Thursday at the Northwest Room!

This Thursday, the 25th, we will meet at the Northwest Room of the Spokane Public Library. You can park underneath the library for $.75 per half-hour for the first two half-hours and $1.00 per half-hour after that. Bring your pencils, digital cameras, and a flash drive, along with the research that you have done so far.

Announcements and Opportunities

Esteemed students, here are a few of the upcoming opportunities that I announced in class:

• The Visiting Artists Lecture Series (VALS) at the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture is coming up on April 25, 2013 at 6:30pm. Speaking is Tom Kundig, a famous Seattle Modernist architect. Also check out SPOMa: Spokane Modern Architecture exhibition in the MAC galleries--the video above is a six-week time lapse of the exhibit installation.

• ...and speaking of the MAC, their annual MAC Mother's Day Tour isMay 11, 2013 to May 12, 2013, and will focus on modernist Spokane architecture.

• The 2013 Mullan Road Conference is in Spokane, at the MAC and various other locations,
   May 3-5. On the 5th we are getting in a bus and going to look for ruts. CAN YOU
  IMAGINE ANYTHING SO EXCITING??!!

•  May 3-5. On the 5th we are getting in a bus and going to look for ruts. CAN YOU

• IMAGINE ANYTHING SO EXCITING??!!

• For the Spokane Preservation Breakfast, see below.

• Finally, A few of us are beginning to plan the first Public History Club field trip. One Saturday
   in May we will take a day trip into the Silver Valley of Idaho. We will go underground in
  a working silver mine, scramble around a ghost town, sample the offerings at the
  Bordello Museum, and atone for our sins at Cataldo Mission. Dates and details to follow.

Anyone Interested in Historic Preservation?

I just got this invite, which was extended also to "any of your students." This is an opportunity to meet some of the folks who are active in historic preservation in Spokane "or a breakfast and a chance to network and share information on the preservation issues that affect our state and community. I hope you will attend. The cost for breakfast is $14. Please RSVP to Jennifer Haegele by April 29th at jhaegele@spokanecity.org or 509-625-6312." Let me know also if you will attend.

Home Alone, Hometown History Edition

Professor Cebula making an impression at NCPH.

I will not be with you this week! This kind of snuck up on me, somehow I did not realize last week that this is the week I am going to the National Council on Public History conference to take part in a Working Group about best practices for universities wanting to create a public history program, and to present about using mobile apps in a public history program with the example of Spokane Historical. But do not fear, dear students, class will meet and you are provided for.

On Tuesday you will meet as ever at the Digital Archives classroom. My grad assistant, Lee Nilsson, will be on hand. Student discussion leaders, please email me your questions on Monday and I will give you my reactions. In class on Tuesday, Lee will take attendance and you will have the discussion, then Lee will demonstrate the use of the online Google form for reporting your signs. Please bring a laptop (a tablet is probably not enough) and your pictures from last week.

On Thursday proceed directly downstairs to the Eastern Region branch where Lee Pierce will be waiting. The goal on Thursday will be to do some preliminary research on your signs. The main records you will use are the city directories, corporation records, and property cards--though Lee may have some additional ideas. Bring a pencil, a digital camera, your laptop, and maybe a sweater (archival research usually requires a sweater). Here are some things to look for as you research:

• Before you go, make a list of terms to research. These will include the address of your building, its name, names and terms on the ghost signs.
• Work the city directories for additional names, both of individuals who lived at your locations but also for business, building owners, etc. When people left where did they go? Are there dominant ethnic groups? What was happening in nearby buildings?
• Property cards will be hit-and-miss, but may have valuable photographs and other information.
• Take careful notes! Start a research notebook and record not just your information but where you got the information, page numbers, and notes of ideas and questions that you have. 
• Taking notes with a camera requires similar care. Keep written notes about what you are photography, but also document everything with images. So if an archivist brings you a box full of folder, begin by photographing the box, then the folder title, and only then the items in the box. Later when you need to cite your research, or retrace your steps, you will easily be able to say that photograph X is from folder Y in box Z at the ABC archives. 
• Good digital hygiene includes backing up your data. Are you using Dropbox?

It should be a good week. I will push back the cemetery essay so we can talk about it in class next week--do not worry about it for now. See you next week!

Reactions Reactions

I have graded your first two reaction papers. They were really good, all As and Bs. If you are a TA, your graded papers are in your mailbox in Reid, otherwise they will be handed back in class on Tuesday. A few tips for what I would like to see on the reaction papers from here on out:

1. I know the readings are diverse, but try to tie them together a bit in the introduction.
2. Please include a couple of quotations in your reactions, with parenthetical page citations. Example: In J. William T. Young's essay on Expo, he write of the "drunken hoodlums" who spoiled the opening ceremony. (173)
3. Proofread for awkward phrases, repetitive language, and weird formatting. Writing in Word and pasting it into Blogger can cause the latter.
4. Each post should have 1-2 images, with captions and the source.

Finally, starting next week I want everyone to use the time between the Monday noon submission of the reaction posts and Tuesday's class to read at least 2-3 of your classmates' reaction and write a short comment. Mix it up from week to week which blogs you comment on.

Good work!

Discounted Student Rate at Revitalize WA Conference

The Washington Trust for Historic Preservation will hold its annual RevitalizeWA conference in Vancouver, Washington, May 15-17, 2013.  This year, the Washington Trust is offering a discounted rate of $75.00 for student registration down from the $155.00 basic conference registration. 

The RevitalizeWA 2013 conference will feature a variety of engaging educational sessions, workshops and tours related to preserving and rehabilitating Washington’s historic places and revitalizing Washington’s historic downtowns all geared toward inspiring and informing attendees.  Topics to be covered include: preservation of historic theaters, heritage tourism trails, retail market analysis for Main Streets, tools for effective preservation advocacy, using federal rehabilitation and low income tax credits to redevelop historic buildings, improving your financial reporting system to rethink your non-profit, creating engaging tours of Midcentury Modern commercial buildings in your downtown, modeling best practices and collaboration in preserving Seattle’s Trinity Parish Church, using CDBG grants for storefront improvements, how to engage youth and diverse audiences in preservation and revitalization, successful adaptive reuse of industrial and large commercial sites, and what’s next for Main Street?  Keynote speaker, Charles Marohn, Executive Director of Strong Towns, will introduce a new model for community growth and sustainable development.

The Washington Trust will welcome preservation, heritage, and Main Street professionals, board members, volunteers, small business owners, city and regional planners, elected officials, design and building trade professionals, community and economic development specialists, educators, students, and local community members.  Not only is this a great educational opportunity but a chance to network with others from across the state.  More information about the conference, including a preliminary schedule, can be found on our website at http://preservewa.org/RevitalizeWA.aspx.

In order to take advantage of this offer, simply visit the Eventbrite online registration at http://revitalizewa2013.eventbrite.com/ and select the “Student Conference Registration” ticket type.  Be sure to list your college or university as the “Company / Organization” under the “Work Information” section.  For further information, contact Cathy Wickwire at cwickwire@preservewa.org.

Civil War Read In Training Details

[Caitlin is signed up for the Civil War Read In training and this is the email she received with the deets:]

Welcome to the Civil War Read-In training program!  The Cheney training on April 13, 10a-4p, will be at the Washington State Archives – Eastern Regional Branch, 960 Washington Street, Cheney 99004 on the Eastern Washington University campus in Cheney. See Visitor Information at http://www.ewu.edu/visit.xml.

Here are a few details to make that day of training most useful.

First, please be on time and please stay until the end – we have planned a very full day of training in working with primary materials as well as working with the technology to upload the evidence you find to our database.  Please bring a lunch – we’ll work through our lunchtime. Also, bring anything you would like to drink. You can bring your laptop, notebook or pad, if you have one, for note taking but there will probably be limited WiFi available.  If you do bring your laptops, make sure they are charged as outlets are limited.

Second, we included in this email a bibliography that you may sample, if you wish, to provide background for your work in the Read-In.  It is not required that you read any of these sources, just that you might want to.  A number of readers have requested this.

Third, here is the link to the template you will be completing as you go through your reading assignment :http://pathways.omeka.net/contribution. Once on the site, to enter the template, click on "Select Below", choose a type of reference and the template will open. 

Finally, is there someone you know who would enjoy this opportunity to read extraordinary primary sources from the 1857-1871 period?  From Washington Territory?  It’s fun and stimulating to read with a friend; consider inviting someone – but do let us know in email ahead of time, so that we can be prepared. 

Thank you!  See you soon, Darby Langdon and Lorraine McConaghy

Bibliography:

Davis, William.  John C. Breckinridge: Statesman, Soldier, Symbol. Baton Rouge:  Louisiana State University Press, 1974.
Edwards, G. Thomas. “Six Oregon Leaders and the Far-Reaching Impact of America’s Civil War,” Oregon Historical Quarterly 100 (1999): 4-31.
Etulain, Richard W. Lincoln and Oregon Country Politics in the Civil War Era.  (Oregon State University Press, February 2013).
Ficken, Robert E. Washington Territory.  Pullman: WSU Press, 2002.
Foster, Charles J. “The Pacific Coast in the Civil War,” M.A. Thesis, University of Washington, 1924.
Hansen, David Kimball. “Public Response to the Civil War in Washington Territory and Oregon, 1861-1865.” M.A. Thesis, University of Washington, 1971.
Hendrickson, James E. Joe Lane of Oregon; Machine Politics and the Sectional Crisis, 1849-1861. New     Haven, Yale University Press, 1967.
Hunt, Aurora. The Amy of the Pacific, 1860-1866.  Glendale, CA:  Clark., 1951.
Johansen, Dorothy and Charles M. Gates, Empire of the Columbia:  A History of the Pacific Northwest. New York:  Harper & Row, 1967.
Johannsen, Robert W. Frontier Politics on the Eve of the Civil War.  Seattle:  University of Washington Press, 1955.
-----. The Frontier, The Union and Stephen A. Douglas, Urbana:  University of Illinois Press, 1989.
Josephy, Alvin M., The Civil War in the American West. New York:  Knopf, 1991.
Kilian, Crawford. Go Do Some Great Thing: The Black Pioneers of British Columbia, Vancouver:  Douglas & McIntyre, 1978.
Lang, William L. Confederacy of Ambition:  William Winlock Miller and the Making of Washington Territory. Seattle:  University of Washington Press, 1996.
Lewis, Oscar. The War in the Far West: 1861-1865.  Garden City, NY:  Doubleday, 1961.
McArthur, Scott.  The Enemy Never Came:  Civil War in the Pacific Northwest.  University of Nebraska Press, 2012.
McConaghy, Lorraine and Judy Bentley, Free Boy:  A True Story of Slave and Master.  Seattle:  University of Washington Press, February 2013.
Richards, Kent D. Young Man in a Hurry: Washington’s First Territorial Governor, 1853-1857.  Pullman:  Washington State University Press, 1993.
Stevens, Hazard. The Life of Isaac Ingalls Stevens.  Boston:  Houghton, Mifflin, 1900.
Taylor, Quintard. In Search of the Racial Frontier: African Americans in the West Norton, 1998.
Vouri, Michael.  The Pig War:  Standoff at Griffin Bay.  Friday Harbor:  Griffin Bay Bookstore, 1999.
West, Elliott.  The Last Indian War:  The Nez Perce Story.  New York:  Oxford University Press, 2009.

We Meet at the Schade Brewery THIS Thursday

Esteemed Students: We meet this Thursday, April 11, at the Schade Brewery building--currently the EWU bookstore for the Riverpoint campus--at 528 E. Spokane Falls Blvd. We meet at 2:30 on the front steps. Bring a clipboard, sensible shoes, a camera, and weather-appropriate clothing. This will be fun!

You can learn more about this historic building at Spokane Historical.

Readings Schedule Added

Please note that the Course Documents section on the right now contains a link to the readings and assignments schedule for this course. I will be updating this document as the course proceeds but will try always to stay a week ahead. You will need three of the books for next week, be sure you have them.

Sign Up for the Civil War Read In!

An innovative attempt to research the Washington Territory in the era of the Civil War is fast approaching, and we need more volunteers in eastern Washington! The training is on April 13, right here at the fabulous State Archives building in sunny Cheney. Details are below. We invite armchair historians, college students, genealogists, and really everyone to participate. Here are the details:

Join Washington’s Civil War Read-In!   

Democratic appointee James Tilton arrived in Olympia, Washington Territory in 1855, accompanied by his family and a young black slave, named Charles Mitchell. Mitchell fled to the Crown Colony of Victoria in September 1860, a fugitive on a tiny Puget Sound underground railroad. Here, the San Francisco Daily Evening Bulletin, October 18, 1860, reprinted an article on the flight from a Washington Territory newspaper.

In 2013, hundreds of researchers will fan out across Washington State, visiting archives, museums and libraries to read the primary documents of our history, 1857-1871. We invite you to attend a training and to join the Read-In. Participants will read an assignment in newspapers, classic published histories, and archival material of all sorts. Join us to discover the forgotten Civil War experience in Washington Territory, and report your discoveries to make a permanent record – an on-line searchable database of Civil War-era citations, hosted by the Washington State Historical Society.

During the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, we in Washington know little of our own experience of the war. However, the war is not only of significance in the battlefield states, but also here in the far northwest, where settlers argued through the very same issues that tore the United States apart. As Washington State Historical Society prepares to launch a major exhibition, “Civil War Pathways,” in February 2014, we seek your help in learning more about Washington Territory during the antebellum, wartime and early Reconstruction periods.

Get involved!

• Attend a training, January through May 2013
• Take a Read-In assignment, in newspapers or documents
• Spend a month of spare time, carefully reading and gathering evidence (AND you have two months to actually do the work….)
• Document your reading in the project templates
• Upload your results to the Project’s Omeka database, hosted online by the Washington State Historical Society

Here are the Civil War Read-In Trainings

Saturday, February 9, 10-4 Seattle

Wednesday February 13, 10-4 Seattle
Saturday, February 16, 10-4 Vancouver
Saturday, February 23, 10-4 Olympia
Saturday, March 2, 10-4 Tacoma
SUNDAY, March 10, 12-6 Walla Walla
Saturday, March 23, 10-4 Yakima
Saturday, April 13, 10-4 Cheney
Saturday, April 20, 10-4 La Conner

Saturday, April 27, 10-4 Seattle

We will build a searchable database from your work, which will be available to all researchers on the WSHS website. And we’ll also get all the readers together at the conclusion of the Read-In, to meet one another and celebrate this great accomplishment.

Curious? Interested?

Visit http://www.washingtonhistory.org/pathways.aspx

Ready to sign up for a training? Have any questions?

Contact Lorraine McConaghy at Lorraine.mcconaghy@wshs.wa.gov

Giving a Talk Wednesday Night

I forgot to mention it in class, but on Wednesday, April 3 at 6 p.m. I will be at the Spokane Valley library to talk about digital approaches to telling local history stories, with a focus on Spokane Historical. Find out what Bert from Sesame Street and Osama Bin Laden have in common!

Readings for Thursday, 4/4

Readings:

• Salmon, “Main Street” (distributed in class)
• Kyving and Marty, chapters 1 and 2

• Wikipedia, Ghost Sign
• Dan Barry, In a City Fighting Blight, ‘Ghost Signs’ as Portals to a Bygone Era

• Ken Jones, American Ghosts: Ghost Signs of the United States (read About Ghost Signs)
• A Survey of Port Townsend’s Ghost Signs and Murals

Discussion Leaders: