March 2023
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In Like a Lion- March is Here!
Foundation News
Meet Our New History Programs Manager!
Historian Edward Echtle joins OTF as our History Programs Manager! He will be organizing talks, tours and other events that highlight Tumwater's history, its people, and places. Ed is a lifelong Washingtonian with deep roots in the South Sound Region and an extensive resume of public history work.
Right: Ed and his brother Jim crew the MV Coho, 1973.
Then and Now
Our view north from the OTF Park Office isn't what it used to be... Photo is ca1900, prior to the construction of the current Boston Street Bridge in 1915.
ca1900
North from Office 2023
Upcoming Events
History Pub at Heritage: Coast Salish Herbal Medicine
Thursday March 16, 6:00-7:00pm
​Rhonda Grantham, an Indigenous herbalist, midwife, and member of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe, is the founder of Canoe Journey Herbalists. She believes that access to traditional medicine, ancestral connection, and health sovereignty are integral to healing personal and collective wounds of trauma and colonization. Her organization enacts these beliefs by providing opportunities to connect with plant healing, supporting Indigenous communities, and fostering pathways for learning about plant medicine.
Join us as Rhonda takes us through stories and treasures of plants native to the Pacific Northwest through her experience as a member of a local tribe.

Age 21+ Cost: Free!
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From the Curator
In 1958, the City of Tumwater held The End of the Trail Day Celebration on Saturdays from May through July. Mayor George Jackson proclaimed that, “all males of shaving age refrain from shaving . . . [and] may wear a full beard, mutton chops, van dykes, side-burns, goatees, mustaches, or any hairsuit appendages they might desire. These worthy men shall be known as The Brothers of the Brush.” A group of Brothers displayed their whiskers here in front of the Olympia brewery.
Karen Johnson runs the Schmidt House archives—which contains the Olympia Brewing Company and Schmidt family papers—and showcases historical treasures from around the house or the house's grounds on social media.
Questions? Contact us at [email protected] or 360.943.2550.