Feliks Banel's guest on this BONUS EPISODE of CASCADE OF HISTORY is Lloyd Lytle, a leader of the grassroots group that had been fighting over the past year to save the historic Masonic Home of Washington in Des Moines, Washington. On Thursday, July 23, 2026, the group announced an end to their legal battle. Lytle posted a message on social media earlier Thursday. In this interview, he shares the group's thinking and what might come next as far as a possible timeline for demolition of the Masonic Home.

CASCADE OF HISTORY spoke with Lloyd Lytle on the evening of Thursday, July 23, 2026.

GoFundMe Campaign to Retire Legal Fees:

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

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

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

Links to more information as well as images related to most topics discussed on the show are often available at the CASCADE OF HISTORY Facebook page:

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

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 Paula Johnson, Senior Archaeologist and Director-at-Large based in the Seattle office of WillametteCRA (CRA stands for “Cultural Resources Associates”).

In this conversation, recorded on July 23, 2026, Johnson describes how the federal historic preservation regulations known as Section 106 work, and then outlines the threat facing 60 years of precedent in how the federal government treats historically significant resources. She also describes how the historic preservation community is mobilizing to push back against what amounts to a gutting of the rules - including elimination of public notice and input and tribal consultation - and how concerned citizens can get involved. A federal body known as the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation is scheduled to vote on the proposed changes on Friday, July 24, 2026.

National Trust for Historic Preservation Section 106 website:

https://savingplaces.org/stories/section-106-under-threat

WillametteCRA website:

https://willamettecra.com/

Advisory Council on Historic Preservation website:

https://www.achp.gov/

Links to more information as well as images related to most topics discussed on the show are often available at the CASCADE OF HISTORY Facebook page:

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

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.

On this BONUS EPISODE of CASCADE OF HISTORY, Feliks Banel pays tribute to the late Chris Wedes, who played J.P. Patches on KIRO TV in Seattle from 1958 to 1981, and who remains one of the most beloved performers and broadcasters in the history of the Pacific Northwest. In this interview from 2010, Wedes looks back on what it meant to play J.P. for all those years, and how he continued to connect with “Patches Pals” even after his show left the air.

This audio was originally produced by Feliks Banel and Casey McNerthney for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer's local history podcast "Seattle Rewind" in 2010. Chris Wedes passed away on July 22, 2012 at age 84. This BONUS EPISODE was originally posted in April 2025.

Links to more information as well as images related to most topics discussed on the show are often available at the CASCADE OF HISTORY Facebook page:

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

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.

This special LIVE REMOTE BROADCAST of CASCADE OF HISTORY originated from a community bluegrass jam inside the historic Mikkelsen Barn in Walla Walla County near Waitsburg, Washington.

Along with a lot of live music, interview guests include HERITAGE BARN HERO Kristin Darrow, who restored the circa 1920 barn and an adjoining grain elevator with support from the Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation’s Heritage Barn Grant Program, which is administered by the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation; and Touchet Valley Acoustic Music Project (TVAMP) founder Kate Hockersmith, a longtime Waitsburg resident (and musician) who began organizing community bluegrass performances many years ago. More than a dozen members of the regular bluegrass jam took part in the live performance, and most of are introduced during the program.

Special thanks to Kristin Darrow and Kate Hockersmith for the warm welcome and for allowing us to share this magical community event with CASCADE OF HISTORY listeners; to CASCADE OF HISTORY Field Producer & Roving Correspondent Ken Zick for his invaluable assistance throughout the broadcast; and to Mitch Etter of SPACE 101.1 FM for running the board back at the station (a live remote broadcast from a rural Palouse wheat farm meant a few glitches along the way).

The deadline to apply for the next round of Heritage Barn Grants is Autumn 2027. Link for more information:

https://dahp.wa.gov/historic-registers/heritage-barn-register/heritage-barn-grants

Links to more information as well as images related to most topics discussed on the show are often available at the CASCADE OF HISTORY Facebook page:

www.facebook.com/groups/cascadeofhistory

This live remote broadcast was presented from 7:00 to 9:00pm Pacific Time on Friday, July 17, 2026. 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 Ken Hong, who grew up in San Mateo, California. Mr. Hong now lives in Pennsylvania, where he serves as executive director of Make Us Visible Pennsylvania, a group that, according to its website, supports a "nationwide initiative to update school curricula with accurate information about Asian American & Pacific Islander history and culture."

Mr. Hong visited the National Archives in San Bruno, California - one of the two branches, along with Chicago, which was abruptly targeted for closure by the National Archives and Records Administration - with his father 25 years ago. Over many visits and with help from National Archives staff, they discovered priceless documents about their family history and photos of family members from as far back as the 1880s. Mr. Hong wrote about that visit and those discoveries (and shared images) in a Facebook post, which we have shared at the CASCADE OF HISTORY Facebook page.

CASCADE OF HISTORY spoke with Ken Hong on the evening of Monday, July 13, 2026.

Make Us Visible Pennsylvania Website:

https://www.makeusvisiblepa.org/

Save Our National Archives (SONA) Website:

https://www.saveournationalarchives.org/

Save Our National Archives (SONA) Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61591576467894

CASCADE OF HISTORY BONUS EPISODE from June 27, 2026 with more information:

https://soundcloud.com/cascadeofhistory/bonus-nara-closure

Links to more information as well as images related to most topics discussed on the show are often available at the CASCADE OF HISTORY Facebook page:

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

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.

For this SUMMER ENCORE EPISODE of CASCADE OF HISTORY, Feliks Banel presents a tribute to late Pacific Northwest radio DJ and pop culture renaissance man - and longtime hydro race announcer - Pat O’Day.

With a vintage aircheck and two long excerpts from an oral history recorded by WSU Professor Hugh Rundell in the late 1970s, we hear directly from Pat O’Day about his early influences and his peripatetic radio career around the Evergreen State (and a corner of the Beaver State). O’Day, born Paul Berg, made his Seattle debut on radio station KAYO – and officially introduced his “Pat O’Day” deejay name – on February 1, 1959. Pat O'Day passed away on August 4, 2020.

This summer encore broadcast of CASCADE OF HISTORY was presented at 8pm Pacific Time on Sunday, July 12, 2026 via flagship station SPACE 101.1 FM in Seattle and gallantly streaming 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. The original broadcast was presented on January 21, 2024.

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 Harry Mok, assistant editor, columnist and editorial board member for the Opinion section of The San Francisco Chronicle newspaper. Mr. Mok published a piece earlier this week criticizing the imminent closure of the San Francisco (San Bruno) branch of the National Archives. The closure was quietly announced on June 26, 2026 on the NARA website; NARA leadership and public affairs officials have still not responded to CASCADE OF HISTORY's multiple inquiries seeking more information. Mr. Mok's piece is called "Trump is trying to bury Bay Area window into Chinese American history."

CASCADE OF HISTORY spoke with Harry Mok on the evening of Thursday, July 9, 2026.

Harry Mok’s SF Chronicle Opinion Piece from July 8, 2026:

https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/article/national-archives-san-bruno-chinese-immigration-22336316.php

Save Our National Archives (SONA) Website:

https://www.saveournationalarchives.org/

Save Our National Archives (SONA) Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61591576467894

CASCADE OF HISTORY BONUS EPISODE from June 27, 2026 with more information:

https://soundcloud.com/cascadeofhistory/bonus-nara-closure

Links to more information as well as images related to most topics discussed on the show are often available at the CASCADE OF HISTORY Facebook page:

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

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 Grant Din of Oakland, California. Mr. Din is a member of a grassroots group called SAVE OUR NATIONAL ARCHIVES (SONA) which is mobilizing to fight the planned closure of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) facility in San Bruno, California. The closure was quietly announced on June 26, 2026 on the NARA website; NARA leadership and public affairs officials have not returned CASCADE OF HISTORY's multiple messages.

CASCADE OF HISTORY spoke with Grant Din on the evening of Wednesday, July 1, 2026.

Save Our National Archives (SONA) Website:

https://www.saveournationalarchives.org/

Save Our National Archives (SONA) Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61591576467894

CASCADE OF HISTORY BONUS EPISODE from June 27, 2026 with more information:

https://soundcloud.com/cascadeofhistory/bonus-nara-closure

Links to more information as well as images related to most topics discussed on the show are often available at the CASCADE OF HISTORY Facebook page:

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

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 special LIVE REMOTE BROADCAST of CASCADE OF HISTORY from the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park in Seattle's Pioneer Square include folksinger Al Hirsch; Charles Beall, Superintendent of Seattle Area National Park Sites; Seattle City Councilmember Rob Saka (District 1); Dan Evans, Jr.; filmmaker and documentarian B.J. Bullert and her husband Ken Workman, Chief Seattle descendant; Jon Scholes, CEO of the Downtown Seattle Association; Lisa Howard, Executive Director of the Alliance for Pioneer Square; NPS Trails & Rails volunteer Rob Carr; retired NPS Park Ranger Sean O'Meara; NPS Trails & Rails Coordinator Steve Lovell; Historic Seattle Executive Director Kji Kelly; Washington Trust for Historic Preservation Director of Preservation Programs Moira Nadal; architect/UW lecturer Elisa Renouard; historian/journalists Clay Eals and Jean Sherrard of the Seattle Times feature Now & Then; and former Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, current chair of the HistoryLink board of directors.

This special live remote broadcast marked the 50th anniversary of the creation of Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park in Seattle and was presented from 11:00am to 1:00pm Pacific Time on Tuesday, June 30, 1976.

Special thanks to CASCADE OF HISTORY Field Producer & Roving Correspondent Ken Zick for his invaluable assistance throughout the broadcast, and to Mark Patterson of SPACE 101.1 FM for running the board back at the station.

Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park will be observing its 50th anniversary all year:

https://www.nps.gov/klse/index.htm

Links to more information as well as images related to most topics discussed on the show are often available at the CASCADE OF HISTORY Facebook page:

www.facebook.com/groups/cascadeofhistory

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 ENCORE BROADCAST of CASCADE OF HISTORY are longtime local journalist Essex Porter reflecting on his television career at KIRO 7 News (recorded not long after he retired in late 2021), and meteorologist Scott Sistek, in a conversation recorded just after the devastating June 2021 Pacific Northwest "heatdome." Both interviews are from the archives of COLUMBIA CONVERSATIONS, for which Feliks was the founding producer and host.

This SUMMERTIME EDITION broadcast of CASCADE OF HISTORY was presented at 8pm Pacific Time on Sunday, June 28, 2026.

Scott Sistek’s Emerald City Weather Blog:

https://emeraldcityweather.com/

Links to more information as well as images related to most topics discussed on the show are often available at the CASCADE OF HISTORY Facebook page:

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

This encore broadcast of CASCADE OF HISTORY was presented at 8pm Pacific Time on Sunday, June 28, 2026 via flagship station SPACE 101.1 FM in Seattle and gallantly streaming 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.