March 2014

By Holly Brown

Oscar night is the perfect time to gather with friends for food, fun, and celeb sightings. Whether you throw a fancy soiree, or keep it casual in jeans and jewels, elegant food fare will make it an award winning evening.

Get your party started by casting votes for favorite nominees before the show begins, then serve up some red carpet worthy appetizers and aperitifs from TheBrownLounge.com’s Oscar Party Menu. It's full of finger food, perfect for a viewing party or potluck. You can even encourage guests to make one of the recipes from our menu to share. Enjoy this year's 86th Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday, March 2, with host Ellen DeGeneres. Follow these party tips to make your guests feel like they’re on The Red Carpet!

Create a red carpet entrance using remnant fabric from your local fabric store, or simply use a red table runner. As guests arrive to the party, snap their photo paparazzi style.

By Cyndy Glenn

Fire station 32 in the West Seattle Junction held an open house on March 1 to let the public know about the plans for it's tear down and reconstruction which should be complete by the end of 2016. The station, located at 3715 S.W. Alaska is about 40 years old and ready for replacement. It's systems are old, it has inadequate space for modern apparatus and staffing levels and it's out of regulatory compliance, plus it doesn't meet current seismic standards.

It will become the lead station, SFD says, for Battalion VII, which covers all of West Seattle, southwest Seattle, Harbor Island and the industrial areas along the Duwamish River.

The new station will allow a Battalion Chief to be located at the station; there's no room for one now. The current Battalion Chief is located in the Admiral district.

The new fire station will feature artwork of an antique fire truck on the way to a fire; this sculpture will be suspended from the exterior of the building.

One of the premier athletic and workout facilities in Seattle area, once called Allstar Fitness and later West Seattle Athletic Club has been through numerous challenges in the last five years. It's been sold out of bankruptcy, had numerous maintenance problems and engendered numerous member complaints but according to the business owners, despite ongoing legal battles, things are looking brighter.

That might seem to be a dubious claim based on published reports and the usual public conjecture regarding the large scale troubles faced by owner Sam Adams and his company Oregon Athletic Clubs but in an interview with the West Seattle Herald last week he offered explanations for every issue he faces.

Southwest Seattle Historical Society Executive Director Clay Eals shared some sad news with the Herald regarding the passing of community activist and co-founder of the Society Joan Mraz.

READ AN EXTENDED APPRECIATION OF THE LIFE OF JOAN MRAZ HERE.

Following is a letter written by Board President Marcy Johnsen and the official obituary.

Hello all,

It is with a heavy heart that I report to you the passing Joan Mraz on Monday February 24th 2014.

For those of you newer folks, Joan (pronounced Jo-an) was a co-founder of our Southwest Seattle Historical Society in 1984, having been contacted by Elliott Couden, a local realtor also interested in history and preservation. You can read the history brief on our website: http://www.loghousemuseum.info/about/

Joan was very active in the organization over the years and served in many roles on the board of trustees including membership secretary, and president from 2000 to 2005.