The Sunday Olympian’s Looking Back theme for 2024 was Many Voices, celebrating our diverse and rich history. Earl Bean, born in Russia, came here in 1892 and joined his father Jacob in the scrap metal business. He parlayed this into hardware store Olympia Supply on the shore of the Deschutes Estuary (now Capitol Lake). In the 1930s Earl Bean was one of the founders of Temple Beth Hatfiloh.
Daily Olympian photo, 1963, State Capital Museum collection, Washington State Historical Society, catalog C1986.43.63.3.19.3.1
Text © Deborah Ross and The Olympian 2024