Thanks to Ukulele Society

Sunday, May 4 was a magical afternoon at Vashon Senior Center’s annual Spring Tea when nine members of the Vashon Ukulele Society began strumming and singing favorite old tunes and pop songs for nearly an hour — while the high tea guests sipped their tea and ate smoked salmon or cucumber sandwiches and cookies, often singing along!

The Senior Center Fun Committee and high tea guests cannot thank the ukulele players enough for the generous gift of their music, a delightful addition to the success of our Spring Tea. We sure hope our wide smiles and hearty applause properly conveyed our deep appreciation to the Vashon Ukulele Society for sharing their time and talents with us. It was wonderful!

Molly Malone, Vashon Senior Center board member

Importance of memorial dedication

On Sunday, May 25 the Vashon Senior Center will hold a ceremony to rededicate the WWII memorial honoring the fallen Bacchus brothers.

Why is this important to our community? The answers are as many and varied as there are people. But when you peel away the words being used and focus on meaning, I feel there is a common theme: closure and remembrance.

When originally dedicated as a memorial, the site served as the local library. People could come together to pay their respects to two young men who died in service to their community and country. The physical space brought people together to remember and reflect, and it provided a sense of closure to those experiencing loss.

Several years ago my wife was on a trip to the Normandy region. On a walk she chanced upon plaques naming U.S. servicemen who crashed their plane in that very field and the local French citizens who rescued and helped them escape. She was impressed with the memorial, not only for the dedication the community put into making it, but also in continuing to maintain it decades later. The French citizens were assuring the sacrifices of U.S. servicemen and French patriots would not be forgotten.

The rededicated memorial at the Senior Center can serve as a place for families to teach their children about the meaning of community and how people rise up to preserve a legacy that has been given to them to preserve for future generations.

U.S. Army Col. John Moore, retired