Spokane, Washington High School Yearbooks Available Online

June 1915 edition of North Central High School's Tamarack

The Spokane Public Library recently announced that a free new digital collection of historical Spokane-area high school yearbooks is now accessible through their website. This collection is made available with the cooperation of the Spokane Public Schools and the Internet Archive. All the yearbooks are full-text searchable. Each is available in a variety of formats, making it viewable on many devices, including your laptop, Kindle, or phone. They can be downloaded to your computer or other device as well.

The following is a current list of yearbooks available, with the high school it features and the years that are covered. Note that in the early twentieth century, it was not uncommon to have two yearbooks per school year, to highlight seniors who graduated mid-year, as well as those who graduated at year's end.

Hillyard High School (no longer in existence): 1930-1931

Lewis and Clark High School: June 1920 - 1977

North Central High School: May 1912 - January 1915

Spokane High School (no longer in existence): January and June 1911

The yearbooks can be accessed through the Spokane Public Library website at http://beta.spokanelibrary.org/yearbooks/.

From the Archives: 29 East LaCrosse - Haunted or Not?

"From the Archives" highlights favorite or popular blog posts from this blog's past from 2006 to the present. This particular post features a haunting tale, appropriate for Halloween. It was originally published Sunday, October 14, 2007.

Friday, October 12th, marked the eleven-year anniversary of the day we signed on our home at 29 East LaCrosse. Built in 1908 (some documents say 1907), it is certainly by no means old by East Coast or European standards, but here in what was once a Wild West city where frontier soldiers, Idaho miners, and Northeastern Washington lumberjacks would freely spend their hard-earned cash, the fact that it's still standing and habitable says a lot. Add to that the discovery while researching our home's history that it has been a rental for much of its structural life, along with the fact that it bumps up against a commercial zone, and it's doubly amazing that it hasn't been razed by now. Built on what was once the rural edge of town with no houses on the lots behind it, it now sits squarely in a north central neighborhood, several miles from the the city limits.

Its history as a rental becomes all too apparent whenever we start a remodeling job (which has seemed continuous over these past eleven years!). Shoddy worksmanship, dangerous wiring, and poor construction have all been uncovered, replaced, and redone. More than once, we've scratched our heads and wondered aloud, "What were they thinking?" There are days (usually in the winter) when I feel the walls close in on me and deeply feel the cramped living arrangements and lack of privacy in this seven-room residence. But most of the time, even while wishing it were bigger, I love this house! Five years ago--our sixth anniversary at this address--it became the home I had lived in the longest during my then-35 years on this planet. That realization felt odd to me, since my years in my childhood homes felt longer than the time I've spent here. Still, there are many memories, like ghosts, that flit around me within these walls. In the early mornings and late at night, the floors creak beneath my feet as I walk from room to room. The ladderback doors and old frame windows give a character to the place as I consider how those before us spent their days and nights in this abode. There were many who lived here; more, I'm sure, than the city directories will ever reveal, as renters moved in and out between the dates of publication.

Eight years ago, a reporter from the local paper knocked on our front door and said he was doing a human-interest story for Hallowe'en. Following up on archived stories from The Spokesman-Review, he was visiting the current residents of homes that had once been reported as being haunted. Intrigued, we invited him in as he handed us an undated clipping from the Depression years about two young women who claimed to have experienced a ghost in what was now our home. Had we ever heard this story, he asked us. Had we ever seen a ghost or heard anything that was unexplainable? No, we replied, and no, again. Nevertheless, he interviewed us and wrote up a nice piece for the Entertainment section of the paper. In reading the old clipping further, we realized that the young women had fallen behind in their rent, and had concocted the story to avoid paying their bill once they had moved out. So our insistence that our house was not haunted was justified...or was it?

Three years ago, we had to put our beloved apricot tabby, Sammy, to sleep after she became fatally ill. Sammy had loved our children with a protective fierceness rivaling that of a dog. Every night, she would cuddle up with Matt at the beginning of the evening, both of them falling asleep. In the middle of the night, she would pad quietly into Missy's room and spend the rest of the early morning hours with her there. It was a ritual; I'd tuck Matt and Sammy in every night, and wake Missy and Sammy together every morning. Never allowed in the adults' bedroom, she nonetheless would jump up on our bed and nuzzle me awake every time one of the kids was ill in the middle of the night. Although by the time Sammy died we had acquired Tessa, our current feline companion, her loss was devastating to us all. We brought her home in a cardboard box, which my [ex-] husband buried deeply between our shed and the alley, filling the hole with large rocks and earth so that it could not be dug up by unattended dogs.

Several months ago, my son mentioned that he still sees Sammy. At nearly 14, he loves math and science, has an ironic sense of humor, and can out-argue an attorney. I mention this because he's the least likely of any of us to be whimsical, a dreamer, a believer in fantasies. But he's seen her, in our yard, on the couch, in his bedroom. About once a month, in the corner of his eye, he'll see her there, and when he turns to look directly at her, she's gone. A ghost, an angel, a whisper of a memory...whatever she is, she's welcome to stay in this very small, somewhat old, creaky-floored house.

This post was [originally] written for the 34th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy, "Halloween and the Supernatural!"

The Family Plot of the "Father's Day Family"

Father's Day began in 1910 in Spokane, Washington. The woman behind the movement was Sonora Smart Dodd, who wished to honor what her father, William J. Smart, had done in raising his family as a single parent.

In October 2011, I visited Spokane's Greenwood Memorial Terrace. It is my favorite cemetery in Spokane, a lovely place to walk and soak in the history of the area. Around the cemetery, one will come across banners like these, which point to historical markers and tombstone of famous folks buried nearby. 

The Smart family plot is located in the middle terrace.

Smart Family Plot Marker

Historical Marker Commemorating Sonora Smart Dodd, the "Mother of Father's Day"

Sonora Louise Smart Dodd
The "Mother of Father's Day"
February 18, 1882 - March 22, 1978

Sonora Louise Smart was born in Jenny Lind, Arkansas, to Civil War Veteran William Jackson Smart (1842 - 19191) and Ellen Victory Cheek - Billingsley Smart (1851 - 1898). In 1889, when Sonora was seven years old, she moved with her family to a farm located between Creston and Wilbur, near Spokane. Her mother passed away in 1898, leaving 16-year-old Sonora and five younger brothers. 

Sonora Dodd related the following story in the Spokesman-Review in June 1942.
One windy March night in the late '90s, Mr. Smart, a grief-stricken father just returned from burying his wife, sat with bowed head in the front room of this farmhouse in the rolling hills of the Big Bend, near Spokane. Knowing nothing of the finality of death, the children looked toward the door, expecting their mother's return momentarily. Finally one lad, frantic, rushed out into the snow to seek her in the woods. His father roused himself, went out into the snow to seek the boy, and finding him, brought him back to mother him before the fire. From that moment, he became both mother and father to the six children.

Historical Marker/Bench of William Jackson Smart, the Father Behind  Father's Day

William Jackson Smart
Beloved father of Sonora Smart Dodd
&
Inspiration for Father's Day 

At the end of the Civil War, Sgt. William Jackson Smart returned to Jenny Lind, Arkansas where he courted and married Elizabeth Harris. The Smarts had six children, Mary, Martha, L.V. (who died in infancy), William J., Susan, and Anna. Elizabeth passed away early in life in 1878, leaving William alone to raise their young children. 

In 1880, William Smart and Ellen V. Billingsley (a widow) were married. With Ellen's three children, John E., Jesse J. and Lieuary joining the Smart family, William's responsibilities increased. Together William and Ellen had seven more children, Felix (who died in infancy), Sonora, Charles, twins Henry and George, Marshall, and Fred. They jokingly said the family was made up of "steps, halves, and wholes." 

In Jenny Lind, farm life was difficult. The Smart family made ends meet by selling coal from an outcropping on their land. Many from the area were looking to the "Big Bend" country of Washington Territory for a better life. In 1889, William sold his farm to a mining speculator for $5,000, purchased the Miller farm between Wilbur and Creston, and the family traveled west by train. 

Ellen passed away in 1898 leaving William with six children at home. Once again he assumed the role of both father and mother and devoted himself to raising his young children.

The life of the man who inspired the creation of Father's Day may be summed up in the words from the poem "My Choice" by Sonora Dodd. 

"If I might choose from all exalted positions of the nations the one in which I feel I could best serve humanity, I would choose the high office of Fatherhood. In this responsible niche, I could best build for today and for tommorrow [sic]." 

William Jackson Smart certainly lived up to his responsibility and his memory lives on as an example to fathers everywhere.

SONORA SMART DODD
Founder of Father's Day
1882 - 1978

WILLIAM J.
1ST BATTERY ARK. LIGHT ART.
G. A. R.
1842 - 1919

William J. Smart
The "Father" of Father's Day

ELLEN V.
1853 - 1898

Ellen Victory (Cheek) Billingsley Smart
Mother of Sonora Smart Dodd and wife of William J. Smart

JAMES BRUCE DODD
1870 - 1945

Husband of Sonora Smart Dodd
One of the original founders of Spokane's Ball & Dodd Funeral Home

WILLIAM JOSEPH
SMART
1872 - 1936

Son of William Jackson Smart and first wife, Elizabeth Harris

ANNA A. GLASGOW
1878 - 1952

Daughter of William Jackson Smart and first wife, Elizabeth Harris

WALTER JOSEPH SMART
CALIFORNIA
PFC US ARMY
WORLD WAR II PH
SEPT 3 1936     JAN  29 1955

A descendant of William J. Smart

A Visit with Craig Manson

Craig Manson and Miriam Robbins Midkiff, Spokane, Washington. 10 October 2010. Privately held by Miriam Robbins Midkiff, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE], Spokane, Washington. 2010.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of visiting with another of my favorite geneabloggers, Craig Manson of GeneaBlogie. He was in Spokane this week speaking at the Northwest Mining Association Convention and we got together for an afternoon of chatting and tea at Brambleberry Cottage and Tea Shoppe.

Craig was one of the first geneabloggers whose blogs I read back in the day when there were only about a dozen of us, and like many of the early geneabloggers, we formed a connection that was based around Jasia's Carnival of Genealogy. While I met him in person for the first time at Jamboree this past June, I did not have much of an opportunity at that time to really visit and get to know Craig better. So I was delighted when he e-mailed me early this fall to say he would be in the area, and could we get together?

We spent two hours at the teahouse enjoying pots and pots of hot, handblended teas and devouring the delicious sandwiches and desserts while talking genealogy, history, and some ancestral locations we have in common in Alaska, Michigan, and Texas. Craig's visit to Spokane marks the third one by a good geneablogger friend in less than three months! I've been so blessed to have these good folks visit, and look forward to visiting with them again in the future.

A Visit with Thomas MacEntee

Miriam Robbins Midkiff and Thomas MacEntee. Spokane, Washington. 2 October 2010. Privately held by Miriam Robbins Midkiff, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE], Spokane, Washington. 2010.

I just came away from a busy and exciting weekend as my local genealogical society, the Eastern Washington Genealogical Society, held its annual October Workshop with well-known geneablogger Thomas MacEntee as its featured speaker!

Since I was at work when Thomas' flight arrived, EWGS 3rd Vice President Cecily Kelly was kind enough to pick him up from the airport and drive him to his accommodations at the historic Spokane Club. After I got off work, we all met up at Anthony's at Spokane Falls for a great seafood dinner on the terrace overlooking the falls of the Spokane River. It was a gorgeous Indian Summer day, and the three of us had a good time talking about our own genealogy, the future of genealogical societies, and what the Next Big Thing in genealogy might be.

EWGS Members. Spokane, Washington. 1 October 2010. Privately held by Miriam Robbins Midkiff, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE], Spokane, Washington. 2010. 

Next, we headed over to the downtown branch of the Spokane Public Library so that Thomas could give his new presentation, "Building a Research Toolbox." This was a members-only presentation, and we had about 40 people in attendance. You can see some video footage I shot that evening posted on Thomas' blog here. Thomas explained why a person would need a research toolbox, what the different kinds of toolboxes (or containers) there were, what kinds of tools (or content) would be stored in it, and how to organize the information. I especially liked the wikis as a type of toolbox, and MediaWiki certainly caught my eye. Another tool that looked extremely useful was Link Valet, a link checker that will make sure all the URLs in your blog or document are working and not broken! If you would like to see one good example of a research toolbox, Thomas has one set up on his blog here. I prefer to use my Google Toolbar's Bookmark feature for mine, as it is accessible from nearly any computer, anywhere.

 EWGS Members and Thomas MacEntee. Spokane, Washington. 2 October 2010. Privately held by Miriam Robbins Midkiff, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE], Spokane, Washington. 2010.

The next morning, we were at the library bright and early to prepare for a day long workshop of four presentations. There were about 65 people in attendance, including some from Northern Idaho, Northeast Washington, and the Tri-Cities area of Southeast Washington, representing societies from those areas. After registration check in, the welcome, and some EWGS business, Thomas began his morning presentations, "Facebook for Genealogists" and ""Become a Genealogy Blog User." There was a lot of audience interaction and they were very attentive to his presentations.

At the lunch break, those who had pre-registered received their box lunch from Apple Spice Junction, and those who had not either brown-bagged it or stepped out to one of the many eateries nearby. Then it was time for the afternoon presentations, "Building a Genealogy Blog" and "Google Docs for Beginners." In most day-long workshops, the audience tends to be a big tired after sitting all day, as well as a bit drowsy after lunch. However, these afternoon sessions were pretty lively, as many seemed especially interested in learning how to start a genealogy blog and using Google Docs. As a long-time Facebook user and geneablogger, most of the information presented in the first three lectures were not new to me, but I enjoyed seeing it presented in an easy-to-understand format. Despite the fact that I am a frequent Google Docs user, I did learn a few new things, and was especially happy to see how versatile the Forms feature is!

After the workshop, Thomas and I tiredly said our good-byes. He is staying another day, spending time with a first cousin (and her daughter) on his father's side from North Idaho, meeting them for the first time. At the workshop, he kept everyone well-entertained, engaged, and begging for more! I received numerous e-mails in the last 24 hours from various attendees who were so impressed by his teaching and were very grateful that I had suggested that he be our October Workshop speaker. We even had a couple of members begin their own blogs this weekend!

Thomas was a big hit here in the Inland Northwest and has a standing invitation to return. He let us know that he would be happy to be back, live or virtually, anytime. Thanks for a great workshop, Thomas!

It's Not Too Late to Register for the October 2010 Workshop!

It's not too late to register for the October workshop with Thomas MacEntee! Please send in your registration form (which you can download here - it will open with Microsoft Word) with a check to EWGS, PO Box 1826, Spokane, WA 99210-1826 as soon as possible! I would like to be able to give our caterer, Apple Spice Junction, a head count for the box lunches on Monday, September 27th.

If you choose NOT to preregister, you may register at the door at 8:30 on Saturday morning; HOWEVER, please bring your own lunch or plan to go out to grab lunch during the lunch hour, as ONLY those who PREREGISTER will be getting a box lunch from Apple Spice Junction.

Some other things to keep in mind:

• Bring your laptop, netbook, smartphone or whichever device with which you prefer to access the Internet. This is a workshop, and you may wish to follow Thomas' step-by-step directions in reading or building a blog, accessing Google Docs, or using Facebook for genealogy!
• If you are an EWGS member, you can come to Friday evening's presentation, "Building a Research Toolbox," for free. This will be from 6:30 to 8:00 PM in the library meeting rooms on the first floor.
• You will need to park in River Park Square or some other lot/parking garage instead of the library basement, because that lot will not be open the same hours as our workshop meetings.

I know that you will thoroughly enjoy Thomas, as he is an engaging and enthusiastic presenter and is very good at explaining technology in an easy-to-understand way. For those of you who would like to start a blog or have considered creating a genealogy website (a blog is a much-easier to create alternative to a website), you won't want to miss the two presentations on blogs. If you've ever felt intimidated by technology or thought, "How on earth would that relate to genealogy?", then this workshop is definitely for you!  I look forward to seeing you all there!

If you have any questions, please e-mail me.

A Visit with Becky Wiseman

Miriam Robbins Midkiff and Becky Wiseman. Spokane, Washington. 19 Sep 2010. Privately held by Miriam Robbins Midkiff, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE], Spokane, Washington. 2010.

I was so fortunate to have the opportunity to visit with one of my favorite geneabloggers, Becky Wiseman of kinexxions this past weekend! If you are a reader of her blog, you'll know that she has been on The Journey all over the United States (and parts of Canada) for over a year. I first met Becky at the Southern California Genealogical Society's 2010 Jamboree this past June and invited her to stop by Spokane if ever she was in the area.

We had a great visit! Becky came by my home late yesterday morning and she got to meet my husband and son and even our two cats! We ate lunch, hung out, took a drive, and hung out some more. She showed off her home on wheels and recounted some of her adventures on the road. We finished off the evening with a pot roast dinner followed by Dutch apple pie.

The best part of our visit probably was the chance to talk genealogy for hours with another person without any eye rolling! I truly enjoyed getting to know Becky better and sharing my home and hometown with her for the day. Safe travels, Becky, and I look forward to meeting up with you again in the future!

(P.S. Here's Becky's post on the same visit: Thanks, Miriam!)

Thomas MacEntee Featured Speaker at Annual EWGS October Workshop

The Eastern Washington Genealogical Society presents its annual October Workshop Saturday, October 2, 2010 at the Spokane Public Library, 906 W. Main, 1st Floor Meeting Rooms in Spokane, Washington. Noted genealogy blogger, writer, and lecturer Thomas MacEntee will be our featured speaker. His presentations include:

• Facebook for Genealogists
• Become a Genealogy Blog User
• Building a Genealogy Blog
• Google Docs for Beginners

Thomas specializes in educating the “non-techie” crowd on various types of technology in a friendly and non-threatening environment.

Cost will be $20 for EWGS members or $25 for non-members, which includes a choice of three box lunches from Apple Spice Junction for pre-registered attendees. A special presentation, "Building a Research Toolbox," will be held for EWGS members only on Friday evening, October 1 from 6:30 - 8:00 PM, in the same location. A registration form can be downloaded here.

Check in will be at 8:30 AM Saturday and the workshop will be held from 9:00 AM through 3:30 PM. A lunch break will take place from 11:45 AM to 1:15 PM. Paid parking is available across the street in River Park Square. For more information, contact Miriam Robbins Midkiff.

The Great Fire of 1910 Centennial Events and Articles

This month marks the centennial of the Great Fire of 1910 which swept over the Inland Northwest leaving devastation in its wake. To get an idea of the magnitude of this fire, imagine 10,000 new Forest Service workers and 4,000 troops (sent by President Taft) fighting a fire across three states. "Despite their efforts, the fire burned three million acres in two days, killed nearly 100 people, and burned several towns to the ground. It is believed to be the largest fire in recorded U.S. history." [from the Spokane Public Library website]

I wrote about my husband's ancestors' experience last October in my post, The Martin Family and the Great Fire of 1910. My local paper, the Spokesman-Review, has recently been publishing a series of fascinating articles about the fire. If you go to this link, you will see that currently there are 19 articles, three photo galleries, a video, an audio file, and a blog post published at their website that are tagged with the 1910 Fire label.

Additionally, area museums are showcasing exhibits about how the fire affected local communities (see list here) and the Forest Service also has some ceremonies and exhibits as well. Spokane Is Reading is bringing prize-winning author Timothy Egan (known especially for his book on the Depression, The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl) to Spokane on October 7th to speak for free on his newest book, The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America.

Last, and certainly not least, fellow Inland Northwest geneablogger and friend Amy Crooks has been writing about her family's summer adventures on her blog, Untangled Family Roots. The following articles touch on places they visited that commemorate the Big Burn:

• Tombstone Tuesday: A Grave in the Wilderness
• Route of the Hiawatha

EWGS Presents "Walking With Ancestors"

The Eastern Washington Genealogical Society (EWGS) is proud to present an all-day event, "Walking With Ancestors," in partnership with Fairmount Memorial Association. Guided tours, a barbecue lunch, displays, and how-to classes are all a part of the day-long FREE event, to be held Saturday, July 31st at Fairmount Memorial Park, 5200 West Wellesley Avenue, Spokane, Washington (marker A in the map below).

View Larger Map

Beginning at 9:00 AM, there will be a short opening ceremony, followed by a choice of three guided tours of the cemetery. Attendees will be led to graves where costumed actors representing either the deceased or the deceased's relative will be giving a sketch of the individual's life. Famous Spokanites and ordinary people will be equally represented; their graves were chosen and their lives thoroughly researched by the participating actors. The three guided tours will repeat approximately every 45 minutes, and attendees can attend as many of the three as they wish.

In addition, members of the 1st Michigan Artillery Unit of the Washington Civil War Association, a Civil War reenactment group, will be on hand in full military costume, complete with a cannon! The display tables will be manned by members of EWGS, the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Sons of the American Revolution, Creative Memories Scrapbooking, Fairmount Memorial Park (to assist attendees in finding a loved one's gravesite), Honor Flight, the World War II Memorial Registry, and Nostalia magazine will be on hand to answer questions and hand out materials.

Free "how-to" classes will also be available. They include:

• Beginning Genealogy, by EWGS members Bette Topp and Lola McCreary
• Photographing Tombstones, by Northeast Washington Genealogical Society and EWGS member Susan DeChant
• Gravestone Rubbins for Beginners, by NeWGS and EWGS member Karen Struve
• Properly Cleaning Headstones, by EWGS member and Fairmount Memorial Association historian John Caskey

A free barbecue lunch of hot dogs and hamburgers will be provided by Fairmount Memorial Association from 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM. No tours or classes will be held during this time. The event will conclude at 3:00 PM. For more information, contact Shirley Penna-Oakes at firebugvw@directv.net.

---

Please note: Due to street construction on West Wellesley from Division to Maple Street, it is recommended that those travelers heading from the central part of the city take either Garland or Francis Avenue west to the Maple/Ash corridor, follow that corridor to where it intersects with Wellesley, then travel west to Fairmount. Another good alternate route is to take Northwest Boulevard.

Happy Father's Day!

The Mother of Father's Day

Here's an interesting video produced by our local PBS affiliate, KSPS, featuring Sonora Smart Dodd, "the Mother of Father's Day":

Home of Father's Day, Spokane Gears Up for the Centennial

Did you know my hometown is the birthplace of Father's Day? This year marks one hundred years of the very first celebration, an idea founded by Sonora Smart Dodd and endorsed by the Spokane YMCA, along with the local Ministerial Alliance. In the next few days, I'll attempt to highlight some of the history of Father's Day.  Here's a public service announcement from one of Spokane's own:

Here's a list of some local events highlighting the centennial and honoring dads.

30 Years Ago: The Eruption of Mount St. Helens

From the Washington State Digital Archives

Today, May 18th, is a red-letter day in Washington State. Thirty years ago today, at 8:32 AM, Mount St. Helens erupted. "The eruption touched off the greatest landslide ever, ripping off a large part of that enormous dome, blowing out 3.7 billion cubic yards of mountaintop and spewing ash that girdled the globe a number of times. The blast zone was 230 square miles; 57 people, including the crotchety Harry Truman, lost their lives." [Washington Secretary of State blog]

At the time, I was a 13-year-old eighth grader, living with my parents and younger siblings about 10 miles north of Colville in Northeastern Washington. It was a Sunday and I'm sure we went to church that morning. I don't remember exactly when or how we heard the news that the mountain had erupted, but at the time, it wasn't a surprise. Scientists had been monitoring the mountain for some time, as it was showing signs of volcanic activity. But it wasn't until we came home after church and turned on the TV that we realized the effect the eruption was having on Eastern Washington, especially those communities lying directly in the path of the ash cloud, like Ritzville and Spokane.

Spokane, Washington is the largest urban area between Seattle and the Twin Cities, Minnesota. Eighty miles to the south of my home, it was where all local television news was broadcast for my small rural community. And what a broadcast the local stations had for us! The reporters told how everything became deathly quiet, the sky turned dark by three o'clock in the afternoon with street lights coming on, and then the ash fell. Like snow it came down, up to six inches' worth, but much more serious. People with respiratory problems were affected, and so were vehicles. The fine particles of ash clogged air filters in automobiles. Air filters and face masks were soon sold out everywhere. Snow plows had to clear the streets, and the Spokane Police Department had special filtration systems in place on the front of their vehicles making them look like strange space machines. In fact, the city took on the look of a moonscape, gray and dusty. Schools, colleges, and even businesses closed for a week, and as in times past and future, the community came together to help each other out. (Check out photos from the local paper here.)

But up in the Colville area, the effect was much less severe. I took some photos of my parents' Jeep which showed just a light dusting of ash, as well as a panoramic shot of the mountain across the valley from their home. Normally easily visible even on a cloudy day, it appeared to be obscured by a cloud--not of rain, but of ash from a mountain some 400 miles away!

Jeep, with light dusting of ash.

© Copyright 1980, Miriam Robbins Midkiff

View from my parents' home toward Mount Dominion, normal day.

© Copyright 1980, Miriam Robbins Midkiff

Same view, with ash.

© Copyright 1980, Miriam Robbins Midkiff

---

Meanwhile, on the "other side of the mountains," as we like to say here in Washington, my husband-to-be was soundly sleeping. A 23-year-old college student in Vancouver (Washington, not British Columbia), he had been staying awake for hours on end, hoping to be able to witness the highly-anticipated event that the media and scientific world had been predicting. A beautiful dome in the snowy Cascade range which stretches from Lytton Mountain in British Columbia to Lassen Peak in Northern California, it was in the company of such notable peaks as Mount Baker, Mount Rainier, Mount Adams, Mount Hood, the Three Sisters, Mount McLoughlin, and Mount Shasta.

From the Washington State Digital Archives

Exhausted after waiting, he fell asleep and slept through the blast and concussion, even though it was only 50 miles away! Only a small amount of ash fell on Southwest Washington, as the blast and then the jet stream carried it away to the northeast.

Many residents of Washington can today show you their jars of Mount St. Helens ash, the fine particles like baby powder, from which ash trays and other mementos were made. Even today, if you look carefully, you can see the ash here and there throughout Central and Eastern Washington. Certainly, if you do any digging, you'll come across the layer. The ash, although devastating on many levels, did enrich the soil in Eastern Washington.

I tried to find the photo of my one trip several years ago when we came rather close to the now barren mountain after visiting my in-laws. It appears the photo has been damaged in my computer crash a year ago, so I won't be able to post it here. But I'll never forget driving up and pulling over to take a good look at the remains of the scorched mountain. At that time, it had been smoking again. Even at 10 or 15 miles away, it looked ominous, eerie, ghostly. Chills went up my spine and I urged my husband to turn around quickly and return to Vancouver. It took no strong imagination to understand how the ancient natives felt about these volcanoes. Sleeping giants, monsters, evil spirits...the legends live on.

---

Here are more memories shared by others in the Inland Northwest.

Last Canadian WWI Veteran Passes in Spokane

From the Spokesman-Review:

The last Canadian veteran of World War I died Thursday at the age of 109.

John Henry Foster Babcock, who went by Jack, died Thursday at his home in Spokane, his family confirmed.

Read the rest here.

Snowpocalypse - Remembering December 17, 2008 and Other Winter Tales

You may remember the news a year ago, when the storm of the century hit Washington State and 24 inches of snow fell on Spokane in 24 hours. The following week, our city received as much snow in seven days as it normally does in a single season (six feet). Our city was shut down: no school, no city bus routes, no flights; in fact, our state was shut down for at least a day or two. It was a somber time, as we realized that weather could completely isolate a thriving community of half a million people. Our holiday plans were delayed and our children, like many in this area, didn't receive their gifts until after Christmas was over, due to shipping delays, or the inability of delivery trucks to maneuver the city.

The winter continued with a ferocity as snow continued to pile up through the next month. We received a record amount of snowfall and our city's budget was strained as the previous winter, we had received what was at that point, a record amount of snowfall in one week as well. Roofs started to collapse. There were 95 reported of failures in Spokane County and neighboring Kootenai County, Idaho, with 68 being primary structures. One elderly woman was killed when the roof of her home collapsed, but fortunately no one was killed or seriously injured when a major supermarket's roof collapsed during busy evening shopping hours. Snowblowers, snow shovels, roof rakes, and ice melt couldn't be bought for love nor money. Whenever a shipment of shovels or roof rakes came into a hardware store, lines formed for several blocks until they were sold out. One hardware store sold over 2,000 roof rakes alone that season.

But although it was a difficult and serious time, Spokane city and area rural residents did what we've been doing for ages, through Ice Storm 1996, Snow Storm 2008, and Snowpocalypse 2008-9: we pitched in and got to work. Neighbors helped neighbors by checking on each other, shoveling, notifying each other whenever they ran errands to see if they needed something picked up, shoveling, helping disabled neighbors get dug out, shoveling, sharing sand and ice melt, shoveling, raking off each other's roofs, shoveling, and did I mention shoveling?

I wrote several posts highlighting our family's experiences last winter, and have shared the links below. I'm also sharing a link to my geneablogging friend and fellow Washingtonian, the footnoteMaven, as she shared her own winter story from across the state:

Our Week of Wintry Weather

(the snowstorm of January 2008; who knew the year would be bookended by record storms?)

The Weather Outside is Frightful

Snowpocalypse 2008

A Hot Head Will Not Melt the Snow, But it Can Get You Booked

(official police report received via e-mail; a story of the exception to Spokane's neighborliness)

A Quiet Day

(an unforgettable Christmas)

How Cold Was It?

(a story of winter survival by the footnoteMaven)

(footage from one of our local television stations - KREM 2)

This winter is looking a lot milder, thank goodness. No matter what the future holds, we and our children will always remember the winters of 2007-8 and 2008-9, and I'm sure they'll live on in family history lore!

Click on the Image Above to Adopt a Needy Child or Senior in Your Community

Local Paper Higlights WSGS State Conference and Whitman Massacre Survivor

Our local newspaper, the Spokesman-Review, today features two articles of interest to genealogists. The first is a lengthy one highlighting the Washington State Genealogical Society's 2009 State Conference to be held September 11-13 at The Davenport Hotel, featuring principal speaker, Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak.

The second one is about Catherine Sager Pringle, author of Across the Plains in 1844, who as a young girl was orphaned twice, the second time during the infamous Whitman Massacre. Her simple grave lies at Fairmount Memorial Cemetery in Spokane, quietly belying her place in American history.

The Spokesman-Review archives its articles to its subscription area after only a couple of days, so you'll want to read these as soon as possible. Also, it's not too late to register for the conference. Click on the link below:

Online Registration
(need help with the online registration? read our tutorial here)

Brochure and Saturday Schedule
(to help you choose your classes and activities)

Mail-in Registration Form
(for those who prefer registering offline)

Deceased "John Doe" Found in Spokane 26 Years Ago is Reunited with Son

I found the following story in my local paper. It's absolutely fascinating. You'll want to read it soon, as The Spokesman-Review archives its articles fairly quickly and then they are only available at cost.

A “John Doe” was found dead in a van in downtown Spokane on June 14, 1983. In 2006, thanks to a “cold case” investigation, Spokane County medical examiner’s office staffers discovered his identity: Michael Keith Roberts.

County staffers, along with others in the community, paid for a headstone and held a memorial service for Roberts. The Spokesman-Review did a series of columns in summer 2006 on the “Michael Mystery.”

End of story? No.

Recently, Zak Gilbert, 33, of Fort Collins, Colo., contacted the newspaper. Roberts was Gilbert’s biological father.

Read the full story here.

Washington State Genealogical Society's 2009 State Conference

The Washington State Genealogical Society's 2009 state conference will be upon us before you know it. September 11 through 13 is the weekend, the Davenport Hotel in Spokane, Washington is the location, and the Eastern Washington Genealogical Society is proud to play host for this event. My co-bloggers over at the EWGS blog, Donna Potter Phillips and Charles Hansen, have been busy researching and writing about all the events, speakers, activities, transportation, facilities, etc. surrounding the conference, and I'll be adding information about the great vendors that will be in attendance, as well.

Here's a wrap up of some recent posts that will be of interest to you:

Washington State Genealogical Society 2009 State Conference to Be Held in Spokane

Benefits of Attending Genealogical Societies

WSGS 2009 Conference Update

Online Registration Now Available for 2009 WSGS State Conference

WSGS: Other Activities

Getting to Spokane for the WSGS Conference

September...and the Conference...Be A-Comin'


To keep up-to-date on all the conference posts, be sure to bookmark the 2009 State Conference label on the blog. You can also add the EWGS blog to your daily reads at Bloglines, Google Reader, or any of your favorite feed readers here. If you prefer to read your blogs via e-mail, you can sign up to receive them through FeedBlitz.

P.S. There will be a number of Geneabloggers (genealogy bloggers) in attendance at the conference, and we are looking to meet for a GB event. Please contact me if you are interested.

Today is the 100th Father's Day

Any third grader here in Spokane, Washington can tell you that Sonora Louise Smart Dodd, a Spokanite, started Father's Day to honor her father, a widower and a Civil War veteran, who single-handedly raised her and her five siblings after his wife's death. Mrs. Dodd got the idea to honor fathers with a day of their own when she heard a Mother's Day sermon being preached. The first Father's Day was celebrated on June 19th, 1910 here in my hometown. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson visited Spokane to speak at Father's Day services (no doubt he stayed at the world-famous Davenport Hotel, where the Washington State Genealogical Society's state conference will be held September 11-13 this year!).

Our local paper, the Spokesman-Review, has an article about a small celebration that took place yesterday to commemorate the 100th Father's Day. It includes a photograph of Mrs. Dodd's grave at Greenwood Memorial Terrace (I'll have to photograph it myself this summer for my Eastern Washington Graveyard Rabbit blog). Next year, a large celebration will be held to celebrate the centennial of the holiday. The Spokesman-Review also has a fun little quiz, which you can take here, to test your knowledge of Father's Day!

You can also read my post of June 14, 2007 regarding Father's Day for the 26th Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy here.