Research and Ramblings

I came across this pamphlet in Governor of Washington State, Ernest Lister's (1913-1919) papers. This is an example of finding a distraction while research something else. As mentioned before (see post from June 2023, Meet Ollie Parrish), I am interested in the Women's Industrial Home and Clinic that opened briefly from September 1920 to March 1921. My question was why was it opened and what else happened to determine it was no longer needed? I took a closer look at what else was happening during this time period. In Washington State and possibly in other states, looking into the Governor's records can show what issues are brought to the Governor. This file on "Red Light Abatement" had letters and brochures from Purity conferences in other states. A fear of loose women and the passing of venereal diseases were on the forefront of those writing to the governor as well as a fear the "wrong" people were procreating. To find out more about this in Oregon, he...

 So, it is February 5th, how is that possible? I had ideas of what I would accomplish in January and truth be told the month unfolded with whatever needed to happen, all part of my surrender. Now, I am starting to review my research and get organized because it is a mere 2 months before I am off to Washington State to continue my research about the Washington State Archives. So, I open my notes and decide to research the state archivist Ralph J. Burcham. What follows is typical when doing research on anything whether it is a research project or genealogy, you follow something and it isn't exactly what you were looking for, but it is just so interesting. I decided to start by plugging Ralph Burcham into the Washington State Digital Archives . I am met with several hits, including census, death, cemetery, institution, school census, and birth. I am sure I have found my Ralph Burcham based on notes I already have and the death certificate from 1963, but I cannot help but look at the c...

I read The Dutch House by Ann Patchett in May 2021, and was fascinated by the house as a character in the novel. Maybe it was just me, but I loved how much of the character's experience revolved around the house. This had me thinking, what if I wrote something where the stories are told from the house's point of view? Pictured in this post is my childhood home. My parents bought the house when I was just under a year old. The turret room, the hedge, the tall pines are all part of the memories created in and around the house. I started asking my parents for pictures of the inside of the house. I have a few, but of course, the house has undergone changes over the years. When I was about 10 or 11, my father tore out the chimney and started to lower the basement floor. He did this while working full time and overtime. I think the major renovations of the first floor are mostly complete as of last year (2022). The second floor is still undergoing renovation and I am currently 52 ye...

I have been fascinated by the Women's Industrial Home and Clinic that opened in September 1920 and closed in March 1921. It was located in Medical Lake near the Eastern State Hospital. Governor Lister listened to the women who wrote in requesting a State Industrial Home for Women. The women thought it to be new, as no other state had this provision, more need since the war, didn't want the wasteful methods of arresting, detaining, releasing, and re-arresting, and to provide women a place they could be kept long enough to be given a new idea about life and teach them other ways to earn a living. The Washington State Federation of Women's Clubs lead the charge. They wrote letters recommending women who could run the clinic, ideas about what could be offered, and reminders of the need for moral purity in these times. I am working on a series of vignettes about the women who stayed at the Industrial Home and Clinic for its short lived existence. I have also started researching ...