As a lifetime Northshore School District resident I’m very much interested in keeping our community the best it can be.
I have lived in the Bothell area nearly my entire life, with the exception of four years in the Marine Corps between 1964 and 1968. I grew up going through the Northshore School District, and graduated from Bothell High School in 1964. My wife and I have grown children who also graduated from Bothell High School, and we now have grandchildren who are going through the Northshore School District. Nothing could be better, with one exception.
The Northshore School District, and the City of Bothell need some kind of memorial for all of the classmates who went through our school system, and who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country. Neither the City of Bothell, nor the Northshore School District currently has an appropriate dedication for our classmates, and it’s long overdue.
In communicating with the city I proposed that they rename one of their parks “Bothell Memorial Park,” and have a hanging wall of honor with the names of the Bothell residents who gave their lives for our country, along with the insignia of all five branches of service and other details.
My proposal to the Northshore School District asked them to consider renaming Pop Keeney Stadium “Pop Keeney Memorial Stadium.”The Memorial Stadium should also have a hanging wall of honor listing each and every classmate who went through the Northshore School System, the service they were in, along with the service branch insignia, the date they died, and the conflict they were involved in.
As many of our residents know, Pop Keeney has a wall of honor inside the stadium listing the names of past alumni and employees who have either excelled in business, or have given back to their community in a big way. That was a very good idea, my own class of 1964 has names on that wall, but why not have another wall of honor dedicated to all the Northshore School District classmates who have given their lives for our country?
The new stadium Wall of Honor needs to be mounted on the outside of the entry gate, just prior to going in, not on the inside. That way the general public walking through the area while visiting McMenamin’s which is right next door, or any other attraction, can observe the wall at any time, and not just when there is a game going on inside the stadium. My Bothell High class of 1964 lost two classmates to the war in Vietnam, Richard Worthington and Chuck Slusser. Richard Worthington’s grandfather founded the Bothell State Bank that was on Main Street across the street and slightly up from the Hillcrest Bakery. His son Richard Sr. owned the Worthington Insurance Agency in Bothell, and the Worthington Family Foundation has made generous contributions to scholarship programs for Bothell High School and the University of Washington, which includes the branch facility in Bothell.
Adding the word “Memorial” to Pop Keeney Stadium would be no different than the Seattle School District naming the stadium they own at the Seattle Center, “Memorial Stadium.” The Seattle School District Memorial Stadium was built in memory of the Seattle young men and women who gave their lives in World War II. Their memorial wall is at the east end, and lists the names of over 700 fallen individuals.
There is one thing we need to keep in mind. Pop Keeney is a Northshore School District Stadium, and this change would effect the entire Northshore School District, not just Bothell. I believe it’s extremely important for the Northshore School District to honor our fallen classmates in this manner, and any help to make that happen would be greatly appreciated.
Parl Guthrie lives in Bothell.
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