- Lacamas Park Lily Field (OregonHikers.org)
The city of Camas, Washington, was named for the camas plant. Camas was a very important crop in Native American traditional life. The roots were dug up, dried or cooked, and saved for food use and as sweeteners. The bulbs were usually harvested in summer, but the plants were sometimes marked during the spring bloom to avoid confusion (and possible fatalities) with a plant with very similar looking leaves, the highly toxic death camas. Every year, the people gathered in the meadows to harvest the larger bulbs only. Woodlands and brush were burned to create more expansive camas meadows, and camas plots, often assigned to particular families, were harvested on a rotational basis to allow plants to produce more bulbs.
- David Denny (Wikipedia)
David Thomas Denny (March 17, 1832 – November 25, 1903) was a member of the Denny Party, who are generally collectively credited as the founders of Seattle, Washington, United States. Though he ultimately underwent bankruptcy, he was a significant contributor to the shape of the city. Roger Sale, in his book Seattle, Past to Present, described him as having been “the pioneer to turn to if one had a plan that would be ‘good for Seattle’, and one needed a respectable tone and a willing investor.”
