In 1930, thousands flocked to Lacey to see something new and exciting: a reindeer race. Billed as the first reindeer race in the continental United States, few in the area had ever seen the animals outside of Christmas imagery.
Newton Jessie Aiken played an important role in the story of Olympia education. Before his long-lasting career as an economics professor at Washington State University, Aiken served as principal of Olympia High School from 1910 to 1918. He oversaw a period of great growth in the school’s history.
As the US prepared for World War I, city leaders encouraged Olympia residents to make vegetable gardens in unused plots of land. Read about garden history.