Olympia

During this time of year, the Legislative Building normally is filled with lawmakers, legislative staffers, lobbyists, tourists and school groups. But this afternoon, about 250 people gathered in the building’s Rotunda for a ceremony honoring a group of Washington students who placed high in a contest combining reading and writing.

As I noted in a blog post last week, Washington’s one and only female Secretary of State was Belle Reeves, who was appointed in 1938 and served as Secretary of State until her death in 1948. Today, her great-great-great granddaughter, Brooke Carson, paid her first visit to the State Capitol and met the current Secretary of State, Sam Reed, in his office. Accompanying Brooke was her grandfather, Gregg Morrison, who was Belle’s great grandson.

Visiting the capitol? If so, be sure and take a tour! Come on, who else would tell you that a Volkswagen slug bug could actually fit into the Tiffany chandelier ... or the cupola was a lookout tower during World War II? Or that the vault in the Treasurer’s office weighs more than 16 tons? A capitol tour guide is a wealth of information.