Winter-Is-Upon-Us Photo Challenge Under all that snow, Jack Nicholson might be running around with an axe while his son flees from a pair of creepy sisters. OK, this isn't The Overlook Hotel from The Shining, but it is a hotel. Can you tell us which popular Washington destination is shown here covered by a heap of wintry magic? Send us your guess!

A couple participants even spelled his name right Current events are usually a strong hint in these challenges. While many guesses flooded in for Henry Jackson and Warren Magnuson, some of you were tipped off by Seattle's mayoral race. The former Seattle mayor in the photo is Dorm Braman, who served from 1964 until he left for a position in D.C., under President Nixon, in 1969. See last month's challenge

Cracking the Archives

Gov. Lister sent uncle of Gov. Inslee's wife to Mexican border in pursuit of Pancho Villa

by Jamison Murphy, Olympia Branch Mexican Revolutionary general Pancho Villa is hailed as a major military influence responsible for altering the landscape of Mexican politics in the 1910s. His penchant for winning military battles drew the ire of Mexico’s most powerful, but his strong will to fight for what he believed in, enabled him to be picky when it came to choosing friends. This stubbornness would also lead to his forced exit from the military arena, and ultimately, his assassination... read more

Free workshop: preserve records

Property of the month

History Happy Hour a hit again

The Olympia Archives will host a free event on Saturday, January 27, 2018, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Get expert advice and hands-on demonstrations from archivists, plus learn how to organize and preserve your family records, and prepare your documents for natural disasters. Attendance will be limited. Registration will open when the January edition of Out of the Archives is released.

On November 21, 1899, the Florence Crittenton Home for unwed mothers opened in Dunlap (now South Seattle). It was one of 50 homes opened by a rescue mission founded by a wealthy New York druggist to provide shelter for destitute women and was the only secular facility of its kind in Seattle. A new three-story building with room for 150 women opened in 1926. Further... read more

After some Sounders-playoffs-related rescheduling, the Olympia Archives' signature Archives Month event finally took place on Thursday, November 16th, at 3 Magnets Brewing Co. in Olympia. History Happy Hour was a fun night of historical trivia. Good times (and many beers) were had! Thank you to everyone who made it out, and to the restaurant for hosting.

D igital Archives reaches 200 million records

We are thrilled to announce this milestone. Thank you to everyone at the Digital Archives, and the volunteers who made this possible! On the morning of November 30, the Digital Archives sat at 199,980,098 records, when over 3 million records were entered into the queue for processing. By noon that day, it was official. Congratulations to Gordon Russ of Lacey, Washington, for winning the 200 million records contest. His guess was the closest to the exact date and he won himself an Ancestry DNA kit.

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Out of the Archives banner photo: Coast Artillery 248th soldiers sitting at mess tables before Christmas Mass dinner, 1944.