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Winter Lecture Series

Uncovering Natural and Social History of Washington

All lectures NOON-1 PM, $2 suggested donation. Coffee and tea served.

A Lawyer in Indian Country: A Memoir

March 22
Alvin J. Ziontz
As the senior attorney arguing U.S. v. Washington, Ziontz was a party to the historic 1974 Boldt decision that affirmed the Pacific Northwest tribes' treaty fishing rights, with ramifications for tribal rights nationwide. He later continued to fight for tribal rights into the late 1990s, as the Makah tribe of Washington sought to resume its traditional whale hunts. Ziontz will discuss own path through this public history -- one man's pursuit of a life built around the principles of integrity and justice.


From Parlor to Podium:
Territorial Suffragists of Olympia
Exhibit Opening Reception

March 13 > 1-3 PM

David and Suzanne Shade of Tumwater. Wear your suffrage period clothing to this exhibit opening reception if you wish– you won't be alone! (Jon Smith photo)

Family activities in every gallery mark the opening of From Parlor to Podium: Territorial Suffragists in Olympia. There will be games, suffragists in period costume, and the opportunity to meet the historians, curators, and designers behind the exhibit. $2 individuals, $4 families suggested donation.


Spring Jewelry and Antique Show

April 17 > 11 AM-3 PM

(Marie DeLong photo)

This popular annual spring event features local antique dealers, regional jewelry artists, and specialty crafters. A highlight this year will be a modeled display of period fashions of the territorial era through 1910, highlighting the suffrage years, courtesy of the Christman Collection of Seattle. Husband and wife collectors, the Christmans possess a unique and wide ranging collection of men’s and women’s clothing dating from the 1870s and featuring clothing worn by laborers and the genteel. They will model the fashions and talk about the historical significance of the pieces, from 1-1:30 PM. Tea and light refreshments served in the elegant Lord Mansion. Admission is a suggested donation of $2 per person.


Walking Tours of Women’s History Sites in Olympia

May 15 > 1-3 PM

Women’s History Consortium Coordinator, Shanna Stevenson, and Museum Manager, Susan Rohrer, will lead walking tours of sites of special interest to the history of women and women’s suffrage in Olympia. Offered in partnership with the Olympia Heritage Commission as part of the National Historic Preservation Month. $2 per person.


RIVER OF PROMISE
Lewis and Clark on the Columbia

Reception and Book Signing

May 20 @ 7 PM

(Washington State Historical Society)

David L. Nicandri and Clay S. Jenkinson
An evening with Washington State Historical Society Director and author David L. Nicandri, with Clay S. Jenkinson of The Dakota Institute. The program features a rare, hour-long conversation and presentation examining the often overlooked history of Lewis and Clark in Columbia River country, and its historical consequences. Most narratives emphasize the explorers’ adventures through their journey to the Bitterroot Mountains but have said little about the rest of their travels west of the range.

A special Lewis and Clark themed reception and book signing will follow. An opportunity to speak with the author, examine recreated Lewis and Clark expedition equipment, and review the history of Washington’s own Lewis and Clark history through a special showing of the exhibit “End of our Voyage: Lewis and Clark in Washington” provides an opportunity to examine the important subject brought forward in this new scholary work.

River of Promise fills a significant gap in our understanding of Lewis and Clark’s legendary expedition. Nicandri shifts the focus to a fundamental goal of the explorers: to discover the headwaters of the Columbia and a water route to the Pacific Ocean. He also restores William Clark to his role as primary geographic problem-solver of the partnership. Most historians assume that Meriwether Lewis was a more distinguished scientist than Clark because of his formal training in Philadelphia and superior writing skills. Here we see Clark as Lewis’s equal in scientific geography, not merely the practical manager of boats and personnel.

Nicandri places the oft-mythologized Sacagawea in clearer perspective by focusing instead on the contributions of often-overlooked Indian leaders in Columbia River country. He also offers points of comparison to other explorers and a provocative analysis of Lewis’s suicide in 1809, arguing that it was not a rash decision brought about by despair, but the fruit of a seed planted much earlier—quite possibly in Columbia country.

David L. Nicandri is director of the Washington State Historical Society and served as President of the National Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Council.

Clay S. Jenkinson, winner of the National Endowment for the Humanities Medal of Excellence and nationally known for his first-person characterizations of Thomas Jefferson and Meriwether Lewis, is the author of The Character of Meriwether Lewis and host of “The Thomas Jefferson Hour” radio show.


Spring Lecture Series

Stories of Washington Women and Settlers

All lectures NOON-1 PM, $2 suggested donation. Coffee and tea served.

The View From The West Shore

April 12
Karen Johnson, historian
In 1875, the first issue of The West Shore magazine was published in Portland. For the next 16 years, this publication was the premiere illustrated magazine of the Northwest. Editor Leopold Samuel used The West Shore to encourage immigration to our corner of the world. Under the principle that a picture was indeed worth a thousand words, Samuel published hundreds of beautifully engraved, accurate descriptions of Northwest life. Scenery, residences, railroads, ships, construction projects, farm scenes, cityscapes—all were fodder for Samuel’s cadre of professional illustrators, whose artwork had a quaint charm and astonishing detail not often found in photographs. Dozens of illustrations and advertisements from The West Shore will be shown and discussed in this visual trip through the Northwest of the late 1800s.

Washington's Experience with the ERA

April 19
Washington State Supreme Court Justice Debra L. Stephens
The Honorable Debra L. Stephens was appointed to the Washington State Supreme Court effective January 1, 2008, and subsequently elected to a six-year term. She previously served as a judge for Division Three of the Court of Appeals, having been appointed and later elected unopposed in 2007. Justice Stephens is a native of Spokane, where she practiced law until taking the bench. Her legal work focused on appellate practice, with over 125 appearances in the Washington Supreme Court, in addition to appearances in the Washington Court of Appeals, Idaho Supreme Court, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and as counsel of record in the United States Supreme Court.

The Washington Women’s History Consortium recently completed an Oral History project with women active in the Equal Rights Amendment campaigns in Washington. Click here for more information: Click here for more information.

Hardly a Scapegrace: A Closer Look at the Life of Joseph Heath, HBC Tenant Farmer and Frontiersman

May 3
Mike McGuire, Fort Nisqually Living History Museum
As the 1840s unfolded, incoming agrarian society began its transformation of the Puget Sound region. Among the earliest arrivals was Hudson’s Bay Company tenant farmer Joseph Heath. Settling at the present day site of Historic Fort Steilacoom, Heath would leave for history a wonderful diary (1845-49) that would chronicle his difficult struggle to establish one of the first farms on Puget Sound and shed a different light on a man who carried a less than desirable reputation.

Bringing Back the “Co-Respondents”

Patricia Larson and Sandra Nisbet, the Co-Respndents.(Larson, Nisbet photo)

May 24
Patricia Larson and Sandra Nisbet
Join the Patricia Larson and Sandra Nisbet as they reprise their performances as the “Co-Respondents.” The “Co-Respondents” performed, researched, and created programs based on women’s history and literature, and performed all over Washington and the U.S. for several years during the 1970s and 1980s. They continued performing and creating programs to dramatize women’s history in many settings, and then created television programs and documentaries to reach even larger audiences. In later years, Pat and Sandra formed a company to produce several travel programs for public television.


Women's Suffrage Pilgrimage to Seneca Falls, NY

July 14 through July 19, 2010

Travel to the heart of women's suffrage (Washington State Historical Society)

Travel with Washington State Historical Society Director and Seneca Falls, NY native, David Nicandri, and Women's History Consortium Coordinator and Women's Votes, Women's Voices: The Campaign for Equal Rights in Washington author Shanna Stevenson, for a women’s suffrage pilgrimage to the Women’s Rights National Historical Park in Seneca Falls.

Dave and Shanna will lead a six-day tour to commemorate the 100th anniversary of equal voting rights for Washington women. The tour is timed so attendees can be in the heart of the birthplace of the suffrage movement during the annual Convention Days Festival that honors the first women’s rights convention, held in July 1848.

This trip includes more than a dozen attractions in New York's spectacular Finger Lakes region, all transportation, most meals, five nights lodging, taxes, insurance, and more.

Pricing: $999 includes all of the above, and airfare pricing options are below:
1. Group air arrangements, an additional $719 includes taxes, service, and insurance (Maximum 12 persons at this group price)
2. Custom air arrangements with Travel Leaders
3. Use your own air miles and meet up with the group at the Rochester Hotel, in NY (More information upon request from Kathleen Tansey)

For more information, contact Kathleen Tansey, Travel Leaders-Travel Center agent, at 253-630-7755 or Kathleen@travelcenter4u.com.


Recurring Public Program: Memoir Writing Group

Tuesday afternoons > 1-3 PM
cost is $6 per class or 5 classes for $24

A weekly life-writing class led by author Delores Nelson

Beginning with a small but enthusiastic group of adults, the Memoir Writing Group at the State Capital Museum has been meeting regularly for nearly two years. The group explores the past through writing and assembling their memoirs. Lead by Delores Kelso Nelson, a writer and teacher in the Olympia area for over 15 years, the memoir class serves participants by igniting lost memories, supporting practicing memoir writers, and offering a chance to socialize.
More Information

State Capital Museum and Outreach Center
211 SW 21st Avenue
Olympia, WA 98501
(360) 753-2580
More contact info