Let’s Talk

Representation of people from all backgrounds makes us stronger!

So far, I have only received one comment on this relatively new blog. I would like to encourage your input!

To what end?
One of my goals for the Bothell Crossroads blog is to provide a space for discussion and debate. In particular, I hope to increase awareness and provoke exploration of different perspectives to, ultimately, bring about installations of new public art that include more women and people of color.

Great Comment
Let me start by referencing the one comment I received. It was thoughtful and just the dialogue I hope to stir up. Here’s an excerpt:

Esteemed Bothell Leaders and Influencers of the Past

Yesterday, I promised that I would follow up with brief biographies of life-sized cut-out paintings of local historical figures and business leaders located on the exterior walls of buildings on Main Street in downtown Bothell.

To honor the past, and better understand where we are today, below you’ll read what I uncovered about these figures who were influential community leaders in their day.

Representation of a Community

As I mentioned in an earlier post, one of the reasons why I started a blog about Bothell is because it bothered me that the life-sized representations of local historical figures and business leaders located on the exterior walls of buildings on Main Street only included white men and one woman.

Then, as I learned more about Bothell, its history, and the story of the men and woman who are depicted in the murals, I started to understand and respect the contributions these men had made to the community.

Shannon’s Flowers and Gifts: Gone but not Forgotten

Owner Peg Dowd sees a bright future for downtown Bothell
Part II

An involved member of the community and owner of Shannon’s Flowers and Gifts for 24 years, Peg Dowd talks about closing the flower shop that had been in her family and an icon on historic Main Street in Bothell, Washington since 1961. 

Shannon’s Flowers and Gifts: Gone but not Forgotten

Representation of Bill Shannon, Bothell florist and father to Peg Dowd, was active in community service and was noted for his sense of humor. Artist: Pat Benson

After 50 years, a Tie to the Past Leaves the Scene
Part I 

On October 22, 2011 – just over a week after closing Shannon’s Flowers and Gifts – I had the extraordinary opportunity to talk with owner Peg Shannon Dowd.

Originally established in the mid-1940s and located near the Preservation Kitchen on SR 522 in Bothell, Washington, the flower shop that was to become Shannon’s Flowers and Gifts moved to historic Main Street in the early 1950s. In 1961, Bill Shannon and Peg Dowd’s father, who had a background in gift sales and department stores on the East coast, then bought and renamed the shop. Thus began a fifty-year odyssey that was to end, quite suddenly on October 12, 2011.

In the beginning, Peg remembers, her mother, a reading specialist in the Seattle School district, was the financial support of the family due to the inability of a new business owner, at that time, to draw an income for up to three years. “Now, its five years to get a paycheck, so small businesses, doesn’t matter what, face a struggle and you do need good financial support,” Peg said.

The Changing Face of Main Street

Researching Bothell revealed a little history about the area, current day redevelopment plans for Bothell Landing, and a discovery that many of the downtown businesses are family owned enterprises that were established anywhere from 20 – 50 years ago. With this new information, and my unresolved disturbance about the public art displayed on the sides of the buildings along Main Street, I went to visit to the downtown area – the crossroads of Bothell, so to speak.

Bothell: Connecting to the Past

Bothell began as a commercial logging camp along the Sammamish in the 1870-1880s

You may have watched the video I posted this week about the Bothell Landing area that gives a brief history lesson of the downtown core. But, I wanted to learn more about the history of the city because connections to the past seem to lead to how plans for the future are being developed today.

Prior to European settlement, the Sammamish tribe populated the area. Native Americans were relocated in 1856. Twenty years later, a Canadian named George Brackett began commercial logging out of a camp located on the north bank of the Sammamish River in what is now the heart of downtown Bothell.