On this summertime edition of CASCADE OF HISTORY, we present a panel discussion marking the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II - VJ Day, August 14, 1945 - on the actual 60th anniversary in 2005. Participants included several local residents who were in the military, working in defense plants or otherwise supporting the Allied war effort as young adults in 1945. The panel was part of a series curated and moderated by CASCADE OF HISTORY producer/host Feliks Banel when he was deputy director of Seattle's Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI), and was recorded before a live audience at the old MOHAI in Montlake.

This episode of CASCADE OF HISTORY was originally broadcast at 8pm Pacific Time on Sunday, July 28, 2024 via SPACE 101.1 FM and streaming live via space101fm.org from studios at historic Magnuson Park – formerly Sand Point Naval Air Station - on the shores of Lake Washington in Seattle.

Ep. 71: V-J Day 60th Anniversary Panel Discussion from August 2005

Feliks Banel's guests on this LIVE BROADCAST of CASCADE OF HISTORY include Lt. Colonel Erik Flint (retired) LIVE from Pearl Harbor Day commemorations in Honolulu; Roving Correspondent Ken Zick with multiple LIVE UPDATES from Candy Cane Lane in Seattle; meteorologist Scott Sistek on storm history and his new Emerald City Weather Blog; and Frank Abe on Rachel Maddow's new podcast about Japanese American incarceration during World War II - and a preview of the live production of "We Hold These Truths" that Frank is participating in on Monday, December 15, 2025 at 7:30pm Pacific Time at Town Hall Seattle (and which will be broadcast LIVE as a special episode of CASCADE OF HISTORY).

More information about the LIVE BROADCAST of "We Hold These Truths":
https://townhallseattle.org/event/we-hold-these-truths/

More info about Lt. Colonel Erik Flint (retired) :
https://stephenambrosetours.com/historian/erik-flint/

Candy Cane Lane Official Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/SeattleCandyCaneLane/

Scott Sistek's Emerald City Weather Blog:
https://emeraldcityweather.com/

Frank Abe's RESISTERS Website:
https://resisters.com/author/frankabe/

Links to more information about all of these stories - and photos of Candy Cane Lane by Ken Zick - 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 7, 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.

Ep. 128: LIVE REPORT from Pearl Harbor Commemorations in Hawaii; LIVE UPDATES from Candy Cane Lane; Meteorologist Scott Sistek on Storm History; and Frank Abe on Japanese American Incarceration

On this BONUS EPISODE of CASCADE OF HISTORY, Feliks Banel presents vintage audio – recorded by him by holding his Sanyo tape recorder near the radio speaker on the night of December 8, 1980. Former Beatle John Lennon had been assassinated in New York City.

In Seattle, on FM rock station KISW, legendary DJ Steve Slaton was on the air. Within minutes of the news reaching Seattle, he did what live and local radio used to do better than any other medium: he opened up the phone lines. In this long excerpt, we hear what amounts to a master class in how thoughtful, talented and local radio voices worked regularly to subtly build community, by connecting real live people in real-time to something bigger than themselves. Radio used to do this kind of thing every day of the week, and it was especially priceless during times of crisis or heartache.

As most people know in 2025, while it has some value, social media can often feel hollow and algorithmic. The humanity is often scrubbed away and re-packaged. In this tape - from a defiantly human era of radio and a particularly heart-wrenching night - we hear a real person, organic and unfiltered and serving a mass audience, and providing that "community glue” that radio, in the right hands, can still do so well. The sound quality is not great, and during pregnant pauses, music from another station can be heard. The content is surprisingly raw, with both Slaton and one of the callers uttering expletives – which have been bleeped out after the fact (those expletives, remarkably, went out over the airwaves on December 8, 1980).

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.

BONUS EPISODE: Vintage Audio - Steve Slaton of KISW Seattle Opens the Phones after John Lennon is Murdered

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.

BONUS EPISODE: Interview with the late Bryan Johnson on his 50th Anniv. at KOMO Seattle - Oct. 2009

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.

BONUS EPISODE: Replogle Globes CEO Joe Wright on the Past, Present and Future of Globes

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.

BONUS EPISODE: Hearing Examiner Denies Appeal of Masonic Home of WA Demolition Permit

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.

BONUS EPISODE: "Vinyl Café" Host Stuart McLean Interview from Seattle in December 2013

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.

Ep. 129: Update from Leavenworth post-storm; How you can help Washington State Archives identify images; Yakima Valley Trolleys threatened by city inaction; Vintage audio of Jack Morton's Night Before Christmas; Big Snow of December 1990

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.

Ep. 130: "We Hold These Truths" LIVE BROADCAST from Town Hall Seattle on Dec. 15, 2025

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.

BONUS EPISODE: Aboard the Steam Locomotive in the Railroad Bridge Scene of Rob Reiner's "Stand By Me"

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.

BONUS EPISODE: 80 Minutes with the Evergreen State's "Doctor Christmas Tree"

CASCADE OF HISTORY is the only LIVE radio show presenting news and stories about people doing cool things with and for history in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and British Columbia. We talk about people, artifacts, books, maps, photos, places, landmarks, public lands, state and national parks, trails, highways, and the historic events that can bring us all together.

The show is broadcast LIVE most Sunday nights at 8pm Pacific Time on SPACE 101.1 FM (and streaming via http://www.space101fm.org ) from studios located on the shores of Lake Washington in historic Magnuson Park in Seattle, former site of Sand Point Naval Air Station (though sometimes CASCADE OF HISTORY originates from remote locations around the region). The podcast feed consists of the weekly broadcast, plus frequent bonus episodes with timely and topical interviews, vintage local audio or other Pacific Northwest history-related content - and sometimes even BREAKING NEWS.

Producer and host Feliks Banel is an Emmy-winning and Edward R. Murrow Award-winning broadcaster, and former deputy director of Seattle's Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI).

Send your questions, comments, guest suggestions, news tips and other correspondence to cascadeofhistory@gmail.com.

Ep. 71: V-J Day 60th Anniversary Panel Discussion from August 2005

Cascade of History

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