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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    3 CD box set with 40 songs about Olympia WA plus a detailed 80 page book with the history behind the songs and a plethora of great photos. With over 100 Olympa musicians. Stunning!

    Includes unlimited streaming of Olympia - A True Story via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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      $25 USD or more 

     

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $1 USD  or more

     

  • Buy the Full Digital Album

about

The part about my grandpa wanting me to buy his workshare is completely true, the part about rowing to work in 1906 as was done in the day, is imagined. Like many places in America, Olympia was once primarily a place that made things to sell out of town, in this case making lumber from the majestic old-growth forest that came all the way to the shoreline.
A big shout out to Tye and Phil from Oly Mountain Boys who popped over to add some singing. I thought their pining sound was a great fit for the tune.
History - Smyth Landing. Retrieved from: smythlanding.com/history/ Perkins, Nelson. (1969)
Olympia Veneer Company. Retrieved from: www.apawood.org/data/ Sites/1/documents/ monographs/7-olympia-veneer-co.pdf
Rainey, Thomas. A Short History of Industry and Manufacturing in Thurston County, Washington.
Retrieved from: olympiahistory.org rainey-short-history-of-manufacturing

lyrics

Now I've had my cup of coffee and I'm rowing down Budd Bay
1906, heading for Smyth Landing to put in another day
Old Michael Simmons opened his New Market sawmill, 1846
Now I spend my days cutting Olympia trees into cants for San Francisco

Mill town, Olympia was a mill town
Mill town, Olympia was a mill town

Olympia Veneer, our first plywood mill, opened 1921
A co-op mill owned and worked by mostly socialistic Swedes
Thirteen co-op mills once worked upon Budd Bay
The original Delson Lumber Company still exists today

Mill town, Olympia was a mill town
Mill town, we were building the future in this mill town
Mill town, Olympia was a mill town
Mill town, the future is bright when you're living in a mill town

Mills were our top employers until 1941, surpassed then by state government
What is the legacy? Many good jobs and many good lives built
But with little regard for the long-term future
Just putting food on the table today
There's creosote, PCBs, and other toxins/dioxins - you can't eat nuthin' coming out of Budd Bay

My grandpa said to me when I was twenty-one, you should buy my Hardel Plywood share and work the mill
I did not see myself living that life and I turned him down
Hardel burnt down in 1996, Olympia's worst fire ever
They rebuilt the new mill down in Centralia

Mill town, Olympia was a mill town
Mill town, we were building the future in this mill town
Mill town, Olympia was a mill town
Mill town, the future is bright when you're living in a mill town
Mill town, Olympia was a mill town
But we ain't a mill town anymore

credits

from Olympia - A True Story, released October 14, 2022
Tye Menser, Phil Post - Backing Vocals

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Tom Dyer and The True Olympians Olympia, Washington

The True Olympians were formed shortly after Tom Dyer moved back to his hometown Olympia in 2006. Their focus is primarily recording, though they do play yer occasional live show. Current members: Tom - vox, guitar etc,, Gene Tveden- bass, b-vox, Joe Cason - keys, b-vox, Lisa Ceazan- vocals, and Jeff Parkhurst - drums, b-vox. Jeff is the band's 4th drummer. ... more

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