Phone photo 2288

Phone photo 2287

Montesano, Washington

Phone photo 2286

Montesano, Washington

Morty Comix # 2529

Morty Comix # 2529 was slipped behind a poster in a defunct phone booth in the back hallway of a restaurant in Montesano, Washington. Note the surveillance camera in the final photo. I am sure that many of my adventures in distributing Morty Comix have been recorded by these grainy little devils.

Phone photo 2262

Helium cow, Montesano, Washington

Morty Comix # 2525

Morty Comix # 2525 was tucked into an odd little space for an odd little entrance for a bowling alley in Montesano, Washington. Next door is the local Washington State Dept. of Corrections probation office.

Phone photo 2234

Chehalis River, Montesano, Washington

Morty Comix # 2514

Morty Comix # 2514 was wedged behind a shingle at a street entrance to a stairway near the main intersection of Montesano, Washington, our county seat.

Phone photo 2165

Biggest Buck Contest!!!

Montesano, Washington

Phone photo 2164

A portrait of that one-eyed genocidal pirate, Robert Gray, "discovering" the harbor that now bears his name. Found in the Grays Harbor County Courthouse, Montesano, Washington. Personally, I would like us to rename this chunk of land "Sasquatch County." The so-called Sasquatch myth is more credible than the bunk we have been fed about Robert Gray.

Phone photo 2163

Isaac Stevens, Washington's first territorial governor, is pictured stealing land from the Natives of Grays Harbor in the 1850s at a site that is now the city of Cosmopolis. Yes, we actually have a city called Cosmopolis here. Locals call it "Causy." This scene is in the Grays Harbor County Courthouse, Montesano, Washington, which the locals call "Monte." Monte is a most pleasant city.

Stevens has a controversial place in Washington history generated in part by his shabby treatment of the Indian population. After he left our corner of the world, he was killed in action at the first Battle of Bull Run in the Civil War while serving in the Union Army.

Phone photo 2162

Superior Courtroom, Grays Harbor County Courthouse, Montesano, Washington

It seems like I get a summons for jury selection once a year. But this time I was actually selected to sit on the jury. It was a criminal case and the trial lasted only a day. A fascinating experience.

Phone photo 2161

Grays Harbor County Courthouse

Montesano, Washington

Phone photo 2160

Montesano, Washington

Morty Comix # 2486

Morty Comix # 2486 was placed on top of the employee lockers in a Subway sandwich shop in Montesano, Washington. I notice that clock in the last photo is way off track. By 4:30 this time of year we are in the dark.

Morty Comix # 2485

Morty Comix # 2485 was left as a bookmark in a tome that is part of the Law Library collection, Grays Harbor County Courthouse, Montesano, Washington

Phone photo 2076

For Sale By Owner

Montesano, Washington

Phone photo 2075

Montesano, Washington

Phone photo 2074

By the Chehalis River

Montesano, Washington

William Henry Bush : The Civil War's Youngest Person in Uniform?

Last Oct. 20 I gave a presentation to the Washington State Historical Society on the life of Indiana-born Willie Bush, who is possibly the youngest person to wear a military uniform during the Civil War. Born in 1857, he served as a valet for his father, who was a guard at the CSA POW camp in Elmira, NY, also known as "Hellmira" by the unfortunate prisoners. Prior to that his father had served with distinction in many battles.

To make a long story short, Willie's journey led him to be part of the pioneer life out here in Oregon and SW Washington. He was a very active participant of building the Montesano, Washington community, including serving as Mayor. He became one of my heroes when I researched how, in his role as county Sheriff, he courageously defused the violent 1887 Grays Harbor Fishermen's War without firing a single shot.

I'm submitting my findings for publication, but in the meantime I prepared a handout for those folks who attended my presentation. I intended to produce just a one-sheet flier to accompany my talk, but I got carried away and it is 20 leaves with photos. PowerPoint turns me off. I want my audience to leave with something they can read later. I'm better at writing than speaking anyway.

Those of you who are Morty the Blog Patrons will be getting a copy of the handout. I know, it isn't comix, but this is where my creative energy went the last few months. I only printed 50 copies, and most of them are gone. But the Patrons can have this physical manifestation of my interests outside of comix.

This was a very wonderful and life-affirming project. Not only in admiring some of the choices made by my subject, but also with all the people I met in person or online who helped me along the way in gathering data.

The above image is courtesy of Mark Weldon.