Our recent book sale raised considerable funds to help with some unexpected expenses to care for our four 165-year-old buildings. Thank you all for your support. But the biggest joy of the booksale came from seeing a dear friend of the fort, Steilacoom resident Lou Dunkin, who is 106 years young. Lou helped restore these buildings in the 1980s when the State of Washington and DSHS were ready to let the first U.S. fort in Puget Sound fall down.

Lou not only donated books for sale, but she bought some others. Thank you, Lou, for inspiring us to stand by these buildings and the stories of everyone around them.

Lou poses here with our board secretary, Joe Lewis. Look closely and you might spy Claire Keller-Scholz, who chaired our interpretive committee which helped organize this fundraising sale.