This website offers a collection of memories and images of life in Olympia, Washington
during an era of significant social change from the 1960s through the 1980s.
Welcome to the Website!
These stories are written by and for the people who lived in Olympia during an era of major change. They revolve around the perennial needs of people everywhere— for food, housing, work, the arts, music—and how we experimented on ways to meet those needs with fairness, equity, and creativity.
The Book Project
A group of aging activists has been meeting regularly since 2020 to gather stories, interviews, and images from our younger days in Olympia, Washington during an era of rapid social change–the 1960s through the 1980s. It was a time of rebellion, civil rights movements, political upheavals, environmental awareness, and opposition to war. Not to mention sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll!
What’s New
- Interview with Michael Moore – By Tom Dyer
Michael Moore was in the center of the flourishing music scene in the 1960s and beyond. He was a founding member of the jazz/Latin/funk band called Obrador. Michael passed away shortly after this interview in 2023. He was 76. - Blossom Patches – By Pat Holm
Around 1970, Steve Wilcox and a group of friends decided to lobby for the legalization of marijuana. We formed an organization called BLOSSOM: Basic Liberation Of Smokers and Sympathizers Of Marijuana. I was the sympathizer since I didn’t smoke pot and nobody was doing edibles yet, except for the occasional fibrous brownies. We wrote up a list of ideas, goals, and tasks, and we assessed what each of us could contribute to the effort.