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The Jean Valjean of Raymond, Washington

The Jean Valjean of Raymond, Washington

From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library Fans of Les Misérables might enjoy the following story, found at random from The Raymond Review, Sept. 3, 1913: VICTOR HUGO’S HERO REAL MAN  J.B. SMITH EXEMPLIFIES JEAN VALJEAN  Is Well Known in Pacific County. Returns Saturday as Harvey Giffin.  “Victor Hugo’s hero of ‘Les Miserables,’ Jean Valjean, has been exemplified in real life and by a resident of Pacific County, who has during the…

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Profiles of Washington Territorial Librarians – Isaac Van Dorsey Mossman, 1870-1873

Profiles of Washington Territorial Librarians – Isaac Van Dorsey Mossman, 1870-1873

Isaac Van Dorsey Mossman, 1870-1873 From the Desks of the Central Library Staff “We doubt not,” said the Daily Pacific Tribune, “that Mr. Mossman will make an efficient and faithful librarian” when the fourth Territorial Librarian for the year 1870 was named. He was born Aug. 8, 1830 in Centerville, Indiana. Mossman arrived in Oregon City Oct. 20, 1853 as part of the Miller Party. Isaac took part in the 1855-1856 Indian War, holding the rank of Corporal and fighting…

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Col. Patrick Henry Winston and the Statue of Limitations

Col. Patrick Henry Winston and the Statue of Limitations

From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library The newspaper on microfilm reel grabbed at random this week holds a tale of “Colonel” Patrick Henry Winston and the Statue of Limitations. Yes, I meant to use the word “Statue” rather than “Statute.” You’ll see why. “Colonel” Patrick Henry Winston, Jr. was born Aug. 22, 1847 in Windsor, North Carolina, the product of a family line that had also raised Patrick Henry, one of…

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Profiles of Washington Territorial Librarians – Champion B. Mann

Profiles of Washington Territorial Librarians – Champion B. Mann

Champion B, Mann   From the Desks of the Central Library Staff Longtime Olympia political fixture, C.B. Mann was born Nov. 2, 1844 in Crawford County, Pennsylvania. Mann attended Willamette University in Salem, Oregon and graduated from Portland Business College before arriving in Olympia in March 1870. He was assigned to the position of Territorial Librarian and served from Aug. 1 to Nov. 6, 1870. C.B. initially held the occupation of school teacher in Oregon and was chosen school district…

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John Wilkes Booth and the Socialist

John Wilkes Booth and the Socialist

From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library William H. Packer was probably among the last living Civil War veterans in Washington State. In his eventful life he was able to strut and fret his hour upon the stage alongside Edwin and John Wilkes Booth, serve in the Union Army, and help found a Socialist Utopian community in Washington State. Changing his surname from Packard to Packer in order to avoid detection from…

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Profiles of Washington Territorial Librarians – Sylvester Hill Mann, 1870

Profiles of Washington Territorial Librarians – Sylvester Hill Mann, 1870

From the Desks of the Central Library Staff He was born May 6, 1817 in upstate New York. Raised in Pennsylvania, Mann was a soldier in a volunteer unit during the Civil War in 1862-1863. His occupation as a Methodist minister took him all over the Pacific Northwest. The Mann family arrived in Oregon’s Willamette River Valley via the Isthmus route in 1864. By 1870 Rev. Mann was sent to Olympia, where he found himself appointed to fill out the…

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KILLER RABBITS OF PASCO?!?!

KILLER RABBITS OF PASCO?!?!

From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library Monty Python introduced us to the Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog, Jimmy Carter repelled an attack of a killer bunny while fishing in Georgia in 1979, and in the B-movie Night of the Lepus (1972) giant rabbits terrorize a small town in Arizona. But wait, there’s more! As Ed Wood might’ve asked, “My friend, can your heart stand the shocking facts about the KILLER RABBITS OF…

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Profiles of Washington Territorial Librarians- Woodruff, Chapman, Shelton and Mabie 1866-1870

Profiles of Washington Territorial Librarians- Woodruff, Chapman, Shelton and Mabie 1866-1870

Samuel Nelson Woodruff, 1866 From the Desks of the Central Library Staff He was born Mar. 6, 1829 in Ohio. His journal during the 1852 overland trip to Olympia is now in the University of Washington’s collection. He married Samantha Packwood in Feb. 1854 and set himself up as a farmer. Woodruff was listed as “Town Marshall” in a July 1864 edition of the Pacific Tribune, an early territorial paper out of Olympia. His year-long term as Territorial Librarian was…

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The Exciting World of Accounting!

The Exciting World of Accounting!

From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library My Father was an accountant, and when he wanted us kids to get sleepy and not stay up too late, all he had to do was talk about his job. But before you dismiss the profession of accounting as a boring and tedious vocation, consider this front page story from the Sept. 14, 1911 issue of the Olympia Daily Recorder: STATE OFFICIAL IN SHERIFF’S IRONS…

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Profiles of Washington Territorial Librarians – Thomas Taylor, 1862 & John Paul Judson 1864

Profiles of Washington Territorial Librarians – Thomas Taylor, 1862 & John Paul Judson 1864

Thomas Taylor, 1862 From the Desks of the Central Library Staff Although no oath of office record exists today, Taylor was apparently Librarian in 1862. The March 29, 1862 issue of the Washington Standard includes this Library Notice: “All persons having books belonging to the Territorial Library will please return at once, or the by-laws will be put in force. Thos. Taylor, Ter. Librarian.” He quite probably was the same aged Thomas Taylor who was born Oct. 17, 1793 (some…

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