When Walt Crowley, co-founder of History Link, died in 2007, his last instructions specified that he be buried at Lake View Cemetery on Capitol Hill, near Doc Maynard, one of the founders of old Seattle.  On the program from the funeral was this quotation: “So what use does history serve? Ultimately, just one:  It helps us to be more human.  Subtract all analytic or pragmatic applications, and you are left with the story — the essential narrative defining our place in time and in the stream of our culture.”  

Understanding our history is important to knowing where we came from and where we’re going, and with that end in mind, this Thursday May 19th at 7pm, History Link and the Museum of History and Industry hosts “History Cafe”.   Every month there is a different presentation, and this time they will present a selection of the winning films from MOHAI’s first “History Is__” film competition, at Roy Street Coffee on Capitol Hill at 700 Broadway Ave. E.   The winning filmmakers who will be present on Thursday evening include:

• Best in Show: Drew Christie for “History is Us”
• Best in Open Category: Steven R. Barron for “History is Tradition”
• Best Emerging Artist: Aaron Jones for “History is Unwritten”
• Best Youth Artists: Tony Elevanthingal, Ashwathi Raj for “History is Our Story”
• MOHAI History Award: Christa Carnell for “History is Sung”
• Honorable Mentions: Erik Alskog for  “History is Invention”

Each film will be screened at the café and filmmakers will have chance to talk about their work.  History Cafes are hosted each third Thursday of the month at Roy Street Coffee by MOHAI, KCTS 9, the Seattle Public Library and History Link. For more information on the program, you can visit the meet-up site: http://www.meetup.com/KCTS-9-History-Cafes/

I’m looking forward to these films and other programs about our beautiful city.  What a great idea to bring history right to the people this way.  It’s a great outreach to those who may not think history is interesting or relevant, and I hope it succeeds in enlightening people to the importance of the past, all while enjoying a cup of coffee and a sweet roll.