BY KRISTIE WORTHEY for WEEKLY VOLCANO | 11/6/2026
Thirty years after opening on Pacific Avenue, the Washington State History Museum celebrates with a barbarian, a Sasquatch, and a bottle of Rainier Beer.
A bare-chested barbarian rides a giant bottle of Rainier Beer through the snow. Ahead waits Sasquatch. Mount Rainier rises in the background, while a woman lies in the snow, presumably hoping someone has a plan.
Fortunately, the barbarian has come prepared. Along with a sword, there’s a tray bearing a bottle of Rainier.
The caption reads: “Barbeerian conquers Sasquatch: proving once again that mountain fresh hath charms to soothe the savage thirst.”
I wonder if Clinton P. Ferry had anything like this in mind.
Ferry, whose 19th-century portrait features a top hat and cane, helped establish Tacoma’s early museum collections, part of the history leading to the Washington State Historical Society’s work and today’s Washington State History Museum. He might be startled to find a barbarian offering Sasquatch a beer among the historical treasures.
The 1976 poster, created by William Stout, an artist known for science-fiction and fantasy illustration, is one of 30 objects selected by staff for “30 Years and Counting: The Making of the Washington State History Museum.” The exhibition celebrates the museum’s 30th anniversary on Pacific Avenue and has been extended through Nov. 15.
Cameron Smith, senior graphic designer, discovered the poster while researching images for an earlier exhibition.
“I tend to work with a lot of black-and-white photographs,” Smith said. “And I stumbled on these posters, and it was just such a strange, bizarre contrast to everything I typically wind up doing that it really stood out in my mind.”
When the call went out for staff selections, Smith knew exactly what to nominate.
“This was the first thing I submitted.” Growing up in Eatonville, in Mount Rainier’s shadow, Smith remembers Rainier Beer advertising as part of the Northwest landscape.
“I think a lot of the artwork and advertisements for Rainier during this time are really, like, tongue-in-cheek nods to existing pop culture,” Smith explained.
Stout’s illustration borrows the muscular heroes and improbable adventures of fantasy art. The difference is that this particular hero has a product to sell.
“Having something like this on display in a museum, it makes the viewer pause and really consider it. It’s no longer just an advertisement. It is, like, this artifact from history.”
Smith wasn’t alone in appreciating the poster. Another staff member independently nominated the same piece.
Sasquatch, it seems, had a constituency. And today’s graphic designers? “I think that sense of humor is something that a lot of designers today could lean into more, where appropriate, obviously,” Smith said. “I think we kind of lost that a little bit somewhere along the way.”
Laurel Overstreet, lead curator for special exhibitions, had a different problem to solve.
The anniversary exhibition needed to tell the story of the museum’s creation. Architectural drawings, photographs, and planning documents provided the chronology, but a room full of blueprints wasn’t going to tell visitors much about the people who work with Washington history every day.
Overstreet invited staff to select objects from the Historical Society’s collections for the museum’s anniversary exhibition.
The selections, Overstreet explained, “democratize the history that we’re telling in a small way.”
The choices range from a game-worn Steve Largent Seahawks jersey to an artifact connected to the 1917 Seattle Metropolitans hockey team. There are paintings, too, and a 1980 Jim Beam whiskey decanter shaped like Mount St. Helens following its eruption.
The decanter was selected by an education staff member who remembered the eruption.
“You could argue it’s a little in poor taste,” Overstreet said, “but it’s pretty strange and pretty, I mean, completely specific to Washington.”
The Washington State History Museum opened Aug. 10, 1996, near Union Station and the developing University of Washington Tacoma campus. Its arrival became part of downtown Tacoma’s transformation.
The Stadium Way building, the former location of the museum, continued serving the Historical Society as a research center. But the Society’s preservation work extends far beyond the objects displayed in either building.
Michael King, senior programs manager, explained that the Historical Society holds original footage from Rainier Beer’s television advertising campaigns.
“One of our collection staff essentially rescued the film from Rainier many years ago, and it’s been in our collection since,” King said.
Those rescued films became an important resource for the filmmakers behind “Rainier: A Beery Odyssey,” a documentary about the wildly unconventional commercials that made Rainier Beer a Northwest cultural phenomenon.
“They utilized the society’s collection as part of the filmmaking process, and so the relationship has developed since then,” King said.
On Nov. 12, the Washington State History Museum will screen the documentary as part of its History After Hours series.
The evening will feature original film materials and artifacts brought by the filmmakers, followed by a discussion with Isaac Olson, Robbie Peterson, and Justin Peterson. Ed Nolan, the museum staff member credited with rescuing the original film from destruction, is also expected to participate.
“Rainier is iconic on many levels,” King said. “I think it’s a documentary about us in a way, as a community.”
The screening is designed as an evening out, with food, drinks, and an opportunity to explore the museum. History, in this case, comes with beer.
“It’s about providing a fun, festive atmosphere where folks can relax, enjoy themselves, explore the museum, but most importantly, they can do that while learning something new,” King said.
Without those rescued films, there might not have been a documentary to screen.
“This documentary was only made possible because of the work of individuals and organizations that are actively preserving the history of our communities,” King said.
Clinton P. Ferry might not have recognized everything in today’s collection. But somewhere along the way, somebody had the good sense to save a barbarian, a Sasquatch, and a beer commercial.
EXHIBITION AND EVENT INFORMATION “30 Years and Counting: The Making of the Washington State History Museum” continues through Nov. 15 at the Washington State History Museum, 1911 Pacific Ave., Tacoma.
“History After Hours: Rainier: A Beery Odyssey” takes place Thursday, Nov. 12. Doors open at 6 p.m., the program begins at 6:30 p.m., and the documentary begins at 7 p.m. Admission is $20 for members and $25 for the general public. Ages 21 and older. Advance tickets recommended.
