It might not exactly qualify as Snowmageddon. It even might not be sticking enough to make a snowball. But it’s snowing at the Capitol. The wintry white flakes started falling from the sky after 10 a.m. on New Year’s Eve, more than enough snow to terrify “First Snowflake Freakout Lady” from one of those funny PEMCO ”Northwest Profile” radio ads. Whether it lasts until Tuesday’s arrival of 2013 remains to be seen.
(Photo courtesy of Benjamin Helle) Seattleites and “Sleepless in Seattle” fans will have no trouble recognizing Lake Union, the 12,000-year-old body of water carved from the same glacier that created Green Lake and Lake Washington. Visitors can see floating homes along the east and west sides of the lake that sits just north of Seattle’s central business district. Seattle’s major Fourth of July fireworks show usually takes place there and draws spectators from all corners of the greater Seattle area. …
(Photo courtesy of Washington State Archives) Downtown Olympia and the city’s waterfront looked much different in 1970 than today, as this photo in the State Archives WSDOT file shows. The photo looks to the north. Note the “old fleet” in the background.
(Photo courtesy of Don Jensen) No, not the type requiring bleeps. Actually, Secretary Reed spent part of Wednesday participating in separate county swearing-in ceremonies in Kelso and Olympia. The Secretary traveled south in the morning to the Cowlitz County Courthouse to swear in County Commissioners Mike Karnofski and Dennis Weber (in photo above), and PUD Commissioner Kurt Anagnostou. After returning to Olympia, Reed made the short trek around Capitol Lake and up the hill to the Thurston County Courthouse to…
From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library: This week I grabbed a reel of microfilm at random and found myself drawn to an article on the very first frame. I was reading the June 3, 1887 issue of Cowlitz’s Advocate, a newspaper from Kalama. The newspaper was less than a year old when the presumed writer of the article below, William D. Close (1845-1914), purchased the paper in May 1887. A Union…
Volume 8, December 27, 2012 for the WSL Updates mailing list Topics include: 1) 2013 TEEN VIDEO CHALLENGE 2) ALKI CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS 3) MARK YOUR CALENDARS – FREE PRESERVATION SERIES 4) ONLINE LEARNING AND LIBRARIES 5) APPLY NOW FOR A BIG READ GRANT 6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITY NEXT WEEK
For many, the past week already has been busy and memorable, thanks to holiday-related shopping and family get-togethers, and, of course, the Seahawks pummeling the 49ers on national TV to clinch a playoff spot. And, depending on whether you cheer for the UW or WSU, you either were bummed or delighted that the Huskies lost a nail-biter to Boise State in the Las Vegas Bowl. If all of the recent pigskin and yuletide action hasn’t worn you out, here is…
Library News We are pleased to announce that we have received 64 books through a grant from the Libri Foundation. During the past 20 years, the Libri Foundation has awarded grants to more than 3,000 rural libraries in 49 states. Using contributions from a back sale, the Friends of the Upper Skagit Library contributed $350, which the Libri Foundation matched 2:1. (Concrete Herald, 12.2012) Spokane voters in February may get a chance to save the Spokane Public Library branches and…
There was a time, before highways were so commonplace, when railroads dominated U.S. transportation. In fact, the American rail network in the 1910s was more than 250,000 miles of track, far more than the roughly 140,000 miles existing today nationwide. The third and final Archives treasure for December reflects that golden era of railroads in Washington and the rest of the U.S. It’s a collection of more than 4,000 railroad maps held by the State Archives. The statewide map above…
Jerry McGuire of the Richland Rotary Club held a book drive for The Washington State Library at Coyote Ridge Correction Center in Connell Wa. We received 100’s of books, all in great condition. We want to Thank them for the efforts they took to help out libraries.