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Category: Just for Fun

Great Scot!

Great Scot!

Photo courtesy of Washington State Archives Thousands attended the Pacific Northwest Scottish Highland Games July 30-31 in Enumclaw. The annual Scottish festival features colorful pipe bands, Highland dancers and Scottish athletes competing before judges of worldwide renown. The master of ceremonies was none other than former Secretary of State Ralph Munro, wearing his familiar kilt. No word if one of the attendees was Stuart Mackenzie, the occasionally loud (“HEAD! MOVE!!”) father in the 1993 Mike Myers comedy “So I Married…

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From Your Corner: Okanogan County’s name

From Your Corner: Okanogan County’s name

Photo courtesy of Okanogan County Tourism Council Located along the Canadian border in north-central Washington, Okanogan is the largest county geographically in our state with nearly 5,300 square miles. The county is home to the picturesque Methow Valley, which includes tourist attraction Winthrop and the popular Sun Mountain Lodge, located above town to the south. The county is also where the scenic North Cascades Highway ventures east after crossing Washington Pass, at 5,477 feet the second-highest pass in the state….

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From Your Corner: Nisqually’s name

From Your Corner: Nisqually’s name

It’s the name of the small town and valley located between Tacoma and Olympia, the name of the Native American tribe whose reservation is between Lacey and Yelm, the name of the much-photographed glacier (shown below) near Paradise on the south side of Mount Rainier, and the name of the river flowing from said glacier to Puget Sound. Nisqually’s name comes from French explorers, who called the natives nez quarre, meaning “square nose,” and was altered by the natives’ inability…

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From Your Corner: Longview’s name

From Your Corner: Longview’s name

(Photo of Lake Sacajawea courtesy of City of Longview) Located in Southwest Washington at the confluence of the Cowlitz and Columbia rivers, the largest city (population 36,100) in Cowlitz County was the first planned city in the Pacific Northwest. It is named for its founder, lumber baron R.A. Long, who founded Longview in 1923. But that wasn’t the first time the area was settled by non-Native Americans. A Hudson’s Bay Co. hide and fur warehouse was placed there in 1846….

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Apple Blossom Festival royalty pays visit

Apple Blossom Festival royalty pays visit

The 2011 Washington State Apple Blossom Festival’s Royal Court stopped by the Office of Secretary of State during its visit to Olympia Tuesday. A big hit for the trio was learning how to operate the official state seal press. From left are Princess Elise Shae, Queen Elenore Bastian and Princess Maycee McQuin. All three attend Wenatchee High School. This year’s Apple Blossom Festival runs from April 28 to May 8 in Wenatchee.

March is National Umbrella Month

March is National Umbrella Month

Despite Washington’s notoriously long (okay, endless) rainy season, Washingtonians tend to be ambivalent about the use of umbrellas.  The following is a typical conversation in a Washington workplace… Jill: “Ack, it’s pouring!  It wasn’t pouring two minutes ago when I was packing up for lunch.” Jane: “Give it two minutes, and it’ll stop.” Jill:  “What do you think?  Should I bring my umbrella?” Jane:  “No.” Jill:  “But I don’t want to ruin my suit.” Jane:  “Fine, then take an umbrella.” Jill: …

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It’s Simply Washington! And it’s free!

It’s Simply Washington! And it’s free!

Our online publication Simply Washington was so popular when it rolled out over a year ago, we were asked if we had an updated version this year.  Not only did we update it, we added seven more pages to highlight even more aspects of our great state.  We feature Washingtonians at play from hiking and biking to kayaking the Puget Sound. We explore our fish and wildlife industry, visit our flower festivals and add more pages about our amazing agricultural products like apples, wheat and dairy….

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Love is in the air…

Love is in the air…

Photograph taken in Yakima, inside apple country, courtesy of the Washington State Archives. …or rather hay fever from the apple blossoms in full bloom!  With all kidding aside, Happy Valentine’s Day! May you find love in all kinds of places.

EWU football: We are the champions!

EWU football: We are the champions!

Pictured from left to right holding the NCAA Division I Championship Trophy:  EWU Director of Athletics Bill Chaves, Secretary of State Sam Reed, and EWU head football coach Beau Baldwin.  Photograph courtesy of David Cook of Eastern Washington University. Last week Sam visited the campus of Eastern Washington University in Cheney to congratulate the Eagles on becoming NCAA Division I football champions.  The Eagles won their championship in Frisco, Texas, on January 7, defeating Delaware in a 20-19, come-from-behind thriller.

Are you ready for some football?!

Are you ready for some football?!

Photo courtesy of Washington State Archives In honor of the Packers-Steelers Super Bowl this Sunday, we asked the State Archives folks to find some cool, historic football-related photos. This one stands out. Taken on December 29, 1969, it shows Governor Dan Evans holding up the ball for his son to kick on the front lawn of the Governor’s Mansion. The Temple of Justice is in the background. The photo is from the State Governors’ Negative Collection, 1949-1975. On a related…

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