Happy new year, and welcome to 2015! In the spirit of new beginnings, making resolutions and so forth, I thought I would share some of the blog posts from the last two years that didn’t quite make it to the publish stage. So let it be known that, from this day forward, I will finish every blog post I start – no matter the time or research involved, and no matter
Washington State’s Long Beach Peninsula is well known for many reasons. The prolific oyster and razor clam harvests, Jake the Alligator Man at Marsh’s Free Museum and one of the longest beaches in the world (28 continuous miles of sand-filled fun) are just a few. But there’s more to the iconic arm of Pacific County than just having a good time which, incidentally, is far too easy to do. Many
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
My thanks to 91-year-old Robert Peloli – the last living coal miner in Wilkeson, his family, Wilkeson Mayor Bob Walker, Pierce County, and Dave Kellman, my intrepid videographer for this story. I think this is the best video we’ve done, and it’s a story near and dear to my heart. I hope you all enjoy watching it as much as I enjoyed making it!
When most folks want to unplug for a weekend, they are often disappointed to find that their secret hideaway has suddenly become everyone else’s destination hot-spot. Many of Washington’s smaller beach communities can end up crawling with tourists during the busy season…good for their local economy, sure, but the bane of travelers looking for peace and quiet. However, a few places still remain where individuals, couples and families can find
Zombies? Like. Pioneer town? Like. Put the two together? It’s a match made in only the greatest nightmares. “Haunting Ellensburg” is Ellensburg’s premier haunted house event, taking place at Frontier Village at the Kittitas Valley Event Center on Fridays and Saturdays from Oct. 10 through Oct. 25. Guests will be pulled into a horrific version of the Old West as they encounter a fearful village overrun by marauding zombies and
A recent article by the Pacific Northwest Inlander calls into question whether or not Spokane pioneer and founding father, James Glover, is deserving of having a new plaza next to city hall named in his honor. Lisa Waananen Jones, who wrote the Inlander piece, “Facing History: The story that James Glover didn’t want you to know, and why it’s threatening his legacy,” did a competent job assembling the different parts
Returning from an overnight trip to Leavenworth (always a must-see if you happen to be in the Wenatchee National Forest), I spotted a sign along US-97 pointing the way toward Liberty, Washington, which billed itself as the only living ghost town in the state. Only two miles off the main road, I decided to take the extra few minutes to check out what Liberty had to offer. What I found was
The City of Lacey Historical Commission will consider the nomination of Old Main Building on the campus of Saint Martin’s University in Lacey to the National Register of Historic Places at its September 17, 2014 meeting. The meeting will be held in Lacey City Hall, 420 College Street SE in Lacey beginning at 6:00 p.m. The public is invited to attend and comment on the nomination. Old Main was constructed