McMenamins historian part of museum event

VANCOUVER — Tim Hills, senior historian for McMenamins, will headline the May “First Thursday” event at the Clark County Historical Museum.

Hills will talk about the process of gathering history for the Crystal Hotel in Portland. In some of its past lives, the property boasted links to Vancouver.

Hills went to work as a historian in 1993 with Archaeological Investigations Northwest. For three years, he researched and documented historic sites throughout the region, ranging from a Depression-era Weyerhaeuser logging camp to Washington’s first brewery, which was in Vancouver.

Hills joined McMenamins in 1996, when the company was launching its renovation of Portland’s old Crystal Ballroom. Since then, Hills has researched more than 50 of the company’s historic properties in Washington and Oregon.

Hills’ presentation is at 7 p.m. Thursday at the museum, 1511 Main St.

Museum admission is free from 5 to 9 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month, from February through November.

The museum also is gearing up for its annual fundraising dinner and auction, “Luv in the ’Couv.”

The event, which will celebrate Vancouver’s status as the 11th-most-romantic city in the United States, is from 5 to 9 p.m. May 21 at Gaiser Hall on the Clark College campus. Tickets are $75 ($65 for members). Call 360-993-5679.