First Lady Jean Gardner and Secretary of State Ralph Munro help launch Lady Washington in 1989. (Photos courtesy of Washington State Archives)

As any fifth-grader knows (and the rest of us should know), Washington has plenty of state symbols, ranging from a tree (Western Hemlock)  and flower (Coast Rhododendron) to even a state vegetable (Walla Walla sweet onion).

But do you know Washington has a state ship? The Legislature designated the Lady Washington as the official ship of our state in 2007.

The vessel was built over a two-year period in Aberdeen (where it is based today) and launched on March 7, 1989. So a happy 25th birthday to a special lady! Since our office holds a mortgage on the ship, you’d think we’d take it out for a cruise now and then.

Our State Archives  uncovered these two photos of the Lady Washington. The top photo shows then-First Lady Jean Gardner and then-Secretary of State Ralph Munro at the launch ceremony 25 years ago. The bottom shot features the ship in the waters of Puget Sound near Olympia in 2008.