Here we have a clothespin Lady Liberty fashioned after a design on a canned salmon label once used at the cannery that once stood on these piling at Knappton Cove, Washington. The cannery was converted to the U.S. Columbia River Quarantine Station in 1899 and operated as the "Ellis Island for this district" for 40 years. Kind of prophetic, isn't it? The salmon label below shows our Lady beckoning immigrants to the Pacifc NW with the promise of wealth and opportunity in the booming salmon industry. Learn about the history of this National Historic site in The Columbia River's "Ellis Island" by Nancy Bell Anderson. There's even a chapter on 'The Clothespin Connection'! Better yet, come visit us at Knappton Cove Heritage Center this summer. You'll see quite a few clothespin dolls here and there!

If you'd like to celebrate Independence day with clothespin crafts, you can find patriotic patterns like Bestsy Ross and Uncle Sam in Things Kids Can Make. Or perhaps you'd like to explore various immigrant cultures that make up our great nation with patterns for over 20 international clothespin doll designs in It's a Small World.

Happy Fourth of July!