The Wilkeson Centennial Committee has announced the third installment in its 2009 Centennial Speaker Series.

“So Many Things to Do Yet: The Saga of Thea Foss,” a living history presentation by Karen Haas, will be presented at 7:30 p.m. April 14 at Wilkeson Town Hall, 540 Church St. The presentation is open to all and refreshments will be served.

Born in Norway, Thea Foss and her husband Andrew arrived in Tacoma in 1889. Starting with a used rowboat, they built a maritime empire. Haas portrays Thea in 1912, the year of the first Foss tugboat. She reflects on her life and looks to the future. At a time when few women could, Thea Foss took her place in a “man’s world,” always believing “we are members of one great body…we were born for the good of the whole.”

Storyteller, musician and historian, Haas enjoys telling in “modern times” and bringing the past to life with living history presentations. Her style engages emotions, from the sublime to the ridiculous, in audiences both young and old. An experienced teacher and museum educator, Haas is active in re-enactments at Northwest historic sites like Fort Nisqually, Whitman Mission National Historic Site and San Juan Islands National Historic Park. She feels especially rewarded when telling the tales of those whose voices are usually silent in history – the women. Her Wilkeson presentation is sponsored by Humanities Washington.

Tacoma’s history is entwined with Wilkeson, having it’s cutting mill for sandstone and coal ports there. The route was easily traveled to by rail line.