Welcome To Olympia – Details, episodes & analysis

Markly Morrison of the podcast, Low Profile asked me to fill in for an episode while he took a little time off with his newborn. Low profile is a long form music interview podcast and radio show based here in Olympia, WA. Markly is also the guy behind Skrill Meadow, the band that provides the ending theme music for Welcome To Olympia

On this episode I had the honor of interviewing the fantastic folk rock artist, Alice Stuart who happens to live here in Olympia. Alice was born in Chelan, WA. She’s had a long career which started in the folk scene of early 60’s Seattle. She’s been all over the world with her music, playing with countless artists including Mississippi John Hurt, Van Morrison, Judy Collins, John Prine and Frank Zappa to name just a few. She’s full of stories.

Illustration by Taylor W. Rushing
http://www.taylorwrushing.com
@taylorwrushing in Instagram

Alice Stuart's official facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/AliceStuartOfficial/

Low Profile With Markly Morrison
https://www.lowprofilepodcast.com

Skrill Meadow:

http://www.skrilmeadow.com

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/homeless/outsiders-podcast-knkx-seattle-times-project-homeless/

Pamela teaches fiddle. A measles outbreak may force her to ask some prying questions.

Music By Poddington Bear: https://www.podingtonbear.com/

Ending theme music by Skrill Meadow https://skrillmeadow.bandcamp.com/

Department of Health information resources:

https://www.doh.wa.gov/YouandYourFamily/Immunization/children

Sources:

https://www.cdc.gov/measles/about/faqs.html

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/fatal-measles-case-linked-to-exposure-at-tribal-clinic-records-show/

Additional reading:

Two books I found really useful while researching this topic were:

On Immunity by Eula Biss

https://www.graywolfpress.org/books/immunity

The Panic Virus by Seth Mnookin

https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Panic-Virus/Seth-Mnookin/9781439158654

Thomas’ childhood was upended by war. This is the story of how he found his way to Olympia and became a ping pong champion.

It’s the 60th Anniversary of Olympia’s run-away train.

This is kind of an experimental episode. I wanted to see if I could capture the mood of the city during this insane snow. It was recorded over a 3 hour period midday on Sunday February 10th 2019. Let me know what you think. Go to Welcometoolympia.com and hit the contact button.

Music by Lost Integrity courtesy of Olympia’s own 2060 Records - https://2060.bandcamp.com/

Additional music by Mt. mmm - https://mtmmm.bandcamp.com/

More than you’ll ever need to know about Olympia’s favorite daily ritual.

Music by Olympia’s own Skrill Meadow from the album Lost On Vacation. https://skrillmeadow.bandcamp.com/album/lost-on-vacation

Thanks to the Olympia Tumwater Foundation. Learn more at https://olytumfoundation.org/ Here’s their Youtube channel, It’s great: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQXROlOSss9BZdI3Ccyc16g

A video from the roof of Fish Brewing as the 5 O’clock whistle goes off: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2PnQSgE0Hg

Drone footage of the older brew house by Mike McKinnon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRQqqGIpq_I

If you can’t get enough OLY beer history you should check out Megan Ockerman’s research and writing on The Olympia Brewing Company http://www.dissertations.wsu.edu/Thesis/Spring2017/m_ockerman_051717.pdf Megan says the story about Schmidt’s pivotal visit to the barbershop may be apocryphal. She has a book on the Olympia Brewing Company coming out soon.

For the audio nerds: I had a second mic set up 100 feet away using a limiter and a low input to catch the whistle blast at the golf course. I wish I had set the input even lower.

*Note that everything below here is referencing pictures that can only be seen on the show’s webpage. https://www.welcometoolympia.com/podcast/2019/2/6/5-oclock

The old Olympia Brewing Company steam plant viewed from Capitol Boulevard’s Carlyon bridge. This is where the old whistle blew for decades. Tumwater Valley Municipal Golf Course, where the whistle lives today, is in the distance.

The old brick brewhouse built in 1905. The city of Tumwater now owns it. They’ve taken steps to preserve the building until further plans are made.

The “new” Olympia brewery is in disrepair. Plans to restore and lease out parts of the facility continue to go nowhere. The damage you see here is from a recent fire in the building that once held the company’s main offices.

The whistle that blows daily from Fish Brewing Company in downtown Olympia. The handles you see are obsolete. The whistle is operated by a handle way below in the steam room.

Music in order:

ESPRIT https://esprit.bandcamp.com/releases courtesy of 2060 records https://2060.bandcamp.com

Blue Dot Sessions https://bluedotsessions.bandcamp.com

Skrill Meadow https://skrillmeadow.bandcamp.com

To hear Joyce’s full story or to learn about commissioning your own, go to https://www.keepsakeaudio.com

Senior Services For South Sound is offering vital help free of charge but they know they’re not reaching everyone who needs it. If you know of a senior in need or you’d like to volunteer or donate, go to https://southsoundseniors.org