The Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition and Other Events that Make June 1st Important

Today is the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the A-Y-P in Seattle. The A-Y-P of course was Seattle's first attempt at a world's fair, and a darn good one at that. Among the more amazing things, the great New York to Seattle automobile race. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of the A-Y-P, nor do I have any pictures of the campus of the University of Washington, where the exposition took place. So that puts me a tough place, should I actually start the threatened new blog, "Butter 3 6 5," an introspective look at the world through a stick of butter, or did something else happen of note...Well, the Washington State Ferry service was born on this date in 1951, but that's kind of boring, although I have photos of ferries. However trumping the ferry service, is the fact that June 1st, 1979, the Seattle Supersonics won the NBA World Championship of basketball. For an eight year old kid, you got the impression that this sort of thing would happen every year, it is hard to believe it never happened again. I remember cars honking their horns and an impromptu gathering of kids and parents in the middle of the cul-de-sac to exchange smiles and hand shakes. That was a lot of fun, I hope my boy can experience something similar. Anyway, en lieu of A-Y-P photos, I give a photo of George Delaveno (sic?) and myself circa June 1979, playing "basketball," in George's driveway, we were the Supersonics, taking on Wes Unseld, Mitch Kupchak and the Big "E."

Dan