General Public History
4/15/15 – Hall of Fame: Feliz Cumple, Executioner
When searching through historical material, SHRA researchers occasionally come across items so singular that they need no elaboration. We’re showcasing some of these finds here on our blog as our “Hall of Fame” entries. We hope you will enjoy and appreciate seeing these little gems from the archives. Editor’s note: For more information on Emperor… Read the Rest »
4/1/15 – Hite’s Cove
Every early March my thoughts turn to Hite’s Cove, a steep-sided canyon along the South Fork of the Merced River just west of Yosemite National Park. For those living in the small town up the road from Hite’s Cove, as I did for three years, there is no better place to spot early spring wildflowers…. Read the Rest »
3/25/15 – Fishing with Brando
The Indian Affairs series in the Washington State Department of Fisheries central files was probably the last place we’d have looked for a reference to Hollywood, yet there was Marlon Brando’s name, as plain as day. In 1964, we learned, Brando participated in a fish-in along with a Puyallup tribal leader, defying Washington state law… Read the Rest »
3/18/15 – Favorite Reading Rooms: Seattle Municipal Archives
Editor’s Note: This week’s blog is part of our ongoing series on our favorite reading rooms. See previous installments here and here. Growing up a ferry ride away from Seattle, I can attest to the accuracy of the city’s reputation of gray skies, constant drizzle, and excellent coffee. What’s funny is that it took moving away… Read the Rest »
3/11/15 – Hall of Fame: Cave-Grown Mushrooms
When searching through historical material, SHRA researchers occasionally come across items so singular that they need no elaboration. We’re showcasing some of these finds here on our blog as our “Hall of Fame” entries. We hope you will enjoy and appreciate seeing these little gems from the archives.
3/4/15 – Hall of Fame: Helen Keller’s Signature
When searching through historical material, SHRA researchers occasionally come across items so singular that they need no elaboration. We’re showcasing some of these finds here on our blog as our “Hall of Fame” entries. We hope you will enjoy and appreciate seeing these little gems from the archives.
2/25/15 – Snowflake Bentley
A recent article in The Vault, Slate’s history blog, on illustrations of snowflakes from the 1860s caught our eye at SHRA, especially because it referenced Wilson Bentley, a figure better known to all Vermont school children as Snowflake Bentley.[i] Bentley, a farmer from Jericho, Vermont, followed the exquisite snowflake drawings of the 1860s with the… Read the Rest »
2/18/15 – YMCA Seattle
When SHRA researchers travel, we don’t limit ourselves to finding history just in the archives. The interdisciplinary nature of history allows historians to cast our net wide and glean historical understanding and appreciation from everything around us. While on a recent trip to Seattle, we found a plethora of valuable sources in the archive, but… Read the Rest »
2/11/15 -Better Buy Her an Electric Toaster
“Does Your Wife Yawn when You Kiss Her?” asked a Seattle Times headline from July, 1957.[i] “Better Buy Her an Electric Toaster.” The latest romance, the article promised, was not between men and women, but “between women and electrical gadgets.” This sentiment was not surprising given the strong advertisement and sales campaigns during the previous… Read the Rest »
2/9/15 – Wolf Reintroduction
While not a find in the archives, we’ve just reached the 20th anniversary of a landmark event in environmental history: the reintroduction of wolves to Idaho and Yellowstone. In what a recent Idaho Statesman article called “one of the most controversial wildlife projects of the century,” in 1995 and 1996, 66 wolves were live-trapped in… Read the Rest »