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.