Past Events

Note: this is a past event.
This year we will host our annual fundraising dinner and auction on Saturday, May 11th, 2013 from 5 to 9 pm at Club Green Meadows in Vancouver. Guests will enjoy an evening with celebrated historian Richard Etulain taking a lively and definitive look at Abraham Lincoln and the Oregon Country accompanied by a catered dinner, silent auction, and sales of Etulain’s latest book, “Lincoln and Oregon Country Politics in the Civil War Era”, which was released in February. Arrive at 5 pm for cocktails and to mingle with the author!

Tickets are $65 for current CCHS members, $75 for non-members, and $520 for a table of 8 and must be reserved prior to the event. To reserve yours, call (360) 993-5679.

For directions to Club Green Meadows, use the map at right or click here for a larger version.

“Once again, historian Richard Etulain has provided a scholarly, lively, and definitive look at Lincoln and the Pacific Northwest. Lincoln himself thought the ‘Far Corner’ of Oregon simply too far to become his own home, but his close ties to many friends who did migrate there remained important in both elections and war. Etulain re-creates the pioneer spirit and political fractiousness of Oregon with a keen eye for both the sweep of history and the small anecdotes that make the best history books irresistible.”
—Harold Holzer, Chairman, Lincoln Bicentennial Foundation

If you’re interested in getting a copy of Richard’s book before May 11th, you can stop by the museum store or use the mail-order form provided here.

About the Author

Richard W. Etulain is the author or editor of more than fifty books, including Conversations with Wallace Stegner on Western History and Literature, Beyond the Missouri: The Story of the American West, and Lincoln Looks West: From the Mississippi to the Pacific. A Professor Emeritus of History at the University of New Mexico, he lives in Clackamas, Oregon.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Note: this is a past event.

Come party down with us! On Friday, February 15, 2013 from 6-8 pm, we’re hosting our second ever Museum Underground party in our 1909 Carnegie Library building. Get down with Richard Brautigan and browse our other exhibits while listening to the sounds of Pat Kearns from Blue Skies for Black Hearts. Refreshments will be served.
All attendees will get two drink tickets at the door plus a ticket for a free well drink at the Brickhouse after the party!

Tickets are $12 advance and $15 at the door. Pay via PayPal using the yellow ‘Donate’ button at the top left of this page. Make sure you give us a call (360/993-5679) to let us know you’re coming OR make a note under ‘Add instructions to seller’ during your PayPal transaction to let us know that the money is for Museum Underground tickets!

________________________________________________________________________________________

The Civil War in Washington Territory

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.

Join Washington’s Civil War Read-In!

Note: This is a past event.

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

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, reading and gathering evidence
- Document your reading in the project templates
- Email your results to the Project

Here are the Civil War Read-In Trainings

Saturday, February 9, 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

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.

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

Some of your questions may be answered in the FAQ.
To register to participate, contact Lorraine McConaghy at Lorraine.mcconaghy@wshs.wa.gov

________________________________________________________________________________________

Note: this is a past event.

Northwest Heritage Resources, in partnership with the Clark County Historical Museum, is pleased to present a performance by traditional Chinese rod puppet theatre, Dragon Art Studio, on Saturday, February 9, 2013. The performance is scheduled for 2:00pm and will take place at the Clark County Historical Museum on 1511 Main St. Vancouver, WA.

Dragon Art Studio performs traditional Chinese folk tales and other stories with traditional Chinese rod puppets that are hand-crafted by the puppeteers. Before coming to America, Zhengli Xu and his wife and fellow performer, Yuqin Wang, were both leading puppeteers with the famous China Puppet Art Troupe for more than 30 years. When Xu and Wang came to Oregon in 1996 they formed their own puppet theatre – Dragon Art Studio. They have performed all over the world, and in 2004 they were honored by the National Endowment for the Arts with a National Heritage Fellowship, the highest honor our nation gives to folk and traditional artists. Audiences of all ages – adults and children alike – find their performances magical and enchanting.

Admission to the performance is the cost of museum admission, $4 for adults, $3 for seniors and students, $2 for children, and free for CCHS members. No advance ticket sales. The February 9th performance is funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Washington State Arts Commission and Northwest Heritage Resources. Presented by Northwest Heritage Resources in partnership with the Ethnic Heritage Council and the Clark County Historical Museum. For more information call: 360-993-5679 or Northwest Heritage Resources at, 206-306-1181 or email: info@northwestheritageresources.org, or go to www.northwestheritageresources.org.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Note: This is a past event.

Our National Unpublished Writers’ Day has come around again! Come jam with other people who like to write, exchange ideas, and learn more about your craft. The workshop is scheduled for 12 noon to 5 pm on Sunday, January 27th, 2013 at the Clark County Historical Museum, and it remains a free event.

National Unpublished Writer’s Day is an annual event held in partnership between The Clark County Historical Museum, the creative media and digital culture program at Washington State University Vancouver and the WSU Vancouver writing center. The event features workshops, activities and creation stations that offer writers of all skill levels a wide array of information, theory and hands-on practice.

This year’s workshops cover a diverse range of writing topics including screenwriting, short stories, poetry, journalism, electronic literature and six-word memoirs. Professional writers from WSU Vancouver and the community will help lead the workshops and provide participants with a broad approach to writing.

The event will also feature a poetry reading by third grade students from Image Elementary School at 2 p.m. The students will read their own poetry created specifically for the event.

Creation Stations:

“Poetry”
Christopher Luna and Toni Partington, editors of Printed Matter Vancouver

“Six-word Memoirs”
Brett Oppegaard, assistant professor of communications, WSU Vancouver

“Rhythm and Writing”
Kandy Robertson, clinical associate professor and coordinator of the WSU Vancouver writing center

“Writing a Personal Statement”
Judy Ware, writing center consultant, WSU Vancouver

“Screenwriting”
Rick O’Brien, writing center consultant, WSU Vancouver

“Very, Very, Very Short Stories”
Josh Erdahl, writing center consultant, WSU Vancouver

“Sound Recording/Writing and Book Making”
Bryan Ruhe, CMDC student

“Electronic Literature”
Dene Grigar, director of the creative media and digital culture program, and Will Luers, visiting professor, WSU Vancouver

“Writing for Social Media”
Michael Rabby, CMDC faculty member, WSU Vancouver

“Journalism”
Howard Gingold, former Los Angeles Times journalist and documentary filmmaker, and Tom Vogt, journalist for The Columbian

“Writing Pearls”
Jessica Samuelsen

“Design and make your own book”
Stan Torrence

“Journaling”
Gina Williams

National Unpublished Writers’ Day follows in the footsteps of Washington-born writer Richard Brautigan who envisioned a library where writers of all skill levels and backgrounds could exhibit their works. CMDC faculty member John Barber is responsible for developing and curating The Clark County Historical Museum’s Brautigan Library, which features more than 290 unpublished manuscripts written by authors from 31 states, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, India and Saudi Arabia.

Through his work with The Brautigan Library, Barber recognizes the importance this event has for local writers. “National Unpublished Writers’ Day provides a connection between the WSU Vancouver community, the Clark County Historical Museum and the larger surrounding area that increases awareness of the importance of community literacy. The event facilitates conversations among writers and readers, aiding in the process of finding the right words, style, tone and voice in order to best convey a writer’s intended message to his or her audience,” said Barber.

For more information call 360-993-5679 or visit www.cchmuseum.org. To learn more about The Brautigan Library, please visit www.thebrautiganlibrary.org.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Note: this is a past event.

On Saturday, December 1st, 2012, we invite you to our Holiday Open House & Artisans’ Market! Doors open at 10:00 am and close at 4:00 pm.
Once again we will hold our annual handmade art and craft market for the gift-finding good of all! Come see what beautiful things our artists have made this year. No admission is charged, and we’ll have live music and crafts for the kids.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Note: This is a past event.

Northwest Heritage Resources, in partnership with the Clark County Historical Museum, is pleased to present a performance of Native American legends by traditional Native American storyteller, Curtis DuPuis, on Saturday, November 17, 2012. The performance is scheduled for 2:00 pm.

Curtis DuPuis is an enrolled Chehalis American Indian and an oral historian and storyteller of the Hazel Pete family – a traditional family renowned in Washington history for making baskets. As a storyteller, Curtis talks about family history, travels and location, cultural crafts, and stories from the family tradition. As a lifetime resident of the Chehalis reservation in Oakville, WA, he participates in numerous Native American cultural activities, but he is most well known in the local area as a traditional (Native) gardener. Primarily he grows corn, beans, squash and tobacco for 60-70 American Indian Veterans.

Admission to the performance is the cost of museum admission, $4 for adults, $3 for seniors and students, $2 for children, and free for CCHS members. The November 17th performance is funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Washington State Arts Commission and Northwest Heritage Resources. Presented by Northwest Heritage Resources in partnership with the Ethnic Heritage Council and the Clark County Historical Museum. For more information call: 360-993-5679 or Northwest Heritage Resources at, 206-306-1181 or email: info@northwestheritageresources.org, or go to www.northwestheritageresources.org.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Join us at 5 pm on Thursday, November 15th, 2012 at the museum to meet the authors of the newest Clark County History Annual and to get copies of the cover signed.

At 6 pm, members are invited to join us for our membership meeting, where director Susan Tissot will review the year and give us a taste of 2013. If you are not a member, you can purchase a membership at the door and attend the meeting!

________________________________________________________________________________________

Celebrate Native American History Month with our first-ever Native Arts Market! Doors open at 10:00 am on Saturday, November 10th, 2012 for a free day at your museum, featuring some of the area’s most prominent Native American artists, plus special activities for the kids as visitors enjoy the opportunity to get in some early holiday shopping.

Shown at left is Paul Rowley wearing his own hat art. Paul is a Tlingit & Haida artist living in Portland, OR, who weaves both contemporary and traditional cedar bark hats. After taking a day-long hat making course, his passion blossomed. He is mostly self-taught and strives to make wearable art which reflects the rich traditions of the Pacific Northwest’s tribal history.

Paul carves his own hat blocks, making for his own custom hat styles. He sometimes embellishes his hats with abalone buttons and feathers, and often weaves other materials into the hats such as sweet grass. Check out his beautiful wares on Saturday!

________________________________________________________________________________________

Join Haunted Walking Tour guide Brad Richardson and his wife Katie for a dinner filled with frightfully good tales and entrees! Dinner begins at 6 pm on Tuesday, October 30, 2012. Guests will enjoy the wonderful cuisine of the Grant House Restaurant while listening as Brad tells haunted tales of various places around Clark County.

Cost per person is $45. This price includes tax, gratuity, and a non-alcoholic beverage. Alcohol is available at the restaurant for an additional price. The Grant House will donate 25% of the proceeds to benefit the Clark County Historical Museum. This 2012 offer is a one time opportunity. Seats are limited to 20 individuals or 10 couples. All participants must be able to climb stairs to the dining room.

IMPORTANT: To register for this unique dining experience, interested parties must contact the museum by 1 pm on Tuesday, October 30 to make a reservation. Because of the limited seating, reservations are required and advance payment is required and non-refundable. Payment will be accepted via cash, check or credit card at the museum or online using the yellow ‘Donate’ button above. (Use this option to pay via Paypal. Mention the Haunted Tour Dinner in the notes field.) Contact the museum at 360/993-5679 or info@cchmuseum.org.

Menu for the Last Stop on the Haunted Tour Dinner
GRANT HOUSE LOG CABIN SALAD
mixed greens, carrots, candied walnuts, bleu cheese crumbles, apple chips, molasses rum raisin vinaigrette
GRANT’S BOURBON MAPLE CHICKEN
butternut squash risotto, wilted rainbow chard, bourbon maple glaze
OLD APPLE TREE CRISP
using fruit in season served warm with vanilla ice cream

________________________________________________________________________________________

Did you know that ghosts have been sighted in the downtown building you walk past after work each evening? Have you heard tell of the mischievous mister who haunts the basement of the museum? Bring your goosebumps and a trusty flashlight for our haunted walking tours of downtown Vancouver. This tour is PG-13, so best leave the little ones at home.

Our next tours start at the museum at 5 pm on Friday, October 26th, and at 11 am and 2 pm on Saturday, October 27th, 2012.

Space is limited, so you MUST call us at (360) 993-5679 to reserve your spots and pay the $5 admission fee, which can be done in person at the museum during regular open hours or online via the yellow Paypal ‘Donate’ button at the top left of the page. We must receive your admission fee before 4 pm on the day of the tour, and we will not accept payment at the door.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Note: This is a past event.
Click here to watch a short video from Harvest Fun Day 2012.

Compete in our fantastically fun and popular pie-eating and corn-shucking contests, make your own life-size scarecrow, learn to square dance with the Happy Hoppers, and experience life on the farm. It’s all free, and it’s all happening on Saturday, September 22nd from 10 am to 3 pm at the verdant 78th Street Heritage Farm in Hazel Dell, Washington. Click here for directions to the venue from downtown Vancouver.

Partners for this year’s event include:
Clark County
Clark Cowlitz Farm Bureau
The Columbian
Vancouver Business Journal
Bi-Zi Farms
Dulin’s Cafe
Kazoodles

________________________________________________________________________________________

NOTE: This is a past event.

On Saturday, June 9th, 2012, you’re invited to a special free day at the museum! While not actually on Father’s Day, this event is a great place to find an awesome gift for your father! Browse autographed sports and celebrity memorabilia from the private collection of Vancouver resident Ron Zollo, former Assistant General Manager of the Tacoma Rainiers Pacific Coast League baseball franchise.

Ron has been collecting celebrity autographs and memorabilia for more than 30 years. He is one of only four people in the United States known to have signatures of every member of the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame.

A letter of authenticity will accompany each purchase at this event, and 50% of the proceeds will go to CCHM. Purchase will be by cash or credit/debit cards only. All sales final, no refunds. These items are owned by a private collector and are not now nor have ever been property of the Clark County Historical Society.

Doors open at 10 am and close at 4 pm. Free admission lasts throughout the event. Call (360) 993-5679 for more information.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Note: this is a past event. Click here to see photos from the event!

This year the event will take place in the newly-restored historic Summit Grove Lodge off I-5 in Ridgefield. Learn about the venue’s history over the last century by visiting the Summit Grove Lodge’s website.

Our featured guest this year will be bestselling author William Least Heat-Moon, known for his U.S. travel-writing books Blue Highways and River Horse. Accompanying him will be photographer and author Ed Ailor III, whose upcoming book Blue Highways Revisited will also be available at the May 12th event. Blue Highways Revisited retraces Heat-Moon’s steps through the photographic lens, documenting how the landscapes and characters of the book have changed in the three decades since its publication.

The evening will also include dinner and a silent auction.

________________________________________________________________________________________