Shot To Death By An Anarchist

Some people forget about our nation's 25th president, William McKinley. We've come to know him as the guy who preceded Teddy Roosevelt. But the truth is, McKinley was a popular leader and beloved by Americans. So loved was he, that upon his assassination, that schools, streets and babies were named after him...and a very large mountain in Alaska (Denali). The spirit of memorializing him even spread to my hometown of Tacoma. Erected in 1901, the 25-acre East Park (near the I-5 corridor overlooking the Tacoma Dome) was renamed McKinley Park. Subsequently, the neighborhood south of the park was named McKinley.

I happened to be walking through this neighborhood the other day. I had stumbled up Pacific Avenue, and I took a left down E 34th St. past Stanley & Seafort's Steak, Chop and Fish House (perched atop the hill and visible from I-5). After crossing a second bridge, I came upon a residential area. The first house on my left had a yard with two pit bulls going at each other. They were unchained, and there was no fence. Luckily, the owner was there to supervise their actions. I felt a little threatened, but continued to walk at a steady pace. The houses in the area were neither delapidated nor well-maintained. I read somewhere that activists had fought to take their neighborhood back in the last decade. It had been overrun by drug dealers and prostitution. Residents felt unsafe at night and they've rallied together to reduce crime. Local businesses have improved their facades and McKinley Park is going to receive a city-sponsored makeover. Now the newly-coined "Upper Eastside" is a great place to buy an old house. It does afford some great views of the city and the bay. As long as the Dometop Neighborhood Alliance stays strong, the McKinley area could become a model for revitalizing other areas of Tacoma.

I think Wobbly Willie would be proud. And this is the guy who annexed the Phillipines, Puerto Rico, Guam and Hawaii in one week.*

*Not true. It actually took him an entire fortnight. But give him a break! He has a tariff act named after him.