Local humorist Dorothy Wilhelm is offering a chance for The Suburban Times readers to win a preview copy of her new book, How Washington Began – and it’s no joke. This book, in a limited premier run, has been created by Wilhelm for a benefit for the Governor’s Mansion Foundation to be held on October 13.
Washington State is somewhat unusual in that upkeep and furnishings of the Governor’s Mansion are supplied by the efforts of this volunteer foundation, not paid for by taxes. For this year’s foundation fundraiser, Wilhelm donated a limited premier edition of her forthcoming book of stories of how Washington Territory and later Washington State was formed.
These stories range from an original creation story by Danny Marshall, tribal leader of the Steilacoom Tribe, through the stories of Ft. Nisqually and the Naches Pass. There are stories of community characters like Boston Curtis, the mule who ran for Selectman in Milton – and won.
All of these stories were told to Wilhelm when she was producing her TV show, My Home Town.
“Everywhere we went,” Wilhelm recalls, “someone would pull me aside and say, ‘Ive got a story you haven’t heard before.'”
Wilhelm checked each story, correcting mistakes and discrepancies. Those are the stories that are retold in this book. The commercial edition is expected to be published in the first part of 2017. This premier run, created solely for the Governor’s Mansion Foundation is very limited and those books are not available to the public. And that’s where you come in.
BEST WASHINGTON STORY CONTEST: Tell your favorite Washington Story, 300 word limit, send to Dorothy@itsnevertoolate.com by October 31. Five absolutely brand new copies of Where Washington Began will be awarded to writers of the five best stories. And if the publisher of the Suburban Times is feeling benevolent, he might even run the story in the Times. Of course, he might not, but that’s the chance you take.
