Students learn Cathlamet history

Students from Shelley Olsen’s class were treated to a guest speaker last Friday. David Hansen, the only child of Julia Butler-Hansen, brought antiques and stories from his personal collection to share with the students.

“Cathlamet is one of the oldest settlements on the Columbia River,” he told the class of 23 third and fourth graders. It was founded by James Birnie in 1846.

Hansen shared artifacts from a flag sporting the name Hudson Bay Company to a lock and key from the James Birnie Store which was built in 1846.

“The house stood until 1926,” Hansen said.

Using the classroom's document camera to project an early picture on the screen, Hansen pointed out the homes of some of Cathlamet’s original settlers. Caroline Birnie lived there, he said, motioning to a white house on the hill; the school was there, and this was a salmon cannery here.

The picture was taken in 1876, he added, and it is the first known photo of Cathlamet. It was taken from a boat, he told the class.

Questions popped up all over the class from “How did you get around?” to “What did you wear?”

Hansen told the students that to get from point A to point B, early residents would often ride a horse or sit in a buggy.

“What’s a buggy?” asked third grader Peyton Souvenir. Hansen smiled and explained it is a cart that carries people.

A picture of an old time classroom brought curious wonderment. Hansen said the desks were very different than they are today. He pointed out the cast iron sides and the benches attached to the front of the desk as opposed to the chairs students sit in today.

He told the class there was a hole in the corner where a little glass jar called an ink well would fit in. Sometimes, he said, a boy would dip a little girl’s pig tail in the ink when she wasn’t looking. The kids laughed, and Olsen said, “We wouldn’t do that, would we boys?” “No,” they said as if they had meant to say, “well, duh!”

Hansen, who lives in Vancouver, doesn’t visit other schools, but brought the items to the class so he could share the stories with another generation from his hometown.

“I just thought they would enjoy seeing original items associated with Cathlamet history,” he said. “People haven’t seen these.”

All Hansen’s stories were handed down. “I’m a secondhand source,” he explained.

The Julia Butler-Hansen house on Butler Street is open for tours Fridays and Saturdays 11-4, or by appointment. There isn’t a fee; however, a donation of $5 is requested.