Meet John Rayback

The high school dropout who luckily had a tough love mother.

This long-time pillar of the community, who is best known for his years as an attorney from Des Moines, went to Highline High until he got restless in the 10th grade, quit and went to work at 16 doing muscle buster work in Seattle.

His mom, Mabel, who served as Desimone Postmistress from 1953 to 1966, got tough with him and got him back in Highline. He remembers the school bus driver was Johnny Somers, who later built a string of supermarkets including the one on the corner where Red Robin now sells burgers.

He was born in 1927 and remembers the Spanish Castle at Midway and Banfield's Halfway House, Shinners boat shop, and the Blockhouse. He danced often at the Trianon Ballroom in Seattle and Bett's Roller Rink in Redondo.

He met and married his wife, Ardies, a former Highline High majorette, in 1946. He attended the U of W and graduated with honors and a law degree in 1953.

His practice was in Des Moines where he was a community builder. After kids Mark, Chris, Brad, Michelle, Clinton, Dale and Cindy, he found time to join the Burien Elks in 1977. He is currently on the board and is known as the guy with the big smile and the ability to get things done.

Meet Barbara Grothe,

She was just leaving the Park Place restaurant (formerly Pumpernickel) next to Dunn Lumber when I spotted her. She used to sell advertising in the Highline Times back in the Sixties. She also worked for the Kent paper, and wrote stories for Ruby Peterson at her Des Moines paper.

She now lives at Huntington Park and loves it. She reminded me of her days with us, and when I introduced her to Elsbeth, who was born and raised in Dusseldorf, she pointed put that Grothe is a German name.

She smiled and told us that when she heard her grandkids playing a war game called Kill the Germans, she admonished them and reminded them that the big war was long over and the German people were now our friends and they had German ancestors.

They said, "Right, Gram. Can we play Cowboys and Indians?"

Meet Jack Block Jr.

Burien City Councilman Jack Block Jr. was buying flowers at Fred Meyer where I was looking for cucumber plants.

He is a Block off the old chip, Jack Sr. Big grin, big heart, big body, big ambition to be Port commissioner. (He lost his race in the August primary.)

Very likable. I asked him what it would take to run for the job and he said 200 big ones.

I asked him to pose with his hands in the air because he is very expansive and expressive. He obliged gladly.

He is presently a crane operator at the Port's waterfront, but has done just about everything longshoremen do.