The Sunday Olympian’s Looking Back theme for 2024 was Many Voices, celebrating our rich and diverse history. Pictured here is James Mars, African-American proprietor of the Our House restaurant on Fourth Avenue. Mars was born in New York and spent many years as a seafarer. He and his wife Mary Jane, neé Thomas, arrived in Olympia in 1870 and opened their restaurant, described as “a place where one can feel at home and enjoy home cooking.”
Image from 1891 Olympia Tribune Souvenir Issue
Text © Deborah Ross and The Olympian 2024