Hello friends. As we are on "summer schedule," this will be your only
bulletin for July, but it’s an important one!
First, please join historical societies and commissions throughout Thurston
County for a* tribute to Roger Easton*, to be held at the Jacob Smith House
in Lacey, 4500 Intelco Loop, on Wednesday, July 18, 6-8 p.m. Here is a link
to the Jacob Smith House:
http://www.ci.lacey.wa.us/city-government/city-departments/parks-and-recreation/parks-and-facilities/community-buildings/jacob-smith-house
All
of us who love Olympia history benefited greatly from Roger’s contributions
and we will miss him sorely.
The *Canoe Journey,* to be held at the end of July, will be a spectacular,
interesting, and fun filled time. Several organizations have contacted us
with requests for volunteers and assistance. Of course, first off the bat
is our own Olympia Historical Society, which still needs 9-10 volunteers to
help with our participation. OHS coordinator Anne Kilgannon writes:
OHS is planning to share a booth with the State Capitol Museum at the Canoe
Journey event on July 29th. This will be an exciting opportunity to work
with the Squaxin and other tribes during this huge celebration of Native
culture. See http://paddletosquaxin2012.org/ for more information. We will
need 8 to 10 people to staff our part of the booth, which will be featuring
materials on little-known Native American historical sites in the Olympia
area. Interested volunteers should attend a program at the State Capitol
Museum, The Canoe Way of Knowledge on July 17, 6:00, for orientation. We
will also have a short meeting, TBA, on logistics and other information for
volunteers. Contact Ralph Blankenship at ralph.bship@comcast.net or Anne
Kilgannon at anneandgary@gmail.com to get involved in this tremendous
gathering.
Co-host State Capitol Museum sponsor of our table, Susan Rohrer, adds: We
have the booth on July 29 from 10 am to 6 Pm. We are gathering information
from the city about the shuttle bus transportation, as you will not be able
to drive to the venue.
We are having two trainings, one for anyone wishing to volunteer, and an
additional one for anyone who wants to lead a walking tour of native sites
near the waterfront in Olympia.
The general training is scheduled for 5:00 PM on Tuesday, July 17. We will
have a brown bag dinner with our team supplying drinks and desserts. The
training will include all the details about the booth and event and
logistics. Then from 6 to 7 PM we are asking all volunteers to stay for a
program on Canoe Journey that includes an hour long documentary on the
journey and then a presentation by the film producer and canoe journey
founder Phil Red Eagle. This will provide a background for our volunteers
on the cultural and historical significance of the journey.
Finally, Jennifer Kenny, staff to the Olympia Historical Commission, writes
us: The Squaxin Island Tribe is the host of Canoe Journey 2012 (
http://paddletosquaxin2012.org/).
Tribal Journeys began in 1989, intending to coincide with the centennial
celebration for Washington State. Since 1993, ‘Tribal Journeys’ or ‘The
Paddle’ has been held on an annual basis, with various tribes serving as
the host tribe. Today more than a 100 canoes from as many as 90 US Tribes,
Canadian First Nations and New Zealand and an estimated 12,000 people
participate in the annual Tribal Canoe Journeys.
The Tribe expects to host 5,000-8,000 people at the Potlatch Protocol,
July 30-August 5, at the Squaxin Island Reservation. The Landing of the
Canoes is July 29th, in the Swantown area, Port of Olympia.
The Potlatch Protocol includes feeding and housing (camping) all guests
for the entire week of July 29-August 5. As you can imagine, many hands are
needed to assist.
The 2012 Paddle to Squaxin Canoe Journey Hosting will be a “green” event
held in the spirit of sustainability and in the spirit of the teachings of
the ancestors.
Volunteers for the Paddle to Squaxin Green Team will work on recycling and
composting in collaboration with the Public Works Team.
Watch the video to learn more: http://vimeo.com/44108195
For a more detailed description of the Squaxin Green Team and to sign up,*
please go to:
http://paddletosquaxin2012.org/volunteer/green-team
There may also be opportunities to work in a supervisory capacity during
the event. Please contact Sheena Kaas for more information, 360-432-3907 or
skaas@squaxin.us
The *State Capitol Museum* is also sponsoring several events in July and
August associated with the Canoe Journey and the museum’s exhibit on Orca
whales. For more information, click on this link:
http://wshs.org/scmoc/event-programs.aspx
For music lovers and those interested in recent history, the Olympia
library has a great upcoming event: Friday, July 27, 2012
*Start Time:* 7:30 PM
*Library:* Olympia
*Description:*
Mark Baumgarten will read from and sign his new book "Love Rock Revolution:
*K Records and the Rise of Independent Music*," and musical guests The
Maxines will perform
The South Sound Maritime Association asks us to pass along the sad news
that, along with Roger Easton, our area has lost another passionate lover
of local history, *Robin Paterson. *Chuck Fowler writes: Robin passed
away last Wednesday after a several months-long battle with cancer.
Finally, the July issue of "Inquiring Minds Want to Know" is available for
your viewing pleasure. Remember, you can also subscribe to this interesting
monthly compilation of queries that the Society receives. Here is the link:
https://olympiahistory.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=16&Itemid=34
As many OHS members know, Robin and his wife Kae were dedicated, quietly
passionate tug owner participants in Olympia Harbor Days for almost its
entire 37 year history. With their first restored, retired tugboat, *Bayburn
*, they entered the first Harbor Days event to feature a tugboat race in
1975 and only missed one annual event during their more than three decades
of involvement.
—
Deborah Ross, on behalf of
The Olympia Historical Society
www.OlympiaHistory.org
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