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Tag: Washington State Heritage Center

Heritage Center, election bills top Wyman’s wishlist

Heritage Center, election bills top Wyman’s wishlist

Resuming the Washington State Heritage Center project and enacting election improvements are the centerpieces of new Secretary of State Kim Wyman’s legislative package. Wyman unveiled her 2013 legislative agenda in her office Friday morning during a gathering with members of the Capitol Press Corps. Wyman introduced several division directors and most of her executive team during the informal get-together with the media. The Heritage Center, which would house the State Archives, State Library, historical exhibits, an educational center and other…

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100 years of women in WA Legislature

100 years of women in WA Legislature

                      (Images courtesy of Washington State Heritage Center and The Legacy Project) Monday’s start of the 2013 legislative session also marks the centennial of Washington installing the first female legislators. On Jan. 13, 1913, women entered Washington’s Legislature for the first time when Frances C. Axtell (1866-1953) and Nena Jolidon Croake  (1865-1934) took the oath of office along with 95 male colleagues in the House of Representatives. The two women…

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Launching Saturday: new book about tribal icon Billy Frank Jr.

Launching Saturday: new book about tribal icon Billy Frank Jr.

He’s one of the most famous Native Americans in Washington history, and an instrumental figure in the long and sometimes bitter battle over Indian fishing rights. A new and privately funded book about the life of Nisqually tribal leader Billy Frank Jr. is officially being launched Saturday afternoon in Olympia. The book is entitled “Where the Salmon Runs: The Life and Legacy of Billy Frank Jr.” The book launch is from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at The Evergreen State College…

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Drumming, dancing highlight Native exhibit opening

Drumming, dancing highlight Native exhibit opening

  (Photo courtesy of Benjamin Helle, Washington State Archives) They marched up the marble steps in the Capitol Rotunda, rhythmically pounding their drums and chanting a tribal song. As the last of the drumming echoed inside the cavernous Capitol dome, the Chehalis Canoe Family provided a rivetingly perfect welcome to guests and visitors during Tuesday’s launch of a powerful exhibit about Washington’s Native American tribes. The free and privately funded exhibit is called “We’re Still Here. The Survival of Washington…

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Our new Native American exhibit is up!

Our new Native American exhibit is up!

Over the past couple of weeks, some of our staffers have shown off their interior design and home improvement skills as they’ve transformed our office’s front lobby. The sounds of hammers and power drills have been commonplace, as have scenes of co-workers standing high on ladders to remove displays and patch holes in walls. All of this has been done to take down one interesting exhibit and replace it with another that is sure to capture the attention and amazement…

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3, 2, 1…we have a book launch!

3, 2, 1…we have a book launch!

Our Legacy Project has produced some outstanding biographies and oral histories since it began in 2008, and Thursday night in Seattle saw the official launch of its latest offering. John C. Hughes, chief historian for The Legacy Project, has penned a new book about the long, influential political career of Slade Gorton. Entitled “Slade Gorton: A Half Century In Politics,” Hughes’ book goes back to the start of Gorton’s political career in Washington as a Republican state representative from Seattle…

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That’s General Reed to you

That’s General Reed to you

Decked out in a Union general’s uniform from the Civil War, Secretary Reed addresses the crowd gathered Tuesday night for the grand opening of the new, privately funded exhibit on Isaac Stevens, Washington Territory’s first governor who later was a Civil War general.  The exhibit will be displayed through February 2012.

Check out our new exhibit

Check out our new exhibit

There’s a new, privately funded exhibit being featured in the front lobby of the Secretary of State’s executive office. It showcases Isaac Stevens, who was Washington’s first territorial governor and later was a general in the Civil War before he was killed in action. The exhibit is in line with the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War.  The exhibit will be up until next February.

Goodbye, women’s exhibit

Goodbye, women’s exhibit

After being featured for more than a year in the front lobby of our executive office at the state Capitol, the exhibit highlighting Washington’s female political pioneers was taken down Friday. The exhibit, entitled “Moving Forward, Looking Back: Washington’s First Women in Government,” included large posters focusing on the Washington women who were the first to hold various significant offices in our state, including state representative (Frances Axtell and Nena Jolidon Croake), state senator (Reba Hurn), secretary of state (Belle…

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Civil rights heroine book launch is Tuesday

Civil rights heroine book launch is Tuesday

Bremerton civil rights heroine Lillian Walker is being honored at a book launch. The event is at the County Commissioners’ Chambers in the Kitsap County Administration Building, located at 619 Division St. in Port Orchard. Doors open at 4 p.m., and the program starts at 4:45 and ends at 6. The book is called “Lillian Walker, Washington Civil Rights Pioneer,” written by John C. Hughes. It costs $20. Copies will be available for sale at tomorrow’s event, including signed ones….

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