Morty Comix # 2663

Morty Comix # 2663 was left under a bench cushion outside the entrance to the Washington State Senate gallery in the Legislative Building, Olympia, Washington.

Business had earlier taken me to the Governor's Mansion, but I was a good boy and resisted planting one there! I do have my boundaries in this game.

Phone photo 2877

Washington State Seal in tile

Entryway to the Executive Mansion

Olympia, Washington

Phone photo 2876

Washington State Executive Mansion

Olympia, Washington

Phone photo 2875

Legislative Building and Executive Mansion

Olympia, Washington

Phone photo 2839

Fairy tale stump next to the Executive Mansion

Olympia, Washington

Phone photo 2838

Staircase in the Washington State Executive Mansion

Olympia, Washington

A Town Filled With Characters From Morty Comix

In the last 3 decades I have drawn 2,666 Morty Comix. Usually they average 4 portraits per issue. That means just in this series I have created 10,664 faces.

So

I wondered if all these characters came to life and formed a city, what local place would be close in size? The answer: Sedro-Woolley, Washington.

When I think of Sedro-Woolley, I think of William Morley Bouck, the radical Grange man who lived there. And this is a good thing.

Here was my intro to Bouck in OlyBlog:

When William Morley Bouck ran for Washington State Governor in his final bid for public office [1936], the most colorful part of the old Granger's career was behind him. Carlos A. Schwantes called him, "A complex man who publicly delighted in goading the rich and powerful and clearly hoped to lead American farmers into a brave new world." Farmer, family man, teacher, renegade Grange Master, a radical arrested on conspiracy charges, Congressional and Vice-Presidential candidate, Bouck has attracted the attention of many historians and writers, including Nirvana's Krist Novoselic.

So right now Sedro-Woolley gets to be the honorary Morty Comix town, even though I have never sent or hidden one up there ... yet.

Phone photo 2302

Graves of Rev. Robert Edmund Dunlap (1850-1938) and Nellie R. Dunlap (1851-1940), Vashon Island, Washington.

Rev. Dunlap was active in the Prohibition Party and ran for Washington State Governor under that banner in the elections of 1896 and 1900. He also ran as the Prohibition Party candidate for Governor of Arizona in 1916.

Vashon Island was also the home of Prohibition Party presidential candidate Gene Amondson (1943-2009) who ran in 2004 and 2008. I interviewed Gene in 2007.

Postcard - Ilwaco, Washington

"Port Basin - Ilwaco, Washington. Located at the mouth of the famous Columbia River. Berths for over 900 small boats, launching facilities. Area noted for silver and chinook salmon fishing. From May thru October."

Love the staccato description there. Probably from the 1960s or 1970s. Ilwaco is also known, at least to us Washington State trivia collectors, as the base for Malcolm Mark Moore, who ran for Governor in 1936 as a member of the Hitler-loving "Christian Party," otherwise known as the Silver Shirts.

Ilwaco is also the burial place of legendary muralist Joe Knowles.

Buttons - Events - 1989

42, CENTENNIAL INAUGURAL CELEBRATION

Distributed at the festivities celebrating the 2nd inauguration of Gov. Booth Gardner, January 1989. This was also a year where Washington celebrated the centennial of becoming the 42nd of the United States of America- November 11, 1889.

Phone photo 1957

Samuel Goodlove Cosgrove 1847-1909

Cosgrove

Cosgrove, who actually served as Governor for only one day, is buried near this marker.

Tumwater, Washington

Buttons - Union - 1989

Booth Buster, 3%

Washington State Governor Booth Gardner, a Democrat, angered his political base when he failed to make good on his promise to raise state worker salaries even though the public coffers has an unexpected windfall. This button suddenly surfaced and was handed to me by member of a labor union.

This button was playing off the popularity of both of the Ghostbusters movies. The original was released in 1984 (the year Gardner was elected), and Ghostbusters II was currently out when this anti-Gardner image was made.

Bumper Stickers - State Campaign - 1960-1964

We're for Rosellini, Democrat

A bumper sticker for Washington State Gov. Al Rosellini's 1960 or 1964 re-election campaigns. This was given to me by my old friend Rex Munger a few years ago.

Buttons - State Campaign - 1972

Jim McDermott is known today as the long time Congressman from Seattle and is the most outspoken liberal in the Washington State delegation in that Other Washington. Since 1988 he was won elections by ridiculously huge margins (over 80% in 2010 for example). But it wasn't always so. Long ago he made two unsuccessful bids for Governor. In 1972 he failed to win the Democratic primary and in 1980 he lost the general election.

I might be wrong, but I think I picked up this button in his 1972 bid, when he was a little known member of the Washington State House of Representatives. And in 1972, when he was trying to win name recognition, it seems strange to have a button with no words on it. Maybe it was this sort of marketing that lost him the primary.

Buttons - State Campaign - 1968

Governor John O'Connell, Democrat

In 1968 three term Washington State Attorney General John J. O'Connell made an attempt to unseat incumbent Gov. Dan Evans. I like the way the designer of this button used the now outdated voter lever in place of an apostrophe.

Although Dan Evans enjoyed the nickname "Straight Arrow" in his 12 years as Governor of Washington State, I must say I recall all three of his gubernatorial campaigns, 1964-1972, as being quite nasty. In fact, in his last campaign he employed serial killer Ted Bundy.

Buttons - State Campaign - 1968

Dan Evans

I found this button on the ground when Washington State Gov. Evans was running for his second term in 1968.

Comic art historians might be interested to know Gov. Evans, along with State Sen. Gordon Sandison, was an important figure in the creation of The Evergreen State College. TESC is now known as a hotbed of cartoonists. When Gov. Evans stepped down after serving an unprecedented consecutive three terms as Governor, he became the President of Evergreen and it was viewed as a very controversial move at the time.  

The editor of the school paper, The Cooper Point Journal, during this turmoil was none other than Matt Groening. And here's a bit of Matt trivia. He's not only a great cartoonist, he's also a great journalist. He could've been an amazing investigative reporter, but as it happened his talents were used to better advantage.

Here's yet another bit of trivia. The Evans administration actually employed me ca. 1976 to conduct phone polling. I got paid per each completed survey. It was a night job conducted by college students mostly. This gig was very educational for me in that I heard the vox populi unfiltered.

Buttons - State Campaign - 1930s

Martin For Governor

Clarence Martin, a Democrat, served as Washington State Governor from 1933-1941. His political base was in Cheney, near Spokane. He was the last Governor here arriving to office directly from Eastern Washington.

This button is quite small, about the same size as a nickel.

Buttons - Federal Campaign - 1988

Mike Lowry, U.S. Senate

On the curl: Paid for by Mike Lowery [sic] For U.S. Senate Committee, Mary Lowery Treasurer

Possibly from his earlier run for the same office in the 1983 special election, but I'm guessing I picked this up in 1988. He lost both elections, but went on to serve one term as Washington State Governor, 1993-1997.