Above and Below the Fold interprets Clark County history through the eyes of its reporters. Drawn from abstracts summarizing Clark County newspaper articles from 1850-1958 and compiled by former educator Carl Landerholm, this exhibit is an overview of what Landerholm focused on in his comprehensive publication, the Vancouver Area Chronology. We combine the significant events “above the fold” with the unusual events “below the fold” to provide a glimpse into our local past.

The exhibit features artifacts from the museum’s broad based collection including the 1873 Washington Hand Press which was used to print The Vancouver Independent newspapers (precursor to The Columbian). Visitors can watch a televised demonstration of how our 1873 Washington hand press works courtesy of Arizona State Parks.

After putting on the headphones found by the pair of reclining chairs in the exhibit’s living room (courtesy of Sparks Home Furnishings) visitors can listen to samples from the museum’s oral history collection. A special recording booth is available in the gallery for visitors who want to add their stories to the exhibit.

The Columbian, the Camas/Washougal Post-Record and The Reflector are providing subscriptions to their newspapers for visitors who would like to sit back in the recliners and put their feet up to read the local news.

Tech savvy visitors can use their smartphones (with a QR Code app) to scan QR codes throughout the exhibit to read miniature ‘newspapers.’ Additional media is also available via audio recordings accessible by conventional cell phones using the Guide by Cell program to which the museum subscribes.

The exhibit is sponsored in part by the Landerholm Law Offices and Dovy and Irwin Landerholm. Media sponsors are The Columbian, Vancouver Business Journal and The Daily Insider. The exhibit runs through May 31, 2013. The museum will host a number of workshops related to the exhibit theme during the course of the exhibit run.

Who Was Carl Landerholm?

Carl Landerholm (1885-1961) had a 40-year career in Clark County’s public schools serving as a popular teacher, principal, and superintendent until retiring in 1947. He assembled the Vancouver Area Chronology between 1956 and 1959, working steadily 5-8 hours each day poring over literally millions of words in area newspapers and documents. The Chronology is available in hard copy at the Clark County Historical Museum’s Research Library and electronically via our website under electronic resources.

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Photograph of 'Mapping Clark County' exhibit case at the 2011 Palmer Wirfs Antique & Collectible Show in Ridgefield, WA

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Textile collector and world traveler Carol Pinnell will give a lecture on ethnic textiles and will show some of the items from her personal collection! The public is invited to bring a favourite piece of folk art to share and/or have identified after the talk.

This talk is held in conjunction with our current folk art exhibit, “Working with Tradition: Folk Artists of Washington State”.

This event will take place at the museum on January 7th, 2012 at 1 p.m.

Event is included in regular cost of museum admission.
Street parking at metered spaces is FREE on Saturdays!

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Did you miss our ‘Bridging the Gap’ exhibit about the I-5 bridge? Good news! You now have a second chance to see it at this year’s Palmer-Wirfs Antique and Collectible Show in Ridgefield, WA at the Clark County Event Center!

The dates of this year’s show are Saturday, January 21st and Sunday, January 22nd, 2012.

• Saturday hours are 9 am – 6 pm;
• Sunday hours are 10 am – 5 pm.

The Event Center is located on the Clark County Fairgrounds in Ridgefield at 17402 NE Delfel Road, Ridgefield, WA 98642.

Check the Palmer Wirfs & Associates website for admission prices.

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Join us on Sunday, January 29th, 2012, from noon – 5 pm for the 2nd Annual National Unpublished Writers’ Day Workshop at the museum!

The museum galleries will remain open for viewing as will the Brautigan Library. The research library will be closed during the program.

Admission to this event is free!

Sponsors include: Riverview Community Bank, the Clark County Historical Museum, and Washington State University Vancouver.

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National Unpublished Writers’ Day is an annual event held in partnership between the Clark County Historical Museum, the Writing Center at Washington State University Vancouver, and The Creative Media & Digital Culture Program at Washington State University Vancouver. The event highlights The Brautigan Library Collection at the Museum, Washington- born writer Richard Brautigan who conceived the idea for a library where anyone could deposit a copy of their unpublished book, regardless of content or quality of writing, and all those folks who wish to create or communicate through writing.

National Unpublished Writers’ Day is free, both in terms of admission and in the spirit of a sixties “happening” with their multiple, simultaneous events and opportunities. We do, however, welcome any contributions and donations. The event will feature a series of “creative stations” and workshops around the Museum, each offering different opportunities to learn or experience something associated with different aspects or kinds of writing. These Creation Stations and workshops serve to highlight a broad approach to writing and offer a wide array of information, theory, and practice for our visitors.

Creative stations will include:

Radio drama
Genealogy and Family History Writing
Writing for mobile media
Salmon Creek Journal
Spontaneous writing a la Jack Kerouac
Make your own zines
Very, Very, Very Short Stories
Comedy Writing
Descriptive writing
Creative Writing
Genealogical History Writing
Writing for role-playing games
Poetry As Survival
Editing/Resume writing
History Writing

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On Saturday, March 17th, William (Gatz) Hjortsberg, a close and long-time friend of Richard Brautigan, will be reading from “Jubilee Hitchhiker: The Life and Times of Richard Brautigan”, his recent biography of the late author, published by Counterpoint Press.

When: 1:30 to 3:30 pm, Saturday, March 17th, 2012
Where: Clark County Historical Museum

The Museum is working with, among others, Dr. John Barber of the Washington State University Vancouver Creative Media & Digital Culture department to bring this event to Vancouver.

Copies of “Jubilee Hitchhiker” are now on pre-sale through the museum and will also be available for purchase on the 17th.

ABOUT THE BOOK

 
Title: Jubilee Hitchhiker
Subtitle: The Life and Times of Richard Brautigan
Author: William Hjortsberg
Publisher: Counterpoint Press
ISBN-13: 978-1-58243-790-3
Format: Trade Cloth, 896 pages, 7 x 10
Pub date: April 1, 2012
Price: $38.00
Category: Biography & Autobiography

JUBILEE HITCHHIKER is a comprehensive biography of the late novelist and poet Richard Brautigan, author of Troutfishing in America and A Confederate General from Big Sur, among many other works. When Brautigan took his own life in September of 1984 his close friends and network of artists and writers were devastated though not entirely surprised. To many, Brautigan was shrouded in enigma, erratic and unpredictable in his habits and presentation. But his career was formidable, an inspiration to young writers like William Hjortsberg trying to get their start. Brautigan’s career wove its way through both the Beat-influenced San Francisco Renaissance in the 1950s and the “Flower Power” hippie movement of the 1960s, while he never claimed direct artistic involvement with either period.

JUBILEE HITCHHIKER also delves deeply into the spirited times in which Brautigan lived. As Hjortsberg guides us through his search to uncover Brautigan as a man the reader is pulled deeply into the writer’s world. Ultimately this is a work that seeks to connect the Brautigan known to his fans with the man who ended his life so abruptly in 1984 while revealing the close ties between his writing and the actual events of his life. Part history, part biography, and part memoir, JUBILEE HITCHHIKER etches the portrait of a man destroyed by his genius.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 
William Hjortsberg is the author of eight books, including Alp, Gray Matters, and Falling Angel, as well as the screenplays “Legend” and “Thunder & Lightning.” He lives in Montana with his wife, painter Janie Camp.

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More details to come soon.

Where: Clark County Historical Museum, 1511 Main St., downtown Vancouver
When: Monday, March 19th, 2012 from 11 am to 1 pm

Tickets are $35 for CCHS members and $40 for non-members. Space is limited to 80 guests. Tickets must be reserved in advance.

Our guest speaker this year was Rebecca Morrison-Peck, who gave a presentation entitled Staying the Corset: a Look at Women’s Underwear 1790-1950. Rebecca’s presentation was followed by a catered luncheon.

About Rebecca Morrison-Peck

Rebecca has been sewing and costuming for over 50 years. She spent 13 years in England, in market research and as owner of a craft-artist consulting business, as well as a designer of American-style quilts and a childrens clothing line.

She and her English husband and son came to Clark County in 1991, where she worked as the buyer for a local quilt shop, and managed the book stores/gift shops at Fort Vancouver, the OO Howard House, and the Grant House Folk Art Center.

Her business, Lacings, was in operation from 2000 to 2006, with historic costuming classes at the Clark County Historical Museum and the Historic Covington House, and a custom design and creation side, reaching out to hundreds of eager costumers!

Rebecca has created costumes for Fort Vancouver, the FV National Historic Trust, the City of Vancouver, the Heritage Ambassadors, the Jane Austen Society of North America, and many private individuals. She lives and works in Yacolt and does business online.

Call (360) 993-5679, email us, or drop by to reserve your spot!

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This class was held on Saturday, March 31st and Saturday, April 7th, 2012.

Pat Courtney Gold Sally Bag Native American Basket Making class

 
Baskets were important containers for harvest, for trade, and for storage. Wasco-Chinook baskets are unique with their geometric images and motifs.
This class will introduce the students to the Chinook-Wasco style of twining a basket to create geometric designs. For ease in learning the techniques, commercial cotton fibers will be used.

The students will learn:

• The Wasco start at the Base
• The Wasco-Chinook technique of “Z” twining
• The full–turn twine technique to create images
• The Traditional ending using a braid technique

Time: 6 hours
Class limit: 10 students
Supplies: scissors, nail or awl (for packing the weave), and a big smile.
Prerequisite: twining experience will be helpful.
Cost: $75 per student.

All materials provided/included. However each student needs to bring the above supplies.
Come learn about the thousand year old basketry along the Columbia River!

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Cost for this class is $20 per person. Class is limited to 15 people.