White will close out Newcastle Days with an hour-and-a-half performance Sept. 11 in Lake Boren Park. Members are (from left) guitarist and bassist Steve Boyce, keyboardist Jonathan Sindleman, singer Robyn Dawn, drummer Alan White and guitarist Karl Haug. By Jerry and Lois Photography

What would you think if you found out the guy down the street used to play music with John Lennon?

Start wondering. Drummer Alan White, who spent the past 38 years with the band Yes, has jammed with Lennon, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Hendrix.

His local band, White, will close this year’s Newcastle Days festival with an hour-and-half set at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 11.

White was born just outside of Newcastle, England, and he moved to Newcastle, Wash., just months before the city incorporated in 1994. His wife, Gigi, is from Kirkland, which initially brought him to the area.

He eventually sold his two other houses in England and California, and settled in his Washington home to raise his children, now adults.

“I love the people here. Every time I go to the grocery store, people say hi,” White said. “It’s just great. It’s like living in a little village in England. Everybody seems to know everybody in the area.”

White’s music career took off when his band, The Blue Chips at the time, won a music competition judged by Starr and Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein. He was just 14.

“When they said we’d won, we didn’t really believe it ourselves,” White said.

In 1969, Lennon called White and asked him to join the Plastic Ono Band. At first, White thought the call was a prank, and he told Lennon to call back later, thinking it was one of his friends. However, he remembered the caller sounding an awful lot like Lennon.

Ten minutes later, Lennon called back, and White said when he realized who it was, he nearly fell out of his chair.

“I spent the day saying, ‘Oh Jesus, what did I get myself into?’” he said with a laugh. “It was the biggest break I ever had. I’ve never really looked back since.”

Less than two days later, he performed with the band on what would become the “Live Peace in Toronto” album. The performance was the band’s first time together onstage, and their only rehearsal was on the plane from England to Toronto; Lennon and Clapton played acoustic guitars, and White drummed on the seats.

When he got on stage, there was only a drum stool, and roadies built a drum set around him in just five minutes.

The entire experience, White said, is his favorite rock ‘n’ roll memory.

White went on to play drums on Lennon’s “Imagine” album and Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass” album. On the track “My Sweet Lord,” which appeared on “All Things Must Pass,” Harrison had Starr play tambourine so White could play drums. Those are just two of the more than 50 albums on which he has played.

In 1972, White joined Yes, and he has performed on each of the band’s albums since. He formed the band White in 2005 with members of the Seattle band MerKaba, and the band’s lineup has since shifted slightly.

Vocalist Robin Dawn and keyboardist Jonathan Sindleman, who were members of the Yes tribute band Parallels, recently joined original members White, guitarist Karl Haug, and bassist and guitarist Steve Boyce.

White went on two, six-week tours with Yes this year: one in the U.S. and one in Europe. When he is at home, he can be found at concerts in the park — either in the audience or on stage jamming — or giving seminars.

But who is White’s favorite musician with whom to have played, one may wonder.

“That’s a loaded question,” he said with a laugh. “They all have been a fantastic part of my life, a very huge part of my life. There are very many people I love playing with. I wouldn’t want to pick out one.”

Tim Pfarr: 392-6434, ext. 239, or newcas@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.

German youth (from left) Celina Mueller, Isabelle Joswig and Annabell Schoeberl pose at their host home overlooking Lake Sammamish on July 26. Their English book features Issaquah and the surrounding area. By Christopher Huber

This summer, three German teens are getting a more vivid lesson in English and American culture than their eighth-grade textbook, which features Issaquah, could give them.

For three weeks, Isabelle Joswig, 15, Annabell Schoeberl, 13, and Celina Mueller, 14, all from Bad Salzig, Germany, are living with Sammamish residents Susan Gregory and David Stevens, thanks to a connection they found in their English textbook.

Published in Germany in 1998, the level-four book teaches students the difference between British and American English, Celina said. It teaches theme-based grammar and vocabulary lessons in a cultural context.

The book opens with photos and descriptions of Issaquah and its American culture. And at least some of the book centers on a boy from Issaquah. It also describes bits and pieces about life in Seattle.

“It’s in German high schools all over the country,” said Michael Mattison, editor at Klett, the Stuttgart, Germany-based publisher.

Mattison, the editor responsible for the Issaquah- and Seattle-based content of the level-four book, is from West Seattle. He went to the University of Washington and grew up visiting the Issaquah area.

In 1997, during the early stages of publishing the book, Mattison, the Pacific Northwest expert for Klett, flew here and worked with a photographer and the tourism center to develop the storyline.

“It was about time somewhere like the Pacific Northwest got featured,” he said.

The idea for the girls to actually visit the place in their book came when Gregory and Stevens were traveling with Annabell and her parents in the Czech Republic. Annabell told Gregory about the nice-looking place in her book.

“Annabell said, ‘Do you know Issaquah?’” Gregory said.

Gregory was quite surprised, Annabell said.

“She was a little shocked,” she said. “It was a little funny.”

German students traveling to the places in their textbooks is actually not uncommon, Mattison said. The first three levels of English textbooks feature places like London, he said.

“Our readers are more likely to show up to the school we feature in London,” Mattison said.

The girls have seen and done a lot in their first couple of weeks here, such as water skiing on Lake Sammamish and visiting the Salish Lodge at Snoqualmie Falls. Being avid “Twilight” fans, the teenagers even took a trip to Forks, the setting of the hugely popular book and movie series.

“I like the forest,” Isabelle said, citing how it reminds her of “Twilight.”

Making sure to visit as many of the sites featured in their English textbook as possible, the girls also visited Gilman Village, Front Street, Issaquah High School and had the first root beer floats they’d ever drank at XXX Root Beer.

“It’s cooler than in the book,” Isabelle said.

Thus far, the girls said they are impressed with the Issaquah-Sammamish area. They said they especially liked the lower prices at department stores here. Popular among German teens, Converse tennis shoes cost much less in Issaquah than in their part of Germany, the girls said.

Isabelle, Annabell and Celina said the difference between their perceptions based on the book and the reality they’ve experienced here is great. They were surprised at how quiet it is in Sammamish, Gregory said.

“I always thought America was just a big city,” Celina said. “It’s green. It’s peaceful.”

Another pleasant surprise came while shopping in Issaquah, Annabell said. American shopkeepers and attendants are much more friendly, she said.

“In shops in Germany, they don’t say anything,” she said.

Isabelle agreed.

“It seems like they are full of love,” she said.

And although she has traveled to the United States before with her family, Isabelle said she appreciates experiencing America on her own. The experience here makes all three girls want to travel more as they grow up.

“It’s cool, because we learn a lot about everything,” Isabelle said. “It’s so cool here.”

Wesleigh Richardson talks on her cell phone after graduation from Western Washington University in June. Contributed

While touring the Italian art scene in Siena, Italy, in summer 2009, Wesleigh Richardson noticed a seemingly insignificant detail in the 14th century “Madonna Enthroned with Saints” painting by Italian-born Duccio di Buoninsegna — Arabic writing.

Many people might not have noticed, but the avid art historian and inquisitive scholar wanted to know more.

“It totally got my mind going,” she said. “I really wanted to know what the history of that painting was.”

So, upon returning to Western Washington University that fall, she started looking into it.

“I just started researching and finding out about that,” she said. “I’ve always been incredibly drawn to the Italian Renaissance. Art history is really what I’m most passionate about studying.”

A 2006 Skyline High School graduate, Richardson is the Western Washington University Liberal Studies Department 2010 Outstanding Graduate. In June, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in liberal studies and a minor in art history.

“I was shocked that I would be picked, because all the other students in the department are really incredible,” she said.

Richardson has also been on Western’s president’s list since 2006 and was the recipient of the Humanities Department scholarship last fall. She graduated magna cum laude.

“I wasn’t surprised, in one sense. Her entire life, and during her college years as well, she has shown incredible focus. She has incredible work ethic,” said Michael Richardson, Wesleigh Richardson’s father, of Sammamish. But “you don’t expect that is going to happen.”

Wesleigh Richardson conducted extensive research into the Italian Renaissance and Islam, leading to her senior thesis, “Painting the East: the Christian-Muslim encounter from Giotto to Bellini.”

The paper reflected her love for art and its reflection of the culture of a certain period, according to her thesis advisor, professor Kimberly Lynn.

Lynn said she also appreciated Richardson’s skills as a writer and researcher.

“She showed great passion for her studies and a talent for looking at a rich and complicated analytical question from numerous different angles,” Lynn said.

In addition to immersing herself in the Italian Renaissance and the Christian-Muslim interaction, Richardson served as a volunteer for the Bellingham-based Slum Doctor Programme, teaching middle- and high-school students about HIV and AIDS, according to the university.

Always been a researcher

Richardson has been a scholar since she became fascinated with ancient Egypt at age 5, her father said. She read as much as she could about the subject. At age 10, she studied the Holocaust. Michael Richardson said he remembers thinking, “There’s my little scholar.”

Both of her parents, Michael and Polly, seemed to have rubbed off on their daughter — Polly is a nurse practitioner and Michael is a retired systems analyst for Boeing.

“Her mother is the source of her work ethic,” Michael Richardson said. “I think she really reflects both parents. But you don’t know where in the world they get to be so wonderful.”

What drives Richardson is an overall curiosity with life, her father said.

“A need to know. In some sense, that’s what drives every scholar,” he said. “She just has a very scholarly bent.”

As a freshman at Western, Richardson wasn’t sure what she wanted to study.

“I had not heard of the Liberal Studies Department, but I read the description and said, ‘OK, that’s what I want to study,’” she said. “Once I found out about it, it was an easy decision.”

Although it was quite challenging, Richardson said she is 100 percent satisfied with her decision to major in liberal studies.

“The best part of it is you’re getting exposed to such a range of sources,” she said. “You’re being exposed to literature and art and history from all over the world. And from the beginning of history to modern time.”

Her favorite class was Liberal Studies 301 with professor Sean Murphy. It focused on literature by Dante, and Richardson and many of her classmates were nervous about the challenging course.

“Everyone’s so scared, but you just learn so much,” she said.

Future plans

After graduating, Richardson plans to volunteer at an orphanage in Mexico, run by Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos International, before continuing her education. Her original plan, she said, was to attend graduate school and become a professor. But in a change of heart, she decided she ultimately wants to become a nurse. Like studying the humanities, nursing is all about people, she said.

“It really makes you think about people,” she said. “Throughout the process of college and learning about people and the way people think … it helped me to realize that I really wanted to work with people in a really direct way.”

Even with the after-graduation change of plans, she said she knows she will be a lifelong learner.

“I think I will always be a student in the way I just love reading and learning new things, and think that’ll always stick with me,” she said.

Christopher Huber: 392-6434, ext. 242, or chuber@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.

Campers trickle in during a song at the Sun Shine Day camp Aug. 13. More than 30 children, potty trained to 8 years old, registered for the weeklong camp. By Tim Pfarr

Many summer camps cost parents hundreds of dollars or exclude children younger than 5 or 6. Such is not the case for Sun Shine Day Camp, the brainchild of 13-year-old Maywood Middle School student Sada Adams, which benefits leukemia and lymphoma research.

For the third year, Adams organized and managed the weeklong camp for children, potty-trained to 8 years old. For $15 – $20, children were treated to five days of songs and games from morning until early afternoon.

“It’s something I truly believe in,” said Adams, who recently began eighth grade. “I would like it to grow into something bigger than a little day camp.”

Adams is already on her way to making her dream a reality. In just two years, the number of attendees rocketed from less than a dozen to more than 30 preregistered campers. She said the idea for the camp originally grew out of a pipedream with friend Claire Moore when they were 11.

“We were bored one day and like, ‘How do you start a summer camp?’” Adams said.

They moved forward with the project, and it soon became a reality. By the second year, Adams built a website, and the camp grew enough to turn a profit of almost $100. Instead of pocketing the profit, Adams and her counselors decided to donate the money, eventually choosing to give the money to the Make Leukemia and Lymphoma Disappear fundraiser, which is held at Maywood each year.

This year, Adams expanded the website to include online registration, and she had a team of six counselors ranging from ages 11-14 to help lead the group. Each day of the camp had a theme, such as music day and beach day, and counselors said they had as much fun as the campers.

“I really love singing the songs with the kids, because they get so excited,” said counselor Signe Stroming, 13. “It’s really fun to watch.”

Adams used songs from Girl Scout and Boy Scout camps, but wrote several herself.

“It’s pretty amazing,” said Kathy Zold, Adams’ mother. “A lot of kids just spend their days going to the mall.”

Zold stays nearby during the camp in case of an emergency, and she said many campers’ parents approach her and tell her how much their children enjoy the week of activities. However, Zold said she has to tell them she has nothing to do with it, and that her daughter is responsible for organizing and managing it all.

Heather Berry said her 6-year-old daughter, Aresa, and 3-year-old son, Eliot, loved the camp. She stood by Aug. 13 as they played a game, but Eliot had to come by for a quick hug.

“It’s just amazing,” Berry said, adding that it is one of the only camps 3-year-olds can attend, and that the cost is unbeatable.

“I think these guys are having an equal or better time,” she said, comparing the camp to its more expensive counterparts.

This year, the camp raised $300, and Adams said she hopes to continue hosting the camp and donating the proceeds in coming summers.

Tim Pfarr: 392-6434, ext. 239, or newcas@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.

Hayley Grandine and her boyfriend, Morgan, are all smiles on the first day of Camp Promise-West 2009. Contributed

Liberty High School graduate Hayley Grandine was recently awarded a $2,500 scholarship from the BECU Foundation for her community service as a muscular dystrophy camp counselor.

The camp is more than a community service project to Grandine, however. Some of her closest friends and her boyfriend have muscular dystrophy.

“It makes a lot of things a lot harder, but you’re all kids and just want to hang out and have fun,” she said.

Grandine became involved in Camp Promise-West at age 16, when a friend from school invited her to be a counselor. She has gone back every summer since, and is continuing this summer before leaving for college.As a counselor, she helped those with muscular dystrophy when they needed it, but otherwise Grandine described her time as “just hanging out”.

“When I went into it, I really had no idea what I was getting myself into,” she said. “But then I realized, this is totally not even a big deal at all. You’re all the same really.”

From her experience as a camp counselor, Grandine learned the importance of not letting hardships affect your whole life. Instead, she saw her peers with muscular dystrophy making the best out of their situation.

“The way it is, is the way it is,” she said.

Grandine’s time at camp also raised her own self-confidence, because she discovered she was capable of helping others and having an impact on their lives. She said she realized the value of her time and effort, and the fact that she can really make a difference.

The BECU scholarship was awarded to 40 students chosen from more than 600 applicants, according to spokeswoman Anna Petrocco.

“Applicants were required to submit hours of community service, grade point average, transcripts and letters of recommendation, as well as essays describing their most meaningful service experiences,” she said.

A strong student involved in Advanced Placement classes, Grandine said she spent most of her time in high school involved in the drama program, participating in every play she could.

This fall, Grandine will attend her first year at Whitman College. She is not sure exactly what she wants to study, but is leaning toward biology. She was also a recipient of the National Merit Scholarship.

How to help

Donate to Camp Promise-West.

Paige Collins: 392-6434 or isspress@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com

Jeffrey Kempe

The California initiative Transforming Life After 50 Fellowship has expanded into Washington, and one of 19 people to be named fellows is Jeffrey Kempe, adult services coordinator for the King County Library System in Issaquah.

The initiative is a fellowship designed to help libraries better serve and engage adults 50 and older. Research has shown that current library services for adults 50 and older do not match the characteristics or interests of the age group, according to the TLA50 website.

Founded by the California State Library in 2007 and expanded to other Western states, the goal of the fellowship includes libraries serving as catalysts, resources, meeting places and partners in creating opportunities for midlife adults to learn, teach, lead, build skills, retool careers and become civically engaged, the TLA50 website said.

“I was thrilled to learn that I was accepted as a fellow,” Kempe said. “This is a great opportunity. I’m very excited to have the chance to connect with other libraries and find innovative ways to serve the community.

“We want the programs to be a reflection of the needs and wants of the community,” he added.

Some of the current library programs designed for midlife adults include helping job seekers find jobs, bringing authors for them to meet and “how-to” classes.

One new program that may be added is providing individual assistance, because an individual touch is a good thing, Kempe said. For example, one-on-one computer help would be offered, as well as programs that have yet to be created.

“The yearlong fellowship is a leaning experience,” he said. “We’ll work with experts in their fields and work with other libraries to create innovative programs.”

Carolyn Petersen, assistant program manager for library development at the Washington State Library, said that the position is right up Kempe’s alley, since he coordinates all of the programs for adult services for the King County Library System.

“The 19 fellows in Washington were chosen for ability to make an impact on their community through their libraries,” Petersen said.

She further said that the reason why the program was extended into Washington was because the California State Library did a pilot program that had successful results.

“They wanted to outreach the program into five states, which they did, and Washington state was one of them,” she said.

Petersen said the funding for the fellowship comes from a grant award, from federal tax dollars and The U.S. Institute for Museum and Library Services.

The fellowship program runs through June 30, 2011.

“We will continue to serve the community once the fellowship is over,” Kempe said.

The event is Aug. 28-29. Twenty Northwest artists, including Feng, will showcase their work. As a fun twist, visitors will be issued “passports” as they hunt for artists’ pieces hidden around the gardens.

As well as being on display, plenty of art will be available to purchase.

Feng specializes in Raku Buddha art. In her artwork, she combines her love of pottery and ceramics with Zen meditation, an interest that she has practiced extensively for 30 years.“I thought that it would be fun, interesting and inspiring to try to create these iconic images of peacefulness and tranquility into something more Western taste,” Feng said. “Stylistically, the work draws some from the East but also has inventive, modern style.”

Her work would be an ideal addition to a home garden and for anyone looking for unique art pieces to add color and vibrancy to their home.

“I use a kind of pottery process that involves a very dramatic firing that brings out very brilliant, iridescent colors,” Feng said. “I do specialize in Buddha and other figures that suggest tranquility and are suitable for gardens.”

Feng said she believes anyone would find it highly beneficial to attend the show.

“In the busyness of our daily lives, I think we put off things like taking a walk through a beautiful garden,” Feng said. “This venue is quite extensive and tucked away in a spot in Bellevue that most people may not have ever been to. Just as a source of exploration and wonder, it would be a very nice outing for a family.”

Admission to the event is free. The doors will be open from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. each day.

“This is a way to walk among a wide variety of artists and enjoy an open display,” Feng said. “You can be sure that nothing you see there will be found in any department store.”

Kirsten Johnson: 392-6434 or isspress@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.

This year’s concert features the Sammamish Symphony Orchestra and conductor Joseph Scott. Trumpet player Natalie Dungey, 11, and young tenor singer Gregory Carroll are expected to perform.

Scott has participated in the free concert for the past 14 years. He said Skip Rowley contacted him to do a free concert for the community. What was supposed to be a one-time event has turned into an annual tradition.“It’s a great opportunity to give the community a free concert — a night of free entertainment and good music,” Scott said.

Scott said the music is light classics most people will recognize. This year’s theme is “American West” and will include cowboy and hoedown music.

Carroll, who will perform two opera arias, will also do a duet with Maria Mannisto, last year’s guest performer. Along with singing, she was one of the coordinators for this year’s event.

“The Rowleys feel very honored and fortunate to have the means to continue to sponsor this concert each year, despite the recession we’re in,” Mannisto said.

Rowley Properties keeps sponsoring the event because Rowley, chairman of the board, and his daughter Kari Magill, CEO, want to give back to the community, Mannisto said.

She further said that they want to make the concert experience available to those who can’t afford it.

“The arts are especially important during the recession, because it acts as a binding force that keeps the community connected, vibrant and inspired,” Mannisto said.

Jane Cottringer, program director at Bellewood Retirement Living, an independent-living senior facility on the Sammamish Plateau, said the residents have been attending the concerts for about five years.

“The residents always enjoy them,” Cottringer said. “It’s a great community effort and we appreciate Rowley doing it.”

A lot of the residents are big fans of the Sammamish Symphony and they love the performances, she said.

“They always look forward to the concerts,” Cottringer said.

The free concert is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Aug. 27 at Village Theatre. There are about 25 tickets left. They are available on a first-come, first-served basis and need to be picked up at Rowley Properties, 1595 N.W. Gilman Blvd., Suite 1.

Sepideh Behzadpour is a student in the University of Washington Department of Communication News Laboratory. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.

That’s a lot of pumpkin — 480 cans, to be exact. People donate pumpkin “because they love their pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving and Christmas and so they want to share that,” food bank volunteer Cyndy Heffron said.

In the past, canned pumpkin would stay at the food bank for as long as two years. The food bank offered recipe suggestions to clients with little success.

“Folks didn’t have any idea on how to use it other than the typical holiday fare,” Heffron said.This year, Heffron created recipe packages that include all of the ingredients necessary for a meal. The recipe packages allow food bank clients to make a given recipe without the hassle of gathering ingredients. Recipes are given in English and Spanish. Heffron assembles and decorates them like gift packages.

“By her doing these recipes, clients have been more than willing to take it, which has really helped,” Meier said.

Heffron searches for recipes on the Internet and through cookbooks, and then tests them on her family. She has created recipe packages for pumpkin bread and pumpkin chili.

“I look for recipes that will be most nutritious and most appealing to the recipients of the food bank,” she said.

Heffron runs a preschool day-care. Her students assist in decorating the packages. She uses the recipe packages as an opportunity for her preschool students to help other children.

Sandra Santos, a food bank client of four years, was pleasantly surprised when she received a recipe package from the food bank.

Speaking through her daughter Clara who acted as an interpreter, she said, “I’m happy, because I normally would not have the opportunity to make something like this.”

Heffron’s next task was to reduce the surplus of peanut butter in the food bank. She has created a peanut butter cereal-bar recipe package, which her students decorated with an Earth Day theme.

“I think it’s a feel-good for the folks that are at the food bank, because they’re used to seeing the same old thing,” Heffron said. “And to have someone say, ‘Would you like this gift bag?’ It’s like ‘Yeah, that’s great,’ and I think it’s a really nice thing for them.”

The event will feature an assortment of arts and crafts projects and a chance for kids to make their own sushi. Guests from Dr. Susanna’s World Baby Foods will be on hand to tempt the smallest of attendees with organic and nutritionally-balanced baby food, based on cuisines from around the globe. The baby foods are preservative free, designed by physicians and favor local farmers.Native-speaking teachers from Sponge will also offer food-themed mini language classes in Mandarin, Spanish, French and Japanese. Focused on children from birth through elementary school, the teachers teach language and culture through activities, stories, music, art and movement.

Learn more about Sponge’s before- and after-school programs throughout the greater Seattle area at www.spongeschool.com. Learn more about how diverse multicultural flavors help babies develop into healthier, better eaters at www.worldbabyfoods.com.

If you go

World Baby Foods Celebration

10 a.m. – noon Aug. 28

Sponge school

375 N.W. Gilman Blvd.

R.S.V.P. by calling 206-227-7138 or e-mailing events@sponge-school.com.