After some serious consideration, the Public Services staff has come to the decision that it is time to put an official end our blog.  Unfortunately we just don’t have time to update it any longer, and we hate to have old and outdated posts out there cluttering up our website and confusing our patrons.  And while it’s apparent that the blog format served our purposes for a number of years, we now have better and more efficient ways of posting new information on our website for you.

We remain very proud of what we accomplished with our blog, which the Communications folks at WSDOT say was the first government blog for the State of Washington!  Our efforts were also profiled in a number of library publications and training seminars, including 5 Weeks to a Social Library.  In the three years since we started our “little blog that could”, the technology and culture surrounding government blogging has changed tremendously, and we like to think we maybe had a little something to do with that. 

Our staff will make “guest appearances” on the other Washington State Library blogs currently available, and as always we are available for your questions about Washington State history, government, culture, and genealogy at askalibrarian@secstate.wa.gov.

Thanks for your readership over the years.  It’s been a heck of a ride.

It seems that in Olympia Saint Patrick’s Day has always been a day to celebrate regardless of age, nationality, or the limits of personal living quarters.  Three cases in point:

1) 1912: Miss Beatrice Kearney hosted her own St. Patrick’s Day affair for several of her young friends. She apparently did a wonderful job, since the party was reported in the Olympia Record. Pretty impressive considering that, according to census records, Miss Beatrice would have been about 9 years old at the time.

2) 1909: It may have been meant as a joke, but Senator Hans H. Fatland of Pierce County nevertheless went along with a resolution in his name declaring St. Patrick’s Day a legal holiday. His good humor is notable since he was Norwegian by birth.

3) 1922: Accused liquor seller, and possible “jointist,” Pat Kelly suggested to the court that he should get a more lenient sentence since he had spent his St. Patrick’s Day in jail and was unable to celebrate as befitted his Irish heritage. The court was seemingly not impressed with this argument, fining him $250 and sentencing him to 60 more days of jail.

In case you’re wondering, a “jointist” was a term used during Prohibition to describe a keeper of an illegal drinking saloon, or “joint.”

The staff of the Washington State Library has compiled a list of helpful online resources for those currently affected by the recent downturn of the economy.  For links to unemployment information, job and retraining resources, and federal economic stimulus programs, click here!

In order to honor National Poetry Month, the Washington State Library is excited to announce that we will be hosting our state’s first poet laureate, Samuel Green, for an evening event on April 9, 2009, at 6:30 pm.

Sam Green is a native of Washington and currently resides on Waldron Island. He has authored numerous poetry collections, has been a visiting poet and instructor for several Washington and northwest universities and colleges, and has been the editor of Brooding Heron Press for the past 30 years. Mr. Green’s poetry collection The Grace of Necessity won the 2008 Washington State Book Award in Poetry.

Please join us for this celebration of poetry in the main reading room on the second floor of the library. Doors open at 6:00 pm, and seating is limited and available on a first come basis.

For more information about this upcoming program, please contact Library Events at (360) 704-5269 or wslevents@secstate.wa.gov

In honor of African-American History Month, we would like to highlight some African American genealogical resources specific to Washington State and the Pacific Northwest that can be found here at the Washington State Library, as well as online.

For starters, we have an outstanding collection of Washington historical and current newspapers on microfilm and online, including several African-American newspapers. You can see a list of the African-American newspapers here, as well as other titles that may help you learn more about African-American family history.  [ed. note: see also Laura's comment on our previous post.]

And keep in mind you can always search our catalog to check for resources on African-American genealogy or anything else related to Washington family history, local and state government questions.

Beyond our walls, there are some really great free online resources about African-Americans in the Pacific Northwest. Here are some websites that we find especially interesting:

Through Open Eyes: 95 Years of Roslyn’s Black Mining History by the Ellensburg Public Library
The page includes a history of the Roslyn community and its mining industry, a pictorial database, and historical newspaper excerpts that describe mining accidents.

National Parks Service: African Americans at Fort Vancouver
 The page has links to articles such as “African-Americans and the Hudson Bay Company” and “Buffalo Soldiers at Fort Vancouver.”

BlackPast: An Online reference guide to African American history by Quintard Taylor (Scott and Dorothy Bullitt Professor of American History, University of Washington Seattle)
From Quintard Taylor’s introduction to the website: “This 3,000 page site is dedicated to providing reference materials to the general public on African American history in the United States and on the history of people of African ancestry around the world.” Of particular interest is the “African-Americans in the West” page.

African American Coal Miner Information Center by Tim Pinnick
The page includes a database of African-American miners, lists of coal mining camps and towns by state, and lists of suggested reading for further research.

Just in time to catch the end of Black History Month, African Americans in the Pacific Northwest:  A Select Bibliography, is now available on the Washington State Library’s website.  This annotated bibliography of recent titles and websites contains materials on a variety of people and issues involving African Americans in Washington and the Pacific Northwest.

Questions?  Comments?  Suggestions?  Let us know!

Attention Washington students!  Have you entered this year’s Letters About Literature contest yet?  The deadline is fast approaching!  All entries must be postmarked by this Saturday, December 6, 2008 in order to be considered.  Entries for Letters About Literature 2008-2009 should be addressed to:

Letters About Literature
Competition Level (indicate level 1, 2, or 3)
PO Box 609
Dallas, PA 18612

Participation Guidelines and additional information about this contest can be found on the Washington State Library’s website.  Last year, Washington student McKenzie Dent won one of the national prizes - let’s see if Washington can do it again!

Questions about this program?  Contact Shirley at letters@secstate.wa.gov.

Join us for an evening event at the Washington State Library on Wednesday, November 19, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. featuring Jeff Davis and Al Eufrasio, authors of the book Weird Washington. Jeff and Al will share a few of their favorite stories from their exploration of the weird and wonderful landmarks Washington has to offer. Come to learn about the unique places in Washington that are waiting to be enjoyed!

Doors will open at 6:00 PM and the event will take place in the 2nd floor reading room. Seating is limited and is on a first-come basis. For more information about this or any event at the state library, please contact WSL Events at 360-704-5269 or wslevents@secstate.wa.gov.

Let’s travel back 100 years and find out what Election Day 1908 was like in Walla Walla.  The presidential battle served up William Howard Taft for the Republicans, and William Jennings Bryan - who was appearing for an impressive third time on the Democratic ticket.  The Tuesday, November 4 Evening Bulletin (before its merger with the Daily Union to create the Union-Bulletin) ran a number of election-themed stories under the enormous banner headline “HEAVY VOTE == TAFT LEADS“. 

Especially of interest?  One article highlighted the use of brand new voting machines in New York, noting that “the [election] result will be known almost as soon as the polls close.” 

And we were fascinated by “Walla Walla Bets Heavily on Election,” which claims that $35,000 in bets had been placed mostly on the outcomes of the various state and local Walla Walla elections.  That’s over $798,000 in today’s money according one inflation calculator!  Of course, a Taft victory was so expected that betting odds had to be raised 3-1 before there were any takers in the crowd for the presidential election.  Taft went on to win in a landslide victory for the Republicans, winning Washington State with 105,000 votes to Bryan’s 58,000.

Read highlights from the Walla Walla Evening Bulletin here.  (Note: part of the microfilm is difficult to read, especially on the right side)

Further reading:

United States Presidential Election, 1908.  Wikipedia

William Howard Taft and Republicans win general elections in Washington on November 3, 1908.  Historylink Essay 5578.  (See also Historylink essays on the visits of President Taft and William Jennings Bryan to the Alaska Yukon Exposition in 1909)

The Gear and Lever Voting Machine from Vote: the Machinery of Democracy, an online exhibit from the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.

Historical Presidential Betting Markets by Paul W. Rhode and Koleman S. Strumpf. October 2008. National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper #14377.

Quick, Seattle baseball fans, where did the following headline appear?

Fans Demanding Scalp of Seattle Manager

Hm, the wording doesn’t sound too far off from some disgruntled bloggers we know.  In 2008, the hometown Mariners went 61-101, becoming the first team to lose over 100 games despite a $100+ million dollar payroll.  It’s easy to imagine a particularly bitter writer taking out his frustrations in this way.

But this headline doesn’t come from a modern day blog or newspaper.  Any guesses before we proceed?

Read the rest of this entry »