Explore the Redmond Historical Society Blog

By Richard Hao, Youth Director At Large Edited by Laura Lee Bennett, Executive Vice President Lisa Dupar and Assistant Alisha Brown. Photo: Patsy Rosenbach On March 14th, the Redmond Historical Society welcomed Lisa Dupar, cookbook author, chef, and owner of Lisa Dupar Catering and Pomegranate Bistro in Redmond, WA. Lisa’s culinary and entrepreneurial journey in Redmond began in 1984 with the opening of Southern Accents, where she brought the flavors and hospitality of her So

By Paige Norman The author and Chris Himes, Redmond Historical Society Fundraiser, May 2019. Photo: Patsy Rosenbach Christine Emily Tennyson  was born April 6, 1929, to George and Emily (Zimmerli) Tennyson. Her mother worked for the Senate Secretary of the Governmental Operations Committee, under then-Senator George Aiken. Chris remembered having lunch with her mom in the Senate Dining Room and meeting senators of the day. “I grew up thinking it was normal that everybody work

By Richard Hao, Youth Director At Large Edited by Laura Lee Bennett, Executive Vice President On March 18, the Redmond Historical Society and Friends of the Redmond Library present a one-woman show about early Walla Walla resident Carmelita Colòn—featuring gold rushes, wars, outlaws, and tamale recipes. The free performance begins at 6:00 pm, followed by a discussion with the actor and playwright. We spoke with Key City Public Theatre’s Antonieta Carpio (Carmelita), playwrigh

By Alice C. The Redmond community may have been the first in its region to create a center for teens to explore and converse with others. Club Red, Redmond’s first youth teen center, was initially created in response to the growing teen need for a space for hanging out. Many teenagers in Redmond were struggling to find a place where they could truly express themselves—most public places were either only open to adults, or didn’t feel right for teenagers. The solution, Club Re

By Richard Hao, Youth Director At Large Edited by Laura Lee Bennett, Executive Vice President Brian Casserly, PhD, Professor of History, Department chair, Bellevue College On February 14th, the Redmond Historical Society kicks off its 2026 Saturday Speaker Series with Brian Casserly, PhD, History Professor and Department Chair at Bellevue College, who will give a talk on “Leaving Home, Building a Future: The Immigration Story of the Pacific Northwest.” An Irish immigrant him

By Richard Hao, Youth Director At Large Edited by Laura Lee Bennett, Executive Vice President On November 8th, the Redmond Historical Society welcomed Dr. Ed Sobey for his presentation, “Northwest Passage–The Challenge, the Suffering, the Discovery,” at the Old Redmond Schoolhouse. He outlined the long search for a shorter route to Asia, begun after Magellan’s impractical passage. Thousands tried to force a northern route through Arctic ice, and Dr. Sobey traced both their st

By Paige Norman Anthony Mathew Emmanuel was born June 6, 1924, in Pennsylvania, to Joseph and Mary Emmanuel, their fourth son and seventh child. By 1930, the family had moved to California. After serving on an aircraft carrier during World War II, Tony  returned to California and married Betty (Wing) in 1954, moving to Washington in the 1960s. He was a field representative and store designer for Bel-Square Equipment Company in Seattle, and worked with Duane Isackson at Duane

By Richard Hao, Youth Director At Large Edited by Laura Lee Bennett, Executive Vice President On October 11th, the Redmond Historical Society welcomed Ray Larson, Associate Director and Curator of Living Collections & the Otis Douglas Hyde Herbarium at the University of Washington Botanic Gardens. He took the audience back in time to pre-industrial Seattle with his presentation, “The Flora of Seattle in 1850: Major Species and Landscapes Prior to Urbanization.” Based on Ray’s

By Richard Hao, Youth Director At Large Edited by Laura Lee Bennett, Executive Vice President From Nirvana and Pearl Jam to The Sonics...

By Paige Norman Credit: Patsy Rosenbach After growing up in the High Desert of California, Thomas Wilhite moved to Washington in 1995 to...

Now grown in to a global operation,  H&N International  got its start not far from Redmond in 1945 when Arthur “Art” Heisdorf and his...

By Richard Hao, Youth Director At Large Edited by Laura Lee Bennett, Executive Vice President On April 12th, 2025 at 10:30 am at the Old...

To honor our roots and the Chinese Community • To showcase our resilience and contributions • To inspire all for a prosperous future...

By Richard Hao, Youth Director At Large Edited by Laura Lee Bennett, Executive Vice President On March 8th, 10:30 am at the Old Redmond...

By Paige Norman, Membership Chair In a memoir written to sons Steve and Fred in November of 2004, and updated July 2010, Dr. Lewis Fink...

By Laura Lee Bennett, Programs Chair On February 8th, 10:30 am at the Old Redmond Schoolhouse, the Redmond Historical Society welcomes...

Thank you for attending the Redmond Historical Society's annual ice cream social. We hope this year's event was a fun opportunity to see...

By Dean Jowers and Halee Turner Note: This article contains references to violent crimes and sexual assault. It may not be appropriate...

By Laura Lee Bennett, RHS Programs Chair On November 9th, 2024 at the Old Redmond Schoolhouse, author and naturalist David B. Williams...

As part of her monthly video series "Here in Redmond!" and in honor of Women's History Month, Mayor Angela Birney recently met with the...