Washington Our Home

Latest Episodes:

Who Was Mother Joseph? Dec 07, 2020

Show notes

Born Esther Pariseau in 1823, the third of 12 children, in a farmhouse three miles from Saint-Martin, Laval, Quebec, this Canadian Religious Sister grew up to lead members of her congregation to the Pacific Northwestern United States where they established a network of schools and healthcare facilities to serve the American settlers in that new and remote part of the country. She was the first female architect in British Columbia, and she had a profound impact on what would become Washington Territory and later, Washington State. This is the story of Mother Joseph of the Sacred Heart, who became known as "The Builder" after she designed and supervised construction of 29 schools and hospitals in Washington, one of which was Seattle's very first hospital.

The Whitman Massacre Nov 02, 2020

Show notes

Marcus and Narcissa Whitman were Christian missionaries who left their homes in upstate New York and traveled with another missionary couple, Henry and Eliza Spalding, to what was then called Oregon Country in 1836. Their mission? To "Christianize" Indians. In fact, Oregon wasn't even a territory yet. The United States government didn't have any programs in Oregon Country, which at the time consisted of the present-day states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and parts of Wyoming and Montana. The Whitmans and the Spaldings were among the very first Americans of European decent to travel across North America by land to the western part of Oregon Country. Eleven years after the Whitmans arrived, a group of Cayuse ambushed and killed them along with eleven other people in what became a pivotal event in Washington state and Pacific Northwest history called The Whitman Massacre, but the story you might think you know may very well be appended - or upended - or both by the time we're is finished.

The Life of Senator Slade Gorton Sep 07, 2020

Show notes

Slade Gorton was an esteemed intellectual, an accomplished attorney, a shrewd political opponent, an Air Force colonel, a baseball nut…and one of the greatest public servants Washington State has ever known. After 92 years of working on behalf of others, the nonagenarian solon died last month, on August 19th. If you've never heard of Slade Gorton, you'll get a great idea of who the man was by reading his obituary from the Washington Post. No one knew Slade better than his wife, his children, his closest friends…and perhaps his biographer, Chief Historian for the Washington Secretary of State's Office, John Hughes. In 2011, Hughes published a 384-page book titled "Slade Gorton: A Half Century in Politics," on behalf of the Washington State Heritage Center's Legacy Project - now known as Legacy Washington. It is probably the most historically accurate, exquisitely detailed, and anecdotally entertaining work about the man known as a scion, a patrician, and one of the most intellectually astute politicians this state has ever seen.

Say WA! Part 3.5: More on Pronouncing Washington's Native Names Jun 01, 2020

Show notes

In Part 1, we learned how to pronounce some of thestate's challenging county names. In Part 2, we reviewed dozens of tricky city names around Washington. And in Part 3, we started tackling some of those indigenous names found so often around Washington. But there were too many to cover in a single episode...so this, my friends, is Say WA Part 3.5! We'll cover the rest of the Tribes found in western Washington and learn about some of our state's place names that have their origin in the various indigenous dialects. All that and more coming up on this episode of the WashingtonOur Home Podcast.

Medicine Creek: In Search of Treaty Tree Feb 03, 2020

Show notes

In 1854, the Medicine Creek Treaty between regional Native American tribes and Washington's territorial government kicked off a years-long conflict that forever changed the story of the Pacific Northwest. Sixty-eight years later, in 1922, the Sacajawea Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution placed a bronze plaque commemorating the momentous treaty, upon the single remaining Douglas Fir that remained at the place where the treaty was signed. It became forever known as "Treaty Tree." Today, that tree is gone, but the clues left behind may be able to point us to the exact spot where it once stood among a grove of fir trees that bore witness to a pivotal moment in the history of Washington state.

Say WA! Part III: How to Pronounce Washington’s Native Names Jan 06, 2020

Show notes

We've talked about the state's challenging county names. We've reviewed dozens of tricky city names around Washington. Now, in Part III of our Say WA! pronunciation series, we'll be tackling those tribal names found so often around our great state. There are 574 federally recognized Indian Tribes in the United States, and 29 of them have ancestral lands here within the Washington state borders. There are also a handful of non-federally recognized tribes, some still fighting to gain recognition and independence. From east to west and north to south, the influence of our region's indigenous people is embedded in everything.

The Wreck of the S.S. Catala Dec 02, 2019

Show notes

I've spent a lot of time in Ocean Shores, Washington, over the years...hiking around Damon Point, rock-hopping at the north jetty and exploring the Coastal Interpretive Center (which is absolutely worth seeing, if you ever get the chance). But one of the more memorable moments in my Ocean Shores experience was getting to "discover" a shipwreck as the tempestuous weather began shifting the dunes and slowly exposing its hull at the beginning of the century. That ship, it turns out, was the S.S. Catala - a Canadian coastal passenger and cargo steamship built in 1925.

Say WA! Part II: How to Pronounce Washington’s City Names Nov 05, 2019

Show notes

There are 281 official cities and towns in the State of Washington, according to the Washington State Association of Cities, and every one of them has a unique story to tell. Some of them have hundreds of stories…others, perhaps just one major story. All of them have their own character, vibe, ambiance, and backstory, and many of them have weird, interesting or unusual ways they got their names. Why is there no University in University Place? What happened that earned one town the name Slaughter? And what exactly do people do in Humptulips? Fear not, my loyal listeners…all will be revealed in this Washington City Names episode of Washington Our Home.

Ryderwood: The Town With Two Histories Oct 08, 2019

Show notes

At the very end of Washington State Route 506 lies a tiny, well-kept community that bills itself as the town with two histories. And both of those histories are pretty darned amazing. Heard of Ryderwood, Washington? Neither had I until I was approached by a representative of their historical society. And the story she told me had me fascinated…I decided I had to visit to learn more. Ryderwood is located about halfway between Centralia and Longview in western Washington, just a bit west of the I-5 corridor. A Google satellite map of the area shows a small brownish patch at the top of Cowlitz County just below the Lewis County line, surrounded on three of four sides by inches and inches of deep green forests. In fact, that’s exactly why Ryderwood was created there in the first place…for the timber.

Say WA! Part I: How to Pronounce Washington’s County Names Sep 02, 2019

Show notes

Today, we're beginning the creation of THE definitive pronunciation guide for Washington State. This will be part one of a three-part series looking at Washington's notoriously difficult county, city and geographic names, so you'd better favorite these episodes if you want to sound like you're from here. For this episode, we'll stick to the tricky county names. Of course, we'll also have our monthly trivia quiz, and we'll pepper in some Fast Facts to learn about how many of these places got their names. I'll also have a few stories of my own to share about these places. And I'm going to plug these names into a text-to-speech app and see how the robots would pronounce them.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected