BONUS EPISODE: Remembering Chris Wedes - KIRO TV's J.P. Patches - on His Birthday

On this bonus episode of CASCADE OF HISTORY, Feliks Banel pays tribute to the late Chris Wedes, who played J.P. Patches on KIRO TV in Seattle from 1958 to 1981, and who remains one of the most beloved performers in the history of the Pacific Northwest. In this interview from 2010, Wedes looks back on what it meant to play J.P. for all those years, and how he continued to connect with Patches Pals even after his show left the air. This audio was originally produced by Feliks Banel and Casey McNerthney for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer's local history podcast "Seattle Rewind" in 2010. Chris Wedes passed away in 2012 at age 84; he would have turned 97 today - April 3, 2025. CASCADE OF HISTORY is broadcast LIVE most Sunday nights at 8pm Pacific Time via SPACE 101.1 FM in Seattle and gallantly streams everywhere via space101fm.org. The radio station is located at historic Magnuson Park - formerly Sand Point Naval Air Station - on the shores of Lake Washington in Seattle. Subscribe to the CASCADE OF HISTORY podcast via most podcast platforms.