President FDR met with a large crowd of Quinaults in the spacious lobby of Lake Quinault Lodge when he visited there in 1937. The Native American children in traditional dress displayed some of their crafts and treated the president to a presentation by children of the nearby Taholah Indian School as well as a traditional Indian warrior display of strength.
I introduced myself and my wife to our Lake Quinault coach tour guide, LeRoy Tipton. He said our names twice and quipped, “I have a really good memory. But my recall does not work very well. In fact, I have a very good memory except for names…faces, places, events, dates…stuff like that.” During the twenty-minute introduction where LeRoy (pronounced “luh-ROY” not “LEE-roy”) eloquently set the stage for our three-hour tour
“Yes, Mr. President. It is, indeed, breathtaking.” Those are the words I imagine Washington State Governor Clarence D. Martin spoke in 1937 after President Franklin Delano Roosevelt first commented on the beauty of what was then known as the Mount Olympus National Monument. Of course, Governor Martin would likely have been hiding a smirk at having to reinforce such an obvious statement by FDR. After all, it was a natural