Where: Port Stanley School
When: Saturday, August 25th 7:00 pm
Free Admission
This program is based on Lorraine McConaghy’s new book New Land, North of the Columbia. The research project for New Land involved more than a year of travel throughout Washington, drawing from archival material ranging from maps, correspondence and public records to patent drawings, menus and paper dolls. This presentation is highly visual and deeply engaging.
The book New Land, North of the Columbia features nearly 400 documents, including a telegram to Washington Territory’s governor signed by Abraham Lincoln, the rough draft of Theodore Roethke’s “The Rose,” and a NASA map of Washington, shot by Landsat satellites.
Richly illustrated by a colorful Powerpoint presentation, this program explores the rich shared heritage of public archives in Washington State, documenting who we were, who we are, and who we might become. This program concludes with some suggestions on caring for personal archives, including a list of printed and web-based resources.
The Lopez Bookshop will have copies of Lorraine’s book available for sale at the event. They have generously offered to donate proceeds from book sales to LIHS.
Jointly sponsored by Humanities Washington and LIHS, with additional support from Lopez Village Market, Spencer’s Landing, Duane & Audrey Bordvick, Gary & Karen Alexander, Karen Rousseau, Mike Halperin & Jodi Green, Raiti Waerness, Lopez Bookshop, Mitrebox Contracting, and Cloud Islands.
Dr. Lorraine McConaghy is a public historian who has devoted her professional life to researching and teaching Pacific Northwest history in a museum setting. She has curated a series of successful projects at Seattle’s Museum of History & Industry, including the museum’s core exhibits Metropolis 150 and Essential Seattle, as well as Blue vs. Gray: Civil War in the Pacific Northwest. McConaghy teaches in the Museum Studies program at the University of Washington, and her work has been honored by the Washington Museums Association, the Oral History Association, the National Council on Public History and the American Association for State and Local History. In 2010, she received the Robert Gray Medal, the highest honor awarded by the Washington State Historical Society.
