Painting & Discovering Coastal Military History – Fort Columbia, WA
Pre-Post Note/ As follow-on to my last post, I figured I would give you a quick update on where my volunteer duties have taken me this week. I enjoy varied volunteer work, so I had a blast doing this even tho’ it was rather more physical that my “regular” desk job. For those planning to visit Cape D, I’ll be back at the LCIC on Monday.
This week my volunteer duties took me to an old military building. The LCIC center was closed for some upgrades, so Steve asked me if I’d mind doing some painting at the interpretive center (an old barracks) in nearby Fort Columbia State Park. I did a lot of painting in my youth during the summers (we owned an old-fashioned half-timbered straw-roof house in Denmark that required near-constant upkeep), so I figured “why not”. Spend a few days in a beautiful place painting at my leisure in an historic building? Sure!
Situated just ~20 mins from Cape D, Fort Columbia was one of the three major fortifications (together with Fort Canby & Fort Stevens) that guarded the great Columbia River through both world wars. Originally built in 1896, it’s located in a pristine position on a small hill just a few miles downstream from the entrance to the river.
And honestly it’s a total hidden gem!
It spans 593-acres and is one of the most completely intact coastal defense sites in the US. It has all the original wood-frame barracks, officers buildings, hospital, firehouse and guard house as well as the ordinance storehouse, several batteries and even two fully-intact 6-inch guns (two of only 6 remaining guns of this kind in the world!). Plus the interpretive center is pretty sweet with extensive displays on local history, the fort itself and the life of the men who lived there during that time. There is a lot here.
Few folks ever come here (why, I don’t know) so it’s the kind of place you can spend hours exploring cool nooks and crannies practically by yourself. And for a tomboy-explorer gal like me that’s kind of like giving candy to a 2-year old. Who knows what kind of sweeeeet goodies I might find??
The interpretive center itself was originally the enlisted mens barracks and dates from the turn of the century. It’s been re-painted many times over the years, most recently sometime in the 70’s which (as you can imagine for those of you who lived through that era) resulted in a pretty horrendous color scheme. The park is taking the existing mustard orange/yellow scheme and bringing it back to a much cleaner, and historically appropriate WWI-era grey/cream/black color scheme. So that’s what I was bought in for.
I took over a boatload of podcasts (the entire Limetown series & several episodes of This American Life) on my iPad and just set to work painting as many walls as I could. I worked pretty much the exact same hours as I would work at the LCIC (11am-4pm), and enjoyed my usual 1/2 hour lunch break overlooking the river from the barracks porch. Other than the physical effort of getting up and down off the ground 100+ times per day (good butt sculpting, this painting business) it was super easy job and somewhat meditative, if you like that kind of thing.
In my free time I explored the surrounding area, checking out all the interpretive displays and even poked around some of the hidden rooms underneath the officers barracks. I found many strange and unusual things which I can’t divulge (they’re secrets ya know, and then they wouldn’t be secrets anymore), but I did uncover a couple of cool items from more recent use of the building including some old newspapers and an awesome Readers Digest from 1966.
The top stories in Digest are a fascinating insight into the “hot” topics of the late 60’s and take you right back to that tumultuous period in our history:
- Why Not Blockade North Vietnam?
- The Secret of Keeping Your Teeth
- TV Revolution Ahead!
It was a time of sweet cars and exciting technology, but also the midst of a horrible war. History, like life, is never simple.
I managed to finish my 3-day painting stint almost completely covered in paint (it’s just how I work), but with a new appreciation for the many boots and shoes that have walked these halls. Oh, and did I mention? Volunteering rocks!
PAW NOTES/ Fort Columbia is completely dog-friendly except for inside the interpretive center, so feel free to bring pooch for a walk around the grounds. There are several miles of hiking trails and it’s a great place to explore and hang with doggie.
What fun… Never even heard of this place when we were there… So it does sound like a hidden gem…
I’m putting this on my list! Thank you. I’d love to see some “secrets”.
It’s an awesome Fort, and so very well preserved too. Most folks completely miss it on their way to Cape D.
Nina
Merikay and I were married in Jan 1966. Of course I remember that there was a horrible war going on, but I can’t remember much about color schemes, teeth, or TV. I’d like to claim that’s because I was so involved in being newly married, but it’s probably just old age…
Well thankfully that war is past and (hopefully) you’ve still got your teeth 🙂 The 60’s weren’t actually too bad as color schemes go, but the 70’s got pretty awful. Everything was mustard in those days (I still remember my parents’ mustard yellow carpet) and big, concrete buildings were a “thing”. Lots of materials science experimentation going on back then.
Nina
I love places like that! And how awesome you got to help in the improvement and upkeep of such a gem.
Do they need any more help up your way. Looking for some thing to fill in the summer season. We met at ABQ with the Boomers. Retired carpenter and willing to work. And I like the micros brewery as well.
No, unfortunately they are all full on volunteers for the rest of the summer. I actually asked for 2 months initially, but Steve already had July filled so no go. This is a pretty sweet spot to volunteer so folks tend to come back year after year.
Nina
I remember those color schemes very well! I suppose they wanted to get away from the gray skies when they covered up the gray and black? Hopefully it will look lovely now with all your hard work. I like painting as well…seems as though we are doing it all the time somewhere! I have to go back and read my blog to remember if we stopped here or not, but I have some vague memories of that battery.
Have been to one of the Forts you mentioned, not sure which one, the bunks/ft locker looks exactly like I had in the late 50’s. Also spent a few days in Copenhagen (June 1960 US Army duty in Germany), saw some of the houses you described on that trip as I went on into Sweden and eventually into Oslo Norway. Remember daylight until near Midnight. Wish I had had more time but wound up driving straight back to near Bingen on Rhine Germay, did get some sleep on the ferry from Denmark to Germany (about 4-5 hrs?) 18-20 hrs I think.
Ahhhh…what a lovely trip! And there’s nothing quite like those long days of summer up in the Northern Countries. Sun up until 10-11pm (at least in Denmark), warm (but not too hot) sunny days, everyone outside enjoying the weather….just gorgeous! I get nostalgic for Denmark in the summers.
Nina
I remember growing up that LOTS of people my grandparents age all had false teeth. It was a fun game to get them to take them out and put them back in! The article must have worked because it is rare to see someone with complete dentures these days. Implants have changed the game, too, I’m sure. Glad you’re having fun and learning new things in your travels!
That’s very true. We kind of take modern dentistry for granted, but a lot of innovation has happened over the past 40-50 years. Plus folks are much more aware of the importance of oral health these days. You don’t see nearly as many false teeth these days.
Nina
I totally get your interpretation of painting being meditative, Nina. Either that, or it’s the fumes getting to me!
Jim
HA! yeah those fumes can be pretty heady at times.
Nina
I love forts and love to paint so this would be a great volunteering gig for me. I spent many days painting the park staff office and garage when we volunteered on Lopez Island.
I totally get that. I really enjoyed the switch-up this week. I was in a beautiful spot, working at my leisure listening to podcasts. Fun and easy.
Nina
What a great fort! We would enjoy this stop. I’ll have to remember this for a future stop. Thanks for the great tour. So nice of you to help out with the painting:)
Painting is a nice workout for the arms, glad people like you enjoy it. Someone has to keep the parks looking nice. I really like that last pic, wonder how you did it.
For that very last pic I simply used the “panorama” function on my iPhone. One sweep and the shot was done. It’s highly distorted, but I actually like the effect.
Nina
Thank you for your good work in helping to maintain this hidden gem. I find old forts especially fascinating because I can be “in” the history rather than just looking at it. Roaming the grounds and buildings, reading about who was there and what was going on in our country and the world, these places give me a unique perspective I don’t find in many other sites. I’ll have to visit this one when we’re in the area again.
I totally agree! There is something about being right inside an old building, or a lighthouse, or any historic structure that takes you right back to that period and allows your imagination to flow. I imagine the folks who lived there, their happiness, their sorrows and how the world changed around them over time. It’s fascinating!
Nina
We went there and were very impressed with how good the buildings looked. They’ve obviously been cared for. The bunkers also look really good for their age. Thanks for painting,
That barber’s chair is super, super cool!
I thought so too. It was one of my favorite pieces inside the interpretive center.
Nina
That is a really cool summer project. It sounds like it would interesting and enjoyable.