LYNNWOOD—Nearly 125 volunteers gathered in front of the Lynnwood Senior Center on Monday, January 20, eager to get their hands dirty beautifying the Mesika Trail—which runs behind City Hall along the Civic Center campus—in honor of Martin Luther King Day (MLK Day).
Amidst the crowd were Representative Rick Larsen (WA-02), Lynnwood Mayor Christine Frizzell, Lynnwood City Council President Nick Coelho, Lynnwood City Council Vice President Joshua Binda, CEO and Executive Medical Director of Kaiser Permanente Dr. Linda Tolbert, and National Youth Director at Family Peace Association (FPA) Yoshitaka “Yoshi” Goto.
This was the City of Lynnwood’s ninth year celebrating its Martin Luther King Day of Service where staff, and volunteers, have come together to restore and beautify city parks and trails. In previous years these volunteers have traditionally met at Scriber Lake Park but its closure for construction through 2025 diverted attention to the Mesika Trail which, according to Eric Peterson, Park Superintendent for the City’s Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Arts Department, has been in dire need of restoration for some time.
The Mesika Trail was constructed in 1995 by the City of Lynnwood in cooperation with students at Meadowdale High School. Its name (pronounced mee-sye-kah) is a Chinook word that means “yours” and was chosen to denote ownership, as if to say “this is your trail,” according to the City’s website…