Window Seat Media

10/14/2026

Elaine (Window Seat's Director) and Sonja Wiedenhaupt (Widow Seat Board member and Evergreen Faculty) are headed to Portland today for the Oral History Association Conference. We're excited to share what we've learned from our collaboration and learn from so many others in the field!

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What would a syllabus look like that was informed by the aspirations, concerns, and work within communities? What knowledge, skills, and habits of mind would we learn and practice if we were to participate in just, humane, and sustainable daily work? How can mutually beneficial thought partnerships between academics and public practitioners be nurtured in service of the community?

In this workshop, Elaine Vradenburgh, facilitator of the Community Roots oral history project in Olympia, Washington, and Sonja Wiedenhaupt, member of the faculty at The Evergreen State College, invite you to engage with us in these questions that emerged from our community-classroom collaboration. We came together around a shared purpose to learn from and share the knowledge housed in the Community Roots archive. Community Roots documents local organizing efforts to protect what South Sound residents value most about this place and the deep care those efforts extend to the humans, plants, and animals who live here. These stories that cross sectors, communities, and issues have served as texts that guide student inquiry in Sonja’s classroom.

We’ll offer pedagogical approaches to working with oral histories as texts in the classroom and discuss ethical considerations when engaging with local stories. Using excerpts from the Community Roots archive, we will explore how oral histories can be used to develop essential questions that guide student learning, enhance deep listening skills, and offer nuance and complexity to dominant narratives while helping students visualize themselves within the context of histories and social movements. If you are a secondary and higher education teacher who is interested in creating bridges for students to the issues and work of the community and/or are curious about the nature of oral histories as texts, then this workshop may be of use to you.

10/13/2026

Help us grow Community Roots! Join us October 29, 6:30-8:00 p.m.

Community Roots collects the memories and wisdom of local artists and visionaries, community organizers, and caregivers. Come listen to stories from the collection, reflect on their themes and perspectives, and offer your ideas on how to grow and share these stories more widely.

Community Roots will be publicly accessible via a website curated by Window Seat Media, with the full story archive housed at The Evergreen State College Archives.

Registration encouraged: https://timberland.bibliocommons.com/events/6ac829179d27a000454faaa9

10/08/2026

We had a great time at the Inspire Olympia Educator's Night Out earlier this week! We asked local teachers: How can you imagine using oral history in your classroom? So many possibilities!

🌟 Share stories from local farmers as part of one elementary teacher's producers and consumers unit

🌟 Use transcript excerpts as part of an exercise with middle school students that maps connections between people and places

🌟 Listen to migration stories to help students reflect on their own stories of moving communities today

🌟 Record family folk tales to elevate the wisdom of families in our community in K-2 classrooms

🌟Use excerpts from oral histories to teach verbatim theater to high school students

And many more....

We'll be hosting a listening session for educators at Reeves Middle School on Saturday, November 21 from 1-3pm to continue this conversation. If you're a local educator, please join us!

RSVP: https://forms.gle/1VsXfBGorEqYdtuBA

Thank to our amazing Board members who joined us for this event: Reeves Middle School Teacher, Lucas Claussen, and Evergreen Faculty, Sonja Wiedenhaupt 💫

10/05/2026

We’re so sorry to hear of the loss of this beloved community member 🩵

Dear Encore family and friends, we are heartbroken to say that the founder and owner of Encore Chocolates and Teas has passed. Dean Jones passed on Friday, Oct. 2nd, surrounded by the love of his beautiful wife, incredible children, and loving sister. Dean was very loved and appreciated by his staff and this is a difficult time. We’ll be closed for the next 3 days, 10/4-10/6, as we take this time to grieve and support the Jones family. We are so grateful for your understanding. ❤️

10/03/2026

Come visit our Community Roots listening station today during Arts Walk at the Arts + Heritage Alliance! Listen to some stories from our archive, share your reflections and stories, and help us grow this community archive 🌟

Featured stories:

Learn about the origins of the Liberation Cafe, Camp Quixote, and the Interfaith Works Shelter and what it takes to get community efforts off the ground.

Hear from local artist, Tom Anderson, about what it was like to arrive in Olympia in the early 1970s to attend The Evergreen State College and the spirit of improvisation and experimentation that he and others cultivated in town.

Gain insights from long-time community advocate, Dr. Thelma Jackson, about what is needed to make lasting change in our communities.

Listen to members of the Threshold Singers reflect on what it is like to sing at the bedside of people who are dying.

What work is happening to care for the people, land, and traditions of our communities? What themes and questions do these stories reveal? How can we put this local knowledge to use, today?

Share your stories and ideas!

Special thank you to local musician, Evergreen faculty, and Window Seat Board members, Sonja Wiedenhaupt, for creating the beautiful painting for the table
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10/02/2026

What an inspiring and engaged group! Such a wonderful way to spend an evening 🌟

09/28/2026

We were saddened to learn of the passing of Jill Severn last week. Her deep and thoughtful commitment to the care and belonging of ALL of our neighbors is inspiring. Jill participated in our Third Thirty Oral History Project in 2018 where she shares her involvement in Camp Quixote, one of the many community efforts she was a part of in our community. You can read her reflection here, https://www.windowseatmedia.org/stories/jill-severn, and at the Lacey Museum. We are lucky to have known Jill for the short time that we did and that she chose our community as her home 🩵

Members of the League of Women Voters of Thurston County deeply mourn the loss of Jill Severn, who passed away on the Autumn Equinox on September 21, 2026. Jill leaves behind a profound legacy of civic devotion and community service. Through her ongoing collaboration with the League of Women Voters of Thurston County (LWVTC) and the state League, Jill transformed how Washingtonians understand democracy. As the author of the widely celebrated "The State We're In" civics textbook series, she gave students and citizens a vital blueprint for understanding governance and tribal history.

Jill was a powerful voice for local democracy, whether she was fiercely advocating for local journalism at community forums, working on homelessness, opening her own beautiful Olympia garden to raise funds for the LWVTC, or working closely on internal committees to champion tribal sovereignty and Indian Treaty Rights. Her life was a testament to the power of active citizenship, and she will be deeply missed by the community she spent her life strengthening.

09/23/2026

We're so lucky to have Diana serve on our Board at Window Seat and to be a part of our community 🌟

⭐️ Meet our Director! ⭐️ Our program director, Diana, plays the vital role of overseeing our team of community schools managers and directing program operations. Diana’s passion for community advocacy is evident in her work each day. Her support and guidance help our team serve families at their highest and best! We are so grateful for her can-do attitude, her sense of humor and her ability to see the best in everyone.