STUFF OF LEGENDS

Four Seattle Stories. Four Historic Artifacts.

Souvenirs of the past.

By Allison Williams November 26, 2019 Published in the December 2019 issue of Seattle Met

Fumiko Hayashida’s Photographic Proof

Bainbridge mother, snapped by a Seattle Post-Intelligencer photographer in 1942, came to represent the stark injustice of Japanese American incarceration, though Fumiko was known as “Mystery Lady” for decades. After the Smithsonian identified her in the 1990s, she testified before Congress about her ordeal.

With MOHAI, Seattle Post-Intelligencer Collection, pi28050

Helene Madison’s Olympic Hardware

The 10th Olympiad, held in Los Angeles in 1932, was rather modest, thanks to the Great Depression, but its star was Seattle swimmer Madison. Her three gold medals tied for the biggest haul of the Games, and her name graces Washington Athletic Club’s art deco pool; she trained in its waters.

With courtesy David Eskenazi Collection

Nellie Centennial Cornish’s College Credit

What began as a modest music academy run by a Nebraska-born piano teacher—named Cornish School by its founder—grew into Cornish College of the Arts, today the alma mater of actor Brendan Fraser, musician Reggie Watts, and dance legends Merce Cunningham and Robert Joffrey. Nellie herself held 239 shares in the school.

With Courtesy the archives of the Cornish College of the Arts Library

Gypsy Rose Lee’s Glittering Costume

The real-life burlesque dancer who inspired the musical Gypsy—that loving salute to helicopter parenting—was born Rose Louise Hovick in Seattle. She revolutionized the bawdy dance, a humorous, crowd-pleasing version of stripping, and today the Seattle Theater Writers’ annual awards are named for her.

Seattle Women, Seattle History, Cornish College of the Arts, Olympics

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Four Seattle Stories. Four Historic Artifacts.

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