July
photo challenge
Even if you don't get this one right away, a web search should be able to assist.

Here's the challenge: Explain the license plate. Click the image to view a larger version so you can read the plate clearly.

Let us know if you had to do a web search or not!
Last month's challenge showed the Palouse River Bridge in front of the old Whitman County Courthouse in Colfax. The bridge is often flooded by the river, but still stands today. The courthouse was torn down in 1955, which angered the locals, according to one of our readers from Whitman County.
by Larry Cebula, Assistant Digital Archivist at Washington State Archives, and Professor of History at Eastern Washington University; research by Devrick Barnett, Archives Intern and graduate student from EWU

Archivists realize that no matter how well they think they know their collection, it still holds surprises. The Washington Territorial Court Case Files collection at the Washington State Archives Eastern Regional Branch recently delivered such a surprise.

Eastern Washington University graduate student and Archives Intern Devrick Barnett has been working on the Territorial case files for a few months now. Also known as the Frontier Justice collection, these consist of the surviving case files from the Washington Territorial Courts (1853-1889). The 37,000 court cases comprise an unmatched record of the frontier period of the Pacific Northwest. In careful 19th-century penmanship, the cases tell of Indian wars, gold rushes... keep reading
Archivists are back in the building
Thurston and Kittitas counties have entered phase 3 of the governor's "Safe Start Plan." That means State Archives staff has returned to the branches in Olympia and Ellensburg.

While the facilities are still closed to the public, it is a big step toward a return to standard operations. We are accepting and fulfilling research requests.

The Tumwater Records Center has already returned to standard operations and is fulfilling records requests for government agencies at full capacity.

The tentative plan is to begin allowing researchers in the Olympia and Ellensburg branches, by appointment only, later this month, with safety precautions in place.

The Archives will be closed on the last business day of each week through August 7, 2020. Emails and phone calls will be returned as soon as possible. The Records Center will maintain its regular schedule. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Court records grant submitted
Who said
that?
In July, the Washington State Archives - Digital Archives will submit a proposal seeking a grant to help process Washington Territorial Court Case Files. The National Historical Publications & Records Commission accepted the preliminary proposal in April.

The case file collection amounts to about 350,000 images, including microfilm and documents that need to be scanned. These images will mostly go online, and many will be subjects in presentations at universities around the state and during genealogy conferences and other events.
With consideration for the safety of the public and our staff, and to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, all branches and facilities of the Office of the Secretary of State remain closed to the public until further notice.

During the closure, the State Archives still allows state and local government agency staff to research records on an emergency basis only.

" For me, it started as a child with one of those little wooden jigsaw maps of the U.S., where there are crocodiles on Florida and apples on Washington state. That was my very first map. "

Who said that?

Hint: The man in the photo above has nothing to do with this quote.

Last month's quote is from Dan Evans, former governor of Washington.
Out of the Archives, July 2020 banner photo: Hanford Fast Flux Test Facility . General Subjects Photograph Collection, 1845-2005 , c. 1975.