Always Read the Plaque

Inscription:

Charles W. Howard 1896-1966
In 1937 he established here
a world famous Santa Claus
school, the first of its
kind & 1953 Christmas Park
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Santa Claus

Source: https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=78150

Inscription:

Der Goldmacher und spätere Erfinder des europäischen Porzellans - Johann Friedrich Böttcher - wurde auf der Flucht vor dem sächsischen Kurfürsten am 20. 6.1703 in diesem Hause festgenommen. Er soll die Goldmachertinktur-das Arcanum hier liegen gelassen haben.

(English translation:)

The alchemist and later-on the inventor of European porcelain, Johann Friedrich Böttcher, was arrested in this house on June 20, 1703 while fleeing from the Saxon Elector. He is said to have left the “Goldmaker's Tincture” - the Arcanum, the recipe for making gold and curing diseases, here.

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=210662

Inscription:

A coal wharf was located at the waterfront during the late 19th century. Coal was transported here by railroad from Newcastle and Renton. Abandoned in the early 1900’s, the wharf soon became the Skinner & Eddy Shipyard.

During World War I, the shipyard set records in ship construction, building 75 vessels – one-tenth of the nation’s total wartime shipping tonnage. Following the war, an attempt to reduce wages at the shipyard resulted in the first city-wide strike in the country, which immobilized Seattle for five days.

During the depression of the 1930’s, the abandoned shipyard became a part of Hooverville, the well-known Seattle shantytown which housed displaced citizens until World War II.

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=48123

Inscription:

ADDRESS BY PRESIDENT LINCOLN
AT THE DEDICATION OF
THE GETTYSBURG NATIONAL CEMETERY
NOVEMBER 19, 1863.

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great Civil War, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate - we can not consecrate - we can not hallow - this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us - that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion - that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain - that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom - and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Image source: https://unsplash.com/photos/a-sign-on-a-rock-in-a-cemetery-N04QVacUvPw

Inscription source: https://www.nps.gov/places/000/battleground-national-cemetery-gettysburg-address-plaque.htm

Inscription:

"I gave my hand to them all and made signs of my friendly disposition"

On October 19, 1805, William Clark and three men traveling ahead of the rest of the party arrived at a Umatilla village near here. Upon seeing Clark, the villagers ran back to their lodges and closed their doors. Clark opened the door to one lodge, went inside with pipe in hand, and found them in great distress. By signing, he tried to assure them of his peaceful intentions. Just before he went to the village, Clark has shot and killed a crane. The sound of the gun, the sight of the bird falling from the sky, and the sudden approach of the strange-looked explorers caused great concern among the villages. Clark said the villagers thought he and his party came "from the clouds ... and were not men."

The People of This Land The Columbia River and surrounding plains provided abundant resources. This region was heavily populated when the Expedition passed through in 1805-06, Clark wrote, "I Saw Several Horses and persons on horse back in the plains ... Encamped ... nearly opposit to 24 Lodges ... This Tribe can raise about 350 men."

October 19, 1805 "found 32 persons men, women and a few children ... in the greatest agutation. Some crying and ringing there (sic) hands, others hanging their heads. I gave my hand to them all and made Signs of my friendly dispotion and offered the men my pipe ..."

"as Soon as they Saw the ... wife of the interperters (Sacagawea) they pointed to her and imediately all came out and appeared to assume new life .... the sight of This Indian women ... confirmed those people of our friendly intentions..." ~ William Clark ~

Lost in Translation Not all encountered with American Indian tribes went smoothly. Local tribes spoke a variety of languages the explorers were unfamiliar with. Conversations often flowed through a series of translations - sign language, multiple native languages, French and English - taking a long time to complete. Not all signs of friendship, such as Clark's handshake and unannounced visit, were universally understood.

Umatilla People The Umatilla tribes lived along the banks of the Columbia and Umatilla rivers, in the midst of one of the world's richest fisheries. Now part of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indians Reservation, the tribe is actively involved in this region. In you journal keep track of the names of tribes along the Lewis and Clark Trail.

Source: https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=158634

Source: https://readtheplaque.com/plaque/kind-words#gsc.tab=0

Inscription:

At midnight on January 1, 1967, undercover LAPD officers raided the Black Cat Tavern in Silver Lake. 14 men were beaten, dragged outside, and arrested. Six men were charged with lewd conduct for same-sex kissing. Outrage over the raid spurred two new California gay rights groups to organize hundreds of protestors to demonstrate against police entrapment and arbitrary arrest. The peaceful demonstration that took place outside the Black Cat Tavern on February 11, 1967 was Southern California's first public protest for gay rights.

Events like the Black Cat Tavern protest, and earlier demonstrations at Compton's Cafeteria in San Francisco, were critical milestones in California's LGBTQ+ history, opening the floodgates for new civil rights strategies within the LGBTQ+ community that led to the repeal of discriminatory laws in California.

California Registered Historical Landmark No. 1063.

Plaque placed by the California Department of Parks and Recreation in cooperation with The Black Cat, the California Landmark Foundation, and the Bill Beaver Project, October 1, 2023.

Source: https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=233806