Name: CCHM Speaker Series Presents: Big Apples, Big Business: How Washington Became the Apple State
Start: 2025-03-06T19:00:00-08:00
Location: Fourth Plain Community Commons

CCHM Speaker Series Presents: Big Apples, Big Business: How Washington Became the Apple State

Clark County Historical Museum (CCHM), Fourth Plain Forward, and Humanities Washington invite the community to an engaging in-person conversation with Amanda L. Van Lanen, Ph.D., as part of the CCHM Speaker Series. The talk, titled "Big Apples, Big Business: How Washington Became the Apple State," will delve into the history of Washington's rise as the nation's top apple producer and explore how the apple industry transformed from a regional crop to an industrialized commodity.

Van Lanen, a professor of history at Lewis-Clark State College and author of The Washington Apple: Orchards and the Development of Industrial Agriculture, will discuss the role of scientists, investors, irrigators, railroad corporations, marketers, and apple growers in shaping the modern apple industry in Washington. Attendees will also learn how these historical changes reflect broader trends in the American food system--trends that continue to impact both our environment and food choices today.
Event Details:
Date: Thursday, March 6, 2025
Time: Doors open at 6:30 pm, presentation begins at 7:00 pm
Location: Fourth Plain Commons, 3101 E 4th Plain Blvd Ste. 101, Vancouver, WA 98661
Admission: Free and open to the public
This presentation is co-hosted by Fourth Plain Forward and Humanities Washington, and is part of the ongoing CCHM Speaker Series, sponsored by Pomeroy Living History Farm, and Plus Minus Tax & Accounting. This program's season sponsor is the Clark County Historic Preservation Commission.
For more information, please contact the museum at 360-993-5679 or [email protected].
About Amanda L. Van Lanen: Amanda L. Van Lanen (she/her) is a Professor of History at Lewis-Clark State College and the author of The Washington Apple: Orchards and the Development of Industrial Agriculture. She earned a Ph.D. in history at Washington State University, and blogs about food history at historyreheated.com.
About Humanities Washington: Humanities Washington is a nonprofit organization dedicated to opening minds and bridging divides by creating spaces to explore different perspectives. For more about Humanities Washington, visit www.humanities.org.

About Clark County Historical Museum: The Clark County Historical Society and Museum is committed to responsible collections stewardship, innovative collaboration and inspiring exhibitions and programs that engage the community in an exploration of Clark County's past, present and future. Our purpose is to share an understanding of the past that will help to build a better future for generations to come.
About Fourth Plain Forward: Fourth Plain Forward is a place-based 501c3 nonprofit organization in central Vancouver focused on the Fourth Plain Corridor. We are committed to uplifting Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities, alongside those facing resource limitations and exclusion from mainstream services.