From the desk of Sean Lanksbury. PNW & Special Collections Librarian

The Washington State Special Collections contains nearly 600 distinct manuscript collections.  What unifies these collections is their focus on Pacific Northwest and Washington State history, but oftentimes the primary documents contained within each box has broader national or international appeal.

One example of this broader appeal is Washington State Library’s collection of Civil War veterans’ correspondence concerning attendance of the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg reunion, 1913 (MS 115).  Consider the following description, taken from the catalog record:

This fascinating collection also contains correspondence from the railroads for proposals with quotes on the cost of the transportation and descriptions of what would be included in the trip, a copy of the itinerary of the special train to attend the celebration, a list of the veterans in the train program, and a typescript of all of the veterans with their addresses that made up the Washington State delegation that attended the reunion.  A few of the items are facsimiles of material kept at the Washington State Archives, but most of the collection is made of originals.

As our nation commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, and approaches the anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, the State Library is taking special strides to provide access to our Civil War-related materials.  Want to get a better look at this collection, or learn more about what the State Library has to offer war researchers?  Feel free to contact the State Library Special Collections or use the Washington State Library “Ask-a-Librarian” service for further information. Too far away to visit?  The library has recently scanned much of the related material to make it more readily available to researchers.

The Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania was fought around July 1–3, 1863 and is considered by many the turning point in the Civil War.  For more information about the battle, the American Civil War, and Washington State’s Civil War veterans, please consider some of these links:

• US Civil War – Selected Resources at Library of Congress
• Civil War 150 – A commemoration by the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
• The United States Civil War Center at Louisiana State University Special Collections
• Civil War Historians at Pennsylvania State University
• Civil War Trust
• WCWA: The Washington Civil War Association
• Civil War Veterans Buried in Washington State 

Wisdom of Elders: Traditional Food Ways of Five Tribes in Western Washington.  Recipes collected and cookbook edited by Melissa E. Christy.  (Phoenix, AZ : National Society for American Indian Elderly (NSAIE) ; Shelton, WA : South Puget Intertribal Planning Agency (SPIPA), 2008. 64 p.

Recommendation by:
Rand Simmons, Acting Washington State Librarian, Tumwater, WA.

The delight of this small book is that it provides glimpses into the history, culture, and daily living of the people of five Western Washington tribes. Reflecting the wisdom of elders from the Skokomish Tribal Nation, Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe, Squaxin Island Tribe, Confederate Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation and Nisqually Indian Tribe, this small book is chocked full of recipes, ancient and modern, photographs, and remembrances provided by tribal elders.

Readers can learn how people preserved and cooked food when there were no refrigerators, freezers, microwaves or electricity. Basic information on Lushootseed, the Puget Sound Salish language, at the back of the book includes examples of pronunciation and phrases. Sound advice can be gleaned: “Cook while you are in a good mood and love who you cook for” – Tschudub Indian Shaker Church belief. Many of the recipes can made using common pantry items: flour, sugar, baking powder eggs and oil. For other recipes, you may need assistance gathering kinnikinnick berries and salmon eggs or making tuddee from fern roots. But if you have a penchant for geoduck patties, this book will provide you with the recipe.

Colorful photographs help identify what ingredients and finish foods look like. Yes, this is a cookbook but it is so much more. This book is ideal for the cook who is collecting Pacific Northwest cookbooks, for librarians who are selecting materials on the Pacific Northwest, for school librarians who need basic information on Indians of the Pacific Northwest for their students’ curricular needs and for the generally curious reader. A joint project of the National Society for American Indian Elderly (NSAIE) and the South Puget Intertribal Planning Agency (SPIPA) Wisdom of the Elders was produced with funds granted by the Administration for Native Americans as part of its Knowledge Preservation Project. Melissa E. Christy collected the recipes, edited the cookbook, and contributed photographs.

For more information on this project and the NSAIE , visit http://nsaie.org/projects/the-wisdom-of-elders-cookbook/

Available at the Washington State Library,  NW 641.5929 WISDOM 2008
Not available as an eBook, talking book, or as a Braille edition.

Fur, Fortune, and Empire: The Epic History of the Fur Trade in America.  By Eric Jay Dolin. New York, N.Y. : W.W. Norton & Co., 2010. 442 p.

Recommendation submitted by Gordon Russ, Volunteer, Washington State Library, Tumwater, WA

Mr. Dolin takes us on a journey, following the fur trappers west as America grows in size and maturity.  His story starts in the late 1500s with some of the early French explorers.  The fur trade really gets going in the 1620s with the coming of the Dutch settlers and their need for income. They start a vigorous trade with the Native Americans for beaver pelts, much desired in Europe.   The French and English quickly join the Dutch as they migrate to North America in search of new lands, religious freedom, and the need for income.  They too find the need to trade for the highly valued furs in the virgin lands.  The battle for Beaver pelts stirs much unrest between the home countries of these early settlers this leads to conflicts in Europe as well.

The fur trade moves west into the Great Lakes, up the Missouri river, into the Rocky Mountains, then down the Columbia River. Dolin takes us on an adventure: introducing us to the colorful people and characters of the of the fur trade such as Henry Hudson, John “Big Belly” Printz, John Jacob Astor, Christopher Hudson “Kit” Carson, Jim Bridger, Jedediah Smith, “Buffalo Bill” Cody and many others are introduced.  The book becomes a good primer of American History.  Dolin ties together those stories of our past and its people into a continuous thread of how we became who we are.

While the Beaver Fur trade and the genesis of America are percolating on the East Coast, the Spanish and Russians are not forgotten as they nibble away at the West coast in search of the Sea Otter.  All parties come together for the final confrontation right here in the Pacific North West.  As the battle for dominance of this new land rages, the participants drop out one at a time.  First, the Spanish leave, then the Russians and French, which leaves only the British and Americans to confront each other on the new frontier for the furs.  They discover they both have exhausted the Beaver, the Sea Otter and the reason they were there in the first place.  This leaves the land to those who wanted it – the Native Americans and the Americans, but that is another story for another time.

So sit back and wrap yourself in your favorite buffalo robe and enjoy a good read of adventure and riches.

ISBN-13: 9780393067101

Available at WSL, NW 381.4568 DOLIN 2010
Available as an eBook.
Not available in talking book or Braille editions.

From the desk of Sean Lanksbury. PNW & Special Collections Librarian

Otherwise, you might end up with the sight you have before you: rotting timber, broken windows, and a sagging foundation.  Egads!  Long-time library volunteer Gordon Russ recently uncovered this undated image of Washington’s Territorial Legislative Building in disrepair while processing a portion of the State Library Special Collections.

The original capitol building was built for $5,000 appropriated by U.S. Congress as described in Section 13 of the Organic Act of 1853 and granted to newly appointed Governor Isaac Ingalls Stevens.  Stevens used another $5000 to acquire volumes for the Washington Territorial Library and have them shipped to the new seat of government in Olympia, as described in Section 17 of that same document.

The building was never really finished to any condition that would be considered proper for housing government. The following description comes from “Historic Sites of the Washington State and Territorial Library: 1853 to the present”:

The building was built in 1856 on 12 acres donated by Edmund Sylvester. The new Legislative Building was described by historian Gordon Newell as a “wooden two-story structure that stood between where the present Legislative and Insurance Commissioner buildings now stand.” The building was hastily built and never really in an ideal state following its occupancy.  Reports of the era described it as a “sad picture of melancholy dinginess” [Ex. Doc. 144, 43rd Congress, 2nd Session] and “in a sad state of repair” [Smith letter, 1868.11.01] with worn out furniture; “faded, soiled, and ragged carpets;” and a rotting wooden block foundation that had caused the building to slope toward one end.   As described in 1874 by Henry J. Struve, Territory Secretary, the territorial Capitol Building was “left in an entirely unfinished condition” following its construction. He continues:  “The walls of the main chambers, committee rooms, library, entrance halls, &c., have never been lathed, plastered, or painted, and a portion of the same were and remain to this day, covered with rough, unplanned boards with a coat of common whitewash.”

Eventually the building proved too small and ramshackle to use.  The building served its original purpose until 1901 when the Legislature purchased the building that originally was built for use as the Thurston County Courthouse. The Library relocated to the Old Thurston Courthouse in 1901 and the Legislature moved in upon completing renovations in 1905.  The Territorial Legislative building was destroyed in 1911 to make way for the new Legislative Building designed by architects Walter Wilder and Harry White (now celebrating 100 years) , and the new Capitol Campus, as envisioned by landscape design firm Olmstead Brothers.

The former Thurston County Courthouse continued to house most of the state agencies until 1919. The Legislature met there until the present Legislative Building was completed in 1928.  That building was then kept to house the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and does so to this day.

Feeling inspired to do some research of your own?  Feel free to begin your search by using the Washington State Library “Ask-a-Librarian” service!

Volume 7, August 4, 2011 for the WSL Updates mailing list

Topics include:

1) NEW LEGACY PROJECT FEATURE “MAKES HISTORY”

2) LAST CHANCE TO HELP SHAPE THE FUTURE

3) CONNECT THE DOTS PRESENTATIONS ONLINE

4) DIGITAL PRESERVATION – WHAT’S NOW, WHAT’S NEXT?

5) DOES YOUR LIBRARY USE TWITTER OR FACEBOOK?

6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK

Read the rest of this entry »

Lillian Walker, Washington State Civil Rights Pioneer: A Biography and Oral History. By Lillian Walker & John C. Hughes. Olympia, WA : Washington State Legacy Project, Office of the Secretary of State, c2010. 198 p.

Recommendation by:
Rand Simmons, Acting Washington State Librarian, Tumwater, WA.

“It was 1944, the apex of World War II, and on the home front the Navy was keeping an eye on its Negroes. Twelve hundred worked at the Bremerton shipyard, including 300 newcomers in the first eight weeks of the year. They were angry because many businesses, including cafes, taverns, drug stores and barber shops, displayed signs saying, “We Cater to White Trade Only.” One of the dissidents was 31-year-old Lillian Walker, whose husband worked at the shipyard. She was the recording secretary of the Puget Sound Civic Society, a civil rights coalition formed by the newly chartered Bremerton branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.” (Excerpt from Lillian Walker: Civil rights pioneer, John C. Hughes, http://www.sos.wa.gov/legacyproject/oralhistories/lillianwalker/default.aspx.)

This is the definitive biography of Ms. Walker, a civil rights pioneer in Washington State. It is both a biography and an oral history and eminently readable. Readers interested in race relations, civil rights history and the civil rights of African American women in particular will enjoy this book. This book is about the history of Bremerton, Washington and will appeal to those with an itch to read well written local history as well as to those who love to read biographies.

ISBN-13: 978-1889320229

Available at the Washington State Library, NW 323.092 WALKER 2010 / WA 353.1 St2lil w 2010.
Available in a Braille edition.
Oral history is available as a PDF edition. View online from Washington State Library.
Not available in talking book edition.

From the desk of Evan Robb

A new digital collection from the Washington Rural Heritage initiative highlights the history of Skamania County, located in the heart of Washington’s rugged Columbia River Gorge. For their 2009-2010 grant project, the Stevenson and North Bonneville Community Libraries (Fort Vancouver Regional Library District) worked with local residents and partners to digitize unique material telling the story of life in these communities. The result is a digital collection consisting of two sub-collections and over 250 items.

Stevenson Community Library’s
promotional flyer – History in Pictures Day

In June, 2010 after extensive planning and outreach to local residents, the Stevenson Community Library held its first “History in Pictures” day–a community-based digitization event aimed at gathering historically significant material held in local private collections. The event occurred on a Saturday, in the main room of the Stevenson Community Library. There, staff and members of the Library’s Friends group interviewed contributors, secured necessary permissions (to publish material online), and recorded detailed information about the originals–describing their content as well as their physical format and dimensions. Staff from the Washington State Library were on hand to assist with imaging the materials, which were then returned to their owners along with a digital copy. The event was a resounding success. A few of our favorite “finds” include:

• This stunning collection from a longtime resident, detailing early resort life (a bit of work, a bit of recreation) at various hot springs in the Carson River Valley along the Wind River.
• The Stevenson Oddfellows Lodge members, 1910 – 1920.
• A small collection documenting construction of State Highway 14 during the mid 1930s, including several images of tunnel construction in various locations as well as the laborers themselves.
• The 1924 Stevenson High School football team.
• 1935 photo of the Bonneville Dam’s maintenance crew.

Another important achievement of this grant project was the creation of the North Bonneville Collection which documents the relocation of the town of North Bonneville during the construction of the Bonneville Dam’s second powerhouse in the 1970s. The collection documents everything from: early negotiations with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; to images of “Old Town North Bonneville” as it was being razed; to construction of new town facilities and final dedication of the “New” North Bonneville in 1978. The material was contributed by the City of North Bonneville, which generously opened its archives to help create this unique and valuable educational resource.

Congratulations and a big thank you to the entire crew at the Stevenson and North Bonneville Community Libraries. They spent many hours forming local partnerships, managing the project, cataloging materials, and learning all the hands-on technical minutiae involved in digitization. The results speak for themselves!

The Washington State Library recently contributed another 50,000 historic newspaper pages from nine newspapers to Chronicling America, making Washington State’s contribution to the program a total of 16 titles and 92,000 pages. People can read and research issues from these and other newspapers around the U.S. for free at chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.

100 Years Ago. Tacoma Times, June 24, 1910

There are now 16 newspapers from Washington State currently included in Chronicling America:

• Cayton’s Weekly, 1917-1921
• Colfax Gazette, 1900-1912
• Colville Examiner, 1907-1922
• Commonwealth (Everett), 1911-1914
• Daily Republican (Seattle), 1896
• Leavenworth Echo, 1904-1922
• Pullman Herald, 1888-1922
• The Ranch (Yakima), 1894
• The Ranch (Seattle), 1902-1914
• Ranche and Range (Yakima), 1897-1902
• The Republican (Seattle), 1896-1898
• San Juan Islander, 1899-1914
• Seattle Republican, 1900-1913
• Tacoma Times, 1903-1918
• Washington Farmer (Spokane), June 15, 1914
  
• Yakima Herald, 1893-1912

Chronicling America provides free and open access to more than 2.3 million full-text searchable pages from 295 titles published between 1860 and 1922 in 19 states and the District of Columbia. The Washington State Library’s National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP) grant was recently renewed through June of 2012, allowing more pages from other newspapers around Washington State to be uploaded over the next two years.

For more information about Chronicling America, contact Laura Robinson, project manager for Washington’s National Digital Newspaper Program, at [email protected] or (360) 570-5568.

From the desk of Evan Robb

The Washington Rural Heritage initiative is pleased to announce our newest digital collection: Vashon Island Heritage.  A project of the Vashon Library (King County Library System) and the Vashon-Maury Island Heritage Association, the collection documents life on the island from the late 1800s through the 1960s. Four sub-collections make up the collection:

• Journals & Memoirs features local histories such as Marjorie Rose Stanley’s Search for Laughter and Bill Rendall’s Memoirs of Maury Island. Our favorite item in this sub-collection is a scrapbook documenting a mother and daughter’s 1923 move from Michigan to Paradise Cove on Vashon Island.  Florence Harger Burd painstakingly recorded her daughter Tad’s early years in this scrapbook, which includes photos, letters, artwork, and a journal narrating their day-to-day activities. Here’s a good place to begin exploring this large scrapbook.
• Maps and Periodicals includes maps from c.1895 through the 1920s, and some of the Island’s earliest newspapers and publications. During the 1930s Islander Janet Haugen founded a monthly magazine called the Nor’Wester, which featured many stories of Vashon’s pioneers and farmers.  Here’s a Nor’Wester story about one of those early pioneers.
• Vashon’s First Peoples documents the S’Homamish people of Vashon Island. It includes images of traditional tools and baskets on display at the Vashon Heritage Museum, and details life on the Island prior to S’Homamish removal to the Puyallup Reservation.  Born in a longhouse on Quartermaster Harbor in the 1840s, native S’Homamish Lucy Gerand would later provide vital information regarding the island’s native population and traditional place names. Here are some of those names, told by Lucy to anthropologist T.T. Waterman in 1922.
• Vashon College (1892-1912) includes photos and memorabilia documenting the first college on Vashon Island, which operated from 1892-1912, when fire destroyed key buildings (Vashon College resumed operation as a Washington State nonprofit in 2005, and contributed material for this digital collection).

A big thanks to our participants at the Vashon Library and Vashon-Maury Island Heritage Association for their hard work digitizing and cataloging these materials!

Washington Rural Heritage introduced Ellensburg Heritage last year with the stunning Rodeo Collection, documenting 40 years of one of the top 25 rodeos in the country. Their sophomore effort brings us three new collections (and a few more rodeo photographs, too!).

The Kittitas Valley Crossroads Collection contains nearly 200 historic images depicting Indian life in Ellensburg and the surrounding area. It features the work of local photographers as well as a sampling from Eli Emor James, Lee Moorhouse, Vibert Jeffers, and Frank Matsura. The images include portraits of Indians in both traditional and Western dress, photos of pictographs from Rock Island, and scenes of recreation and domestic life.

The Ida Nason Collection is the personal photograph collection of Ellensburg citizen Ida Joseph Nason Aronica. A great-granddaughter of Yakama Chief Owhi, she dedicated her life to the preservation of her native heritage and culture. See images of her weaving and beadwork, family photos – her daughters were Ellensburg Rodeo royalty in 1929, and beautiful portraits of Ida as a young girl and in her later years.

The Fred L. Breckon Historic Portraits Collection is the work of amateur photographer Fred Beckon, an Ellensburg native who captured his fellow citizens in candid shots around town. These portraits date from the early 1940s to 1966 and are accompanied by short biographical information jotted down at the time the photo was taken, giving a very personal glimpse into Ellensburg’s history. Learn more about everyone from a poet to the postmaster.

View Ellensburg Public Library’s entire collection at: http://www.washingtonruralheritage.org/ellensburg. To view their newest 2008 grant material, click here.