Washington State Historical Society Selects Jennifer Kilmer as New Executive Director

Kilmer’s Ability to Lead Fundraising Efforts Key to Bringing Long-Term Stability to State’s History Museum

TACOMA, Wash. – Jennifer Kilmer, a museum manager with extensive fundraising experience, has been selected by the Washington State Historical Society board of trustees to succeed David Nicandri as its new executive director. The board’s recommendation has been approved by Governor Christine Gregoire.

Kilmer was the board's unanimous choice at a meeting held in Tacoma August 9. Nicandri is scheduled to retire October 7 after twenty-five years as head of the organization. Nicandri's career was highlighted by the construction of a new state history museum in 1996 that led to a civic renaissance in downtown Tacoma.

“David Nicandri has done a tremendous job of making our state's history far more accessible and interesting to far more people than ever before,” said Society President Dan Grimm. "Jennifer Kilmer is uniquely qualified to achieve even more in the years to come.”

Kilmer has been executive director of the Harbor History Museum for the past eight years. She headed a five-year campaign that raised nearly $12 million in public and private funds to build a new museum in Gig Harbor. Harbor Museum attendance has quadrupled since the new facility was completed last August.

“As the flagship historical organization in Washington, the Historical Society plays a critical role in collecting, preserving and sharing our state’s rich history,” said Kilmer. “David Nicandri has built a great foundation for all of us to build on and I’m honored to be chosen by the board of trustees to lead this great institution into the future.”

Kilmer began her career as a grant manager for the Paul G. Allen Family Foundations in Seattle. She also served as the program officer for the Seattle Seahawks Charitable Foundation and worked on a variety of special projects including the development of the Science Fiction Museum at the Seattle Center.

“Jennifer brings to the state an outstanding set of qualities, experience, and impressive academic credentials,” said Society trustee Charles W. Bingham, who led the executive director search. “I think she’s the perfect successor to David Nicandri and has the ability to enhance the society’s stellar reputation and expand opportunities for everyone to benefit from what the Society has to offer.”

Reared in Kansas, Kilmer earned a bachelor’s degree from Wellesley College in 1996. Upon graduation, she was awarded a prestigious Marshall Scholarship and attended the University of Oxford where she attained her master’s degree.

The Washington State History Museum is located at 1911 Pacific Avenue in downtown Tacoma. Information, including visiting hours and admission prices, is available by calling 1-888-BE-THERE (1-888-238-4373) or by visiting www.washingtonhistory.org

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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Dan Branley (206) 914-1231
dbranley@launchcmus.com

Columbia's 25th Anniversary

In 2011, COLUMBIA: The Magazine of Northwest History celebrates its 25th year of publication. Throughout the two and a half decades of its existence, the magazine’s staff has striven to maintain the character and quality of the publication John M. McClelland Jr. (1915–2010) brought into being during his tenure on the Washington State Historical Society Board of Trustees.

COLUMBIA should leave intellectual history to the scholarly journals, concentrating instead on narrative history, interpretation of events, and accounts of human achievements and happenings in all areas of endeavor to provide knowledge of what has brought Washington and its people to their present condition.

- John M. McClelland, Jr.

Recently the magazine has taken a few baby steps into the digital realm. The print
version of the magazine is not going away, but a digital edition of the Spring 2011
issue is available for a limited time as a PDF file downloadable from our Web site:
Columbia.WashingtonHistory.org.

COLUMBIA is one element of McClelland’s cultural legacy that every person in Washington can benefit by. Executive editor and Historical Society director David Nicandri’s eulogy for John McClelland appears on page 2 of the new spring issue.

Pictures of Resistance

This came across my desk this morning and it looks fascinating: The Holocaust Center is partnering with Hillel at the University of Washington to bring to Seattle “Pictures of Resistance: The Wartime Photography of Jewish Partisan Faye Schulman” featuring photography from the only known Jewish partisan photographer during the Holocaust.

Remember Daniel Craig in the movie “Defiance”? He played Tuvia Bielski, the commander of the Bielski Partisan group. Tuvia’s granddaughter, Sharon Rennert, will be in Seattle sharing personal stories and footage from her upcoming documentary.

PICTURES OF RESISTANCE: The Wartime Photographs of Jewish Partisan Faye Schulman
Exhibit - January 13 -February 17, 2011
Teacher Workshop - January 14
Hillel, University of Washington, Seattle
Sponsored by the Holocaust Center in partnership with Hillel
More information – www.wsherc.org/programs.

Special Guest! January 13 & 14
Sharon Rennert, granddaughter of Jewish partisan commander Tuvia Bielski.

TEACHER WORKSHOP - January 14, 2011. 8:30am - 3:00pm.
Presentations by: Mitch Braff, "Women in the Partisans," and Sharon Rennert, "In Our Hands: A Personal Story of the Bielski Partisans." Clock hours available. $10 registration fee. Space is limited – More info and to register – www.wsherc.org/programs.

Please note: the Historical Society is not affiliated with this event--we're just spreading the word! The image featured on this post is courtesy of the Washington Holocaust Education Resource Center.

Women Unbound: Celebrate the Legacy

If you're a blog reader, you may or may not know that the Washington State Historical Society is doing a lot to celebrate the suffrage centennial through our Washington Women's History Consortium. We were sent an email recently about a cool opportunity to celebrate women's history and just thought that we'd pass it along.

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100 years ago, something happened that changed our lives forever....

It's time to celebrate! On November 8th, 1910, women in Washington State were awarded the right to vote. One hundred years later, the Women's Center at the University of Washington is ready to celebrate this incredible accomplishment, as well as one hundred women in our state who have broken barriers in a variety of industries.

Please join them for WOMEN UNBOUND: CELEBRATE THE LEGACY. One hundred Washington women – pioneers in their fields or careers - and our priceless heritage will be honored at a gala at the Seattle Sheraton. Sponsored by the U.W. Women’s Center.

For more information on this event, visit the website at http://depts.washington.edu/womenctr/ or call 206-685-1090. Please note: the Historical Society is not affiliated with this event--we're just spreading the word!

Center for Columbia River History Announces 2010 James B. Castles Fellow

Formed in 1990, the Center for Columbia River History is a consortium of the Washington State Historical Society, Portland State University and Washington State University Vancouver. Located on the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, its mission is to promote the study of Columbia River Basin history. CCRH conducts interdisciplinary research projects, publishes material in text and electronic formats, sponsors free public programs and teacher workshops, and develops curricula. It collaborates with other historical and cultural institutions and offers programs to schools, libraries, historical societies and public groups throughout the Columbia River Basin, a region that includes territory in seven states (Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Wyoming, and Utah) and one Canadian province (British Columbia).

Each year, CCRH selects a James B. Castles Fellow, conducts original scholarly research that contributes to public understanding of the history of the Columbia River Basin. The Castles Fellowship is made possible by an endowment provided by the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust to CCRH in honor of James B. Castles, a founding trustee who promoted the heritage of the Columbia River throughout his life. This year's recipient is Johanna Ogden, an independent scholar who recently earned an M.A. in History at the University of British Columbia (2010). Her interests and publications have ranged from the Bracero Program in Hood River to Conscientious Objectors on the Oregon Coast during World War II. Most recently, she has investigated the immigration and activities of Punjabi Sikh laborers along the Columbia River in Washington and Oregon. In this effort, she has tied regional immigrant communities to the Ghadar Party, an early 20th Century Indian independence movement. Ms. Ogden's work fits into the CCRH Columbia River and the World Initiative. She plans to use the fellowship funds to broaden her archival research in the region and to revise a portion of her thesis, "Oregon and Global Insurgency: Punjabis of the Columbia River Basin," into an article-length manuscript. In addition, she will collaborate with CCRH staff to craft an internet product based on her work.

Learn more about the Castles Endowment, including the fellowship, lectureship, and public programs it supports.

State Library Announce Summer Book Selections

The Washington State Library compiles dozens of interesting book lists, perhaps none more so than State Librarian Jan Walsh's seasonal reads. To jump-start summer (assuming we actually get summer this year), she's chosen nine books on the theme "Washington as Place." You can read Jan's comments on each book here. The full list:

• George Beahm with the Forks Chamber of Commerce, Twilight Tours: An Illustrated Guide to the REAL Forks, 2009.
• Susan Colleen Browne, Little Farm in the Foothills: A Boomer Couple's Search for the Slow Life, 2009.
• David C. Dykstra, Lake Washington 130 Homes: A Guided Tour of the Lake's Most Magnificent Homes, 2009.
• Kurt Hoetling, The Circumference of Home: One Man's Yearlong Quest for a Radically Local Life, 2010.
• Lloyd Kahn, Builders of the Pacific Coast, 2008.
• Lawrence Kreisman and Glenn Mason, The Arts and Crafts Movement in the Pacific Northwest, 2007 (don't miss this wonderful exhibit at the Washington State History Museum, August 7 - November 28).
• Craig Romano, Columbia Highlands: Exploring Washington's Last Frontier, 2007
• Ann Leda Shapiro, My Island, 2009.
• John Skewes and Robert Schwartz, Seattle ABC, 2009.

Historic Preservation Blogs to Watch

One of the best things about the Washington State Historical Society is the many opportunities to partner with other state agencies and organizations whose primary focus is history. And one of our favorites is the Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation (DAHP). They're housed just down the street from the State Capital Museum in Olympia, in a historically cool modernist building with big plate-glass windows. If you're walking up Capitol Way from downtown, you're likely to see State Historic Preservation Officer Allyson Brooks at her desk, working hard to ensure that Washington's historic places are preserved and managed appropriately.

DAHP runs a blog worth checking out: it's a panoply of historic preservation doings around the state and nation. A recent entry made note of an NPR story about a green building project in California, Historic Seattle's upcoming workshop series, and the 2010 Public Archaeology Field School at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site and Lava Beds National Monument.

The blog has an easy-to-use subscribe feature, so you can receive postings (on a regular, but not-too-frequent basis) in your email inbox. If historic preservation matters to you, consider signing up for this blog's feed.

Historic Seattle also recently launched its blog, MAin2, named for Seattle telephone exchange codes used a half-century ago. While its primary focus is preservation issues in the Seattle area, writers go far afield too. Last week, we enjoyed posts about historic preservation and culture in Cuba, and learned about the federal government's proposed historic preservation budget. Like DAHP's, this has a quick subscribe link, and like DAHP's blog, MAin2 is worth checking out.

What historic preservation blogs do you like?

Rural Eastern Washington Life in the Early 20th Century

We are quite fond of The Scout Report, a weekly list of interesting websites produced by the University of Wisconsin. The list recently included a link to the Frank A. Matsura Image Collection at the Washington State University Digital Collections. It's well worth a look, and it's always affirming to see more digital resources available.

The Scout Report's summary review says: After coming to the United States from Japan in 1905, Frank S. Matsura stopped in Seattle and then moved across the Cascades to the city of Okanogan, WA. As a photographer, he was involved in his own practice and in documenting the changes in the environment as the city expanded and the Conconully Dam was built nearby. Matsura was a very active member of the community, and he created a playground for local children and he was fond of dressing up in strange hats and costumes. This delightful digital archive of his work was created by the Washington State University Libraries Digital Collections, and it contains almost 1600 of his photographs. Users can look through the "Predefined Searches" section for a few highlights organized into areas like "automobiles", "children", and "Native Americans". Overall, the site offers a rather unique glimpse into early 20th century life in rural eastern Washington.

Fay Fuller's Boots and Minty Mudslides

It's all in the latest issue of COLUMBIAkids. Learn about the first woman known to have climbed Mount Rainier--in 1890, just after Washington became a state. What clothes did she wear (no Gore-Tex available then)? What about climbing boots?

And while we're asking questions... Why is Princess Ariadne of Crete lounging around the Washington State History Research Center? Who is the ghost looking for her daughters in the lighthouse? What's a wabit basket? How did Pah-toe, Wy-east, and Loo-wit resolve their differences?

The answers, along with a recipe for no-bake Minty Mudslide cookies (perfect to munch while you're reading) are available in the new COLUMBIAkids.

How to Build a Dinosaur

Can dinosaurs be brought back to life? Is there a velociraptor lurking in the cells of every chicken? Does extinction have to be forever? Dr. Jack Horner is revered among those with an interest in dinosaurs, and our friends at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture will host the paleontologist on Friday, March 5 at 7:00 PM in UW Kane Hall 130. Ticket information at www.burkemuseum.org.

Why we do this

Yesterday, the State Capital Museum hosted Nicolette Bromberg of UW's Special Collections. She works with visual resources, such as film and photography, and she spun a fascinating story about her research into Viretta Chambers Denny, a turn-of-the-century woman photographer in Washington State.

Bromberg first encountered Denny when she found an album of her photographs at an auction. She was intrigued, she said, because there isn't much known about early woman photographers, and she determined to bid on the album and another lot, a box of lantern slides and glass plate negatives. She suspected they might be related to the album because it's typical in auctions to break up items into smaller, saleable units.

After a brief bidding war, she won the album. Her opponent sought her out during a break and asked if she was going to bid on the box of negatives and slides. When Bromberg confirmed that she was, he offered to buy it and then split the contents (he wanted the slides, she wanted the negatives). She agreed, he won the box, and they divided the contents.

When she got back to her office, she quickly realized that the glass plate negatives were, in fact, the source of the photographs in the album, although there were more negatives than prints. She also confirmed that the album contained photographs by Viretta Chambers Denny, who was descended from two important pioneer families: the Dennys, who helped found modern Seattle, and the Chamberses, one of Thurston County's earliest families.

The photos in the albums included captions, things like "Deschutes River" and "Ravenna Lake," that helped Bromberg pinpoint their locations. She was excited to have what was now a sizable collection of photographs and negatives from this early woman photographer, and the photographs were technically solid and pleasingly composed: nature scenes, a few shots of people.

A few months later, Bromberg was looking for a project to give students in the museum studies program. She came across an old album that had no identification and was about to pass it over (too difficult a project for the class) when she flipped it open and thought, "I know that picture!" It was another Viretta Chambers Denny photo--as were the rest in the album--and they matched some of the glass plate negatives Bromberg had purchased at the auction. Suddenly, the whole album was identified and could be added to the nascent Denny collection.

Then, a few months after that, Bromberg was looking through the old photograph subject files for another picture. Years ago, when photographs were donated to archives, it was standard practice to separate them and label them by subject if no other identification existed. Nowadays, of course, we would never do that, instead leaving the collection intact and conducting research to learn more about it. Still, UW and other archives have subject files for photographs, and they are a useful if sometimes frustrating resource.

At any rate, Bromberg was looking through the subject files for something else entirely when she came upon a picture she recognized instantly. Yup: another Viretta Chambers Denny. She then combed the entire subject file catalog and found still more photographs that had, up until then, not been identified. This expanded the Denny collection still further.

And as Bromberg noted in her talk, having more photos to include in the collection helped her understand Viretta Chambers Denny better. She was able to study the photographs and develop some interpretation about Denny's style, for example.

It was a fascinating talk, highlighting what is so rewarding about historical research. It's those little a-ha! moments, when you see a link that hadn't been apparent before, or when you can definitively connect events or people or places.

That wasn't the end of the story, though. When Bromberg finished her talk, a few audience members made comments. One woman said that she her husband was a Chambers descendant, and that she had three pictures on her piano at home--of Viretta Chambers Denny, most likely. Bromberg has not conclusively identified the photographer in a picture, so this was an exciting lead.

Another woman identified a woman in one of the photos that Bromberg showed as Viretta's sister--adding knowledge to the story--and noted that although there are many Chambers descendants in Thurston County and beyond, only two or three are identified by that last name, including Washington Supreme Court Justice Tom Chambers. Then a distinguished-looking gentleman across the room raised his hand and said, "I'm Tom Chambers." In the course of an hourlong talk, Bromberg made new contacts that will help her research into Viretta Chambers Denny.

It's that combination of hard work, sharp eyes, vigilance, and happy accident that combine to make doing history so gratifying. I've often felt that in my own research into the North Cascades: there are long periods of slogging through primary sources, trying to make sense of it all. Then, every once in a while--often just when you really need a boost--pieces fall into place, the story becomes clear, the light bulb goes on. It makes it all worthwhile.

Thanks, Nicolette, for reminding us why we do this.

Extry! Extry! Read All About It in Historic Newspapers Online!

The Library of Congress's Chronicling America website is a treasure trove of historic newspapers around the country. Recently, the Washington State Library contributed more than 42,000 pages from eight Washington newspapers to the collection--which already had more than 2,000 Washington titles. These are the new adds:

Colfax Gazette 1900-1912
Colville Examiner 1907-1922
Commonwealth (Everett) 1911-1914
Leavenworth Echo 1904-1922
Pullman Herald 1888-1893; 1907-1922
Ranch (Seattle) 1902-1914
Seattle Republican 1903-1913
Washington Farmer 06-15-1914

But really, it's just fun to meander around the Washington newspapers generally. Happy reading!

How can one person change a life?

"Everyone has inside of him a piece of good news. The good news is that you don't know how great you can be! How much you can love! What you can accomplish! And what your potential is!" --Anne Frank

The Washington State Holocaust Education Resource Center is sponsoring a writing contest for students this year. 2010 is particularly special because of an honor that the center has recently received.

As some of you may already know, in her diary, Anne Frank wrote about a tree growing outside her window. In order to preserve the legacy of the aging tree, saplings were grown. The Holocaust Center, in partnership with Seattle Parks and Recreation, was selected as the home for one of these rare saplings. Only 11 places in the United States will receive them. (Visit this site to learn more.)

Check out the information below to find out more about this contest and how you (or a student you know) can participate.

Jacob Friedman Holocaust Writing and Art Contest
Open to students in grades 5-12 in the Pacific Northwest (WA, OR, ID, AK)
Entries accepted now through April 2, 2010
Sponsored by the Washington State Holocaust Education Resource Center
http://www.wsherc.org/writingcontest/contest.aspx

This year’s contest asks students to consider how their lives might be different if people were more respectful and tolerant of each other’s differences.

Last year the Center received over 800 entries. The 2009 winners can be found on the Holocaust Center’s website – www.wsherc.org. The Holocaust Center is a non-profit organization with a mission to support educators teaching about the Holocaust, genocide, and related lessons of stereotyping, and the difference one person can make.

(Photograph on this post courtesy of the Anne Frank Trust.)

More links? Why not? Local History Resources, at your service

Done plowing through the previous lists of links? Here's one more. The last one. For now. Needless to say, we don't vouch for the content of these websites. Want to add your organization to the list? Drop us an email. We'll update these lists periodically.

Humanities Washington
HistoryLink
Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture
Washington State Holocaust Education Resource Center
Washington State Jewish Historical Society
Heritage League of Pierce County
Tacoma Historical Society
League of Snohomish County Heritage Organizations
Historic Seattle
4Culture
Puget Sound Civil War Round Table
Seattle Municipal Archives
Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society
Historic Tacoma
Bainbridge Island Historical Society and Museum
Rainier Valley Historical Society
Robert E. Lee Chapter 885, UDC
Sequim Museum and Arts Center
Architectural Heritage Center
Skagit County Historical Museum

More links: National History Resources

If you work in public history, these won't be new to you. But if you haven't checked these sites in a while, take a gander. All offer helpful resources, including job postings and discussions.

American Association for State and Local History
American Association of Museums
AAM Advocacy
National Park Service
National Archives and Records Administration
National Trust for Historic Preservation
National Preservation Institute
Save America's Treasures
Chronicle of Philanthropy

All the links you could want - State History Resources

Herewith, a list of state resources in history. Some are state agencies and programs, others are statewide nonprofits. We'll post national and local resources soon, too.

Washington State Historical Society
Women's History Consortium
Washington Museums Association
Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation
Washington Trust for Historic Preservation
Washington State Downtown Revitalization Program
Washington State Arts Commission
Washington State Parks and Recreation
Secretary of State, Division of Archives
Washington State Library
Washington State Tourism
Washington State Legislature
Center for Columbia River History
Burke Museum
Washington State Department of Transportation Cultural Resources Program