The Artifacts of a Hometown Past

Public historians look to the future just as they do the past.  What was once common occurrences of routine and somewhat ordinarily lives, in now part of an ongoing struggle to decipher the valuable historical pieces from a plethora of artifacts, for the enjoyment of future generations.  Two of these pieces, as described in Kyvig and Marty’s Nearby History: Exploring the Past Around You, Chapters 7 and 8, are visual documents, namely photographs and videos, as well as physical artifacts.  Both visual documents and artifacts lend insight and understanding in the daily activities of local residents, some more than others.  Historians painstakingly sort through hundreds of thousands of photographs, videos, household items, clothing, etc. in order to preserve the knowledge of the past.  Kyvig and Marty stress the importance of locating more discerning visual documents and artifacts from others in hopes that these pieces will help the present day and future historians understand local history more fittingly, and thus the larger context of the historical narrative.  Though this read, just as most manuals do, lack any type of liveliness, I appreciate the information and took very diligent notes on the preservation process, knowing this manual will be highly applicable to my career as a public historian.

The Art of Preserving Artifacts, Photo Courtesy of: The Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts

Just as Kyvig and Marty share insight on how to preserve history, Thrush’s Chapters 7 and 8 in Native Seattle: Historians from the Crossing-Over Place, and Chapters 7 and 9 in Spokane & The Inland Empire: An Interior Pacific Northwest Anthology give framework to the development of communities, where visual documents and artifacts are “produced.”  The two place-stories of Seattle, as told first by the Tilikums, then by the pioneers, contrast in their perceptions of storytelling; just as the Tilikums aimed “to drum up attention in the noisy marketplace of civic public relations” the pioneers were determined “to preserve local heritage and revisit fading memories.”  Both of these groups intended to tell stories of Seattle’s Indian past in order to give shape to the history of the city for their own benefit, but contrasted sharply in their modes of doing so.  Together these groups left historians an abundance of visual documents as well as artifacts in order for historians to retell the place-story of Seattle.  Unlike the Tilikums and the pioneers, historians face challenges of presenting history not as independent and profiting entities, but to benefit the community and to frame the historical narrative with no biases or judgments, allowing the public to harness their own analytical and critical thinking skills about the implications of historical events.  

So much can be inferred from the built environment, these are some of the largest artifacts left for historians and the community.  Author Henry Mathews, in unfolding the works of Spokane renowned architect Kirkland Cutter, narrates the social, political and economic happenings between the end of the nineteenth century and first quarter of the twentieth century.  This was by far the most interesting read for me not only in this book, but from all other books read this quarter.  The history of Cutter's architecture can also be found at a blog dedicated to depicting Cutter's work in a "then and now" presentation, here.  Along with architecture contributing to the historical narrative, J. William T. Youngs also describes local events with the intent to define a place-story.  The 1974 World’s Fair Expo in Spokane, with the theme of environmentalism, defines a community that was dedicated to urban renewal.  This exposition, as eloquently described, encouraged citizens to “think globally and act locally.”  This new mindset for Spokane catapulted the community into a history of ecological awareness, far from James N. Glover’s vision of fully exploiting the falls for his economic gain.  There are numerous artifacts from the construction on the 74' World Expo still present for all of Spokane to enjoy, most notably the entire Riverfront Park.  

A photographic timeline for the Davenport Restaurant, 1) 1906 Drawing, 2) 1908 Photograph, 3) 2008 Photograph Photos Courtesy of: 1) archive.worldhistoria.com, 2) loc.gov, 3) oregonlive.com 

Many cities are following in the footsteps of the host city to the 74’ World Expo, especially with historical preservation awareness.  Many every day citizens are taking it upon themselves in documenting historically significant artifacts, whether they are for the purpose of preserving the environment-such as in the work the National Park Service organizes- or just to preserve their heritage past.  San Francisco residents are collaborating on ghost sign projects all throughout the city.  These residents are collectively gathering ghost sign artifacts, consisting of visual images, and locations in order to build a database of San Francisco ghost signs, before they are lost to “awkward paint jobs;” and go unnoticed by the majority of residents.  I am thrilled these citizens are pooling their knowledge and resources, and look forward to my ghost sign artifact contributions within the City of Spokane in Dr. Cebula’s Hometown History course.