On an early Friday morning, July 7th 2000, my mother Mary Thelma Babarovich, died in her sleep at the San Juan Care Center. Her death was not unexpected. After all, she was born on December 28, 1905 and was ninety four years old when she died. She had been in failing health for some time. Her passing was, in fact, a personal blessing to her as she had been ready to meet her maker for some time. She and dad…
Purse seine fishing has been a important part of Northwest history for a century. Purse seine fishing involves releasing one end of a net off the stern of fishing boats with a smaller power skiff attached to the other end. The purpose is to locate salmon and form a circle around them. The two ends of the net are brought together when the power skiff pulls up to the larger fishing boat. The net is hauled to the deck piling…
John Humnicky is a retired computer engineer from Woodinville. A few days ago he wrote an opinion piece for the Seattle Times. It began: “Our country is bankrupt, fiscally, morally, and mentally. Courts have been prostituted, and sometimes law enforcement is not even attempted. Congress is a heterogeneous conglomerate of diversified interest and when it adjourns there is a general sigh of relief from the populace. It commands no respect from anyone and its chief function seems to be subject…
Note: I published this in 2021. But it is time I publish it again because she is an extraordinary person whom I love dearly: For over forty years my essential soul mate and I have been married. She has endured it all with a response of patience, love and understanding. I can say with total honesty and accuracy she has been an equal partner in every achievement I claim for myself . The same is true with regard to every…
Trip Advisor once published the following review about Seattle: “Why would ANYONE want to visit Seattle? Unfortunately, the city I grew up in is no longer a place I even want to visit. It is a city of trash, graffiti, drug use and homelessness. I do NOT recommend anyone visit Seattle. It is on a downward spiral with ineffective government and unsafe streets.” There is no dispute that homelessness, crime and graffiti have, for some time, “taken over” parts of…
My sister, Anita Luvera Mayer, has had an amazing life of achievements. From high school, where she was an outstanding student, to the University of Washington where she continued to excel in every area. She has always set the example in our family for success through creativity, preparation and determination to succeed. There were three children in our family who were blessed with parents who worked hard and cared for us. The fact that they were part of immigrant families, Italy and Yugoslavia, caused…
Hollis Hall Barnett was born May 3, 1907 and died in Puyallup, Washington at the age of 83 on March 22nd, 1990. He was my wife Lita’s father and a very unique and wonderful man. You can read about his Lita’s mother Betty Barnett and more about this extraordinary couple I quickly grew to love. https://paulluverajournalonline.com/weblog/2010/03/i-write-this-in-memory-of-my-wifes-father-hollis-hall-barnett-whodied-in-puyallup-washington-on-march-22-1990-at-the-a.html Hollis was born in Buckley, Washington on May 3, 1907 and spent his younger years at Mt. Rainier National Park where his father, Herman…
My maternal grandfather Peter (Petar) Babarovich died the year I was born – 1935. I was born on February 21st of 1935, but he died a month later on March 5th of that year. As a result, I never knew this unique man. Nonno Babarovich was born April 12, 1861 in the village of Splitska on the island of Brac in Croatia off the coast of Split in the Adriatic Sea. Peter was the second child of his father, Ernest…
The Great Molasses Flood, also known as the Boston Molasses Disaster, occurred on January 15, 1919, in the North end neighborhood of ‘Boston. According to This Day In History https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/molasses-floods-boston-streets it happened this way: “The United States Industrial Alcohol building was located on Commercial Street near North End Park in Boston. It was close to lunch time on January 15 and Boston was experiencing some unseasonably warm weather as workers were loading freight-train cars within the large building. Next…
On January 24, 2002 William “Bill” Taylor died in Anacortes. He was one of Anacortes’s most successful basketball coaches. He also was a positive influence in so many young men’s lives, including mine. He was a great coach and mentor to me. I’ve published a full account of my high school relationship to this great coach and his profound influence in my life: https://paulluverajournalonline.com/weblog/2013/01/william-taylor.html . In addition, I published a background of this unique man who was so important in…
