Lincoln Elementary School crossing guards sported new fluorescent vests for the start of the 1963 school year. Pictured here are fifth graders Charles Barron and Mary Thomson, assisting young Susie Baker, Bobby Hunter, and Wanda Ewell. Photograph selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum. For…
The annual Pet Parade, sponsored by the Olympian, is a long-standing late summer tradition. In this photo from 1964, four-year-old Jeff Hettler dresses as his favorite Beatle, John. His pet is not identified: perhaps a beetle? Photograph selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum. Daily…
In 1909, President William Howard Taft took a tour of Washington State. This photo commemorates the day that residents of Lacey came out in force to cheer on the president as he passed by rail through the small community. The Lacey depot can be seen behind the crowd. Photograph selected and captioned by Deborah Ross…
The Null Set coffee house opened in West Olympia in August 1964, owned by Pat and Pete Holm and Bonnie and Bob Gillis. In addition to serving coffee and pastries, the coffee house featured folk music, served up with a dash of liberal-leaning politics. Photograph selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the…
Mary Olney Brown, an early area settler, was a medical practitioner, poet, and ardent suffragist. In 1870 she attempted to vote in Thurston County but was turned away. Several other women, including Mary’s sister Emily Olney French, were more successful, voting in south Thurston County. Wilson Clark photo, about 1883, courtesy State Capital Museum collection,…
A group of workers carefully places a large stone, called a petroglyph, at the Olympia Tumwater Foundation’s headquarters at Tumwater Falls Park. The stone, inscribed with multiple tribal symbols, had been transported from a beach on Harstine Island in 1963 and donated to the Washington State Historical Society. In 2008 it was returned to the…
A young Henry Harris looks distinctly unimpressed at being photographed in his smart kilted suit. The Harris family were prominent Olympia merchants and active in the Jewish community. Their store building still exists at 518 Capitol Way, and their home, formerly adjacent to Sylvester Park, is now at the corner of 7th and Adams. Photograph…
