Here is a collection of 134 postcards from 1980 showing the 2 eruptions of Mount St. Helens in 1980.
There are 14 different postcards showing 17 different views.
These postcards were donated to the Toledo Historical Society of Toledo, Washington by some kind soul
for the express purpose of selling them to raise money.
We must constantly apply for small humanities grants and do fund-raising to support the works of the society
which include projects and programs of historical significance and providing scholarship funds for Toledo High
School students.
items - and other collectibles such as pulp Sci-fi and detective magazines, old magazines, die cast models,
About the town:
Our town is the oldest white settlement in Washington and was established when it was
part of Oregon Territory by the Hudson Bay Company. Washington territory was established
March 2, 1853, and remained a territory until November 11, 1889, when the territory was
admitted to the Union as the
State of
Washington.
The town was named by Celeste Rochon in the 1870s after a steamboat (Toledo) owned by
the Joseph Kellogg company. It traveled from Portland and stopped at a landing to unload
goods that would travel by horse and wagon to other northernmost areas of the state.
Although just a small town, we have a food bank, a senior center, a library, an art gallery, a
historical society, a Lions Club, 2 pocket parks and murals and other art all around town.
We have our own telephone and Internet company and we are also one of 7 small towns that
have fiber-optic. In the library is a framed letter of commendation to the town from then-President
Barack Obama for the citizenship shown here.
About the society:
The Toledo Historical Society was formed in 2004 as a non-profit organization. We hold
meetings 9 months of the year, taking a 2-month summer break and a break during the
winter holiday season.
in the past 7 years, we have created a Facebook page, published a newsletter twice a year and
acquired hundred of items for our collections.
In addition, in 2015 we created and sold 16-month Classic Car calendars (115 sold!), postcards,
booklets and other items to raise funds.
In 2016, we sponsored the Centennial Re-dedication of the Oregon Trail Marker. We had the Sons
and Daughters of the American Revolution in period costumes, a covered wagon owned by the Meeker
Estate, ceremonies, guest speakers, dignitaries and refreshments. A group of 3rd graders decorated
flat stones which were placed around the marker. Also in 2016, to raise funds we arranged to produce
50 professionally mounted and framed historic photos for a restaurant owner. We also printed postcards
of some of the photos and sold 320 of them to the restaurant to resell.
In 2017, we started work on a revision of "The Toledo Community Story" last published in 2008. It was
updated by Jake Blake, a local author in his own right and by Julie McDonald Zander a local historian
who has written 50 historical volumes. The extent of the content made a second book necessary.
In 2018, we hosted a Centennial of the end of WWI event with panels obtained from the Washington
State Historical Society, a guest speaker, a slide show, original WWI uniforms, music from the era,
storyboards showing fashions of the era and more. It was attended by 25 people, including a reporter
from a local newspaper.
In 2019, the society published 2 books about the town and its inhabitants over the years: "The Toledo
Community Story" - a history of the town - and "The Big Cheeses of Toledo" - 35 years of biographies
of the townspeople chosen as Big Cheeses - over 100 biographies. This year we celebrated the
Centennial of Cheese Days - an annual event that attracts tourists from all over.
In 2020, we applied for and received a grant to repair and clean the gravestones in the St. Francis Mission
Cemetery. This year we applied for and received a small grant to create storyboards,rent a hall and
hold 3 lectures by guest speakers,have an interpretive sign made and create signs for historic buildings.
However, not everything we do can be funded by grants and many times we are too small to qualify.
At those times, we could certainly use some help from the public to continue keeping the money coming in.
If you buy these VHS tapes, thank you tremendously. If you just look, thank you for that.
It really is a worthwhile cause.