Mossback

As soon as Mary Vaux arrived in the Canadian Rockies in the 1880s, she began photographing and documenting one glacier in particular, year after year. The Illecillewaet Glacier, like so many of the world’s glaciers, is now a fraction of its original size.    Cascade PBS’s resident historian Knute Berger introduced viewers to Mary Vaux Walcott and her work in a recent episode of the Mossback’s Nort...

Chief Seattle’s daughter, Kikisoblu, dubbed “Princess Angeline” by white settlers, could be considered one of Seattle’s first celebrities. Toward the end of her life, her portrait appeared on so many postcards and tchotchkes that she became, in many ways, the symbol of Seattle.  Cascade PBS’s resident historian Knute Berger introduced viewers to Princess Angeline in a recent episode of the Mossbac...

What are Seattle’s most iconic foods? There's a history to that! Mossback co-hosts Knute Berger and Stephen Hegg delve into the past and present of the Seattle food scene with Cascade PBS’s resident foodie Rachel Belle, host of the video series The Nosh and the podcast Your Last Meal .   Berger also joined Belle to discuss and taste local foods for a recent episode of the Mossback’s Northwest vide...

Today, Seattle is a UNESCO City of Literature – and it’s been a literary city since its founding. In fact, the first local library was created even before the city was officially incorporated.  Cascade PBS’s resident historian Knute Berger explored this history in a recent episode of the Mossback’s Northwest video series, but there are more pages left to turn.  In this episode of Mossback , Berger...

One of the oddest cases of World War II espionage involved a woman, Velvalee Dickinson, who spied on Northwest shipyards for the Japanese. How did she do it? By writing coded letters about dolls.  Cascade PBS’s resident historian Knute Berger told this story in a recent episode of the Mossback’s Northwest video series, but there’s more left to examine.  In this episode of Mossback , Berger joins c...

Why did the U.S. buy Alaska from Russia? It wasn’t for gold or fur, it turns out. It was for fish. And it was a politician from the Washington Territory who lobbied the hardest for the purchase.  Cascade PBS’s resident historian Knute Berger explored some of this history in a recent episode of the Mossback’s Northwest video series, but there’s more left to discuss.  In this episode of Mossback , B...

Seattle once hosted a summer celebration called The Golden Potlatch. But in July 1913, political tensions mixed with revelry erupted into a riot, resulting in a brief period of martial law and intense battles over freedom of speech.  Cascade PBS’s resident historian Knute Berger explained what happened in a recent episode of the Mossback’s Northwest video series, but there’s more left to unpack. ...

Despite two centuries of speculation and science, a strange prairie full of small, evenly spaced hills south of Olympia remains a mystery.  Cascade PBS’s resident historian Knute Berger unearthed some of the theories on the famous Mima Mounds’ origins in a recent episode of the Mossback’s Northwest video series, but there’s more left to explore.  In this episode of Mossback , Berger joins co-host...

The Mossback’s Northwest video series launched its 11th season last fall, covering topics ranging from the mystery of the Mima Mounds to World War II espionage to Seattle’s Princess Angeline.   In October, Cascade PBS hosted a live event to celebrate the season premiere, featuring Mossack’s Northwest host Knute Berger, Mossback podcast co-host Stephen Hegg and executive producer Sarah Menzies.   I...

The massive Columbia River travels more than 1,200 miles from start to finish. It crosses four mountain ranges, powers 14 hydroelectric dams and irrigates hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland, among other feats.  But its origins start humbly: in a gentle lake in the mountains of British Columbia.  Cascade PBS’s resident historian Knute Berger journeyed to these headwaters for a recent episod...

In the second half of the 19th century, a businessman named George Francis Train rose to prominence through his success with global shipping and trade. As his wealth grew, so did his obsession with himself, and his tireless self-promotion made him a social media phenomenon of his age.  Train is perhaps best known for the alleged relationship between his world travels and the Jules Verne bestseller...

The tumultuous mouth of the Columbia River, near Astoria, Oregon, is beautiful but deadly. Thousands of ships have capsized and wrecked on its shores over the centuries.  That’s earned it the menacing nickname “Graveyard of the Pacific,” although that’s not the only gloomy moniker in the region.  Cascade PBS’s resident historian Knute Berger explored some of this history in a recent episode of the...

The Pacific Northwest has a reputation for the macabre. We’ll never escape the allure of Twin Peaks , for instance, or the terrible crimes of some of the most infamous serial killers in American history.   But some of the weirdest things can happen to corpses after death. Did you know that dead bodies can turn into soap?   Cascade PBS’s resident historian Knute Berger explored a few lesser-known s...

A few seasons ago, the Mossback’s Northwest video series profiled Catherine Montgomery , an early 20th-century wilderness advocate who has been dubbed “the Mother of the Pacific Crest Trail.”   But after the video aired, a viewer reached out with some more information: Catherine Montgomery, a “progressive” of her time, expressed extremely racist views.   This, unfortunately, isn’t a new story. Man...

In 1996, some of the oldest human remains ever found in North America were discovered along the banks of the Columbia River, ultimately illuminating Indigenous presence in the region since time immemorial.   Long a crucial source of sustenance, culture and trade, the Pacific Northwest’s largest river has continued to be a vital part of human civilization, whether through its salmon or its many hyd...

At the turn of the 20th century, almost no one had a car in Seattle. There weren’t traffic laws or paved roads, and at first, only the wealthiest people could own these “horseless carriages.”  Within a couple of decades, though, cars were everywhere, and Pacific Northwesterners were using their cars for all kinds of intrepid adventures, from long-haul road trips to mountainside camping.  Cascade P...

The Columbia River has been carved up by more than a dozen dams over the past century. But it’s the colossal floods and lava flows from millions of years ago that truly set it on its winding path.  How do we really know what we know about the Columbia?   To better understand this history, Cascade PBS’s resident historian Knute Berger joined forces with geologist Nick Zentner of Nick on the Rocks i...

At a live event, Knute Berger, Stephen Hegg and Nick Zentner discussed Mossback’s Northwest and the 10th season's focus on the Columbia River.  Mossback’s Northwest is still going strong, with its most recent season covering everything from the Columbia River to a history of racist exclusion in the outdoors.   In October, Cascade PBS put on a live event to celebrate 10 seasons of the beloved video...

Adelaide Lowry Pollock was an educator, birder, author and believer in the power of civic participation at the turn of the 20th century. In the early 1900s, pioneering educator Adelaide Lowry Pollock was the first woman to be named principal of a Seattle grade school. A lifelong love of birds dominated her curriculum. Her students went on birding field trips, mapped birds’ nests, researched bird b...

Sitka trees were key military materiel in both World Wars. Knute Berger shares how the need for wood and the women who harvested it changed logging. In the early 20th century, Sitka spruce, a giant conifer native to the Pacific Northwest, became known as an excellent material for building airplanes. As a result, when the U.S. entered World War I, the demand for that wood exploded.  The American mi...

Minoru Yamasaki was among the most influential architects of the 20th century. Knute Berger tells the story. Minoru Yamasaki was born in Seattle in 1912, studied architecture at the University of Washington and went on to design some of the most celebrated buildings of the 20th century. Among them: the World Trade Center in New York and the Pacific Science Center in Seattle.    Yamasaki aimed to d...

Environmental activist Polly Dyer teamed up with Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas in the 1950s to keep a stretch of Washington wild. Today, more than 73 miles of Washington’s rugged Olympic Coast is still rugged. It’s accessible only to hikers, not cars. Part of the reason for that is a famous 1958 beach hike led by former U.S. Supreme Court Justice – and Washington resident – William O. D...

Audiences loved Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, but what he sold as “authentic” was anything but. Knute Berger shares how the myth shaped our idea of the frontier. You’ve probably heard of Buffalo Bill. The name is nearly synonymous with “the Wild West,” a kind of cultural mythology created as white settlers colonized the American West in the late 19th century.  Although he’s now larger than life,...

Folk songs, clam bakes, aquaculture and more: Knute Berger explores the myriad ways clams have shaped our region’s culture. Clams are among the Pacific Northwest’s most vital natural resources. From thousands of years of aquaculture to folk songs and university mascots, the celebration and consumption of clams permeates local food and culture.   Cascade PBS’ resident historian Knute Berger dug up...

Boeing's Plant 2 was so crucial that the military asked Hollywood to hide it from the enemy. Knute Berger shares the story. From the moment the United States entered World War II, Seattle was vital to the war effort. Boeing’s Plant 2 was a key manufacturing hub for thousands of B-17 bombers, one of the Allies’ most important tools in Europe.   Fearing the consequences of a military attack on the f...