Told by the Pioneer's - Washington Secretary of State

FOREWORD
Washington Pioneer Project
With less than 50 years of statehood, Washington, as a young and
growing state, has a history rich in the lore of the pioneer. Many of
the people who crossed the plains or came around the horn, later to
play important parts in settling the new state, are still living, and
their reminiscences are a colorful and courageous background for our
new generations.
When Miles C. Moore, last territorial governor of \Vashington, gave
his farewell address at Olympia on Admission Day, November 11,
1889, he said in part: "The past rises before us. \tVe see again the
long line of white canvas-covered wagons leaving the fringe of settlements
of the then western frontier. Through tear-dimmed eyes we see
them disappear down behind the western horizon, entered upon that
vast terra incognita, the great American desert of our school days.
At last we see them emerge after months of weary travel, upon the
plains of Eastern \Vashington, or later, hewing out paths in the wilderness,
striving' to reach that 'Eden they call Puget Sound'."
To preserve stories of pioneers, "'hich have not already found their
way into published histories and reminiscences of the State of Washington,
a project was begun in the early part of 1936 as a part of a
Friendly Visiting program to elderly persons receiving old age assistance
through the State Department of Public Welfare. Consequently,
these elderly persons were interviewed and their early stories,
·which might otherwise have been lost, have been preserved as part
of the pioneer lore of the State of Washington.
To assist in the planning of such a project, a State Advisory Committee
was formed. It assumed the important task of determining
the type of interviews to be used as well as following through on other
l..ihases of the project, culminating with a decision to publish much of
the material which was thus gathered.
The committee consisted of:
Governor Clarence D. :Martin, Honorary Chairman; Dr. Ernest N.
Hutchinson, Secretary of State; Charles F. Ernst, Director, Department
of Social Security; W. P. Bonney, Secretary, Washington Historical
Society; Mrs. Bruce Blake, former State Librarian; George
Blankenship, Thurston County pioneer; and Mrs. Alta Grim, Acting
State Librarian.
In selecting the interviews and excerpts for publication from the
hundreds of manuscripts collected, the editors have chosen those having
the most picturesque background and popular appeal. The originals
are on file at the State Library where they may be consulted for
statistics or other data.
While the stories give an interesting picture of pioneer times, the
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