Library Corner: Oct. 3, 2019

Down here in the East Adams Library District research room we’ve been on a bit of a streak recently, winning grants left and right. We’re happy to toot our own horn because it means adding to our historical record by collecting oral histories, researching Adams County women and their work to secure the vote, and digitizing private family records for the public good.

We recently completed an oral history project that will soon be up on our Adams County Community Archive online collection through the Washington Rural Heritage project (https://washingtonruralheritage.org). Download and listen to your neighbors’ lovely, often moving stories of their lives working and living in Adams County.

Oral histories are incredibly important to small communities like ours because they allow us to tell our own story in our own voice. Our topics include the changing face of farming, women in agriculture, the Columbia Basin Development Project, the falling of the Mt. St. Helens ash, and so much more. We’re continuing to record oral histories, so send us an email at [email protected] if you have a story to share.

2020 will be the 100th anniversary of suffrage for American women, and thanks to a grant program from the Washington State Historical Society we’re working on a project called “Rural Women: Winning the Vote for Women in Adams County.” As part of the project, we’ll be educating people about Ritzville’s own Equal Suffrage Association that served as an early predecessor for other local women’s groups, the visits of Emma Smith Devoe and Carrie A. Nation, and why the national Grange, Farmers Alliance and local farmers were so integral to the 1910 Washington State vote.

Washington State and the women of the west were the leaders in securing the vote, but many thousands of women worked for suffrage and we only know the names of a few. We look forward to naming the hearty women who pioneered Adams County and also worked to become enfranchised citizens.

We’re happy to offer our program to students in the classroom, community groups, and just about anywhere. Contact the library at [email protected] to schedule a presentation. If you’re interested in learning more about the state project, visit http://www.suffrage100wa.com.

And finally, our newest project will be traveling to Lind, Ritzville and Washtucna to host “Digitization Days” thanks to a grant from the Washington State Library.

Do you have interesting family photos? A fun photo of the Ritzville Ramblers? A Lind Rodeo postcard? A snapshot of fishermen at Pampas pond? A cook wagon in a harvest scene? We want to add your families’ photos of life in Adams County or photos of general historical interest to our Adams County Community Archive.

We’ll scan your photos on the spot so you can take them home with you that day, and then they’ll later be added to our online collection for others to see. Stay tuned for “Digitization Day” dates and locations.

We look forward to sharing even more of our unique rural and agricultural heritage with the world in 2020 and beyond.