In the fall of 1961, fears of radioactive fallout sent some panicked Olympians to building fallout shelters. For $215, a family could buy a ready-made shelter from the Seamart store downtown and install it in their basement. In this photograph, a family demonstrates life in an underground shelter. While Mom happily plucks away at her ukulele, Dad and big brother look on approvingly (note as well the medicinal bottle of Canadian Club on the shelf.) Only little brother looks a tad bored on his upper bunk. Photograph selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum. For more information, visit us at olympiahistory.org. Merle Junk photograph, Susan Parish Collection, Washington State Archives.