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It was a history-making time 35 years ago this month, when state officials unveiled the enduring design of an all-new license plate in advance of . But what became of the high school senior whose design 鈥� featuring a blue silhouette of Mount Rainier聽and the state鈥檚 name in a custom font 鈥� beat out nearly 1,400 hundred other artists?

Back in May 1986, Eric Booth was a student at Ferndale High School in Whatcom County. One afternoon, the phone rang. His mom hollered for him, and Eric came and took the cordless handset from her and placed it to his ear.

The caller was Theresa Aragon, head of the Washington State Department of Licensing, the agency responsible for decades in the Evergreen State.

鈥淪he’s like, 鈥楬i Eric, do you remember entering this contest?鈥� So I’m kind of like, ‘yeah,鈥欌�� the now 53-year-old Booth told 成人X站 Radio. 鈥淎nd she said, 鈥榊ou won,鈥� and I immediately was just like flying around the house. She was talking to me, asking me questions, and I was like, 鈥榊ou’ve got to be kidding me.鈥欌��

As the conversation continued, Eric Booth had a hard time paying attention and taking it all in.

鈥淢y face went kind of pins and needles, the adrenaline was pumping, and all I remember from that conversation was something like, 鈥榊ou won. We want to bring you down to Olympia, blah, blah, blah, State Patrol car will come and get you, where is your family?’鈥� Booth described.

The centennial celebration took place throughout 1989 to mark, of course, 100 years since Washington became a state. But the contest to design the license plate was held a few years before that. And the origins of the contest 鈥� and the idea of making a special license plate 鈥� trace back a bit before that to former .

Five-term Secretary of State Munro was co-chair of the centennial, and sometime prior to 1986 he made a visit to his elderly father George Munro on Bainbridge Island.

鈥淗e went out in the garage and he pulled out a 1939 license plate from the State of Washington and he said, 鈥榊ou should have a license plate [for the 1989 centennial],'” Munro told 成人X站 Radio. 鈥淗e said that this was the 1939 license plate for the Golden Jubilee,” which was the state鈥檚 50th anniversary.

鈥淲e thought this is a great idea, let’s have a license plate鈥� for the centennial, which Munro, as Secretary of State and centennial co-chair, was in a unique position to help make happen. In 1986, Washington鈥檚 plate, in basic white with green letters and numbers, hadn鈥檛 changed since 1963.

Meanwhile, up in Ferndale, Eric Booth had always drawn cars and band logos. He was in the early stages of choosing a career in graphic design when his art teacher encouraged him to enter the contest — which Booth did on the last possible day, rushing to the post office to make sure the envelope was postmarked in time to beat the deadline.

After that phone call from Theresa Aragon, it all happened pretty fast. As it turned out, those nearly 1,400 entries had been winnowed down to 12 finalists by a panel, with the winner chosen personally by Aragon and by late former Governor Booth Gardner.

The official unveiling was held in late May outdoors at the state capitol in Olympia. Governor Booth Gardner and Theresa Aragon were there, and so was Secretary of State Ralph Munro.

鈥淚 love the Mount Rainier plate,鈥� Ralph Munro told 成人X站 Radio.聽鈥淚t was ingenious and people loved it.鈥�

Munro still has his personalized version on the wall of his garage 鈥� it reads 鈥淩ALPH,鈥� naturally.

Booth was at the unveiling along with his mom and dad 鈥� they had, in fact, been driven from Ferndale to Olympia by Washington State Patrol 鈥� while one of his older brothers had been driven by the State Patrol from Portland to Olympia. Governor Gardner presented Booth with a plaque featuring a copy of the plate 鈥� numbered 鈥�000 ABC鈥� 鈥� which Booth was excited to see was a copy of the same plate that would be attached to the governor鈥檚 mobile command center van.

The media coverage of the unveiling was intense 鈥� which meant that young Eric Booth soon learned that his design was not exactly universally admired.

鈥淚 can remember the headline was 鈥楴ew license plate you love or you hate,鈥欌�� Booth said, recalling an edition of the Seattle Times. 鈥淎nd of course, the people who loved it were the housewives and the people with blue or red minivans who thought, you know, 鈥業 love it. It’s going to match my car.鈥欌��

Decades later, the positive reception is still fresh in Booth鈥檚 mind. And so is the criticism.

鈥淲e had people who were professional graphic designers who were kind of like, they hated it,鈥� Booth said, pointing out that one of the naysayers quoted was . 鈥淭hey thought it was amateurish, it look contrived. Of course, I remember all this now like it was yesterday. It’s just kind of stuck with me my entire career.鈥�

And, despite the critics, winning the contest did influence Eric Booth鈥檚 career 鈥� he鈥檚 now a principal interaction designer with Pitney Bowes in Connecticut 鈥� and the centennial plate was ultimately far more popular with the public, never mind what a handful of critics might have said.

The centennial design 鈥� with 鈥淲ashington鈥� in Eric鈥檚 font along the top edge, and the words 鈥淐entennial Celebration鈥� along the bottom edge 鈥� was available from Jan. 1, 1987, to sometime in late 1989.

What Booth says made his winning design stand out is that it鈥檚 very colorful 鈥� it鈥檚 not a shade of green that might have been expected for a Washington plate, it鈥檚 red and blue. And, of course, it also has that crowd-pleasing Mount Rainier silhouette.

What might be unusual compared with centennial or other commemorative plates in other states is that silhouette and the bright colors were kept after the centennial celebration was over 鈥� though 鈥淐entennial Celebration鈥� was replaced with 鈥淓vergreen State鈥� in a simpler font, and 鈥淲ashington鈥� was also rendered in the simple font, and moved to the left margin rather than centered. According to the Washington State Department of Licensing, Booth鈥檚 post-centennial design and color scheme is currently visible on 7,520,037 active Washington license plates.

What specifically inspired Eric Booth to go with a Mount Rainier design is not something he can recall 鈥� he had weighed a number of alternate designs with suns and trees and things 鈥� but he does remember how he drew the iconic peak so accurately.

鈥淢y dad was working in Tacoma at the time and I literally was looking out the window and just kind of traced it,鈥� Booth said. 鈥淪o on a couple of my original designs, I was doing the shading and doing all that stuff, and [I realized] nobody’s going to be able to see the shading, they’re not going to be able to print the shading. So I just kind of came up with a thing where I could block it out鈥� and make the design simpler.

鈥淚 was literally visiting him at his office down there, and so if you’re thinking about it, it’s the Tacoma view of the mountain [on the plate],” Booth said.

Though it鈥檚 been 35 years, Booth says his family and friends still remember his role in designing the plate, and the subject comes up in those 鈥渟omething you don鈥檛 know about me鈥� icebreaker games. He said he even sees the plate occasionally near where he lives now in Connecticut, but it was hearing about one particular location that made a big impression.

鈥淚 had a friend who was visiting the Smithsonian,鈥� Booth said. 鈥淭his one kind of blew me away,聽 … they’ve got the Preamble [to the Constitution] 鈥� 鈥榃e the People鈥� 鈥� done in kind of customized license plates, and my license plate design is there.鈥�

鈥淥f all of the places where people said 鈥楬ey Eric, I saw your plate,鈥� that was the one that kind of threw me back the most,鈥� Booth said. 鈥淚 was like 鈥楳an, that’s pretty cool.鈥欌��

It seems the panel, Theresa Aragon, and Governor Gardner picked not only the right design for the plate, but also the right person, too. Eric Booth is humble, but it鈥檚 clear he鈥檚 still really jazzed by the honor of having his design selected.

鈥淧robably every time I look at a license plate, I’m probably thinking about it in the back of my head,鈥� Booth said. And while he might not dwell on it, 鈥渆very time I do think about it, though, I think about how lucky I am.鈥�

Booth says it鈥檚 the duration of the design鈥檚 use that has probably made the biggest impact.

鈥淚f it had just come and gone in a few years, then people would be like, 鈥榊ou know what, no big deal,鈥欌�� Booth said. 鈥淭o me, I think the thing that stands out the most is really just the length of time.鈥�

The state wasn鈥檛 able to tabulate for 成人X站 Radio just how many of Eric鈥檚 plates in total have been made over the past 34 years. Taking a wild guess, it鈥檚 probably safe to estimate that it鈥檚 20 million or more 聽by Department of Corrections鈥� inmates at Walla Walla.

Did Eric Booth ever get to visit the production facility where his design was stamped out onto all those millions of metal rectangles?

鈥淣o, I didn’t get to see it,鈥� Booth said. 鈥淏ut you know, my dad being the dad he is, I inherited his dad jokes. He’s always said, 鈥楳y son designed the plate. He’s not making 迟丑别尘.鈥欌赌�

Eric鈥檚 parents, Roger and Connie Booth, are retired now and living in California. They鈥檙e just as proud of their son as you鈥檇 expect. And Roger is still quick with a dad joke.

Did their son鈥檚 achievement as the Evergreen State鈥檚 teenaged license plate designer change their lives?

鈥淔rom that day on, we’ve been known as Eric Booth鈥檚 parents,鈥� Roger Booth joked.

The fact that more than 7.5 million plates are currently active in Washington is 鈥渕ind blowing鈥� says Eric Booth, who also says winning the contest truly did influence his future.

鈥淚 was headed down this direction, but this cemented the deal for me,鈥� Booth said. 鈥淚’m going to be a designer, period.鈥�

After graduating from Ferndale High that same eventful spring of 1986, Eric Booth headed later that year for art school in Phoenix, behind the wheel of his 1968 VW Squareback, a blue and red centennial celebration plate bolted to each bumper.

The plate number? Personalized, of course 鈥� 鈥淢YDSIGN.鈥�

You can hear Feliks every Wednesday and Friday morning on Seattle鈥檚 Morning News, read more from him鈥�here, and subscribe to The Resident Historian Podcast聽here. If you have a story idea, please email Feliks鈥�here.