Not long ago as the WSL tribal library consultant I facilitated the annual meeting of the Washington State tribal librarians.  One of the topics up for discussion was the native foods.  The tribes are making a concerted effort to reintroduce them into tribal members diets both as a way to preserve tribal culture and to promote healthy eating habits.

Tracy Hosselkuss, Lower Elwha tribe, talked about Ozette potatoes.  She said lots of folks in her area were growing this fingerling potatoes which  have a distinctive nutty taste.  Tracy said they are wonderful roasted in a fire pit which is the traditional way of preparing them.

As potatoes always play a starring role in my family’s Thanksgiving dinner I  asked Tracey to share some information about this food which the Makahs preserved and have been enjoying for 200 years.

It turns out that Jesuit Missionaries came up to the Olympic peninsula from Peru in the late 1700’s.  They brought the potatoes with them.  One rainy winter in the rain forest was enough for the missionaries and they left when their ship returned.  The potatoes remained and the Makahs just kept planting–and eating them.  WSU got interested in the the origin of the potatoes and ran some tests to verify the oral history of this breed.  Sure enough genetic tests revealed that the potato was indeed from Peru.

I have included links to recipes and to a place where you could order and grow these Northwest delicacies.

Weiser Family Farms

Recipe Ideas

Pan-fried Ozette Potatoes

Beef Tenderloin with Mushroom Brandy Cream Sauce & Roasted Truffled Fingerling Potatoes

Roast Chicken with red Fingerling Potatoes and Yellow Carrots

Written by Shirley Lewis and Leslie Boyter.

The Quinault Rain Barrel, one of Washington State Library’s newest microfilm additions, is now available for perusal. Is it a humble newsletter? Is it a full-fledged newspaper? Is a little raincloud going to follow you around as soon as you put one of the nine rolls of microfilm in your hand? These questions, and more, can only be answered by taking a chance by going over the rain barrel. No, we’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto. And the clouds around here are more likely to douse you in a torrent of rain than pick you up and toss you around. But to see the inside of the rain barrel you’ll have to sit yourself at a microfilm reader and transport yourself to a land where the rain comes barreling down at impressive rates.

Co-published by the Quinault School and Grays Harbor College, The Quinault Rain Barrel captures life in the Olympic Peninsula rural communities of Amanda Park, Quinault, Neilton, and Humptulips.  It contains great local news including people, bear sightings, hunting, fishing, environmental issues, politics, school news, library events, and, of course, weather.  For many years, the front page featured a “Rainfall Record” with figures on the current and previous years’ rainfall.  Some issues contain pictures of the flooding caused by record-setting rain.

First published in 1973, The Quinault Rain Barrel started out as a booklet-format newsletter and eventually became a newsprint newspaper.  This title was published in various Washington towns with various publication schedules (monthly, biweekly, and weekly).  There were even a few years when the newspaper was not published at all. Sadly, the final issue was published in August 2004.

Washington State Library has an extensive collection of Washington newspapers on microfilm available for use in the State Library or via interlibrary loan.  The State Library continues to seek out and microfilm these important sources of Washington history.  State Library staff members thank Brooke Pederson, Library Manager at the Amanda Park Timberland Library, for her help in collecting and lending these newspapers for microfilming. We could not have had such success with this project without her help.