We’re fortunate to have a rich history of our county penned by my good friend and fellow historian Sandra Crowell — “The Land Called Lewis” — published in 2007.
Now she’s coordinated the collaboration of a rich history for our neighbors to the north in “Water, Woods & Prairies: Essays on the History of Washington’s Capital County, published last year and available beginning this week through the Olympia Historic Society.
The 290-page book printed by Gorham Printing in Centralia features contributions from nine authors — Gerry Alexander, Drew Crooks, Jennifer Crooks, Sandra Crowell, the late Les Eldridge, Dr. James Hannum, Karen Johnson, Shanna Stevenson and Don Trosper. It contains more than 250 photos, original documents, a dozen maps and 25 sidebars. An extensive bibliography and index completes the volume.
I’m excited to dig into the book and learn more about our state’s history. I also wanted to know what the late Paul Harvey referred to as “the rest of the story” so I asked Sandy how creation of the book began.
“In 2012 I was appointed to the Thurston County Historic Commission in the hot tub at the YMCA by County Commissioner Cathy Wolfe, though officially it was a more formal process with clothes on,” she said.
Sandy showed a copy of “The Land Called Lewis” at her first meeting, and the next time she attended, the Historic Commission’s agenda listed “Sandra Crowell/Thurston County History Book.”
“Apparently they decided Thurston County could have a book if Lewis County did,” she said.
But, talking about it is much easier that accomplishing it. She studied the table of contents of her Lewis County book and a 1990 volume she coauthored in north Idaho called “Up the Swiftwater: A Pictorial History of the Colorful Upper St. Joe River Country.” She drafted a similar outline for the Thurston County book, and the commission contacted individual authors to divide the topics. They also brainstormed the title with a graphic artist.
The undertaking grew exponentially as authors wrote their chapters and Karen Johnson and Drew Crooks did fact-checking. Chris Colton did copy editing and Shirley Stirling designed the book; they worked together to create the bibliography. Other contributors were Len Bali, Genevieve C. Chan, the late Sharon Mathews, Kati Sagawa, and Todd Sprague. David Nicandri wrote introduction.
“Life intervened and the project dragged on and on,” said Sandy, who wrote a chapter on Native American tribal history. Other chapters address maritime explorers, loggers, early settlers and farmers, and establishment of the state capital.
They searched for photographs and negotiated copyrights. The Historic Commission invested nearly $2,000 for photo use and hired a professional indexer.
The book represents thousands of volunteer hours by writers, editors, researchers, designers and organizers.
“Choosing the printer was not negotiable for me,” she said. “I knew Gorham Printing in Centralia specialized in historical books at a reasonable price with excellent quality. The bid for $13,000 for 500 books with color made me into a hero when our Historic Commission president checked out book printing in Seattle and discovered one similar that cost $100,000! Kathy Campbell, who designed the cover from an old postcard for ‘The Land Called Lewis,’ reworked a similar one for ‘Water, Woods & Prairies.’ The Thurston County Historic Commission paid for the printing.”
But the group hit a snag because Thurston County, as a government agency, couldn’t sell or give away its property, so the book languished in storage for 18 months, until the county last week awarded a grant to the nonprofit Olympia Historical Society & Bigelow House Museum to market and distribute the books.
“Water, Woods & Prairies,” which costs $40 for a hardbound and $30 for a paperback, can be ordered online at olympiahistory.org.
“I have found history doesn’t get old, nor does its appeal,” Sandy said. “The end product of this collaborative work will be a source for research and information for many years, and no one will remember any frustrations — only a beautiful book to cherish as a cultural accomplishment.”
Airport Expansion
The South Lewis County Airport at Toledo, also known as the Ed Carlson Memorial Field, remains on a “soft” list of six existing airports to study in more detail when considering expansion of commercial aviation, air cargo and general aviation in Western Washington.
At a meeting Wednesday, the Commercial Aviation Coordinating Commission agreed to ask the state Legislature for a two-year extension to the timeline for researching potential sites, bumping the deadline from 2022 to 2024. In the near term the commission recommended phased expansion of two to three existing (but not yet identified) airports to meet demand.
In addition to Toledo, the “soft” list includes airports at Arlington, Bremerton, Everett/Paine field, Tacoma Narrows, and Shelton. The commission also plans to revisit Olympia, although it has no stakeholders willing to sponsor those efforts, and look for possible greenfield sites, which is an airport built from scratch.
“This list of six sites is included because they have potential in meeting some of the demand, whether it be commercial passenger service, air cargo, or general aviation,” said David Fleckenstein, director of the Washington State Department of Transportation’s Aviation Division. “It does not necessarily mean it is being considered as a SeaTac-sized facility.”
Commission member Shane Jones who works in the airline industry repeated his concerns over using the South Lewis County Airport.
“I just have to say commercially Toledo really is not viable given the distance to Seattle,” he said. “And it’s also an hour north of Portland, which has ample capacity.”
Fleckenstein said he’s received similar comments from other stakeholders but noted the commission is looking at commercial passenger service, air cargo and general aviation.
“So there still could be some sort of recommendation that comes out of the commission for Toledo,” he said. “It could be along the lines of general aviation.”
“I fully support GA there,” Jones said.
General aviation refers to all civilian flying except passenger airline service.
The staff also reiterated a willing sponsor and overall community support is necessary to make any expansion work.
Sean Swope on Vaccinations
In an earlier column, I expressed disappointment that Sean Swope, who is challenging my friend Edna Fund for Lewis County commissioner, hadn’t attended last month’s virtual meeting of the Lewis County Republican Club. As I’d never met him, I had to rely on newspaper articles and his Facebook page where he had shared posts opposing vaccinations. At last week’s Republican Club, he addressed that comment.
“I have never in my life been an anti-vaxxer,” he said, while acknowledging that he reposted on Facebook a piece by his boss, Dr. Ben Lynch, who expressed concerns about vaccines.
“I think it’s always important, as in everything, that we make sure we know what we’re putting in our body,” he said. “I am not against vaccines and, to be frank and to be honest, it’s nobody’s business but your family’s business. The government should not be dictating what you are putting in your body. You get to choose what’s best for you and your family.”
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Julie McDonald, a personal historian from Toledo, may be reached at memoirs@chaptersoflife.com.
