Classic WA photos: Critters at Rainier NP
Nowadays, visitors to Mount Rainier National Park in Washington’s Cascades are discouraged from feeding the animals there. But that wasn’t always the case.
This photo, taken sometime between 1920 and 1960, shows a young couple feeding a raccoon outside a building in the popular park. The sign on the steps says, “No dog or cats allowed in this building.” Apparently, the raccoon knew this. Or maybe it just knew that looking cute would score it a snack.
The photo is part of the State Library Photograph Collection, 1851-1990, which includes more than 5,000 images of a wide variety of subjects related to Washington’s history, people, geography and economic development. Just how wide a variety, you ask? They cover agriculture, Boeing, bridges, canals, Capitol Campus buildings, cities, Civilian Conservation Corps projects, counties, dams, expositions, fairs, ferries, fishing, forts, ghost towns, historic buildings and houses, historical markers, lakes, libraries, lighthouses, logging, mountains, Native Americans, parks, portraits, railroads, rivers, schools, Statehood, steamboats, totem poles, trees, universities and colleges, waterfalls and other subjects. The collection is found in the State Digital Archives.