July's Photo Challenge Answer
Contributed by Mary Hammer, Digital Projects Archivist
Many of you recognized former Secretary of State,
Lud Kramer as the gentleman pumping gas in this photo. And some of you even knew
why he was pumping gas. Linda Steinmann Eschels wrote "I understand that he had campaign debts from an unsuccessful run for mayor of Seattle, so needed to take a part-time job pumping gas to pay it off." She went on to recall Kramer's unconventional political style, commenting that "His commitment to improving the lives of disadvantaged people carried through to a number of projects he carried out during his time in office and after he left public life."
Thanks to everyone who took the time to share their thoughts and memories with us!
|
|
August Photo Challenge
Contributed by Mary Hammer, Digital Projects Archivist
Moving on to our next challenge, can you identify the location of this building? (Click on the image for a larger version.) We'll give you a hint: it is in the Olympia area and the photo was taken in 1942. We won't tell you if it's still there...that's for you to tell us!
Watch for the answer in next month's edition.
|
|
The life and times of the White River Hydroelectric Project and Lake Tapps, 1911-2005
Contributed by Mike Saunders, Puget Sound Regional Branch Archivist
In August of 2014 the Puget Sound Branch Archives accessioned records from the Cascade Water Alliance documenting the development, operation and decommissioning of Puget Sound Energy's White River Hydroelectric Project. Development of the project began in 1910. A diversion dam, flumes and a series of dikes were constructed to divert water from the White River and create a reservoir on the ridge overlooking the east side of the White River Valley. This process merged Church, Crawford and Kirtley Lakes into Lake Tapps to form a much larger body of water 7 miles in length with 47 miles of shoreline.
The collection spans from 1903 until 2010 and includes
water rights grants, deeds, reference files documenting production, licensing profitability, recreation, fisheries, facilities construction and renovation, and the transfer of the Project from Puget Sound Energy to the Cascade Water Alliance, photographs and video recordings.
Click
here to read more about this fascinating history and see some images from the collection.
|
|
"The hardest thing about being a leader is demonstrating or showing vulnerability... When the leader demonstrates vulnerability and sensibility and brings people together, the team wins."
Find out
here!
The
same person also said,
"The challenge of the retail business is the human condition"
|
|
 |
The Murphys of Montesano
Contributed by Maggie Cogswell, Assistant Research Archivist, Southwest Regional Branch
In the
May edition of
Out of the Archives, Maggie Cogswell offered to assist with challenging property research within the Southwest Region of the state. Maggie received a letter from Roxanne Lowe, interested in learning more about her family's property in Grays Harbor County (pictured here). Always up for a challenge, Maggie started this project in earnest, learning more about the Murphy family from Montesano than she knows about her own!
, and learn about how she used the records in the Washington State Archives to begin a quest to uncover as much information as she could for her researcher. You may just get inspired to research your property!
If you'd like to know more about your home, contact the regional branch that serves your county. Or--
"Ask An Archivist!" and we'll help you get started.
|
|
|
The FAN Concept in Historical Research (Friends and Neighbors)
|
|
|
|
|
Plat map of T20N R 2E, showing the first pier, marked with the dot on the left-hand side, Washington State Archives, SW Regional Branch
|
Contributed by Jewell Dunn, Southwest Regional Branch
A researcher came into the Archives in Olympia interested in learning about a ferry destroyed in 1858 when its boiler blew up. The person historically linked to the ferry was Lafayette Balch. Balch's ferryboat served a route which used an early pier at Steilacoom, Washington Territory (now in Pierce County). The researcher specifically wanted to know when a second pier was built in Steilacoom. I suggested he look into the adjoining Donation Land Claim and surrounding neighbors.
I also suggested a quick look at the land surveys included within the land patents files. This record is accessed through a patent search on the
Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office website. Through this search, we were able to determine that the name of the person with the adjoining DLC was Keach or Keech.
Next we looked for the neighbors named Keach in the historical Newspaper collection for the Washington Territory. The researcher found an article about the second pier being built by Philip Keach.
His efforts proved the existence of the second pier, built slightly later than he had hoped, in 1860.
Why is this important? It's good to remember when researching that friends and neighbors of the person in question can be not only interesting, but can also help prove or disprove facts or claims!
|
|
Meet Harold Stoehr, IT System Application Specialist/Operations at the Digital Archives
Harold Stoehr has been at the Digital Archives since the very beginning. He was hired in 2004 as the first Network Administrator for the world's first digital archives. "When the job came up, I had to look up Cheney on a map," Stoehr recalls. He took a few days from his job as a network administrator with Tumwater schools and came to Cheney for a visit. He found a chain link fence and "a big muddy hole in the ground" where the archives was under construction. He took the job.
|
|
|
October is Archives Month 2015: Bridging Washington
Washingtonians will celebrate the Evergreen State's historic bridges at a range of exhibits and events during October's Washington Archives Month, 2015. This year we pay tribute to the historic bridges of Washington as documented in the collections of the Archives, special collections, and libraries.
Share items from your collections!
Contact us by
Friday, September 4, 2015, to include your images and documents in our special Washington Archives Month online exhibit.
|
|
The Office of the Secretary of State routinely updates a blog entitled
"From Our Corner," in order to provide from-the-source information about important state news and public services. Often, stories of note from the Archives are included on this page.
Click here to check out past stories.
|
|
|
Washington Remembers WWII project
|
|
|
|
We hope you enjoyed this edition of "Out of the Archives!"
Banner Image: City by an inland sea, Seattle, ca. 1950, General Subjects Photograph Collection, 1845-2005, Washington State Digital Archives.
|
|
|
|
