Global4Security

05/28/2026

In 1892, on Willapa Bay, Washington, after the sawmill burned and left the town jobless, schoolteacher Martha Jensen took her 8 students digging clams to buy books. The district stopped paying her. The kids stopped coming because they were hungry. So Martha canceled class on Fridays and led them to the tideflats with shovels and coffee cans. They dug horse clams, steamed them over driftwood fires, and sold them to the oyster boats for 2 cents a pound. In 3 months they earned $18.70. She bought 12 McGuffey Readers and a sack of flour. The boys called her “Captain.” She posted on the chalkboard: “We read in the morning. We feed ourselves at noon.” All 8 of those kids graduated. One became a state senator. He said: “She taught us the tide was a library too.”

05/26/2026

Local Business Leaders!

05/26/2026

05/26/2026

LEO's on the job!

05/25/2026

A grateful Nation on Memorial Day!

05/22/2026

Well done, all! Clark County Historical Museum, Ridgefield Main Street, etc!

🍻 Two nights down into our new History on Tap season at the historic Old Liberty Theater in Ridgefield, and friends… Clark County is showing up!

Tonight, we gathered for a screening of "Our Mr. Matsura," followed by a conversation with filmmaker Beth Harrington, who joined us in person to share the documentary and answer our audience's questions.

The film tells the story of Frank Matsura (1873-1913), a Japanese-born photographer who made his home in Okanogan County in the early 1900s. Through portraits full of humor, warmth, and connection, Matsura documented Native people, settlers, ranchers, shopkeepers, workers, families, and friends... not as stiff figures from the past, but as full, vivid people. And that is where the magic is.

Matsura’s photographs feel startlingly alive. Playful. Collaborative. Human. They remind us that history is not just what happened, but it is who was seen, who was remembered, and who got to help shape the story.

Huge thanks to Beth Harrington for bringing "Our Mr. Matsura" to our community, to everyone who joined us tonight, and to the wonderful team at the Old Liberty Theater for making our new History on Tap home for the 2026 season feel so welcoming.

Tonight was made possible by our season sponsors, Old Liberty Theater and Ridgefield Main Street, with media sponsorship from The Columbian and program support from Enspire Arts and Silver Keys Media.

Here’s to historic theaters, good conversations, and the kind of history that stays with you after the lights come up. ✨

05/22/2026

New customer in Kenton, where Denver runs into Interstate: Ananpdx! Stopped and picked up 3 tasty treats yesterday PM! Vietnamese/Asian Fusion! Yum! Anyone else?

05/18/2026

Harry! You should leave!

46 years ago today, on May 17, 1980, Washington State Patrol Chief Robert W. Landon made one last attempt to get Harry R. Truman to evacuate his beloved Mount St. Helens Lodge, located on the south end of Spirit Lake. The 83-year-old had become a media fixture for his refusal to leave his home. The chief offered Truman a trip "anywhere he wanted to go" but Truman again declined. Before the chief left, he had this photograph taken with Truman on the front steps of the lodge, making it one of the last photos ever taken of Truman.

The following morning on May 18, 1980, a 5.1 magnitude earthquake caused the north flank of Mount St. Helens to collapse, triggering a landslide which covered 23 square miles north and west of the volcano, burying the lodge, Truman, and his 16 cats. Altogether, 57 people, including volcanologist David A. Johnston and photojournalist Reid Blackburn, were killed.

📷 Patrol Chief Landon with Truman, May 17, 1980. Photo by Sgt. C.W. "Wick" Elder. State Patrol photograph, Washington State Archives.
📄 Dept. of Natural Resources filing from Truman, 1954. Washington State Archives.

05/18/2026

Practice Burn! Thanks for being ready!

Don’t forget there will be a training burn today!

We appreciate our communities continued support.

05/18/2026

May 18th 1980!

On this day in 1980... 2 days until the eruption: There were 28 earthquakes stronger than magnitude 3.0, including 10 reaching 4.0 or greater, but no harmonic tremor has been recorded since May 8.

Steam continues to emanate from the summit area including a gradually enlarging pit at the head of Shoestring Glacier; the bulging northern side was also steaming today. The shape of the volcano has changed considerably during the past 10 days. The north and northwest rims of the crater have abundant cracks that are partially filled with snow and ash; this area appears to be moving downward as a mass toward the crater. The bulge continues to appear highly broken and distorted.

Owners of private property demand access to the homes and cabins they were forced to leave weeks ago. Some threatened to converge in numbers on the roadblocks and go through "come hell or high water." The penalty for being found in the zone without permission has been set at $500 or a 6-month jail sentence.

The National Weather Service predicts good weather for volcano watching for the weekend ahead.

Source: Foxworthy, B., and Hill, M., 1982, Volcanic eruptions of 1980 at Mount St. Helens: The first 100 days: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1249.

This photo taken by C. Dan Miller shows the summit crater from the east (note the Shoestring Glacier fumarole on the left.)

If YOU want to do some volcano watching this weekend check our new live camera feed at https://www.mshinstitute.org/volcano-cam or head up to the Science and Learning Center at Coldwater, which will also be open on Monday, May 18 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more info see https://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/giffordpinchot/recreation/science-and-learning-center-coldwater.