Registration / Continental Breakfast Service / Local Vendors
8 am-9 am
Sirsi-Dynix Gallery
Level 1
$5 suggested donation
Plenary Session
Central Library
Microsoft Auditorium
9 am-10am
Opening of the 28th Pacific Northwest Historians Guild Conference
Welcome to the Seattle Public Library
Bill Woodward, Pacific Northwest Historians Guild Vice President
Jodee Fenton, Manager Special Collections and Pacific Northwest Historians Guild Past President
Thaisa Way
Introduced by: Eleanor Mahoney, Pacific Northwest Historians Guild Secretary
Thaisa Way, Professor, University of Washington
“Thick Stories of Seattle’s Urban Landscape: Gas Works Park by Richard Haag”
Thaisa Way is a landscape historian teaching at the University of Washington. She will be speaking about landscape architect Richard Haag and his groundbreaking work at Gas Works Park in Seattle. Dr. Way has contributed to a Trust for Cultural Landscape Foundation’s oral history of Haag, and has published papers on Haag’s process as landscape architectural professional and teacher. Her book, The Landscape Architecture of Richard Haag: From Modernism to Urban Ecological Design, is forthcoming from the University of Washington Press (2015). Dr. Way received her PhD in the history of architecture and urbanism from Cornell University. Her previous work includes the prize-winning text Unbounded Practices: Women, Landscape Architecture, and Early Twentieth Century Design (2009, University of Virginia Press.
SESSION I
10:15-11:45
Session 1A
Music and Arts
The cultural landscape of the region has been shaped by inspiring individuals and dedicated organizations that have built a unique “creative narrative” for the Northwest region.
Microsoft Auditorium
Level 1
Host: Need host
Speakers:
A. Emily Marie Anderson Hall, “The Arts Cannot Flourish on Imagination Alone: An Exploration of PONCHO and the Communal Connection between Arts and Patronage”
B. Dan Kerlee, “When Seattle was Important to Composer Henry Hadley – and Why Hadley is Still Important to Seattle Today”
C. Helice Koffler, “Here on the Edge of Western Memory: Maxine Cushing Gray’s Promotion of Professional Dance in Seattle”
Session 1B
Civic Life, Rights and Forces of Change
Institutions, community challenges, and differences of opinion have all participated in what makes the Northwest a distinctive region. These “forces of change” have created direction and focus and opened debates on community values and vision.
Room 1
Level 4
Host: Bill Woodward, Pacific Northwest Historians Guild Vice President
Speakers:
A. Bryce Nelson, “Origins of Large-Scale Public Schooling in Seattle, 1900 – 1930”
B. Krzysztof Rafael, “Seattle Influenza Epidemic of 1918”
C. Bill Mullins, “Urban Necessity or Urban Nightmare: The Kingdome and Seattle Stadium Politics”
Session 1C
Building Cities, Building Communities
The built environment of the Northwest has been influenced by our multi-cultural communities who have brought unique elements to growth of the urban landscape. These presentations will look at some of that influence and its impact on the character of the region.
Room 2
Level 4
Host: Jacqueline Williams, Pacific Northwest Historians Guild Member
Speakers:
A. Ben Bronson and Chuimei Ho, “New Light on Chinese Temples in Northwestern Cities”
B. Junius Rochester, “The Urban Dream in a Rural Setting: Why Early Pacific Northwest Settlements Liked to Call Themselves ‘New York’”
C. Oscar Rosales Castaneda, Somos Un Pueblo Sin Fronteras: We are a community Without Borders: The Early Roots of the Immigrant Rights Movement in Seattle’s Latino Community”
D. Alan Michelson, “Balanced Like a Cedar: Paul Hayden Kirk’s Regional Modern Architecture”
LUNCH Noon-1:15
Microsoft Auditorium
Level 1
David Williams, Local Historian and Writer
Introduced by Anne Jenner, Pacific Northwest Historians Guild Membership Chair
“History Underfoot: Seattle’s Storied Landscape”
David B. Williams a freelance writer whose work focuses on the intersection of people and the natural world. His books include Stories in Stone: Travels Through Urban Geology, The Seattle Street-Smart Naturalist: Field Notes from the City and his latest, Cairns: Messengers in Stone. Williams also works at the Burke Museum and leads walking tours looking at the nature and history of Seattle.
Box Lunches in Gallery on Level 1
Brown bag lunches are welcome
SESSION II
1:30-3:00
Session 2A
Environment and Industry
Learn about the intersections of environmental and urban history in this panel. Presenters will discuss a variety of topics including Seattle community gardens, the Pacific Northwest salmon industry and early agricultural practices in and around Fort Nisqually in Tacoma.
Microsoft Auditorium
Level 1
Host: Eleanor Mahoney, Pacific Northwest Historians Guild Secretary
Speakers:
A. Kathy Mendelson, “Grow Your Own: Community Gardens in the Urban Northwest”
B. Ross Coen, “Fresh from the Can: Salmon, Pure Food Laws, and Perceptions of Nature in the Early 20th Century Pacific Northwest Fishing Industry”
C. Richard Scheuerman, “Tithlow Farm to Destiny’s City: Tacoma’s Grain Industry Origins”
Session 2B
Residential History
Where and how we lived brings a narrative about urban life that is deeply personal. These presentations will look deeper into some of the underlying history that created the residential history in the region.
Room 1
Level 4
Host: Judy Bentley, Pacific Northwest Historians Guild Treasurer
Speakers:
A. Diana James, “Seattle Apartment Buildings 1900 – 1939 and Women Who Bought, Sold, Built and Owned Them”
B. Marie R. Wong, “Building Pan-Asian Seattle: Life in the Single-Room Occupancy Residential Hotels”
C. Sharon Boswell, “Urban Rediscoveries: Uncovering a Forgotten Community and its ‘Floating Population’”
Session 2C
Individuals and Their Urban Networks
Individuals have struggled, built, influenced and otherwise formed the communities in the Northwest region with their unique visions and hard work. Their narratives create touchstones for the study of the urban landscape and these presentations will explore several of the lives that have influenced Seattle.
Room 2
Level 4
Host: Conor Casey, Pacific Northwest Historians Guild President
Speakers:
A. Andrew Hedden, “Carlos Bulosan in Seattle, 1930 – 1956”
B. Priscilla Pope-Levison, “From Kansas City to Seattle: Emma Ray’s Racial Uplift and Interracial Cooperation” (paper presented by Bill Woodward)
C. Diane Rodill, “A Filipino Rascal: Denis Rodill, 1894 – 1977”
SESSION III
3:15-4:45
Session 3A
The Military and Its Impact
Room 1
Level 4
Host: Bill Woodward, Pacific Northwest Historians Guild Vice President
Speakers
A. Robert R. Foxcurran, “The Battle of Frenchtown (1855): Washington Territory and the Political and Demographic Context”
B. Tom Mendelson, “Honorable Discharge: The Military’s Impact on Seattle Neighborhoods, Then and Now”
Session 3B
Iconic Markers, Routes and Landscapes
The concept of place and meaning is discussed in these three papers. Presenters will treat topics ranging from our local downtown waterfront, to historic sites and routes in Washington State and British Columbia.
Room 2
Level 4
Host: Anne Jenner, Pacific Northwest Historians Guild Membership Chair
Speakers:
A. Judy Bentley, “Statues, Rocks, and Story Poles: Washington Cities Remember”
B. Noreen Jacky, “Travel on the Triangle Route: Vancouver, Victoria, Seattle”
C. Jennifer Ott, “The Seattle Waterfront: Is Place in the Eye of the Beholder”