More Voices, New Stories: King County, Washington's First 150 Years by Mary C. Wright (review)

on daily life on thetrail, while reminiscenceswrit ten laterinlifeexpand on theexperience and pro vide fullercontext.Reminiscences have distinct forms that Palmer characterizes as "I remem ber" and "we remember" accounts. "I remem ber" recollectionsarepersonal childhoodmemo ries,while the "we remember" types are those reinforcedor alteredover timeby familyor com munity. The young people's documents express rela tionshipswith parents, siblings, train members, and others on the trail.Diary and letter writers differed from reminiscencewriters inexpressing feelingsabout parents and siblings.Diarists oc casionallymentioned family members, but older pioneers remembered familyas amajor aspect of theoverland experience.Other train members and people encountered along the trailare com mon topics inyoung people's accounts. Reflect ing Victorian prejudices, youngwriters often re vealedmixed feelingsabout "Missourians,"Mor mons, and Indians. Indians are particularly evident intheaccounts. Descriptions of theirap pearance and behavior during encounters on the trailare often graphic, revealing asmuch about the Indians as thewriters who recorded their observations.An enlighteningchapter isdevoted to the"Goldilocks"motif in thedocuments. This was thecommonly held belief among emigrants that Indianswere fascinatedwith golden-haired white children, forwhom theywould offer to trade many horses. Palmer's study iswell written and flows smoothly through awide range of topics. It isa pioneeringwork thatdraws upon theearlier work ofnoted scholars, including John Mack Faragher, Lillian Sch?ssel, Glenda Riley, ElliottWest, and John D. Unruh. In focusingon young people, this work fillsa void and isa significantcontribution to trailscholarship. Palmer concludes by point ingout theneed for futurestudies of theview points ofmembers ofminority groups and emi grants on the southern trailsand for compari sonsof writingsby adults and children.This book isboth readable and useful. It contains awealth of primarymaterial and scholarly analysis that should be of interestto trailscholars, educators, and general readers. More Voices,New Stories: King County Washingtons First 150Years Edited byMary C.Wright University ofWashington Press, Seattle, 2003. Illustrations, maps, index. 264 pages. $17.95 paper. Reviewed by Steve Anderson Renton Historical Museum, Renton,Washington More Voices, New Stories isagath eringofnarratives thatexplore,both in dividually and collectively,a number ofmargin alized or neglected portions of King County's past. Beginning with the "accepted" history of Seattle's founding and of the county's growth, thebook encompasses twelveessays thatpresent a diverse compilation of ethnic, social, religious, and thematic topics. I cannot help but draw an analogy between thebook's essays and a satisfying meal. The in troduction by Charles LeWarne represents the table's place settings,offeringa brief outline of the origin stories of the county and Seattle. Heaped onto this isawealth ofdiverse essays on ethnicity, religion,and geography.These range in tone from insightful, carefully written studies to oral histories,which deliver theirown raw,new flavor of King County's past. This book can broaden readers' palates by increasing their knowledge of the uncommon and, until now, undiscovered and untold aspects of thecounty's Reviews 287 heritage.A thought-provokingNative American study stands side by sidewith a grittyexamina tionofblack strikebreakersinKing County's coal mines, and a smorgasbord of Scandinavian im migrant oral histories follows a romp through Seattle's theaterhistory. A word of caution about readingRobert Fisher's essayon Seattle's restau rant-laden past ? not eating beforehand guar antees you'll put thebook down to go out fora meal. Elizabeth Salas's "Mexican-American Women Politicians in Seattle" and Nhien T. Nguyen's discussion of the growth of King County's Vietnamese community document im portant histories thatare poignant and that will give futuregenerations something to look back onwith pride. More Voices,New Stories can easily be read byhigh school studentsand adults.The endnotes allow for furtherinvestigation of the topics dis cussed, which would be useful for student re ports or inpersonal study.Readers interested in thehistory ofKing County or Seattle, especially ethnic, religious, or social topics,will find this collection useful. Itprovides abetterunderstand ingof thecomplex historical tapestrythat makes up King County and reveals a new way ofview ing it, which is the collection's strength. The lay out of thebook's twelve chapters allows for re flectionbetween each topic.This isnecessary be cause of theirvaried themes and theauthors' dif ferent perspectives and presentation styles. For the most part, this isa tightly packed and well-researched bit of King County history. I would have hoped for...