For 50 years, Jean Walkinshaw documented the 'Northwest mystique' through everyday people

In 2013, an employee at KCTS — Seattle's PBS station — stumbled upon a box stacked in a hallway.

Inside was 50 years of documentaries and interviews about the Pacific Northwest, stretching from the early 1970s to the early 2000s. Afraid that the rare tapes and reels would be thrown away, the employee tucked the box away.

The decision saved an archive of Seattle's history considered so precious, the American Archive of Public Broadcasting added it to its collection, which also includes the Watergate hearings and interviews from the Stonewall uprising.

Today, The Jean Walkinshaw Collection can give viewers across the country a peek into the people, places, and cultures that have shaped the Pacific Northwest since Walkinshaw started producing for KCTS.

Soundside producer Noel Gasca talked to Walkinshaw about her life behind the camera, the groundbreaking techniques the eight-time Emmy Award winner used in her documentaries, and Walkinshaw's partnership with civil rights activist Roberta Byrd Barr.

Special thanks to Jean Walkinshaw, Emily Balk, and Amy Jolley.