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Wanted: historical photographs
Do you have any photographs that show life in Olympia from 1859 to the present?
The city would like to see them as part of its 150th anniversary next year. They could be included in a book of historical photos.
Contact the city clerk's office at 360-753-8325 for details before submitting pictures. Photos can be submitted in digital or print form and can be returned.
To help
To assist with the city's 150th anniversary, contact City Clerk Debbie Krumpols at 360-753-8282 or dkrumpol@ci.olympia.wa.us.
The Olympian
Olympia gearing up for a yearlong commemoration
By Matt Batcheldor | The Olympian
OLYMPIA – Olympia will have its 150th birthday in January, and city leaders are in the early stages of planning the celebration.
"We're not going to just be celebrating the city's birthday of Jan. 28," City Clerk Debbie Krumpols said. "We're going to be celebrating it ... throughout the entire year."
Krumpols is in charge of planning the celebration, which she said the City Council will consider May 6. In the meantime, city staff members and members of the council's general government committee have been kicking around ideas.
Here is a sampling:
• Birthday book: The city might put together a coffee-table book of the city's history, complete with historical photographs. Krumpols is looking for people to submit photos that reflect life in the city.
• Birthday party: Krumpols proposes having a big celebration at a central place, with birthday cake, punch and balloons. Former council members and mayors would be on hand, as well as current ones.
The governor would speak, and a band would play.
• A historical Arts Walk: One of the city's twice-yearly Arts Walks would get a historical focus. For example, businesses could display historical photos showing how buildings and businesses downtown have transformed over the years.
• A 150th anniversary Web site: This would include a sampling of historical photos dating back 150 years.
• Historical council meeting: The council could have a meeting dressed in historical garb and read minutes from the oldest council meeting.
• Time capsule: The capsule would be opened 50 years later, during the city's 200th anniversary.
Roger Easton, a member of the Olympia Heritage Commission, said 1859 was when the city was incorporated, but there were settlements here earlier. With a strategic position at the southern end of Puget Sound and the end of the Cowlitz Trail, a primitive passageway, settlers were lured here.
"It marks one of the earliest dates that we have in Western Washington as far as being a settlement," Easton said.
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