It was four years ago today (at 9:03 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2007 to be exact) that The B-Town Blog made its first post, and we’re happy to celebrate by thanking YOU, our Readers and Advertisers, without whom this venture would not be possible.

In those four years (which seems like much less!), we’ve grown into the South King County area’s leading News, Events, Arts, Entertainment and more blog, with a recent average of between 55,000 – 60,000 Unique Visitors per month!

We’d like to also invite everyone to our Holiday Party this Wednesday, Dec. 14th from 5:30 – 7 p.m. at the Tin Theater in Olde Burien, where we’ll be toasting, networking and announcing some very BIG news about our plans for 2012. More info about this shindig here and here.

Flash back with us now to our very first charming post, which you can read by clicking here.

Hildur Johnson will be celebrating her 100th birthday this Sunday (April 10th) at BTB Advertiser Burien Nursing & Rehabilitation, where she now lives.

Hildur was born in Sweden on April 10, 1911 as one of 11 children. She later immigrated to the United States and spent most of her years in California where she worked as a hairdresser. She has one granddaughter living in the area.

The birthday party will be this Sunday, April 10 at 11 a.m. in the large dining room at Burien Nursing & Rehabilitation, located at 1031 SW 130th Street in Burien.

Cake will be served and entertainment provided, and friends are invited to attend.

We here at The B-Town Blog are always impressed when we hear about (or meet) residents who have lived this long, so we’d like to wish Hildur a very Happy Birthday!

Three years ago today (Dec. 11, 2007, to be exact), from a humble dining room table in a home in Burien, The B-Town Blog came unto this planet, chock full of hopes and dreams of informing, entertaining and enlightening a community, and initially only as a part-time hobby.

Today, we take a look into the mirror and shout:

HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY TO US!

It’s been an amazing three years too, from humble beginnings as a hobby to now, the #1 source of up-to-date Local News, Reader Comments and more for the area, with numerous Contributors, over 45 great Advertisers, with some months getting over 75,000 Readers (October set a record…so far)!

We’re proud to say we’re built entirely by all local people who live, work, shop and spend their money right here in Burien.

And now, for trivial and archival purposes, are the first two stories we posted on our very first day:

• Welcome to the B-Town (Burien) Blog!
• Video of One of Your Uglier Neighbors

We’ve grown a bit in our short existence, and we currently publish a total of six local blogs, including:

• The Waterland Blog – for our lovely neighbor to the south, the community of Des Moines, WA.
• White Center Blog – the original Blog about White Center, our neighbor to the north.
• Normandy Park Blog – all about (you guessed it) Normandy Park
• Tukwila Blog – “100 Years in the Making” blog about Tukwila
• SeaTac Blog – “Everywhere’s Possible” with this blog about SeaTac

If you haven’t already, please join our growing Social Network:

Of course, as we’ve grown, we’ve gone from just one sole Publisher/Editor (me, Scott) to a staff of 12+ regular (and often irregular) Contributors, including:

• Michael Brunk, Photographer/Code Guru. An amazing Photographer with a great eye for “the shot,” Michael not only brings his artistic talent (what we call “Brunksmanship“) to all our sites, but his technical know-how as well. Need a great shot of something, or some WordPress, PHP, CSS or other code fixed ASAP? “Call Michael!” is our immediate response.
• Janet Grella, Sales Diva, joined the LOL Dudez team in July, 2008. Not only does The Diva sell Ads, she also writes stories, takes pics and much more for all our community blog sites. With Janet on board, The B-Town Blog has enjoyed incredible growth in both Readers and Advertisers. Janet knows the future of advertising is online, not in newspapers.
• Ralph Nichols, Reporter/Writer. A former Editor of The Highline Times, Ralph specializes in covering local issues, including political, community, business, news and much more. Ralph has many years’ experience as a reporter for numerous daily newspapers, and has made the transition to this newfangled online world quite well.
• Nicholas Johnson, Photographer/Reporter. Nicholas is a Western Washington University Journalism Major who hails from Burien. We’re lucky to have him helping us out and providing the BTB his multitude of talents.
• Jack Mayne, Reporter. Jack Mayne is an experienced old-world Journalist who has worked with The Seattle P-I, The Journal American in Bellevue and Valley Daily News in Kent and many others. He brings not only his vast Writing experience to us, but his deep knowledge of the News Business as well.
• Mark Neuman, Writer/Sales: former real-world Journalist, TV Host, Producer and Marketer, Mark is an old friend of Scott’s going back to when they worked on their high school newspaper together (West Seattle High’s “Chinook”). Mark sells Ads and Writes for the BTB.
• Bart Bryan, Sales. Another old buddy of Scott and Mark’s from their high school daze, Bart is a happy, friendly, gregarious man who loves to learn, “conversate” (as the kids say), sell Ads and of course, sing killer Karaoke.
• Gina Bourdage, Artist/Reporter/Sales: graduate of Washington State University with a B.A. in Communications, Gina is a native who currently resides on the cusp of the proposed annexation area. She does our Ad artwork, writes stories and much more.
• Rachel M. Lusby, Writer. Specializing in Human Interest stories, Rachel is a longtime resident who works for us on assignment.
• Shawn Underwood, Humor Columnist: Twenty-five years of living in Burien gives this Humorist much fodder for her writings. All of her stories are true, or at least have a grain of truth with no added embellishments. Or something like that.
• Bryan Charles, Intern. Bryan is a budding Artist and Animator who attends Highline’s Big Picture High School in SeaTac. He brings his twisted sense of humor to us through his cartoons and more.
• Philip Benais, Intern. Philip is an aspiring Writer who also attends Big Picture High School. He is a film buff, and, we think, an excellent movie Reviewer.

In the end, the real reason we’re going and growing stronger after three years is because of YOU, our Readers and Advertisers! Without either of you we wouldn’t exist!

Thanks, and we look forward to an even better fourth year!

BTB Advertiser Elliott Bay Brewhouse and Pub will be celebrating its 3rd birthday this Saturday March 6th!

Live reggae from Dub Lounge International starts at 8pm.

Families are welcome and there’s No Cover!

Cheers to a great local establishment!

Elliott Bay Brewhouse and Pub is located at 255 SW 152nd in downtown Burien; phone: 206.246.4211. This family-friendly neighborhood pub offers a full pub menu, large party facilities, tournament-sized shuffleboard tables, along with party platters and beer to go.

More info on Elliott Bay Brewhouse & Pub is available at their website.

Here are a couple of videos of Dub Lounge International to whet your rastaman appetite:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Welcome back BTB Advertiser Burien Honda, which is having a birthday party and inviting everyone to come on in to check out the special green tag savings hanging from the rear view mirrors of all their cars.

They’ve been around Burien for 47 years and counting. In 1963, owner Jack Enderson opened a Honda Cycle dealership on SW 153rd and First Ave South, where “Mr. Auto” used to be (now Horizon Pets). He eventually added Triumph, BSA and Harley bikes to his inventory. In 1972, they needed more room and moved to their current location at 15026 First Avenue South.

This original 1970 N600 Honda has just 628 miles on it; its MSRP new was just $1,995!

In addition to an international reputation for its high mileage, Honda is leading the automotive industry in the Green and Hybrid Movement in automotive efficiencies. “Green” cars include the FIT Hatchback, Civic Sedan and “Hybrids” include Civic, Insight and Accord. They also have all of Honda’s conventional models. On the horizon is the FCX Clarity – a hydrogen and electric car available right now in California – and the CRV Diesel SUV sold in Europe and Japan.

Right now you can enjoy great 47 Anniversary savings on all Honda’s in stock! So stop on by and start enjoying your new Honda today.

Here’s a flashback pic of Burien Honda, circa 1972 – they’ve come a long way!:

Our friend Shelli Park of White Center for the Arts tells us that their one-year anniversary is fast approaching, and they’ll be celebrating it at their Third Saturday Art walk on Saturday, Feb. 20th, from 6pm to 9pm in various businesses in White Center.

The photo at left was shot by Brian Barr, whose work will be on display at WCFTA’s new community gallery, DREAM.

Here are the details:

WHAT: WCFTA monthly Art Walk, celebrating their one-year anniversary.

WHEN: Saturday, Feb. 20th, from 6pm to 9pm.

WHERE/FEATURING:

• Salvadorean Bakery: Chuck Northcutt – photography on canvas
• Café Rozella: Carole Ellis – photography
• Triangle Tavern: Chase Evans – Spoken Word @ 6:15 DJ sets @ 7:00
• Full Tilt Ice Cream: Julie Luke – Acrylic on Canvas
• Proletariat Pizza: Baso – photography
• Dzul Tattoo: Urban and Tattoo Art
• Dream Community Gallery: Fusion Dance Crew @ 6:30; Brian Barr – Portraits of White Center; Amanda Helmick – Mixed Media; Amanda Pickerel-Winer – paintings
• Big Al Brewing: Raina Anderson – photography
• DubSea Café: Hye Young Kim – dyed yarn and acrylic, Micheal Olson – DJ –reggae/dub plus more!

INFORMATION: More info available at www.whitecenterforthearts.org.

And here’s a letter regarding accomplishments made during WCFTA’s first year:

“Dear Lovers of Art in White Center,

White Center for the Arts (WCFTA) believes that the White Center community’s rich tapestry of culture and local arts should be shared with everyone. Our work to establish a permanent home for the arts in the neighborhood is off to a great start! In the past six months we:

• Established an after-school art program in the local Highline District Middle and High School
• Established the Third Saturday Art Walk, exhibiting more than 25 local artists in 9 months time.
• Are hosting Community Artists Meetings to open the lines of communication
• Established a working relationship with local, county, and state arts organizations and continue to identify and foster new partnerships within the community to create a web of services and support for artists and youth.
• Partnered with the YWCA at Greenbridge to showcase local artists in the lobby on a quarterly basis, and are working with Youth Media Institute and the Highline School District to implement non-violent extracurricular creative youth activities in the schools and in the White Center Downtown Business District.

But we have more work to do, and we are in urgent need of your support so that we can create the anchor of our vision and visiability, DREAM Community Gallery. We are asking for a small donation of $10.00 from 100 people, a $15.00 donation from 55 people, and 10 $100.00 donations. You will be supporting the entire White Center Cultural Community, helping to give visibility to local artists in all media, ages, and neighborhoods. A gift right now will assure that WCFTA can continue on our mission to be a catalyst for the coming together of the arts and cultural community of White Center. The time has come for a permanent home for the arts in White Center. Our current projects are:

• DREAM, a Community Gallery sustained by an in-house Coffee House, providing un-juried exhibition space for local artists and performers, and providing a safe gathering place, and empowering activities, for youth
• Development of our arts education programming
• Collection of oral histories and artifacts for a permanent local history collection
• Facilitating cross medium and cross cultural collaborations, and continuing to bring positive business to White Center through the Art Walk

We appreciate gifts of any amount, and in return WCFTA is working hard to promote art and culture in the daily life of White Center residents. We are to receive a $5,000 grant. We need more to open our Community Gallery by February 20^th, the first anniversary of White Center for the Arts. We have scheduled two dance performances, a musician, and two artists for the evening of February 20^th, and they are counting on your gift to help make this happen. When combined with the work of our dedicated volunteers, established, emerging, and students artists, the community as a whole will benefit from seeing our mission to bring art, and the celebration of culture and heritage to all of White Center and its neighbors, succeed.

To give a tax deductible donation, visit our website: http://www.whitecenterforthearts.org/

Sincerely,
Shelli Park
Chair, White Center for the Arts

P.S. You may be fortunate enough to have an employer that will match your gift. This is a great opportunity to give maximum impact with your gift to White Center for the Arts.

Even if you don’t live in White Center, but know that this is a worthy cause, please donate and know that you are supporting strong work in a beautiful community.”

(Photo by Brian Barr)

The “Governor Albert D. Rosellini Scholarship” benefits deserving students at Kennedy Catholic, where two of his great-grandchildren are students, and which all four of his grandchildren attended, according to Joe Faccone of the school’s Advancement Department.

Sponsored by the school and Sons of Italy Lodge 1390, the event starts at 3 p.m. with a reception in the cafeteria of the school, which is located at 140 South 140th Street. A dinner featuring traditional Italian fare will be served at 4 p.m., with a program celebrating the former governor’s centennial at 5 p.m.

Tickets are $50, and can be purchased at the door.

An invocation will be given by Oratorian Father Clarence Jones, parochial vicar of Our Lady of Mount Virgin Parish in Seattle, the Rosellini family’s native parish.

Gov. Rosellini, who served two terms from 1957 to 1965, noted in a 2008 letter to the Kennedy Catholic community that he has strong ties with the school in addition to the fact that his offspring went there. He met President John F. Kennedy, the school’s namesake, on several occasions and in 1962 was selected chair of the U.S. governors to represent their collective concerns to the president.

“Then in 1964, shortly after his tragic passing, I was pleased to learn that the first high school in the nation to bear his name was going to be the new Catholic high school in Seattle,” the governor wrote.

For more information, or to donate to the scholarship fund, call 206-246-0500.

Two years ago today (Dec. 11, 2007 to be exact), on a dining room table in a home in Burien, your B-Town Blog came unto this planet, chock full of hopes and dreams of informing, entertaining and enlightening a community, and initially only as a part-time hobby.

HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY TO US!

But be warned folks, ‘cuz we’re entering our “Terrible Twos” and we aren’t going to stop until WE GET WHAT WE WANT! (SOUNDFX: WAAAAAA!)

It’s been an amazing two years too, from humble beginnings as a hobby to now, a full-blown full-time job with an office, numerous Contributors, over 40 Advertisers and nearly 50,000 Readers per month (November set a record…so far)!

And now, for trivial and archival purposes, are the two stories we posted on our very first day:

• Welcome to the B-Town (Burien) Blog!
• Video of One of Your Uglier Neighbors

Of course, as we’ve grown, we’ve gone from just one sole Publisher/Editor (me, Scott) to a staff of 12+ regular (and irregular) Contributors, including:

• Janet Grella, Sales Director/Diva joined the LOL Dudez team last July. Not only does The Diva sell Ads, she also writes stories, takes pics and much more to all our community blog sites. With Janet on board, The B-Town Blog has enjoyed incredible growth in both Readers and Advertisers. Janet knows the future of advertising is online, not in newspapers.
• Ralph Nichols, Reporter/Writer. A former Editor of The Highline Times, Ralph specializes in covering local issues, including political, community, business, news and much more. Ralph has many years’ experience as a reporter for numerous daily newspapers, and has made the transition to this newfangled online world quite well.
• Mark Neuman, Writer/Sales: former real-world Journalist, TV Host, Producer and Marketer, Mark is an old friend of Scott’s going back to when they worked on their high school newspaper together (West Seattle High’s “Chinook”). Mark sells Ads and Writes for the BTB.
• Michael Brunk, Photographer/Code Guru. An amazing Photographer with a great eye for “the shot,” Michael not only brings his artistic talent (what we call “Brunksmanship“) to our sites, but his technical know-how as well. Need a great shot of something, or some WordPress, PHP, CSS or other code fixed ASAP? “Call Michael!” is our immediate response.
• Bart Bryan, Sales. Another old buddy of Scott and Mark’s from their high school daze, Bart is a happy, friendly, gregarious man who loves to learn, “conversate” (as the kids say), sell Ads and of course, sing killer Karaoke.
• Gina Bourdage, Artist/Reporter: graduate of Washington State University with a B.A. in Communications, Gina is a native who currently resides on the cusp of the proposed annexation area. She does our Ad artwork, writes stories and much more.
• Amy Bouska, Video Producer. Amy Produces, Shoots, Directs and Edits original video interviews for us, and she does them quite well, especially since she serves as on-air Talent as well.
• Theresa Frasch, Sales. Theresa is an all-around talent, with the ability to sell Ads as well as fix the world in her spare time.
• Jack Mayne, Reporter. Jack Mayne is an experienced old-world Journalist who has worked with The Seattle P-I, The Journal American in Bellevue and Valley Daily News in Kent and many others. He brings not only his vast Writing experience to us, but his deep knowledge of the News Business as well.
• Shawn Underwood, Humor Columnist: Twenty-five years of living in Burien gives this Humorist much fodder for her writings. All of her stories are true, or at least have a grain of truth with no added embellishments. Or something like that.
• Danielle Burton, Artist/Illustrator. Danielle is not only a recent graduate of Western Washington University, but she is an amazingly talented Artist who brings a touch of original, artsy class to our sites.
• Bryan Charles, Intern. Bryan is a budding Artist and Animator who attends Highline’s Big Picture High School in SeaTac. He brings his twisted sense of humor to us through his cartoons and more.

We could go on and on about how great we are, but in the end the real reason we’re posting this is to thank YOU, our Readers and Advertisers, because without either of you we wouldn’t exist!

Thanks, and we look forward to an even better third year!

by Ralph Nichols

Faith Callahan is known to many Des Moines residents as a lively – and outspoken – advocate for saving the Mt. Rainier Pool, where she regularly participates in water aerobics. So no one will be surprised if there’s a big turnout for a party in her honor at Wesley Terrace on Saturday, Oct. 24, when Faith celebrates her 105th birthday.

But Faith already has enjoyed an early birthday present – a long wished-for ride on a Harley-Davidson 100th anniversary Heritage Softail® Classic motorcycle. The legendary American motorcycle manufacturer produced its first model just one year before she was born.

“I liked it very much,” she says of the ride around the Wesley Terrace parking area, “except I could just barely reach around Bill (Larson, who took her for the ride on his motorcycle) because he was in his leathers. When he asked me if I wanted to ride some more, I said ‘no.’ There will be a big birthday party in a month and I didn’t want to be thrown off before then.”

But, adds Faith, “It was a very smooth ride.”

She was born Oct. 22, 1904, in Milbank, S.D., and grew up near Wichita, Kansas, the daughter of a Methodist minister who normally made his rounds visiting parishioners with a horse and buggy. In 1910, her father bought a motorcycle to make his calls, but eventually went back to the horse and buggy because it conveyed a “better message” for a pastor.

Faith is a 16-year client of Larson, who does business as William C. Larson Financial Advisor in West Seattle. On her 103rd birthday, Larson recalls, “I told her about this motorcycle and she said, “I’d love to see it.’ I said, ‘I’ll come by and show it to you. Maybe we’ll take a ride on it.’”

But while he saw Faith again on her 104th birthday, they didn’t go for a ride, “so I made sure that we did it this year, and Glenda (his wife) and I saw her on Sept. 1,” he says.

Faith “is a very giving person, and always has a smile,” he adds.

Faith rode on the back of Bill Larson's 100th anniversary Heritage Softail Classic Harley.

Her answer to the inevitable question, “What is your secret to a long life?” is simple. “Exercise [these days the water aerobics] and eating normally,” Faith says. Genes played a role, too. “My parents lived very long lives, and I have always been fairly healthy.”

Faith lives at Wesley Homes with her daughter and son-in-law, Blythe and Ed Stanton.

The good folks at Sustainable Burien are holding a party to celebrate both their new garden beds (see our report here) as well as their one-year anniversary at the Burien Interim Art Space on Saturday, Aug. 8th, beginning at 6pm.

Here are the details:

WHAT: Sustainable Burien Garden/Anniversary Party

WHEN: Saturday, Aug. 8th starting at 6pm

WHERE: Burien Interim Art Space, located at SW 150th and 5th SW

INFO:

Come join us in celebration of our garden beds at the Burien Interim Art Space. Sustainable Burien also celebrates its first year. Exciting things are happening and we invite you to join us.

We’re hoping folks interested in creating a bigger, permanent Burien Community Garden by 2010 will come with your ideas and enthusiasm. Please invite friends that may also be interested.

LET’S PARTY — Bring some food to share. Bring your chairs. Bring musical instruments. We’ll have some small BBQs for roasting your veggies, or separate ones for meat. Have excess produce from your own gardens? Bring that to share or we’ll deliver to the food bank!

For more information, here’s a link to their evite, and one to their website.