The rich history of the West End will be explored during a special weekend sponsored by the Jefferson County Historical Society in November.
The fourth annual West End History Weekend will be Nov. 18-20.
“There are two major goals of the weekend: to encourage people from Eastern Jefferson County to explore that beautiful and historic area of our county and to collect stories and historical information from West End residents,” said Bill Tennent, historical society executive director.
The historic Kalaloch Lodge, about 34 miles south of Forks in Olympic National Park, will be the headquarters for the event.
Award-winning video
“We Came With Dreams,” the award-winning video introduction to the history of Jefferson County, will have its West End premiere in the Kalaloch Lodge library at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 18.
The video will be replayed at 9 a.m. the following Saturday and Sunday.
On Saturday, Nov. 19, Gary Peterson will share stories at Peak 6 Store on the Upper Hoh Road.
Visitors may drop in at the store, which is on the road to the Hoh Rain Forest, between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. to hear Peterson tell stories of the upper Hoh River.
Peterson is a fifth-generation native of the valley and a descendant of the legendary Minnie Peterson, who ran horse packing trips into the high Olympics from the family homestead for some 50 years.
He co-edited and expanded the book Gods & Goblins: A Field Guide to Place Names of Olympic National Park by Smitty Parratt and co-authored the book Women to Reckon With: Untamed Women of the Olympic Wilderness.
He will tell the story of the 1808 wreck of the Russian ship Nikolai, which brought the first non-native woman to the Olympic Peninsula.
He also will point out the nearby location of the proposed monument to the wreck.
At 2 p.m. that Saturday in the Kalaloch Lodge library, author Mavis Amundson will give a talk and photo presentation about the Great Forks Fire of 1951 based on her book of the same name.
The fire covered 38,000 acres and burned a three-mile-wide stretch with flames soaring 500 feet into the sky.
Forks was evacuated and several buildings were destroyed, but there was no loss of life.
Hoh tribe
At 4 p.m., members of the Hoh tribe will share their history and culture, including dancing and a traditional drum circle.
West End residents are invited to have their stories recorded throughout the weekend by the historical society’s oral history team.
The recordings will become part of the countywide oral and video history collection.
West End residents may also bring in historic photographs and artifacts that they wish to donate to the Jefferson County Historical Society.
For more information about collections or to schedule an interview, phone the society at 360-385-1003.
For reservations at Kalaloch Lodge with special West End Weekend package rates, phone toll-free at 866-525-2562.
