Karen Haas to Present Two Historical Programs

Karen Haas – Click to enlarge – Contributed photo

Historian and storyteller Karen Haas portrays women from differing walks of life and points of view during two programs scheduled this month at English Camp and the San Juan Island Library

The first is her celebrated Civil War program, I am Always on the Woman’s Side, scheduled for 7:00 p.m., Friday, July 25 in the Royal Marine Barracks at English Camp.

The program is free. Call the park at 360-378-2240, ext. 2233, or the library at 360-378-2798 for more information.

Haas’ vignettes address a neglected side of Civil War life: women striving to survive in a time of violence, turmoil and societal change. Though women’s voices are often lost amid the din of the battlefield, their stories are an integral part of our nation’s history

Haas will next bring to life of another pioneer woman in So Many Things to Do Yet: The Saga of Thea Foss, scheduled for 8:15 p.m. Thursday, July 31 in the San Juan island LIbrary.

Born in Norway, Thea Foss and her husband Andrew arrived in Tacoma in 1889. Starting with a used rowboat, they built a maritime empire.

Haas portrays Thea in 1912, the year of the first Foss tugboat. She reflects back on her life and looks forward to the future. At a time when few women could, Thea Foss took her place in a “man’s world”, always believing “we are members of one great body… we were born for the good of the whole”. Like other immigrants, she added her experiences to the rich blend that is Washington.

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