Tag: Sequim Civic Center Plaza

The new totem pole

Totem 1

Today I thought I’d give you a closer look at the new totem pole donated by the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe to the City of Sequim for our new Civic Center plaza. Carved by the tribe’s master carver, Dale Faulstich, it was blessed last month at the dedication of the City Hall.

Totem 2

This shot shows the first figure at the bottom of the pole. In Salish culture totem poles are used for many reasons. They can commemorate family and community history and convey the folklore of religious and cultural beliefs.

Totem 3

This is the middle section of the new pole. This pole depicts a story of brothers who became the Sun and Moon and the maidens they married. In the story they slay the Chief Above to bring light to the land.

Totem 4

This is the top of the pole. Old growth Western Red Cedars are carefully harvested to create totem poles. The trees are typically 500 to 900 years old, taken from the Hoh Rain Forest on the western Olympic Peninsula.

A somber reminder

Plaza monument

I returned to Sequim’s new Civic Center Plaza recently. I’d read that there is an artifact memorializing 9/11 from New York’s Twin Towers and I wanted to take a look. I found it, modestly placed at the base of two flag poles.

Plaza nine eleven 1

It is a piece of steel from the collapsed towers. Sequim’s Police Chief Bill Dickinson and other police officers went to New York on their own time (and dimes) to collect the piece and bring it back for eventual placement in the new Civic Center. It had been in storage since 2011.

Plaza nine eleven 2

It’s a substantial piece of steel, about two inches thick. When I saw it there was no label or interpretive information. At least for now you need to know what you’re looking at to understand its significance.