Browsed by
Tag: John Hughes

Lois and John Spellman
The remarkable, formidable Lois Spellman

The remarkable, formidable Lois Spellman

Former Washington State First Lady Lois Spellman died Thursday, January 25th, just days after the passing of her husband, former Washington State Governor John D. Spellman. Lois Elizabeth Murphy was born in 1927 in Havre, Montana. She and her husband prayed the Rosary together every night before bed for all 63 years of their marriage. They have six children and six grandchildren. Legacy Washington Chief Historian and Spellman biographer John Hughes remembers Lois in his book about the former governor: In…

Read More Read More

John Spellman
Remembering Governor Spellman

Remembering Governor Spellman

The Jan. 16 death of former Gov. John D. Spellman at 91 prompted personal reminiscences from several staffers in the Office of the Secretary of State who knew Spellman during and after his 1981-85 time in state office. State Archivist Steve Excell, who served as Gov. Spellman’s chief of staff, said in a television interview with KING-5 that Spellman had changed his life, as well as those of countless Washingtonians. “He was a true statesman,” Excell said. “He was a…

Read More Read More

Capitol event accentuates the positive

Capitol event accentuates the positive

The past several months have seen a deluge of negative campaigns as the 2012 General Election reaches its end next week. Secretary of State Reed is moderating a panel discussion this Thursday that focuses on positive politics and how it could influence leaders in local, state and national government. The panel will explore how positive politics can change and lead to better decision-making at all levels of government. The free event, which is the latest in the series of Brown…

Read More Read More

Journalists to discuss unsolved murder at Archives event Oct. 27

Journalists to discuss unsolved murder at Archives event Oct. 27

(Image courtesy of Washington State Archives) Love a good local murder mystery? Then come to the State Archives in Olympia on Oct. 27 and hear about one that’s been unsolved for more than 70 years. As part of its 2012 Archives Month celebration, the Southwest Regional Branch of the Washington State Archives is hosting a free event in which former (Aberdeen) Daily World publisher and editor John Hughes and Montesano Vidette reporter Tommi Halvorsen Gatlin will talk about the case…

Read More Read More

`Booth Who?’ book rollout honors Governor Gardner

`Booth Who?’ book rollout honors Governor Gardner

“Booth Who?” was the slogan that puckish campaign aides famously used for Booth Gardner’s early campaign buttons and yardsigns back when he wasn’t exactly a household name yet.  He eventually hit the political version of a Grand Slam, serving in the state Senate, Pierce County Executive and as the two-term governor. His story is now told in a new Legacy Project book called, naturally enough,  “Booth Who?”  It’s available free online and in print form ($25 softcover, $35 for limited…

Read More Read More

A book? A paper-type book?

A book? A paper-type book?

Yes, it’s true. We’re all bloggy, electronic-book-reading, texters these days, but some of us still dig books.   Real dead-tree paper books with purty pictures. For months now, our re-booted oral history program, called the Legacy Project, has exclusively published oral history-biographies electronically – as in posted free  on our website.  Tons of people have clicked on and some, like the one that got written up in Rolling Stone (the material on rocker-civic activist Krist Novoselic), were very popular indeed….

Read More Read More

5 Questions about the new Nancy Evans book

5 Questions about the new Nancy Evans book

One of the Legacy Project’s oral histories has become the program’s first printed book. The biography and oral history of Nancy Evans, Washington’s remarkable former first lady, is now available for purchase. John Hughes, the Legacy Project’s chief oral historian, wrote the biography and conducted the oral history interviews with Mrs. Evans. Here’s his take on this fascinating project: 1) Why would the average person want to pick up this book? In other words, what’s in it for me? Nancy Evans…

Read More Read More

Legacy Project honors civil rights pioneer

Legacy Project honors civil rights pioneer

Lillian Walker, who has been fighting for civil rights ever since the early 1940s in Bremerton, is the most recent subject of the Office of Secretary of State’s Legacy Project.  Secretary Reed and the Legacy Project team held a reception in her honor on Tuesday to celebrate her story and contribution to Washington State. Read Lillian Walker’s oral history and biography online now for free.