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.
Memories can be fragile, meaningful, instructive, dubious. Before they get irretrievably lost, we want to share some of our stories of those days and the community that we built together here in the Pacific Northwest.
The era included the horrors of the wars in Vietnam and Central America; the reverberations of the civil rights movement; Indigenous activism including fishing wars; the second wave of feminism and women’s rights; the Stonewall Inn riot and the rise of the LGBTQ movement; rock festivals and love-ins; Earth Day and the growing environmental movement; revolutionary politics and art; and a national debate about making education relevant to the demands of a changing world, which gave birth to The Evergreen State College.
These stories are written by and for the people who lived in Olympia during that time. The accounts are personal, based on remembrances and keepsakes, and, of course, reflect individual perspectives and unique life experiences. We hope they offer potential insights for the future given that our stories 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. Just as our experiences were shaped by the people who came before us, so might our stories feed into the lives to follow.
This website offers many memoirs, historical accounts, and iconic images. It is educational and not for profit. We are still in the gathering phase, seeking contributions as well as interviews. Please help us add to this collection.