Thursday, October 1, 2026
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In leading my weekly walking tours of Olympia, I ask, “Where does the Oregon Trail end?” Most people answer California or ...
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There are several little-known, unique, and sometimes dark facts about our region. In this column, I write about several; for a more ...
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From the mid-19th to the early 20th century, in the era of large sailing ships, unscrupulous saloon and boardinghouse owners and others ...
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When most people think of early Fourth of July celebrations, they generally picture the East ...
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The JOLT's own Ira Wesley Kitmacher, who writes our popular monthly "History's Hidden Mysteries" column (as well as many published ...
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By The JOLT Staff
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6/2/26
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In last month’s column, I wrote about the USS Olympia and its fascinating history and folklore. This column focuses on another ship ...
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By Ira Wesley Kitmacher
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5/29/26
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USS Olympia was commissioned in February 1895 and was in service until 1922. She was named for our city of Olympia, Washington, and built ...
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Thomas Jefferson was elected President in 1801 and saw enemies in the British to the north and the French and Spanish to the ...
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In my last column, and to honor February’s Presidents Day holiday, I wrote about Abraham Lincoln and the American Civil War’s impact ...
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With President Abraham Lincoln’s birthday approaching on Feb. 12, it feels timely to discuss connections our region has with the biggest American event of ...
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As the classic 1963 Andy Williams song, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” says, telling scary ghost stories during ...
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It has been four hundred and four years since the first Thanksgiving in 1621! During that three-day event in Plymouth, Massachusetts, 50 pilgrims ...
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As it’s Halloween, I’d like to focus on the ghost ships that have been reported on Puget Sound, resulting from the many shipwrecks that have ...
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Earlier this month, my wife Wendy and I visited Loch Ness in Scotland. No, we did not see “Nessie,” the world’s best known “cryptid” (creature), but we here in the …
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Ira Wesley Kitmacher
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10/17/25
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There are many reasons why people believe unidentified flying objects (UFOs) are real and reflect an otherworldly ...
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I mentioned in my last column Thurston County is said to be haunted! I talked about Olympia’s Sylvester Park as the endpoint of the northernmost spur ...
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As we approach Halloween, I'd like to focus on parts of Thurston County's history (past events, including political, military and others) and folklore (stories of hauntings, mysteries and others …
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By Ira Wesley Kitmacher
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8/29/25
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