I had a blast at the Renton River's Day Parade, Saturday, July 27, 2019. This post is about a few photos I took. It's a brief (where's Waldo) study about the people. One of the things I love about Renton, Washington, my hometown, is its amazing diversity.
Renton has become one of the most ethnically and racially diverse cities in the Pacific Northwest. It's not paradise, what city is, right? But for me it's home and I enjoy the wonderful mishmash of cultural backgrounds.
My family immigrated here from mostly Europe at the very beginning of the last century, circa 1900. A few arrived even a few years earlier. They started up here as laborers, mostly as miners, farmers, bakers, lumbermen, and carpenters.
They were working class people who showed up with nothing and worked hard to create businesses, homes, families, neighborhoods, and a better future for all whom they loved. That 'love' included many that were different than them. People from other places, other races, immigrants like themselves. You became a beloved friend and an extended member of the family if you could be trusted to do the right thing.
I spent the weekend looking at my photos from the parade with no real agenda when it hit me. These are my people. I opted for this post to share the photos that depicted them instead of the parade itself.
I enjoyed several delightful impromptu conversations. And I also celebrate the amazing diversity of food that's now available here because them!
Their stories are precious to me and they remind me of the those told by my grandparents.
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