Share Information but Give Credit

Hi Joe,

Though I no longer live in Stevens County, I still own property there and certainly am still very much interested in the history of the area. This may not fit into your pending grant (which sounds like a great idea to me) but I thought I’d make you aware of it anyway. A few years ago I led a tour for the Northwest chapter of the Oregon-California Trails Association in which we visited historical sites in Stevens County (and a few in Spokane County) primarily associated with the fur trade and with migration routes into Stevens County, by fur traders and by pioneers, many of whom had come across the Oregon Trail. We also covered Indian sites such as Kettle Falls. In doing research for this tour it became clear to me that there is a whole lot of fascinating history and historical sites in Stevens County that are not known to the general public, and many not to Stevens County residents even. One of the leading guidebooks on historical sites in Washington State doesn’t even include any sites in Stevens County. There is work to be done to make the history of Stevens County known to people.

For that tour I put together a booklet that covered some history of fur traders, settlers, missionaries and miners, as well as some history of some of the Stevens County communities we went through on our tour. I have a huge box of information (and some photographs) that I gathered in researching the tour and accompanying booklet. I am willing to share any of this material with Heritage Network folks, with one caveat: In the past, when I have shared information that I had spent considerable time researching and writing up, when the information was made public, I was given no credit for it whatsoever, even though the wording was mine almost word for word; I really don’t want that to happen again. Also, I have some unique photographs that I would not be willing to share unless I am given credit for them. As I said, I am willing to share what I have learned, but with proper credit given. This is a matter of ethics and professionalism in my view, and is something that should be paid attention to in all that the heritage network does if you want to be taken seriously by the larger historical community.

Here’s to a successful outcome to your grant writing efforts!

Lethene Parks