Chinook Tribal Elder Charles Funk will present the first History Forum of the 2024-25 season next week in Oysterville.

OYSTERVILLE — Artist and Chinook Tribal Elder Charles Funk and his wife Mary will get the first History Forum of 2024-25 underway next Wednesday morning, Sept. 4, by sharing some Chinook Creation Stories — a rare treat for history buffs of Pacific County and Southwest Washington.

Says Sydney Stevens, History Forum spokesperson, “Our hope for this year is to take a closer look at our human history here by continuing our exploration of last year’s topic, ‘how we got here.’ We are delighted that Charles and Mary are available to tell us some Chinook stories about the very beginnings of our First People.”

Like last year, the History Forum will be held at the Oysterville Schoolhouse from 10 a.m. to noon on the first Wednesday of each month. The gatherings are free and open to the public, especially those interested in local history.

Organizers Cathy Cruikshank, Debby Haliburton and Stevens emphasized that the setting is casual and the hope is that people who have additional information on a topic will enter freely into the discussion following each month’s presentation. In addition, if the topic seems to warrant showing family artifacts or collected materials that might add to the story, such “show and tell” is welcome as time allows.

“Each forum presents a rare opportunity to share our knowledge of the past and to add to the ever-growing chronicle of our local history,” said Stevens.