Lacey Parks Events

Olywa Days of Change

October 08 | 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Lacey,
WA, USA

Oct. 08, 2026 6:30 pm Oct. 08, 2026 7:30 pm America/Los_Angeles Lacey Parks Events Join Anna Schlecht and Jean Eberhardt as they share stories, images and artifacts from their community memoir project called Olywa Days of Change. These stories were written by people who lived in the greater Olympia area between the 1960s – 1980s and offer glimpses into a time of rapid social change. Hybrid Format: Come in person to Lacey City Hall, Council Chambers or join online. Registration required for online attendance only. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. Lacey City Hall, Council Chambers

Hybrid Format: Come in person to Lacey City Hall, Council Chambers or join online. Registration required for online attendance only. Doors open at 6:00 p.m.

Program Description

Join Anna Schlecht and Jean Eberhardt as they share stories, images and artifacts from their community memoir project called Olywa Days of Change. These stories were written by people who lived in the greater Olympia area between the 1960s – 1980s and offer glimpses into a time of rapid social change on many fronts. This era included the tail end of the civil rights movement; the Indian fishing wars, second wave feminism, the LGBTQ movement, Central American solidarity, rock festivals and love-ins, revolutionary politics and art, and new approaches to education including The Evergreen State College. These stories and images are currently gathered on a website of the same name and soon to be released as a book.

Side-by-side portraits: on left, a person with curly hair sipping through a straw; on right, a person with short gray hair, sunglasses, and a tie-dye shirt, smiling in front of a splattered wall—a vibrant snapshot capturing the personal history reflected in style and expression.

Speakers

Anna Schlecht

Anna Schlecht showed up in Olympia with a backpack & a guitar back in 1976. With hair big enough to see from outer space, Schlecht came to the Left Coast in search of hippie radicals who were still dedicated to building community on foundations of social justice. Once in Olympia, Schlecht realized that she was really looking for the LGBTQ community. While she didn’t come for college, she did go to Evergreen a few times and collected a couple of degrees. Later on, she worked in local government, doing affordable housing & homeless services for 40 years. Schlecht was involved in the early days of the Columbia Street Food Co-op; founded Matrix, a feminist lesbian magazine; and generally raised hell on numerous political fronts. Nearly 50 years later, Schlecht still lives in Olywa and raises the kind of hell that’s easier on the knees and back.

Side-by-side photos showing the same person at a younger age on the left and as an older adult on the right, both smiling and wearing glasses, beautifully capturing a personal history across the years.

Jean Eberhardt

Jean arrived in Olympia with Becca Todd on January 1, 1977. They landed in the Honey House on Cushing Street with Carol Elwood and Marilyn Stern. After a short stint at Evergreen College, Jean began working in the building trades with other women and kept NOZAMA (read this backwards) Construction going for 17 years. It became the medium for funding her activism in Central America solidarity during heinous times. Jean learned a lot about privilege and oppression in Olympia, and embraced the ongoing responsibility as a white US citizen from a middle-class background to work for peace and social change.