Gig Harbor Literary Society
Jan
7
6:00 PM18:00

Gig Harbor Literary Society

The meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 7th at 6:00 pm at the Harbor History Museum. The book for our January meeting is Stick Figures: A Memoir by local author DJ Quinn.

--------------------------------------------------------- 

“Spend a couple hours a week with a kid, that’s all it takes.” How hard could that be? ‘Big Brother’ DJ Quinn would soon find out. His new ‘Little Brother’ Mike, an energetic seven-year-old burdened with disabilities, was yearning for adventure. A unique friendship evolved, crafted by shared time and talks about Santa, God, showgirls and speech therapy.

In his debut memoir Stick Figures: A Big Brother Remembers, Quinn takes you along to share an intimate view of an epic thirteen-year journey. A true story told with compassion and humor, Stick Figures tugs at readers’ hearts as they experience the joys, courage, hopes, and heartbreaks the two Brothers encounter.

From the beginning of their match, the Brothers used stick figure drawings on a calendar to record what happened on their adventures. The simple times they shared are the foundation for this compelling story of love, tenacity, and commitment that impacts both Brothers. The memoir illustrates how foster care, a loving adoptive parent, and adoption support from a volunteer can help adopted children. Stick Figures: A Big Brother Remembers will warm the soul of every reader whose life has been touched by a mentoring situation.

The book is available from the Gig Harbor branch of Pierce County Public Library. You can get a copy in one of several ways:

1. Call and identify yourself as a Gig Harbor Literary Society member and the staff will put a copy aside for you.

2. Request through the library website.

3. Request an electronic version through the Libby app on your device. (If you don't know how to do this, the library staff may be able to help.)

We look forward to hearing your thoughts. As always, even if you don't have a chance to read or listen to the book, join us. 
----------------------------------
This event is FREE and open to the public. For questions, please contact Cindy Hackett at cynthia.hale.hackett@gmail.com

View Event →
Share
How To Write A Family Portrait -- Workshop
Feb
27
6:30 PM18:30

How To Write A Family Portrait -- Workshop

Brought to you by Humanities Washington. Harbor History Museum is excited to welcome author Kristen Millares Young to our museum for workshop on how to write a family portrait.

Tell the stories that have preoccupied, amused, and defined your family for generations.   

In this hour-long generative writing workshop, essayist Kristen Millares Young will use guided prompts and discussions to help you plan, write, and revise your family stories. By reflecting on intimate truths, we can redefine how we think about ourselves and our kin, contribute to our communities, and spark vital conversations.  

This workshop is offered in both English and Spanish. Participants will leave with new pages.   

Cuente las historias que han preocupado, divertido y definido a su familia por generaciones.

En este taller de escritura generativa de una hora de duración, la ensayista Kristen Millares Young utilizará sugerencias guiadas y discusiones para ayudarle a planificar, escribir y revisar sus historias familiares. Al reflexionar sobre algunas verdades íntimas, podemos redefinir como pensamos acerca de nosotros mismos y nuestros familiares, contribuir a nuestras comunidades y generar conversaciones vitales.

Este taller será ofrecido en inglés y en español. Los participantes saldrán con una nueva perspectiva.

Kristen Millares Young is a journalist, essayist, and author. Her novel Subduction was a winner of the Nautilus and IPPY awards, as well as a finalist for two International Latino Book Awards and Foreword Indies Book of the Year. She is also the editor of Seismic. Millares Young was the researcher for the New York Times team behind “Snow Fall,” which won a Pulitzer. Her essays, reviews, and investigations appear in the Washington Post, the Guardian, and anthologies such as Alone Together.

Humanities in the Harbor is held at Harbor History Museum, 4121 Harborview Drive, Gig Harbor, WA 98332. Admission is FREE thanks to Humanities Washington! Humanities Washington sparks conversation and critical thinking using story as a catalyst, nurturing thoughtful and engaged communities across our state.

This talk will be IN PERSON at the museum. To save your space, please RSVP to Amy Crews at Harbor History Museum at finance@harborhistorymuseum.org

View Event →
Share

Holiday Market at the Museum
Dec
14
to Dec 15

Holiday Market at the Museum

  • 4121 Harborview Dr Gig Harbor, WA 98332 (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

Come and shop at our first annual Holiday Market! The market will be open on Saturday from 10-5pm and on Sunday from 11-3pm. Each vendor booth is thoughtfully curated, featuring a wide range of unique, artisanal products. You can find handcrafted goods such as beeswax products, holiday greens, beautiful beaded jewelry, artwork, and more! Local artisans, small businesses, and independent creators will showcase their wares. There will also be several photo ops throughout the museum for fun family holiday pictures.

Admission is $5 for non-members and free for members.

View Event →
Share
Light Up the Night: 9th Annual Saint Lucia Festival
Dec
7
6:00 PM18:00

Light Up the Night: 9th Annual Saint Lucia Festival

Celebrate Gig Harbor’s Scandinavian heritage at Harbor History Museum’s 9th Annual Light Up the Night: St. Lucia Festival on Saturday, December 7th from 6:00-8:00 pm. Crafts, games, and traditional Scandinavian snacks are the star at this family-friendly event. $5 admission per person, age 3 years and up. Harbor History Museum members get in FREE.

Tickets can be purchased at the front desk that evening. For more information contact Kate, Education Manager at 253.858.6722 ext. 203 or education@harborhistorymuseum.org

View Event →
Share
Gig Harbor Literary Society December
Dec
3
6:00 PM18:00

Gig Harbor Literary Society December

The meeting will be held on Tuesday, December 3rd at 6:00 pm at the Harbor History Museum. The book for our December meeting is Before the Wind by Jim Lynch.

--------------------------------------------------------- 

Joshua Johannssen has spent all of his life surrounded by sailboats. His grandfather designed them, his father built and raced them, his Einstein-obsessed mother knows why and how they work (or not). For Josh and his two siblings, their backyard was the Puget Sound and sailing their DNA. But both his sister and brother fled many years ago: Ruby to Africa and elsewhere to do good works on land, and Bernard to god-knows-where at sea, a fugitive and pirate. Suddenly thirty-one, Josh—who repairs boats of all kinds in a Steinbeckian marina south of Seattle—is pained and confused by whatever the hell went wrong with his volatile family. His parents are barely speaking, his mystified grandfather is drinking harder, and he himself—despite an endless and comic flurry of online dates—hasn’t even come close to finding a girlfriend. 

But when the Johannssens unexpectedly reunite for the most important race in these waters—all of them together on a classic vessel they made decades ago—they will be carried to destinies both individual and collective, and to a heart-shattering revelation. Past and present merge seamlessly and collide surprisingly as Jim Lynch reveals a family unlike any other, with the grace and humor and magic of a master storyteller.

 The book is available from the Gig Harbor branch of Pierce County Public Library. You can get a copy in one of several ways:

1. Call and identify yourself as a Gig Harbor Literary Society member and the staff will put a copy aside for you.

2. Request through the library website.

3. Request an electronic version through the Libby app on your device. (If you don't know how to do this, the library staff may be able to help.)

We look forward to hearing your thoughts. As always, even if you don't have a chance to read or listen to the book, join us. 
----------------------------------
This event is FREE and open to the public. For questions, please contact Cindy Hackett at cynthia.hale.hackett@gmail.com

View Event →
Share
Donkey Creek Chum Walk
Nov
23
11:00 AM11:00

Donkey Creek Chum Walk

Every year, the greater Gig Harbor community celebrates the return of salmon to our local waters. Hosted by the Harbor History Museum and Harbor WildWatch, Donkey Creek Chum Walk serves to remind us that the quality of our water, and the habitat it supports, connects us all.

Held on Saturday, November 23 from 11-2pm, participants will start their walk at Austin Park along Harborview Drive where they will receive a Salmon Passport. They will visit booths with activities and information for kids and adults along the trail through txʷaalqəł Estuary, behind the Harbor History Museum, and ending in Donkey Creek Park. Completed passports should be turned in to the front desk at the Harbor History Museum by 2pm on the day of the event to be entered into a drawing for a salmon-themed prize.

 The goal of this event is to bring people together to promote sustainability, sound environmental stewardship, preservation of our maritime history and culture, responsible recreation, habitat preservation, and shoreline restoration — one salmon at a time. Join us on November 23 as we recognize new ways to improve and protect our waterways!

 This event is free and open to people of all ages and abilities. The trail is less than 0.25 in length on a gravel packed pathway. Free public parking is available at the Museum, along Harborview Drive and Austin Street. If you have any questions, please contact your Festival Chair and Harbor WildWatch Executive Director, Lindsey Stover, at lindsey@harborwildwatch.org.

View Event →
Share
Narrows Bridge Talk
Nov
21
6:30 PM18:30

Narrows Bridge Talk

This November’s blustery Bridge Talk will feature Mark Pagano and Michael Sullivan from University of Washington Tacoma. Together they will share the history of Galloping Gertie’s underwater remains and bridge engineering as manifested in a new exhibit at UWT. Pagano will also share the latest metal testing results of the bridge pieces in the Harbor History Museum collection, while Sullivan will explain how Galloping Gertie’s remains became a protected underwater historic site.

$5 for Museum members with their membership card

$10 for non-members

Please RSVP to Robin at operations@harborhistorymuseum.org

View Event →
Share
Gig Harbor Literary Society November
Nov
6
6:00 PM18:00

Gig Harbor Literary Society November

The meeting will be held on Wednesday, November 6th at 6:00 pm at the Harbor History Museum. The book for our November meeting is Maid: hardwork, low pay and, a mother’s will to survive by Stephanie Land.

--------------------------------------------------------- 

At 28, Stephanie Land's dreams of attending a university and becoming a writer quickly dissolved when a summer fling turned into an unplanned pregnancy. Before long, she found herself a single mother, scraping by as a housekeeper to make ends meet.

Maid is an emotionally raw, masterful account of Stephanie's years spent in service to upper middle class America as a "nameless ghost" who quietly shared in her clients' triumphs, tragedies, and deepest secrets. Driven to carve out a better life for her family, she cleaned by day and took online classes by night, writing relentlessly as she worked toward earning a college degree. She wrote of the true stories that weren't being told: of living on food stamps and WIC coupons, of government programs that barely provided housing, of aloof government employees who shamed her for receiving what little assistance she did. Above all else, she wrote about pursuing the myth of the American Dream from the poverty line, all the while slashing through deep-rooted stigmas of the working poor.

Maid is Stephanie's story, but it's not hers alone. It is an inspiring testament to the courage, determination, and ultimate strength of the human spirit.

 The book is available from the Gig Harbor branch of Pierce County Public Library. You can get a copy in one of several ways:

1. Call and identify yourself as a Gig Harbor Literary Society member and the staff will put a copy aside for you.

2. Request through the library website.

3. Request an electronic version through the Libby app on your device. (If you don't know how to do this, the library staff may be able to help.)

We look forward to hearing your thoughts. As always, even if you don't have a chance to read or listen to the book, join us. 
----------------------------------
This event is FREE and open to the public. For questions, please contact Cindy Hackett at cynthia.hale.hackett@gmail.com

View Event →
Share
Stomp and Shout -- the Untold Story of Northwest Rock and Roll
Oct
17
6:30 PM18:30

Stomp and Shout -- the Untold Story of Northwest Rock and Roll

Brought to you by Humanities Washington. Harbor History Museum is excited to welcome author Peter Blecha to our museum for a night of rock and roll history.

Northwest Rock & Roll’s historical highpoints are well documented—in the late 20th century, Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, and other grunge gods took the world by storm. Previously, Seattle’s Queensrÿche and Heart had ruled the heavy metal realm. And prior to that, The Wailers, The Kingsmen, Paul Revere and The Raiders, and The Sonics had all fueled local teen dances with garage-rock versions of the region’s signature song, “Louie Louie.”  

Yet these iconic bands are only half the story. In this talk, join author Peter Blecha to discover the lesser-known but vitally important bands and scenes that laid the foundation for what was to come—finally connecting all the dots between the fabled Northwest era of Ray Charles, Quincy Jones, and Jimi Hendrix, and the R&B-spiked roots of a distinct regional art form: the “Original Northwest Sound.”  

Peter Blecha is the director of the Northwest Music Archives, an award-winning author, a founding curator at MoPop, and a longtime staff historian at HistoryLink.org. Blecha’s newest book, Stomp and Shout: R&B and the Origins of Northwest Rock and Roll, draws on his deep knowledge as a leading expert on Pacific Northwest music history to chronicle both well-known and overlooked icons of the early Northwest Sound.

Humanities in the Harbor is held at Harbor History Museum, 4121 Harborview Drive, Gig Harbor, WA 98332. Admission is FREE thanks to Humanities Washington! Humanities Washington sparks conversation and critical thinking using story as a catalyst, nurturing thoughtful and engaged communities across our state.

This talk will be IN PERSON at the museum. To save your space, please RSVP to Robin Harrison, Operations and Marketing Manager at Harbor History Museum at operations@harborhistorymuseum.org.

View Event →
Share
Gig Harbor Literary Society October
Oct
1
6:00 PM18:00

Gig Harbor Literary Society October

The meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 1st at 6:00 pm at the Harbor History Museum. The book for our October meeting is Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake.

--------------------------------------------------------- 

Fans of acclaimed author Kendare Blake’s Anna Dressed in Blood will devour Three Dark Crowns, the first book in a dark and inventive fantasy series about three sisters who must fight to the death to become queen.

In every generation on the island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born: three queens, all equal heirs to the crown and each possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella is a fierce elemental, able to spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the deadliest poisons without so much as a stomachache. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest of lions.

But becoming the Queen Crowned isn’t solely a matter of royal birth. Each sister has to fight for it. And it’s not just a game of win or lose…it’s life or death. The night the sisters turn sixteen, the battle begins. The last queen standing gets the crown.

 The book is available from the Gig Harbor branch of Pierce County Public Library. You can get a copy in one of several ways:

1. Call and identify yourself as a Gig Harbor Literary Society member and the staff will put a copy aside for you.

2. Request through the library website.

3. Request an electronic version through the Libby app on your device. (If you don't know how to do this, the library staff may be able to help.)

We look forward to hearing your thoughts. As always, even if you don't have a chance to read or listen to the book, join us. 
----------------------------------
This event is FREE and open to the public. For questions, please contact Cindy Hackett at cynthia.hale.hackett@gmail.com

View Event →
Share
CANCELED -- Coming Home: How the Nez Perce Tribe Regained Their Cultural Heritage
Sep
19
6:30 PM18:30

CANCELED -- Coming Home: How the Nez Perce Tribe Regained Their Cultural Heritage

THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELED.

Brought to you by Humanities Washington. Harbor History Museum is excited to welcome author Trevor Bond — he is traveling all the way from Pullman, WA to give this talk at our museum!

Belongings deeply important to tribal communities are often housed in museums far away from those communities. In this talk, hear the remarkable story of how the Nez Perce Tribe and their allies purchased the largest and oldest collection of Nez Perce material culture—including dresses, shirts, and other regalia—from a museum over 2,000 miles away from their homeland.  

In this hopeful story of cultural resiliency and making amends for past injustices, explore issues surrounding collection and curation, and the changing relationships between museums and Native communities. It’s a story that transcends the efforts of one Northwest tribe to show how many indigenous communities are reuniting with their heritage. 

Trevor James Bond is the director of the David G. Pollart Center for Arts and Humanities and the associate dean for digital initiatives and special collections at the Washington State University Libraries. He is the author of Coming Home to Nez Perce Country: The Niimiipuu Campaign to Repatriate Their Exploited Heritage, a finalist for the 2022 Washington State Book Award for non-fiction.

Humanities in the Harbor is held at Harbor History Museum, 4121 Harborview Drive, Gig Harbor, WA 98332 or via Zoom. Admission is FREE thanks to Humanities Washington! Humanities Washington sparks conversation and critical thinking using story as a catalyst, nurturing thoughtful and engaged communities across our state.

This talk is presented in partnership with The Thomas S. Foley Institute for Public Policy and Public Service, which educates citizens across the state about democratic institutions and public affairs, and is based at Washington State University.

This talk will be IN PERSON at the museum. To save your space, please RSVP to Robin Harrison, Operations and Marketing Manager at Harbor History Museum at operations@harborhistorymuseum.org.

View Event →
Share
Gig Harbor Literary Society September
Sep
3
6:00 PM18:00

Gig Harbor Literary Society September

The meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 3rd at 6:00 pm at the Harbor History Museum. The book for our September meeting is Jump-Off Creek by Molly Gloss.

--------------------------------------------------------- 

Acclaimed author Molly Gloss drew on pioneer diaries and old family stories to write this modern Western classic of a solitary woman’s frontier life. In the 1890s, Lydia Bennett Sanderson, a hardship-honed widow, leaves her old life behind and journey’s to Jump-Off Creek to make her way as a homesteader in the backcountry of Oregon. Her neighbors are few and far between: Tim Whiteaker and Blue Odell are trying to make a go of it on their small hardscrabble ranch, while Evelyn Walker – a young, lonely wife – is rearing her children in daunting isolation. And a trio of rootless cowboys are squatting in the mountains, their only income the bounty from poisoned wolves. While Lydia toils into the summer, building fences, digging ditches, and repairing her homestead cabin, Tim and Blue engage in a deadly spoilers game with the wolvers. As the months pass, there is good and ill fortune, the exchange of fair-and-square favors, and Lydia finds both courage and community in her determination to survive.

An unforgettable tale in which “every gritty line of the story rings true” (Seattle Times), Gloss delivers an authentic and moving portrait of the American West.

 The book is available from the Gig Harbor branch of Pierce County Public Library. You can get a copy in one of several ways:

1. Call and identify yourself as a Gig Harbor Literary Society member and the staff will put a copy aside for you.

2. Request through the library website.

3. Request an electronic version through the Libby app on your device. (If you don't know how to do this, the library staff may be able to help.)

We look forward to hearing your thoughts. As always, even if you don't have a chance to read or listen to the book, join us. 
----------------------------------
This event is FREE and open to the public. For questions, please contact Cindy Hackett at cynthia.hale.hackett@gmail.com

View Event →
Share
Gig Harbor Literary Society August
Aug
7
6:00 PM18:00

Gig Harbor Literary Society August

The meeting will be held on Wednesday, August 7th at 6:00 pm at the Harbor History Museum. The book for our August meeting is This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger.

--------------------------------------------------------- 

This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger takes place during the summer of 1932, on and along those mighty midwest rivers the Minnesota and the Mississippi. (The odyssey begins on the imaginary Gilead River.) It covers a lot of territory, literally and figuratively. The blight of  Indian Schools, the Great Depression, the fate of orphans, poverty, discrimination and more are front and center but so are family, community, courage, resilience, hope and love. The story is simple and complex, literary and accessible, deflating and inspiring. Here are some perspectives on the author, the story and the history.

 The book is available from the Gig Harbor branch of Pierce County Public Library. You can get a copy in one of several ways:

1. Call and identify yourself as a Gig Harbor Literary Society member and the staff will put a copy aside for you.

2. Request through the library website.

3. Request an electronic version through the Libby app on your device. (If you don't know how to do this, the library staff may be able to help.)

We look forward to hearing your thoughts. As always, even if you don't have a chance to read or listen to the book, join us. 
----------------------------------
This event is FREE and open to the public. For questions, please contact Cindy Hackett at cynthia.hale.hackett@gmail.com

View Event →
Share
That Ribbon of Highway: Woodie Guthrie in the Pacific Northwest
Jul
25
6:30 PM18:30

That Ribbon of Highway: Woodie Guthrie in the Pacific Northwest

Folksinger and activist Woody Guthrie composed 26 songs in 30 days while riding along the Columbia River and touring the Grand Coulee Dam Project in 1941. With his unique, authentic voice, he chronicled both the grandeur and the perils of what he called “The Greatest Thing That Man Has Ever Done” as an employee of the Bonneville Power Administration. His time here in the Pacific Northwest inspired a swell of patriotism that led Guthrie to enlist in the U.S. Merchant Marine in World War II, after which he returned home to fame and notoriety, but also to tragedy and tremendous personal loss.    

Historian, teacher, folksinger, and actor Joel Underwood performs an hour that is part concert, part theatrical drama, and part lecture. Sing along to “Roll on Columbia,” “Pastures of Plenty,” and of course, “This Land is Your Land,” and learn the—sometimes hilarious, sometimes tragic—stories behind the songs. 

Joel is an actor, teacher, musician, and historian. After 25 years teaching high school history, Underwood got his master’s degree in American History with a focus on folk and protest music. A recipient of the Woody Guthrie Fellowship, Underwood was granted access to the Woody Guthrie Archives in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to research Woody’s time in the World War II Merchant Marines. Underwood continues to tour as a musician, both solo and with his daughter.

This talk will be IN PERSON at the museum. To save your space, please RSVP to Robin Harrison, Operations and Marketing Manager at Harbor History Museum at operations@harborhistorymuseum.org .

Members: $5
Non-Members: $10

View Event →
Share
Gig Harbor Literary Society July
Jul
10
6:00 PM18:00

Gig Harbor Literary Society July

The meeting will be held on Wednesday, July 10th at 6:00 pm at the Harbor History Museum. The book for our June meeting is This is Chance! by Jon Mooallem.

--------------------------------------------------------- 

In the spring of 1964, Anchorage, Alaska, was a modern-day frontier town yearning to be a metropolis—the largest, proudest city in a state that was still brand-new. But just before sundown on Good Friday, the community was jolted by the most powerful earthquake in American history, a catastrophic 9.2 on the Richter Scale. For four and a half minutes, the ground lurched and rolled. Streets cracked open and swallowed buildings whole. And once the shaking stopped, night fell and Anchorage went dark. The city was in disarray and sealed off from the outside world.

Slowly, people switched on their transistor radios and heard a familiar woman’s voice explaining what had just happened and what to do next. Genie Chance was a part-time radio reporter and working mother who would play an unlikely role in the wake of the disaster, helping to put her fractured community back together. Her tireless broadcasts over the next three days would transform her into a legendary figure in Alaska and bring her fame worldwide—but only briefly. That Easter weekend in Anchorage, Genie and a cast of endearingly eccentric characters—from a mountaineering psychologist to the local community theater group staging Our Town—were thrown into a jumbled world they could not recognize. Together, they would make a home in it again.

Drawing on thousands of pages of unpublished documents, interviews with survivors, and original broadcast recordings, This Is Chance! is the hopeful, gorgeously told story of a single catastrophic weekend and proof of our collective strength in a turbulent world.

There are moments when reality instantly changes—when the life we assume is stable gets upended by pure chance. This Is Chance! is an electrifying and lavishly empathetic portrayal of one community rising above the randomness, a real-life fable of human connection withstanding chaos.

 The book is available from the Gig Harbor branch of Pierce County Public Library. You can get a copy in one of several ways:

1. Call and identify yourself as a Gig Harbor Literary Society member and the staff will put a copy aside for you.

2. Request through the library website.

3. Request an electronic version through the Libby app on your device. (If you don't know how to do this, the library staff may be able to help.)

We look forward to hearing your thoughts. As always, even if you don't have a chance to read or listen to the book, join us. 
----------------------------------
This event is FREE and open to the public. For questions, please contact Cindy Hackett at cynthia.hale.hackett@gmail.com

View Event →
Share
Gig Harbor Literary Society June
Jun
4
6:00 PM18:00

Gig Harbor Literary Society June

The meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 4th at 6:00 pm at the Harbor History Museum. The book for our June meeting is The Boy With a Bird in His Chest by Emme Lund.

--------------------------------------------------------- 

Though Owen Tanner has never met anyone else who has a chatty bird in their chest, medical forums would call him a Terror. From the moment Gail emerged between Owen’s ribs, his mother knew that she had to hide him away from the world. After a decade spent in isolation, Owen takes a brazen trip outdoors and his life is upended forever.

Suddenly, he is forced to flee the home that had once felt so confining and hide in plain sight with his uncle and cousin in Washington. There, he feels the joy of finding a family among friends; of sharing the bird in his chest and being embraced fully; of falling in love and feeling the devastating heartbreak of rejection before finding a spark of happiness in the most unexpected place; of living his truth regardless of how hard the thieves of joy may try to tear him down. But the threat of the Army of Acronyms is a constant, looming presence, making Owen wonder if he’ll ever find a way out of the cycle of fear.

“An honest celebration of life and everything we need right now in a book” (Andrew Sean Greer, Pulitzer Prize–winning author), The Boy with a Bird in His Chest grapples with the fear, depression, and feelings of isolation that come with believing that we will never be loved for who we truly are and learning to live fully and openly regardless.

 The book is available from the Gig Harbor branch of Pierce County Public Library. You can get a copy in one of several ways:

1. Call and identify yourself as a Gig Harbor Literary Society member and the staff will put a copy aside for you.

2. Request through the library website.

3. Request an electronic version through the Libby app on your device. (If you don't know how to do this, the library staff may be able to help.)

We look forward to hearing your thoughts. As always, even if you don't have a chance to read or listen to the book, join us. 
----------------------------------
This event is FREE and open to the public. For questions, please contact Cindy Hackett at cynthia.hale.hackett@gmail.com

View Event →
Share
All Hazard Personal Preparedness Talk
May
8
6:30 PM18:30

All Hazard Personal Preparedness Talk

The experts say it isn’t “IF a disaster happens” but “WHEN a disaster happens.” A disaster can strike at a moment's notice — are you and your household prepared?

Join Katie Arthur of the Pierce County Department of Emergency Management as she shows us how to develop a communication plan to stay connected with loved ones during a crisis, an evacuation plan to ensure swift and safe relocation, and a shelter-in-place strategy for situations that require staying indoors. Furthermore, we will share practical tips on gradually building an emergency kit over the course of a year, highlighting that it can be done at little or no cost. Lastly, she will provide examples of the what looking out for your neighbors and family looks like on a approachable and relevant scale.  

Get to know Pierce County's Hazards — earthquake, lahars, wildfire, etc.
Make Plans — a communication plan, an evacuation plan and a reunification plan.
Build-a-Kit —a Go-kit vs. a Shelter-in-Place kit
Help Each Other — neighborhood and community teams
Sign-up for Emergency Alerts free of charge

Learn about real hazards in Pierce Country and the best planning practices to help mitigate the effects of a disaster. Getting prepared for disasters and emergencies is a lot easier than we think! Everyone can do something to get prepared that doesn’t have to cost a lot of money or take a lot of time.
Please RSVP to Robin at operations@harborhistorymuseum.org

View Event →
Share
Gig Harbor Literary Society May
May
7
6:00 PM18:00

Gig Harbor Literary Society May

The meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 7th at 6:00 pm at the Harbor History Museum. The book for our May meeting is What Comes After by JoAnne Tompkins.

--------------------------------------------------------- 

After the shocking death of two teenage boys tears apart a community in the Pacific Northwest, a mysterious pregnant girl emerges out of the woods and into the lives of those same boys’ families—a moving and hopeful novel about forgiveness and human connection.

In misty, coastal Washington State, Isaac lives alone with his dog, grieving the recent death of his teenage son, Daniel. Next door, Lorrie, a working single mother, struggles with a heinous act committed by her own teenage son. Separated by only a silvery stretch of trees, the two parents are emotionally stranded, isolated by their great losses—until an unfamiliar sixteen-year-old girl shows up, bridges the gap, and changes everything.

Evangeline’s arrival at first feels like a blessing, but she is also clearly hiding something. When Isaac, who has retreated into his Quaker faith, isn’t equipped to handle her alone, Lorrie forges her own relationship with the girl. Soon all three characters are forced to examine what really happened in their overlapping pasts, and what it all possibly means for a shared future.

With a propulsive mystery at its core, What Comes After offers an unforgettable story of loss and anger, but also of kindness and hope, courage and forgiveness. It is a deeply moving account of strangers and friends not only helping each other forward after tragedy but inspiring a new kind of family.

 The book is available from the Gig Harbor branch of Pierce County Public Library. You can get a copy in one of several ways:

1. Call and identify yourself as a Gig Harbor Literary Society member and the staff will put a copy aside for you.

2. Request through the library website.

3. Request an electronic version through the Libby app on your device. (If you don't know how to do this, the library staff may be able to help.)

We look forward to hearing your thoughts. As always, even if you don't have a chance to read or listen to the book, join us. 
----------------------------------
This event is FREE and open to the public. For questions, please contact Cindy Hackett at cynthia.hale.hackett@gmail.com

View Event →
Share
Weird, Wonderful, and Worrisome Objects in Washington State's Museums
Apr
25
6:30 PM18:30

Weird, Wonderful, and Worrisome Objects in Washington State's Museums

Harriett Baskas

The Harbor History Museum is excited to welcome Harriet Baskas to our program series.  Harriet is the author of nine books, including 111 Places in Seattle That You Must Not Miss and Hidden Treasures: What Museums Can’t or Won’t Show You. She writes about airports, museums, travel, and a variety of other topics for outlets such as NBC News, ABC News, MSN, USA Today, CNBC, The Points Guy, and her own site, StuckatTheAirport.com. She produced a radio series on hidden museum artifacts that aired on National Public Radio. Baskas has a master’s in communications from the University of Washington.

Baskas will be giving a talk on hidden museum treasures and collections and how most museums display no more than 10 percent of their holdings, often citing “not enough space” as the reason. But there are also a wide range of cultural, philosophical, political, environmental, historic, and even superstitious reasons why museums keep some objects from public view. 

In this talk, explore a wide range of hidden objects found in the back rooms of museums in our state and around the country. Examples include a Spokane institution that holds Bing Crosby’s toupées and a museum in Lynden that’s home to a 150-year-old pickle.

We’ll have our own collection manager, Jean, on hand to unbox a few hidden treasures in our own Harbor History Museum collection and discuss what they are and where they came from. You don’t want to miss this talk!

This talk will be IN PERSON at the museum. To save your space, please RSVP to Robin Harrison, Operations and Marketing Manager at Harbor History Museum at operations@harborhistorymuseum.org .

Members: $5
Non-Members: $10

View Event →
Share
Gig Harbor Literary Society April
Apr
2
6:00 PM18:00

Gig Harbor Literary Society April

The meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 2nd at 6:00 pm at the Harbor History Museum. The book for our April meeting is Four Treasures of the Sky by Jenny Zhang.

--------------------------------------------------------- 

A dazzling debut novel set against the backdrop of the Chinese Exclusion Act, about a Chinese girl fighting to claim her place in the 1880s American West

Daiyu never wanted to be like the tragic heroine for whom she was named, revered for her beauty and cursed with heartbreak. But when she is kidnapped and smuggled across an ocean from China to America, Daiyu must relinquish the home and future she imagined for herself. Over the years that follow, she is forced to keep reinventing herself to survive. From a calligraphy school, to a San Francisco brothel, to a shop tucked into the Idaho mountains, we follow Daiyu on a desperate quest to outrun the tragedy that chases her. As anti-Chinese sentiment sweeps across the country in a wave of unimaginable violence, Daiyu must draw on each of the selves she has been―including the ones she most wants to leave behind―in order to finally claim her own name and story.

At once a literary tour de force and a groundbreaking work of historical fiction, Four Treasures of the Sky announces Jenny Tinghui Zhang as an indelible new voice. Steeped in untold history and Chinese folklore, this novel is a spellbinding feat.

 The book is available from the Gig Harbor branch of Pierce County Public Library. You can get a copy in one of several ways:

1. Call and identify yourself as a Gig Harbor Literary Society member and the staff will put a copy aside for you.

2. Request through the library website.

3. Request an electronic version through the Libby app on your device. (If you don't know how to do this, the library staff may be able to help.)

We look forward to hearing your thoughts. As always, even if you don't have a chance to read or listen to the book, join us. 
----------------------------------
This event is FREE and open to the public. For questions, please contact Cindy Hackett at cynthia.hale.hackett@gmail.com

View Event →
Share
UFO Northwest: How Washington State Spawned the Men in Black
Mar
21
6:30 PM18:30

UFO Northwest: How Washington State Spawned the Men in Black

Brought to you by Humanities Washington. Harbor History Museum is excited to welcome back author Steve Edmiston. Last year we all enjoyed his talk on Whiskey and Wiretaps and can’t wait to hear what he has in store this time around!

On August 1, 1947, the tragic crash of a B-25 bomber in Washington State triggered an FBI investigation of “The Maury Island Incident”—an infamous Northwest UFO sighting, and history’s first alleged encounter with the so-called “Men in Black.” 

The FBI’s records from 1947, which were sealed for decades, reveal Cold War fears, jurisdictional disputes, cover-ups, false confessions, a courageous FBI Special Agent, and the hands-on involvement of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. 

Relying on the FBI records, this talk exposes a Washington story that shapes our current UFO narratives, from 1950’s pulp magazines to the ubiquitous X-Files and Men in Black film franchises. Also examined: how the Northwest’s unique position in UFO history is challenged by others that assert contradictory narratives. 

Steve Edmiston is a business and entertainment lawyer with Bracepoint Law, and an indie film screenwriter and producer. Edmiston has keynoted for the Pacific Northwest History Conference, Washington State Historical Museum, McMenamins History Pubs, film festivals, conferences, and business groups. He was the screenwriter and co-producer of “The Maury Island Incident,” a short film chronicling the true story of Harold Dahl and his alleged 1947 sighting of a UFO over Puget Sound. Edmiston lives in Des Moines.

Humanities in the Harbor is held at Harbor History Museum, 4121 Harborview Drive, Gig Harbor, WA 98332 or via Zoom. Admission is FREE thanks to Humanities Washington! Humanities Washington sparks conversation and critical thinking using story as a catalyst, nurturing thoughtful and engaged communities across our state.

This talk will be IN PERSON at the museum. We expect it to fill-up very quickly. To save your space, please RSVP to Robin Harrison, Operations and Marketing Manager at Harbor History Museum at operations@harborhistorymuseum.org .

View Event →
Share
Gig Harbor Literary Society March
Mar
5
6:00 PM18:00

Gig Harbor Literary Society March

The meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 5th at 6:00 pm at the Harbor History Museum. The book for our March meeting is A Fever In the Heartland by Tim Egan.

--------------------------------------------------------- 

A historical thriller by the Pulitzer and National Book Award-winning author that tells the riveting story of the Klan's rise to power in the 1920s, the cunning con man who drove that rise, and the woman who stopped them.

The Roaring Twenties--the Jazz Age--has been characterized as a time of Gatsby frivolity. But it was also the height of the uniquely American hate group, the Ku Klux Klan. Their domain was not the old Confederacy, but the Heartland and the West. They hated Blacks, Jews, Catholics and immigrants in equal measure, and took radical steps to keep these people from the American promise. And the man who set in motion their takeover of great swaths of America was a charismatic charlatan named D.C. Stephenson.

Stephenson was a magnetic presence whose life story changed with every telling. Within two years of his arrival in Indiana, he’d become the Grand Dragon of the state and the architect of the strategy that brought the group out of the shadows – their message endorsed from the pulpits of local churches, spread at family picnics and town celebrations. Judges, prosecutors, ministers, governors and senators across the country all proudly proclaimed their membership. But at the peak of his influence, it was a seemingly powerless woman – Madge Oberholtzer – who would reveal his secret cruelties, and whose deathbed testimony finally brought the Klan to their knees.

A FEVER IN THE HEARTLAND marries a propulsive drama to a powerful and page-turning reckoning with one of the darkest threads in American history.

 The book is available from the Gig Harbor branch of Pierce County Public Library. You can get a copy in one of several ways:

1. Call and identify yourself as a Gig Harbor Literary Society member and the staff will put a copy aside for you.

2. Request through the library website.

3. Request an electronic version through the Libby app on your device. (If you don't know how to do this, the library staff may be able to help.)

We look forward to hearing your thoughts. As always, even if you don't have a chance to read or listen to the book, join us. 
----------------------------------
This event is FREE and open to the public. For questions, please contact Cindy Hackett at cynthia.hale.hackett@gmail.com

View Event →
Share
Join us for an evening of Art and Humanity
Feb
29
6:00 PM18:00

Join us for an evening of Art and Humanity

Harbor History Museum and Gig Harbor for Racial Justice invites you to a discussion led by the Stories of Racism Project.

Thursday, February 29th at 6pm
Harbor History Museum
4121 Harborview Dr.
Gig Harbor, WA 98332

6pm - Reception and exhibit viewing: Stories of Racism Project and “Living Color” art show by Frida Haas.
6:30pm – Stories of Racism Project Presentation and Discussion

We will be discussing the Stories of Racism Project and how we can work towards eliminating racism in Gig Harbor and Key Peninsula. This will be a safe space to discuss racism; in a respectful environment where everyone is valued. Comments will need to be respectful as well.

Please RSVP to Robin at operations@harborhistorymuseum.org

View Event →
Share
Gig Harbor Literary Society February
Feb
6
6:00 PM18:00

Gig Harbor Literary Society February

The meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 6th at 6:00 pm at the Harbor History Museum. The book for our February meeting is Weather Girl by Rachel Lynn Solomon.

--------------------------------------------------------- 

A TV meteorologist and a sports reporter scheme to reunite their divorced bosses with unforecasted results in this electrifying romance from the author of The Ex Talk.

Ari Abrams has always been fascinated by the weather, and she loves almost everything about her job as a TV meteorologist. Her boss, legendary Seattle weatherwoman Torrance Hale, is too distracted by her tempestuous relationship with her ex-husband, the station’s news director, to give Ari the mentorship she wants. Ari, who runs on sunshine and optimism, is at her wits’ end. The only person who seems to understand how she feels is sweet but reserved sports reporter Russell Barringer.

In the aftermath of a disastrous holiday party, Ari and Russell decide to team up to solve their bosses’ relationship issues. Between secret gifts and double dates, they start nudging their bosses back together. But their well-meaning meddling backfires when the real chemistry builds between Ari and Russell.

Working closely with Russell means allowing him to get to know parts of herself that Ari keeps hidden from everyone. Will he be able to embrace her dark clouds as well as her clear skies?

 The book is available from the Gig Harbor branch of Pierce County Public Library. You can get a copy in one of several ways:

1. Call and identify yourself as a Gig Harbor Literary Society member and the staff will put a copy aside for you.

2. Request through the library website.

3. Request an electronic version through the Libby app on your device. (If you don't know how to do this, the library staff may be able to help.)

We look forward to hearing your thoughts. As always, even if you don't have a chance to read or listen to the book, join us. 
----------------------------------
This event is FREE and open to the public. For questions, please contact Cindy Hackett at cynthia.hale.hackett@gmail.com

View Event →
Share
Gig Harbor Literary Society January
Jan
2
6:00 PM18:00

Gig Harbor Literary Society January

The meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 2nd at 6:00 pm at the Harbor History Museum. The book for our January meeting is All You Can Ever Know by Nicole Chung.

--------------------------------------------------------- 

What does it means to lose your roots—within your culture, within your family—and what happens when you find them?

Nicole Chung was born severely premature, placed for adoption by her Korean parents, and raised by a white family in a sheltered Oregon town. From childhood, she heard the story of her adoption as a comforting, prepackaged myth. She believed that her biological parents had made the ultimate sacrifice in the hope of giving her a better life, that forever feeling slightly out of place was her fate as a transracial adoptee. But as Nicole grew up—facing prejudice her adoptive family couldn’t see, finding her identity as an Asian American and as a writer, becoming ever more curious about where she came from—she wondered if the story she’d been told was the whole truth.

With warmth, candor, and startling insight, Nicole Chung tells of her search for the people who gave her up, which coincided with the birth of her own child. All You Can Ever Know is a profound, moving chronicle of surprising connections and the repercussions of unearthing painful family secrets—vital reading for anyone who has ever struggled to figure out where they belong.

 The book is available from the Gig Harbor branch of Pierce County Public Library. You can get a copy in one of several ways:

1. Call and identify yourself as a Gig Harbor Literary Society member and the staff will put a copy aside for you.

2. Request through the library website.

3. Request an electronic version through the Libby app on your device. (If you don't know how to do this, the library staff may be able to help.)

We look forward to hearing your thoughts. As always, even if you don't have a chance to read or listen to the book, join us. 
----------------------------------
This event is FREE and open to the public. For questions, please contact Cindy Hackett at cynthia.hale.hackett@gmail.com

View Event →
Share
Light Up the Night: 8th Annual Saint Lucia Festival
Dec
8
5:30 PM17:30

Light Up the Night: 8th Annual Saint Lucia Festival

Celebrate Gig Harbor’s Scandinavian heritage at Harbor History Museum’s 8th Annual Light Up the Night: St. Lucia Festival on Friday, December 8th from 5:30-7:30 pm. Crafts, games, and traditional Scandinavian snacks are the star at this family-friendly event. $5 admission per person, age 3 years and up. Harbor History Museum members get in FREE.

Tickets can be purchased at the front desk that evening. For more information contact Robin Harrison, Operations and Marketing Manager at 253.858.6722 ext. 5 or operations@harborhistorymuseum.org

View Event →
Share
Donkey Creek Chum Fest!
Nov
18
10:00 AM10:00

Donkey Creek Chum Fest!

Every year, the greater Gig Harbor community celebrates the return of salmon to our local waters. The Donkey Creek Chum Festival serves to remind us that the quality of our water, and the habitat it supports, connects us all.
Due to construction at the Harbor History Museum, Harbor WildWatch will host a modified Donkey Creek Chum Festival in 2023 – we are calling it the Donkey Creek Chum Walk

Held on Saturday, November 18 from 10-2pm, participants will start their walk at Austin Park along Harborview Drive where they will receive a Salmon Passport. They will visit booths with activities and information for kids and adults along the trail through txʷaalqəł Estuary, behind the Harbor History Museum, and ending in Donkey Creek Park. Completed passports should be turned in to the front desk at the Harbor History Museum by 2pm on the day of the event to be entered into a drawing for a salmon-themed prize.

From face-painting to salmon life-cycle art projects, we are grateful to the many participating organizations in this year’s event, including:  

 Crescent Valley Alliance
Curious by Nature School
Gig Harbor Land Conservation Fund
Harbor History Museum
Harbor WildWatch (event organizer)
KGI Watershed Council
National Wildlife Federation
Pierce Conservation District
Pierce County Surface Water Management 

 The goal of this event is to bring people together to promote sustainability, sound environmental stewardship, preservation of our maritime history and culture, responsible recreation, habitat preservation, and shoreline restoration — one salmon at a time. Join us on November 18 as we recognize new ways to improve and protect our waterways!

 This event is free and open to people of all ages and abilities. The trail is less than 0.25 in length on a gravel packed pathway. Free public parking is available at the Museum, along Harborview Drive and Austin Street. If you have any questions, please contact your Festival Chair and Harbor WildWatch Executive Director, Lindsey Stover, at lindsey@harborwildwatch.org.

View Event →
Share
Gig Harbor Literary Society November
Nov
7
6:00 PM18:00

Gig Harbor Literary Society November

The meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 7th at 6:00 pm at the Harbor History Museum. The book for our November meeting is One Two Three by Laurie Frankel.

--------------------------------------------------------- 

In a town where nothing ever changes, suddenly everything does...

Everyone knows everyone in the tiny town of Bourne, but the Mitchell triplets are especially beloved. Mirabel is the smartest person anyone knows, and no one doubts it just because she can’t speak. Monday is the town’s purveyor of books now that the library’s closed―tell her the book you think you want, and she’ll pull the one you actually do from the microwave or her sock drawer. Mab’s job is hardest of all: get good grades, get into college, get out of Bourne.

For a few weeks seventeen years ago, Bourne was national news when its water turned green. The girls have come of age watching their mother’s endless fight for justice. But just when it seems life might go on the same forever, the first moving truck anyone’s seen in years pulls up and unloads new residents and old secrets. Soon, the Mitchell sisters are taking on a system stacked against them and uncovering mysteries buried longer than they’ve been alive. Because it's hard to let go of the past when the past won't let go of you.

Three unforgettable narrators join together here to tell a spellbinding story with wit, wonder, and deep affection. As she did in This Is How It Always Is, Laurie Frankel has written a laugh-out-loud-on-one-page-grab-a-tissue-the-next novel, as only she can, about how expanding our notions of normal makes the world a better place for everyone and how when days are darkest, it’s our daughters who will save us all.

 The book is available from the Gig Harbor branch of Pierce County Public Library. You can get a copy in one of several ways:

1. Call and identify yourself as a Gig Harbor Literary Society member and the staff will put a copy aside for you.

2. Request through the library website.

3. Request an electronic version through the Libby app on your device. (If you don't know how to do this, the library staff may be able to help.)

We look forward to hearing your thoughts. As always, even if you don't have a chance to read or listen to the book, join us. 
----------------------------------
This event is FREE and open to the public. For questions, please contact Cindy Hackett at cynthia.hale.hackett@gmail.com

View Event →
Share
A Nicer Kind of Murder: The Evolution of Crime Fiction
Oct
26
6:30 PM18:30

A Nicer Kind of Murder: The Evolution of Crime Fiction

Brought to you by Humanities Washington, Harbor History Museum is excited to welcome author Matthew Sullivan. This is a perfect presentation for the spooky month of October! This presentation is scheduled via Zoom. See below for how to obtain the Zoom link.

Murder isn’t what it used to be. Explore the shifting role of the victim in detective novels, and how that shift reflects broader social changes.
From Poe and Sherlock Homes to British cozies and Hardboiled pulps, author Matthew Sullivan traces the many influences on the postwar and modern eras of the mystery genre and shows how empathy plays a unique role in contemporary crime novels—especially in today’s literary mysteries.
What does the way crime victims are portrayed say about a society’s culture? Join Sullivan to reflect on the special relationship between reading literature and experiencing empathy—on the page and in our daily lives.

Matthew Sullivan (he/him) is the author of the novel Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore, which was an IndieNext pick, a Barnes & Noble Discover pick, and winner of the Colorado Book Award. His essays and stories have appeared in the New York Times, Daily Beast, Spokesman-Review, Sou’wester, and elsewhere. He is currently a writing teacher and is working on a crime novel set in Soap Lake.

Sullivan lives in Anacortes.

Humanities in the Harbor is held at Harbor History Museum, 4121 Harborview Drive, Gig Harbor, WA 98332 or via Zoom. Admission is FREE thanks to Humanities Washington! Humanities Washington sparks conversation and critical thinking using story as a catalyst, nurturing thoughtful and engaged communities across our state.

Please RSVP to Robin Harrison, Operations and Marketing Manager at Harbor History Museum at operations@harborhistorymuseum.org for the Zoom link.

View Event →
Share