- Safeplace – My Story on Its Origins and Early Work – By Carolyn Byerly
Before there was Safeplace, there were the Rape Relief and the Women’s Shelter programs at the Olympia YWCA. Each had a paid coordinator, with the work of the programs carried on by trained volunteers. That work initially involved taking calls from women who had been battered or sexually assaulted to support them through the police reporting process, hospital exams, finding shelter (if needed), and accompanying them to court. In time, an educational component evolved as both groups were called on to speak to community groups about the problems we addressed. It was cutting edge feminist work, and our community was among the first in the US to establish these programs.
- Remembering The Link – By Emily Ray
They say, “What goes around comes around.” Forty years ago, the Daily Olympian (as it was then named) did not serve our community well. The editor-in-chief turned a blind eye to local social and political issues. The newspaper was generally silent on problems and initiatives concerning race relations, gender, growth management, waste reduction, the environment. When the newspaper did glance at any of these issues, it was with a jaundiced eye . . . One of the people who was angry about the newspaper was Margery Sayre.
- Getting Lumber for the Dome – By Joe Tougas
At one point in the evolution of Cold Comfort Farm the commune members decided to build a geodesic dome. We were then faced with the challenge of finding the materials. The word went out via the invisible network that connected the devotees of the “buy nothing” ethic. The power of a community to “manifest” whatever was needed had proved miraculous in the experience of back-to-the-landers everywhere. The fact that we were seeking material for a geodesic dome clearly helped stimulate and activate that network. What we needed for the frame was a bunch of 2×6s, the longer the better
- Olympia Film Society – Origin Story – By Dennis Bloom
To understand part of the history of why the OFS came about you’ll need a little background of what was going on in the late ’70s. Olympia (which had—and still has—the only “urban downtown core” in our tri-city area) had three movie theaters. There had also been a small movie theater called the Cinema, housed in a converted church out on 4th Ave, where Pacific Ave veers off toward Lacey. The Evergreen State College (TESC), too, had its own Friday night film series, held in the lecture hall in the center of campus. Around this same time the movie theater business was in transition. Some older and larger “movie palaces” that dated back to the 1920s, were getting renovated into “multiplex” theaters.
- Northwest International Lesbian Gay Film Festival – 1988 – by Helen Thronton
Marge Brown and I started brainstorming the first NW International Lesbian Gay Film Festival in 1985. Planning began in 1986, a year and a half before the first festival opening date of 1988 . . . I made one of the first calls to a Chicago film distributor to book a film for our festival. The guy on the phone said he had lived in Olympia some years before, as he had been a student at Evergreen. He laughed as he wondered if there were any gay people in Olympia.
- Rick O’Reilly – Neighbor, Friend, Smiling Chef – By Carolyn Byerly
Rick decided to start offering small-scale cooking classes at his house. He called his project “Bachelor Survival,” a class for guys. I thought that was an interesting project and decided to do a freelance story about his classes. The Daily Olympian (as it was then called) was interested in it and sent a photographer to capture some scenes from one of his home cooking classes. Photo by Del Ogden
Before there was Safeplace, there were the Rape Relief and the Women’s Shelter programs at the Olympia YWCA. Each had a paid coordinator, with the work of the programs carried on by trained volunteers. That work initially involved taking calls from women who had been battered or sexually assaulted to support them through the police reporting process, hospital exams, finding shelter (if needed), and accompanying them to court. In time, an educational component evolved as both groups were called on to speak to community groups about the problems we addressed. It was cutting edge feminist work, and our community was among the first in the US to establish these programs.
They say, “What goes around comes around.” Forty years ago, the Daily Olympian (as it was then named) did not serve our community well. The editor-in-chief turned a blind eye to local social and political issues. The newspaper was generally silent on problems and initiatives concerning race relations, gender, growth management, waste reduction, the environment. When the newspaper did glance at any of these issues, it was with a jaundiced eye . . . One of the people who was angry about the newspaper was Margery Sayre.
At one point in the evolution of Cold Comfort Farm the commune members decided to build a geodesic dome. We were then faced with the challenge of finding the materials. The word went out via the invisible network that connected the devotees of the “buy nothing” ethic. The power of a community to “manifest” whatever was needed had proved miraculous in the experience of back-to-the-landers everywhere. The fact that we were seeking material for a geodesic dome clearly helped stimulate and activate that network. What we needed for the frame was a bunch of 2×6s, the longer the better
To understand part of the history of why the OFS came about you’ll need a little background of what was going on in the late ’70s. Olympia (which had—and still has—the only “urban downtown core” in our tri-city area) had three movie theaters. There had also been a small movie theater called the Cinema, housed in a converted church out on 4th Ave, where Pacific Ave veers off toward Lacey. The Evergreen State College (TESC), too, had its own Friday night film series, held in the lecture hall in the center of campus. Around this same time the movie theater business was in transition. Some older and larger “movie palaces” that dated back to the 1920s, were getting renovated into “multiplex” theaters.
Marge Brown and I started brainstorming the first NW International Lesbian Gay Film Festival in 1985. Planning began in 1986, a year and a half before the first festival opening date of 1988 . . . I made one of the first calls to a Chicago film distributor to book a film for our festival. The guy on the phone said he had lived in Olympia some years before, as he had been a student at Evergreen. He laughed as he wondered if there were any gay people in Olympia.
Rick decided to start offering small-scale cooking classes at his house. He called his project “Bachelor Survival,” a class for guys. I thought that was an interesting project and decided to do a freelance story about his classes. The Daily Olympian (as it was then called) was interested in it and sent a photographer to capture some scenes from one of his home cooking classes. Photo by Del Ogden