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Perched Between the Stumps and Tides: Early Newspapers in Washington Territories, Part 3

Perched Between the Stumps and Tides: Early Newspapers in Washington Territories, Part 3

Thanks to past and ongoing digitization efforts at the Washington State Library, Washington Digital Newspapers hosts digital copies of some of the earliest newspapers published in Washington. Through their columns, early territorial editors provided a glimpse of some of the hardships faced by settlers in general, and by publishers in particular in the 1850s. This blog, one of a three part series, covers mail services in Washington territory and how they affected the news disseminated to early settlers. Newspapers in…

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National Library Week inspires inmate art

National Library Week inspires inmate art

The 2018 National Library Week theme was “Where did the Library lead you?” Libraries across America were encouraged to print a graphic, have their patrons add their thoughts and post a selfie on social media. Institutional Library Services (ILS), the branch of the State Library that operates in prisons and state hospitals, wanted to take part in this campaign, but there are strict rules about taking pictures of those facilities’ users. Sue Box from the Airway Heights Corrections Center wanted…

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Free `GC2G’ exhibit now cooler, with tablets!

Free `GC2G’ exhibit now cooler, with tablets!

Check out a cool new feature of our Grand Coulee to Grunge exhibit   — tablets!  Bilingual translations, great archival photos, drilldown information and more add to the experience of the popular exhibit in the Secretary of State’s lobby in the Capitol. Our Legacy Washington team now has five tablet computers available for office visitors to check out at the front desk to enrich their visit. The exhibit opened late last summer and comes down this October before going on the…

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Remembering Mount St. Helens & May 18 eruption

Remembering Mount St. Helens & May 18 eruption

(Photo courtesy of Washington State Library.) For many Washingtonians, the eruption of Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980, is one of those moments forever ingrained in collective memory. Saturday is the 33rd anniversary of the iconic mountain blowing her top. We  feature photos from our State Archives and State Library showing how the mighty mountain and nearby Spirit Lake were popular recreational spots in the years before the devastating eruption. The last photo shows the mountain sending ash thousands…

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House offers budget bookend: $1.3b in new revenue

House offers budget bookend: $1.3b in new revenue

The budget battle is about to get  hotter. Majority House Democrats on Wednesday unveiled a $34.5 billion budget plan for the next two years, relying on $1.3 billion in new revenue as a down-payment on the state Supreme Court’s order to boost aid to public schools. The blueprint, which they called honest, balanced and responsible, follows the contours laid down by new Gov. Jay Inslee, a fellow Democrat, and sets up the expected collision with the Senate’s no-new-taxes, $33.4 billion…

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After 45 years in public life, Sam Reed bids farewell

After 45 years in public life, Sam Reed bids farewell

(Photo courtesy of  Legislative Support Services Photography) Secretary of State Sam Reed bade a fond farewell to the people of Washington Tuesday after 45 years in public life, including 35 years as a state and county elected official. Addressing a joint session of the Legislature, Reed brought along a special reminder of his family’s long connection to Washington politics and government — his grandfather Sam Sumner’s battered leather briefcase.  Exactly 100 years earlier, Sumner, a state GOP chairman and longtime…

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Historical Records Project volunteers honored

Historical Records Project volunteers honored

Volunteers rock! Over 500 volunteers work with the State Library, Legacy Project, State Archives and Historic Records Project to fulfill the Secretary of State’s mission of historical records preservation and public access. Secretary of State Sam Reed honored the army of volunteers at a special appreciation luncheon in Chehalis.  The annual tradition gave the Secretary and project managers a chance to commend the time and talents the volunteers bring to their tasks. The event marks the tenth anniversary of the…

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Secretary Reed: No 4th term bid

Secretary Reed: No 4th term bid

Secretary of State Sam Reed, the state’s senior statewide Republican elected official, says he won’t run for a fourth term next year. Reed, former president of the nation’s secretaries of state and a veteran of more than 40 years in public life, said Tuesday that he’s made the “bittersweet decision” to step aside after his term ends in January, 2013.  He is 70, and said it’s time to let Washington choose a new generation of leadership in this and other…

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100 years later: Celebrating Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Expo

100 years later: Celebrating Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Expo

The Centennial Celebration for the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition at the University of Washington is coming to an end October 27. If you haven’t seen the exhibits celebrating the centennial and can’t make it to the UW campus before they shut down, your next best bet is to come to the State Library October 22 in Tumwater to hear from the person who’s been behind the creation of these exhibits. Carla Rickerson, the Pacific Northwest Curator at the UW, will talk about…

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