2014 Community Historians
Hard to believe! Next Wednesday, year four of the Community Historian Project kicks off at the Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum. Seventeen participants have signed up – most new, but several repeaters. And with this particular learning endeavor, people don’t ‘repeat’ because they’ve failed! Quite the opposite. They repeat because there is always more to learn! And when you are considering Pacific County history, the possibilities seem endless.
Community Historian Logo
That’s the way all education should be, of course. Indeed, we’ve all heard lots of lip-service given to “life-long-learning.” But, what makes the Community Historian Project different from any other sort of higher education is the expectation that the learners will also become teachers – though not in the traditional sense.
“Sustaining a sense of place by teaching residents how to shape tell and retell community stories” is the overall goal of the program. So many fabulous projects have already been inspired or nurtured by the Community Historian endeavor – Barbara Christian’s on-going museum exhibit on the Light Keepers’ grounds at North Head; Tucker Wachsmuth’s fascinating research involving two of his ancestors and the path that led one of them to Shoalwater Bay; Mike Lemeshko’s research on John Briscoe which led to the establishment of “Friends of the Briscoe Burying Ground” and the beginnings of a book… And so much more!
James Swan, One of the First Pacific County Historians
One of the very best aspects, though, from my viewpoint, is the establishment of a cadre of interested and connected historians. By now, we already have a fine group of “experts” with regard to a wide range of Pacific County history. When I am flummoxed regarding a bit of historic information, I can reach out to someone who may have another piece of the same puzzle, or maybe knows someone else who can help.
I am looking forward to this next session. And this year, in addition to being a cheerleader, I have a bit part to play. I’ll be leading each week’s discussion about the required reading assignments! There will be two books, both favorites and both fabulous: James Swan’s The Northwest Coast or Three Years Residence in Washington Territory and Lucile McDonald’s Coast Country, A History of Southwest Washington. Let the fun begin!
So wish I could have done the project this year! Moving and house selling is tough long business at our age, but I definitely have this and my father’s memoirs on my to-do list.