(Photo courtesy of Washington State Library.)

For many Washingtonians, the eruption of Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980, is one of those moments forever ingrained in collective memory.

Saturday is the 33rd anniversary of the iconic mountain blowing her top. We  feature photos from our State Archives and State Library showing how the mighty mountain and nearby Spirit Lake were popular recreational spots in the years before the devastating eruption. The last photo shows the mountain sending ash thousands of feet into the air during the 1980 eruption.

(Photo courtesy of Washington State Archives.)

(Photo courtesy of Washington State Library.)

(Photo courtesy of Washington State Archives.)

(Photo courtesy of Washington State Archives.)

We’ve reached the fifth and final in a series of blog posts featuring classic State Archives photos of Washington governors signing bills into law. Closing it out are Gary Locke and Chris Gregoire.  Locke is featured above at a 2001 bill signing, and Gregoire is shown below in a 2010 photo.

Other governors featured in bill-signing photos are: Clarence Martin and Arthur Langlie; Albert Rosellini and Dan Evans; Dixy Lee Ray and John Spellman; and Booth Gardner and Mike Lowry.

(Photo courtesy Washington State Digital Archives.)

(Photos courtesy of Washington State Archives.)

Latest in our series of blog posts featuring classic State Archives photos of previous Washington governors signing bills into law. Today we’re focusing on the late Booth Gardner and Mike Lowry. Gardner is shown at top signing a bill in his office. (Note the plate of souvenir pens.) The bottom photo features Lowry putting his John Hancock on a bill in the governor’s conference room as a group of legislators and bill supporters stand near him. Then-Rep. Kathy Lambert, now on the King County Council, is at the governor’s right side.

We think it was Lowry who started the current practice of holding bill-signing ceremonies in the conference room instead of the governor’s office.

Earlier this week, we blogged about photos of Govs. Clarence Martin and Arthur Langlie, Albert Rosellini and Dan Evans, and Dixy Lee Ray and John Spellman. We’ll finish the blog series Friday with Govs. Gary Locke and Chris Gregoire.

Patrick McDonald’s ceremonial promotion to Army Sergeant Major drew dozens of friends, colleagues, three Washington secretaries of state, and officials of all three branches of government.

McDonald, who was assistant to then-Gov. John Spellman and legislators, has been a top official in the Secretary of State’s executive office, handling everything from visitor protocol and bill-signings and proclamations,  to international visits and the office facility needs. He is an expert on legislative and Capitol history. He is a graduate of St. Martin’s University and The Evergreen State College and is a PhD candidate.

In his 20-plus years in the Army Reserves, he has risen through the ranks to E9, the highest enlisted position. Only a small percentage of reservists achieve this rank. He has served seven deployments, including twice to Iraq, where he helped establish the elections system.

McDonald also has been selected for a special training academy, the Army’s Command Sergeants Major Course at Fort Bliss, Texas.

The ceremony was in the ornate State Reception Room in the Capitol.  Secretary Kim Wyman and former Secretary Sam Reed made remarks.  Former Secretary Ralph Munro, a longtime friend of McDonald’s, was among the dignitaries who attended a reception that followed in Wyman’s office.

Wyman and State Patrol Lt. Dale Alexander, McDonald’s mentor and Command Sergeant Major, did the honors with affixing his rank epaulets on his shoulders and Jerri Honeyford of Sunnyside presented his service dress jacket.

Wyman praised McDonald’s long service to the country, as well as to the Office of Secretary of State, in many capacities.  Wyman has made outreach and voter services to the military a signature issue. She is the wife of an Army Ranger and first came to Washington state when the family moved to Fort Lewis. She told the gathering that she has a family member in each of the service branches and said with a laugh,  “I love all of them the same!” She said her daughter, Renee, who  heads to law school in the fall, aspires to become a JAG in the Marines.

Secretary of State Kim Wyman was honored Wednesday as a “woman of distinction” by the Girl Scouts of Western Washington.

At a crowded Olympia hotel ballroom, she joined fellow honorees Eileen McKenzies Sullivan, director of Senior Services for South Sound, and Erin Jones, director of equity and achievement for the Federal Way schools.  Each told of their own scouting experience and how it helped forge a path of public service.

Wyman, the only woman statewide executive official, was teary as she recalled her own scouting days and how the Girl Scouts were a huge benefit for her daughter, Renee, a recent Gonzaga graduate and crew member who heads to law school this fall.  Wyman said some of her first major volunteer work was as a “cookie mom” and “troop mom.”

Wyman said:

“We learned we could be part of something bigger than ourselves … and how to be a good leader.”

The annual awards honor women of achievement in Thurston County. Gov. Chris Gregoire, education activist Thelma Jackson and natural resources expert Kaleen Cottingham were the 2012 honorees.

(Photos courtesy of Washington State Archives.)

It’s Day 3 of our weeklong series of blog posts featuring classic State Archives photos of previous Washington governors signing bills into law. Today’s subjects are Dixy Lee Ray and John Spellman. The top photo shows Ray at a well-attended bill-signing ceremony in the Legislative Building Rotunda either in the late 1970s or in 1980. Then-Lt. Gov. John Cherberg is at right. The bottom photo features Spellman putting his signature on legislation in his office in 1981.

On Monday, we blogged about photos of Govs. Clarence Martin and Arthur Langlie. Tuesday’s photos were of Govs. Albert Rosellini and Dan Evans. Thursday’s blog subjects will be Govs. Booth Gardner and Mike Lowry.

(Secretary Wyman and her family and Assistant Secretary of State Ken Raske (right) with the Mariner Moose. Photos courtesy of Heather Lucas.)

On a warm evening, as shadows were winning the battle with the sinking sun, the pitcher jogged to a spot in front of the Safeco Field mound amid cheers. The hurler glanced at the catcher, smiled, and let fly. When the ball reached its target, the pitcher leaped into the air in triumph, arms raised, as the fans applauded. 

Was it Felix Hernandez celebrating after a big out?

No, it was Secretary of State Kim Wyman enjoying the thrill of throwing the ceremonial first pitch at the Seattle Mariners’ game against Oakland Saturday night. Catching it was Assistant Secretary of State Ken Raske.

Wyman, along with her family, several of her office employees and many state workers, was at the game for the Mariners’ State Employees Day celebration.

(Photos courtesy of Washington State Digital Archives.)

It’s Day 2 of our weeklong series of blog posts featuring classic Digital Archives photos of previous Washington governors signing bills into law. The top photo shows Gov. Albert Rosellini  putting his signature on a bill in 1959. The bottom photo has Gov. Dan Evans signing a bill in 1971. Both shots are found in the Digital Archives’ State Governors’ Negative Collection, 1949-1975.

On Monday, we blogged about photos of Govs. Clarence Martin and Arthur Langlie. On Wednesday, we’ll feature bill-signing photos of Govs. Dixy Lee Ray and John Spellman.

Like most other proud and loyal Washington State University graduates, former Secretary of State Sam Reed is always happy to return to his alma mater and set foot on the hilly campus located in the heart of the Palouse.

Reed had even more reason to be thrilled about his latest trip to Pullman. He delivered the commencement speech at WSU’s graduation ceremony May 4 in Beasley Coliseum. You can watch the graduation ceremony here. Reed’s introduction by Daryll DeWald, the university’s dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, comes at the 49-minute mark, and the speech ends at about the 1:04:40 mark.

During his 14-minute speech, Reed told graduates, family members and faculty about a trade mission to China in which he and the rest of the traveling party arrived at a hotel late one night and Reed greeted the hotel manager with “Ni hao,” which means “hello” in English. The manager’s reply? “Ni hao nothing! How ‘bout them Cougs?!” Turns out the manager was a WSU grad. Reed used the China anecdote to point out to the graduates that the “global network of Cougars is amazing.”

Reed also told the graduates not to do only “well” after leaving WSU but to also do “good” by being caring and engaged citizens.

(Photos courtesy of Washington State Digital Archives.)

Since it’s Gov. Jay Inslee’s first “bill-signing season,” we’re getting in the spirit of things by digging deep into the State Archives for photos of previous Washington governors putting pen to paper and turning bills into law. Earlier, we blogged about photos of bill-signing souvenir pens used by earlier guvs.

Here are photos of two governors who occupied the northeast corner of the second floor of the Capitol back when radio and newspapers were the prime media sources. The top photo, from the Digital Archives’ Susan Parish Photograph Collection, 1889-1990, shows Gov. Clarence Martin signing his first bill into law, in 1933. The bottom photo, from the Digital Archives’ State Governors’ Negative Collection, 1949-1975,  features Gov.  Arthur Langlie signing a bill into law in 1951. (By then, TV was in its infancy.)  Look for more classic bill-signing photos throughout the week.