Author Archives: Donna Phillips

Let’s Talk About: Chief Dan George

by Donna Phillips

“If you talk to the animals, they will talk to you. And you will know each other. If you do not talk to them, you will not know them. And what you do not know, you will fear. What one fears, one destroys.”

Born Geswanouth Slahoot, known as Dan Slahoot, on 24 July 1899 in North Vancouver (Canada), the boy’s name was changed at age 5 when he entered a residential school. Dan George was well known for his poetic writing style and in 1974, George wrote My Hearts Soars followed by My Spirit Soars in 1983 (both available today as The Best of Chief Dan George). He was also an actor, appearing in several movies. Dan George was the band chief for a dozen years of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, whose Indian reserve is located on Burrard Inlet, North Vancouver. He died 23 September 1981.

Canadian actor Donald Sutherland narrated the following quote from his poem My Heart Soars in the opening ceremonies o the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver:

The beauty of the trees,

the softness of the air,

the fragrance of the grass,

speaks to me.

And my heart soars.

Why do I share this with you today??? We often hear quotes from Chief Seattle but other Pacific Northwest chiefs shared words of profound wisdom to teach us yet today.

1950 Census……….. Will You Help Indexing?

by Donna Phillips

Surely you know that the 1950 census will be released to us eager genealogists on April 1st. But if I understand correctly, the U.S. Census Bureau will then release just the IMAGES and it’s up to “we the people” to do the indexing so we can use this new resource. FamilySearch.org seems to be spearheading the indexing project (like they did for the 1940 census, remember?) and to that end they are inviting both individuals and groups/organizations to participate. Why not help with this “pay it forward” project? Click to www.familysearch.org/1950census to read how YOU can help.

I think perhaps we can work on indexing the place where our ancestor lived (or heck, where I lived, age 7 in Kalamazoo, Michigan!!!) or work on a state as a group………… why shouldn’t we Washingtonians “do” our state??? By genealogy society groups perhaps? I have already registered my group, the Eastern Washington Genealogical Society. We be ready to help!

Place Names In Washington

by Donna Phillips

Recently I enjoyed a browse through The Atlas of the North American Indian, by Carl Waldman, first published in 1985 and updated in 2009. I found the pages explaining the Northwest Indians and their culture to be so interesting.

One unexpected thing I gleaned from this book was a list of place names in Washington that are of native origins. Could you have come up with this list of 73 places?? (The list does include two names of French derivation.)

“TN” denotes a tribal-origin name. Places were tribal names, chief’s names, or of Indian derivation. For some names, the tribe was designated and for others it was not. Sometimes the meaning was given and sometimes not. Enjoy!

Anatone – TN

Asotin – Nez Perce “elk creek”

Cathlamet – TN

Chehalis – TN “sand”

Chewelah – TN

Chimacum – TN

Chinook – TN

Clallam – TN “big brave nation”

Conconully – TN “cloudy”

Copalis – TN

Cowlitz – TN “power”

Ilwaco – Chief El-Wah-ko-Jim

Entiat – TN “rapid water”

Kalotus – TN “hole in the ground”

Kittitas – TN “shoal people”

Klickitat – TN “beyond”

Latah – Nez Perce “place of pines”

Methow – TN

Moclips – Quinault “place where girls were sent during puberty rites”

Napavine – TN “small prairie”

Naselle – TN

Nespelem – TN

Nisqually – TN

Okanogan – TN “meeting place”

Omak – TN

Palouse – TN “grassy expanse”

Pend Oreille – French; “ear pendants”

Potlach – TN “give”

Puyallup – TN “generous people”

Queets – TN

Quilcene – TN

Quillayute – TN

Quinault – TN

Sanpoil – TN

Seattle – Chief Sealth

Selah – TN “still water”

Sequim – TN “quiet water”

Simcoe – TN “waist spine”

Similk – TN

Skagit – TN

Skamania – TN “swift water”

Skamokawa – Chief name

Skykomish – TN “inland people”

Snohomish – TN

Snoqualmie – TN “moon”

Spokane – TN “people of the sun”

Stehekin – TN “pass”

Steilacoom – Chief name

Sultan – Chief name

Suquamish – TN

Tacoma – TN “mountain god”

Tenino – TN

Tieton – TN “roaring water”

Toppenish – TN

Touchet – French; “fire cured salmon”

Toutle – TN

Tucannon – TN “bread root”

Tukwila – TN “land of hazelnuts”

Tulalip – TN “by with small mouth”

Tumwater – TN “heart”

Twisp – TN

Wahkiakum – Chief name

Walla Walla – TN “little river”

Washtucna – Chief name

Waukon – Chief name

Wauna – TN “spout creature”

Wenatchee – TN “river from canyon”

Whatcom – Chief name

Willapa – TN

Yacolt – TN “haunted place”

Yakima – TN “growing families”

Were your ancestors miners….. east or west?

by Donna Phillips

Did you have an ancestor whose occupation was a miner? Many were. And many immigrants with a mining background came to places in America where they pursued that same occupation. (Welsh coal miners to Pennsylvania.) I just discovered a cool website, Discover Mining History with the Mining History Association. Right on the home page is this question: “I am working on my family tree and have relatives who worked in mines. Where can I find more information?” And next, “My relative worked at the XYZ mine. How can I find records of his/her employment?” So if you do have an ancestor whose occupation was miner, I’ll bet you’d find some good stuff on this website. www.mininghistoryassocation.org


Have you visited our Roslyn cemeteries? It’s located just east of Snoqualmie Pass. This is actually 27 separate cemeteries bundled together in the wooded Roslyn hillside with nearly 5000 graves representing 24 different nationalities that used to live in the town……… many of these folks came to be miners and work in the coal mines. Lots of mining history right in our own Evergreen state.

Let’s Talk About…………. Avocados!

by Donna Phillips


Yes, that’s me just a few weeks ago holding a Butter Avocado that was just picked from a huge tree in Volcanoes National Park in Hawaii. We drove to an over look and while there chatted with a group of park worker-fellows who were doing trail maintenance. (Covering up to a dozen miles a day carrying gas and a weed whacker…supermen!) As they rested a bit, one pulled out a 30-foot collapsible fruit picker and proceeded to harvest these special fruits……… and generously gave one to me. “It won’t ripen for a week or so,” he told me. Alas! We were leaving the next day so what to do? What any red-blooded gal would do: I mailed it home! Please don’t tell on me. I’m anxiously watching it on my counter…

There are 7 to 15 varieties of avocados, depending on what source you consult. Mexico is the top producer of these fabulous fruits and ships most of their crop to the U.S. The variety Hass is the one we see most regularly in our markets.

If you wish to sprout your avocado pit and grow your own tree, it’s possible but will take up to six years to produce fruit and then only if conditions are right.

Did our ancestors enjoy avocados? “The avocado made its way to the Land of Liberty in 1833 and enjoyed moderate popularity where avocado farms existed, such as California, Florida and Hawaii. People in other areas of the country largely avoided avocadoes until the 1950s when the fruit became a supporting actor in delicious salads. Part of the reason for people’s avoidance of this delicious fruit was due to the long-standing reputation of avocados as an aphrodisiac, which made the fruit taboo among the conservative American public.” (From www.avocadosfrommexico.com/avocados/history )