Lacey Museum and Cultural Center invites residents to vote on America250 exhibit 

The Lacey Museum and Cultural Center is inviting residents to help select artifacts for a summer exhibit ahead of the nation's 250th anniversary. 

The museum is participating in “Out of Many, One,” a statewide initiative under Washington's America250 commemoration. The program pairs museums with their communities to identify objects, images or artwork that reflect the American experience. 

The nominees draw from more than a century of South Sound history. Community members can review 10 items from the museum's permanent collection and cast a vote for their top choice. 

The five items with the most votes will go on display at Lacey City Hall this summer. 

Featured on the ballot are a 1999 mosaic of Mount Rainier inspired by Lithuanian immigrant Aldona Minelga, a 1998 photograph of the Medicine Creek Treaty site, and a T-shirt from the 1984 Women's Olympic Marathon Trials in Olympia. 

A 1960s Red Cross volunteer uniform, a piece of original siding from Lacey's Union Mills and the 1897 diploma of Saint Martin's College's first student are also among the options. 

Four more items round out the ballot. A collection of civic buttons connected to figures, including activist and educator Dr. Thelma Jackson, a hanging quilt commemorating Lacey's America's Classic Jazz Festival, a set of silk Japanese flag and scarves collected by soldiers after World War II, and a 2012 wooden bowl carved from black locust trees native to a local pioneer homestead. 

In-person voting stations are available at five locations: Lacey Museum, Lacey City Hall, Lacey Community Center, Virgil Clarkson Lacey Senior Center and Bonaventure of Lacey. Votes can also be cast online. 

Washington's America250 commemoration marks 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. The statewide effort connects Washingtonians to their history and recognizes the sovereignty of tribal nations and their presence on the land since time immemorial. 

For more information and to vote online, visit the collection election page.