim Dever; Mike Fuller; Heather Hirotaka; Naomi Ishisaka; Stephanie Johnson-Toliver; John Maynard; Dave Ross; Ken Workman; Bill Yeend; and Ken Zick. Live sound effects were designed and performed by Curtis Takahashi. Live music was arranged and performed by Silas Berlin. Sound engineering for Town Hall was by Rob Witmer. Town Hall production by Lillian Cantwell. Special thanks to Aisha Shah and all the staff, volunteers and donors who support Town Hall Seattle for agreeing to host this performance.

Special thanks to SPACE 101.1 FM’s Eric Zappa, Mark Patterson and Mitch Etter for their support of live remote broadcasts such as this, and to Mitch, especially, for running the mixing board back at the station for this show.

This LIVE broadcast of CASCADE OF HISTORY was originally presented at 7:30pm Pacific Time on Monday, December 15, 2025 via SPACE 101.1 FM and gallantly streaming live via www.space101fm.org from historic Town Hall Seattle on First Hill on the edge of downtown.

Subscribe to the CASCADE OF HISTORY podcast via most podcast platforms and never miss regular weekly episodes of Sunday night broadcasts as well as frequent bonus episodes.

Feliks Banel's guests on this LIVE BROADCAST of CASCADE OF HISTORY include Jessica Stoller of the Leavenworth Chamber of Commerce on how the Christmas capital of the Northwest is bouncing back from last week’s storms and how you can help; Maggie Cogswell of the Washington State Archives on efforts to digitize historic images and how you can help identify people and places pictured; Ken Johnsen of Yakima Valley Trolleys with an update on an impasse with the City of Yakima about delays in renewing his group’s operating agreement with the city; plus vintage audio of Jack Morton’s nautical-tinged “Night Before Christmas”; and vintage KING 5 News audio - and your memories! - from the Big Snow of December 18, 1990.

More info about visiting and/or supporting Leavenworth, WA:

https://leavenworth.org/

More info about the Washington State Archives:

https://digitalarchives.wa.gov/

More info about the Yakima Valley Trolleys:

https://www.yakimavalleytrolleys.org/

More info about the live broadcast coming up on Mon, Dec 15 of “We Hold These Truths”:

https://townhallseattle.org/event/we-hold-these-truths/

Links to more information about most topics discussed on the show are available at the CASCADE OF HISTORY Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/groups/cascadeofhistory

This LIVE broadcast of CASCADE OF HISTORY was originally presented at 8pm Pacific Time on Sunday, December 14, 2025 via SPACE 101.1 FM and gallantly streaming live via www.space101fm.org from historic Magnuson Park - formerly Sand Point Naval Air Station - on the shores of Lake Washington in Seattle.

Subscribe to the CASCADE OF HISTORY podcast via most podcast platforms and never miss regular weekly episodes of Sunday night broadcasts as well as frequent bonus episodes.

On this BONUS EPISODE of CASCADE OF HISTORY, we dig into the archives for an interview with the late Stuart McLean, host of “The Vinyl Café” for CBC Radio in Canada.

Feliks Banel interviewed Mr. McLean in the lobby of the Paramount Theatre in Seattle on the afternoon of December 11, 2013. That night, Mr. McLean would present a special holiday touring edition of his radio show to a sold-out theatre packed full of American "Vinyl Café" fans.

"The Vinyl Café" is a little hard to describe for those who have never heard it. As part of each broadcast, Stuart McLean would tell long and often humorous stories about a man named Dave who owns the world’s smallest "reh-cord" store (and that’s how the word is pronounced in parts of Canada). Dave’s wife is Morley, and their kids are Sam and Stephanie. Along with the storytelling, "The Vinyl Café" often featured music by Canadian bands.

The audio is from the “field tape” or raw recording of an interview shot on video as part of a feature for a local public TV station in Seattle. It’s been lightly edited – and the audio quality of the off-mic portion – of Feliks nervously asking questions – is not that great.

Stuart McLean passed away in 2017 at age 68.

More information about The Vinyl Café

https://vinylcafe.com/

CASCADE OF HISTORY is broadcast LIVE most Sunday nights at 8pm Pacific Time via flagship station SPACE 101.1 FM in Seattle and gallantly streams everywhere via www.space101fm.org. The radio station broadcasts from studios at historic Magnuson Park – located in the former Master-at-Arms’ quarters in the old Sand Point Naval Air Station - on the shores of Lake Washington in Seattle.

Subscribe to the CASCADE OF HISTORY podcast via most podcast platforms and never miss regular weekly episodes of Sunday night broadcasts as well as frequent bonus episodes.

News broke on Thursday, December 11, 2025 that the City of Des Moines, WA Hearing Examiner has denied the appeal of a coalition of groups working to halt the demolition of the Masonic Home of Washington. The Masonic Home is a sprawling hotel-like complex built in the 1920s south of Seattle as a retirement home for Freemasons in a park-like setting with a commanding view of Puget Sound.

Feliks Banel's guests on this BONUS EPISODE of CASCADE OF HISTORY are Lloyd Lytle, a leader of the grassroots group working to prevent demolition of the historic Masonic Home of Washington in Des Moines, Washington, and Chris Moore, executive director of the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation. Both Lytle and Moore react to today's news, and talk about what comes next.

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 Preservation and filed an appeal of the demolition permit issued in August 2025 by the City of Des Moines to property owner Zenith LLC. CASCADE OF HISTORY previously reached out to two different companies associated with Zenith LLC to request an interview; we have never heard back.

GoFundMe to Help Retire the Debt of Legal Fees from Lloyd Lytle's Group:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-the-masonic-home-of-des-moines-support-our-appeal

LIVE BROADCAST from the street in front of the Masonic Home on September 14, 2025

https://soundcloud.com/cascadeofhistory/ep-119

Background via the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation's List of Most Endangered Places

https://preservewa.org/most_endangered/masonic-home-washington/

CASCADE OF HISTORY is broadcast LIVE most Sunday nights at 8pm Pacific Time via SPACE 101.1 FM in Seattle and gallantly streams everywhere via www.space101fm.org. The radio station is located at historic Magnuson Park - formerly Sand Point Naval Air Station - on the shores of Lake Washington in Seattle.

Subscribe to the CASCADE OF HISTORY podcast via most podcast platforms.

Feliks Banel's guest on this BONUS EPISODE of CASCADE OF HISTORY is Joe Wright, CEO of Replogle Globes, an American manufacturer based near Chicago, Illinois.

Replogle Globes was founded nearly a century ago in Chicago by Luther Replogle. In an era when online mapping dominates daily navigating, the company is considered the world’s largest manufacturer of globes, and most of their products are still made in the United States. Their top-of-the-line model is called "The Diplomat," and many have been owned by prominent people, including American presidents going back as far as Harry Truman. With a retail price in 2025 north of $12,000, Diplomats tend to get passed down to descendants.

We cover all of this and more in this conversation. CASCADE OF HISTORY spoke with Joe Wright on Thursday, December 11, 2025.

For more information about Replogle Globes:

https://replogleglobes.com/

To hear the BONUS EPISODE tour of Metsker Maps in Seattle:

https://soundcloud.com/cascadeofhistory/bonus-episode-metsker-maps

CASCADE OF HISTORY is broadcast LIVE most Sunday nights at 8pm Pacific Time via flagship station SPACE 101.1 FM in Seattle and gallantly streams everywhere via www.space101fm.org. The radio station broadcasts from studios at historic Magnuson Park – located in the former Master-at-Arms’ quarters in the old Sand Point Naval Air Station - on the shores of Lake Washington in Seattle.

Subscribe to the CASCADE OF HISTORY podcast via most podcast platforms and never miss regular weekly episodes of Sunday night broadcasts as well as frequent bonus episodes.

On this BONUS EPISODE of CASCADE OF HISTORY, Feliks Banel presents his archival interview from 2009 with the late Bryan Johnson, longtime KOMO Radio and TV journalist in Seattle whose passing at age 89 was announced on December 8, 2025.

Just a few weeks ago, we featured a 2013 interview with Bryan Johnson about when he was on the radio in Seattle in 1963 breaking the news about the Kennedy assassination. With word of Mr. Johnson's passing, we went back into the archives for this conversation from October 9, 2009. The occasion was his unbelievable 50th anniversary at KOMO Radio and TV in Seattle, which would be officially marked the next day, October 10, 2009.

This interview has been lightly edited. It was conducted for a story I wrote for the old CROSSCUT website, and we cover a lot of ground about Mr. Johnson's career and the people with whom he crossed paths. The audio quality is not great; I have, thankfully, since upgraded the gear I use for recording phone interviews. It was an honor and a privilege to interview Bryan Johnson on the eve of his 50th anniversary at KOMO. We had a lot of laughs, too. RIP.

Link to earlier BONUS EPISODE with Bryan Johnson about covering the assassination of JFK:

https://soundcloud.com/cascadeofhistory/bonus-episode-komo-jfk

CASCADE OF HISTORY is broadcast LIVE most Sunday nights at 8pm Pacific Time via SPACE 101.1 FM in Seattle and gallantly streams everywhere via www.space101fm.org. The radio station broadcasts from studios at historic Magnuson Park – located in the former Master-at-Arms’ quarters in the old Sand Point Naval Air Station - on the shores of Lake Washington in Seattle.

Subscribe to the CASCADE OF HISTORY podcast via most podcast platforms and never miss regular weekly episodes of Sunday night broadcasts as well as frequent bonus episodes.