"One of the pieces that was so challenging for me as a person of faith: 'how can I reconcile the fact that I am giving just bits and pieces of assistance to people who are living in unheated tents in the state of Washington while I spend time with them?' And then I get in my car and I go home to a warm house. Or to members of faith communities who were good enough to host, but still kept their boundary on what was their property and their building and forbade the homeless inside other then designated times. That troubles me. It will always trouble me as a person of faith. 

-Selena Kilmoyer, Faith Community Leader, Olympia, WA

Community Roots is a community oral history project based in Olympia, Washington about how people come together to make change and create new possibilities for themselves and their neighbors. This story is part of our series about the origins of Camp Quixote, a tent city that emerged in downtown Olympia, Washington in February 2007. It was the first visible, self-governing tent city in Olympia, a short chapter in a much longer and unfinished story about our community’s relationship with our neighbors experiencing homelessness. We were interested in how the tent city first took root and the alliances and community learning at the center of this story.

Selena Kilmoyer: Community Roots, Camp Quixote Series

"One thing I think that happens in society is we have a very limited historical memory. In the United States there's been a lot of oppression, but there's always been resistance. To me I think of education a lot, not just as formal, but informal. This idea of trying to do education, not in a top down way, but more where you respect the people and you try to build on their experience and have them understand it more deeply. I think that’s so important that people have some knowledge of what people have done, so we can learn from mistakes, but also strengthen them. Nothing is ever exactly the same, but I think historical memory is really important."

-Peter Bohmer, member of the Faculty at The Evergreen State College and one of the members of the Liberation Cafe

Community Roots is a community oral history project about how people come together to make change and create new possibilities for themselves and their neighbors. This story is about the Liberation Cafe, an activist space that was established in the mid-nineties as a place for people to work, collaborate, host events, and engage with community. The cafe occupied the top floor of Bulldog News in downtown Olympia.

Peter Bohmer: Community Roots, Liberation Cafe Series

"I felt like zines were going to be a dying medium because of the internet, and this was in ‘97. I wanted to collect zines because I felt like they weren't going to be around much longer and people were going to be making web pages instead of making zines. I wanted a place where the community could come and read zines from all over. The collection was also taking up a lot of space. I would rather have everybody share this than it be boxes in my living room, which is how I ended up starting the Zine Library at the Liberation Cafe."

-Courtney Bennett, Olympia Zine Library Founder

Community Roots is a community oral history project about how people come together to make change and create new possibilities for themselves and their neighbors. This story is about the Liberation Cafe, an activist space that was established in the mid-nineties as a place for people to work, collaborate, host events, and engage with community. The cafe occupied the top floor of Bulldog News in downtown Olympia.

Courtney Bennett: Community Roots, Liberation Cafe Series

"In 1989, the Berlin Wall fell. Three months later, Nelson Mandela was freed from South Africa, signaling the fall of apartheid. Everything is changing around the world – standing up against tyranny or bringing down totalitarianism – but then Bush starts a war later that year. So in the 90s, getting together opposing Bush and the war and creating sort of an activist community. There was a lot going on in Olympia. I think there was just a lot going on in general everywhere. "

-Pat Tassoni, Liberation Cafe Co-Founder

Community Roots is a community oral history project about how people come together to make change and create new possibilities for themselves and their neighbors. This story is a part of our series about the Liberation Cafe, an activist space that was established in the mid-nineties as a place for people to work, collaborate, host events, and engage with community. The cafe occupied the top floor of Bulldog News in downtown Olympia, Washington.

Pat Tassoni: Community Roots, Liberation Cafe Series

"One day, I heard, 'Ugh, here come the kids from the childcare center...' And it became my mission to turn that around to: 'Hey, here come the kids from the Childcare Center!' It took us a long time to do that, years to do that, but we did. It was great."

-Donna Simon, retired Director of The Children's Center at The Evergreen State College

Community Roots is a community oral history project based in Olympia, Washington about how people come together to make change and create new possibilities for themselves and their neighbors. This story is part of our series on Driftwood - a childcare center at The Evergreen State College. In 1971, Driftwood Daycare was initially conceptualized as faculty support at the College. However, the evaluation of campus needs led to the Center opening to student families as a priority. A small abandoned farmhouse located on Driftwood Road became the grounds for the center up until the mid-’80s.

Donna Simon: Community Roots, Driftwood Day Care Series

"I can't imagine life without art, without music, without literature, without theater, without visual art, without dance. I cannot imagine a life like that. And the way in which it allows people to see other’s experiences and other’s way of seeing things, and the way it touches our hearts and our souls and our shared humanity."

Debe Edden
Artistic & Managing Director of the Heartsparkle Players
Local resident since 1974

Debe Edden: The Third Thirty, Story 1

Window Seat Media uses story as a catalyst for connection, conversation, and change. We experiment with a variety of formats - live storytelling, theater, community conversations, film screenings, exhibits, and more - to amplify local knowledge, share powerful ideas, and ask what is possible. Our purpose is to join with people and locales to strengthen local communities.

Debe Edden: The Third Thirty, Story 1

window seat media

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