Topic: History

Town Photoshops Popular Local Historical Shots to Discuss History of Photo Manipulation

Written on May 3, 2021 at 5:30 am, by

From Sandy Strehlou, historic preservation coordinator, Town of Friday Harbor An online event called “There’s a Story Here: Exaggeration Postcards Imagined” will be held at 5 p.m., May 4 in celebration of History Lives Here 2021. Before Photoshop, innovative photographers used photographic manipulation to create a novel and inexpensive genre of souvenirs known as “exaggeration”  Continue Reading

Lummi Nation Totem Pole Plans San Juan, Orcas, Lopez Stops Along Cross-Country Journey

Written on April 29, 2021 at 5:30 am, by

By Hayley Day, San Juan Update A Lummi Nation totem pole is conducting a cross-country trip to bring awareness to protecting Indigenous people’s land and waters, reports the Associated Press.  The journey, called the Red Road to DC, starts in Bellingham in May and will end in Washington D.C. in June. According to a press  Continue Reading

History Column: Seasonal Residents of the Fishing Kind

Written on April 7, 2021 at 5:30 am, by

From the San Juan Historical Society and Museum Before there were family vacation cabins or second homes for retirees from the mainland, there was a different kind of part-time resident on San Juan Island. They came for the lucrative fishing seasons and set up camp on westside beaches, among other places. Some of these were  Continue Reading

Town of Friday Harbor Seeks Historical Board Member, Stories

Written on March 25, 2021 at 5:30 am, by

Contributed Photo/San Juan Historical Museum. Fishing boats in Friday Harbor. From the Town of Friday Harbor The Town of Friday Harbor is looking for a new board member to preserve history, as well as organizations to share local historical stories. Board The Town of Friday Harbor Historic Preservation Review Board is looking for a new  Continue Reading

History Column: Elsie Scott, Legendary Public Health Nurse

Written on March 3, 2021 at 5:30 am, by

From the San Juan Historical Society and Museum It’s Women’s History Month and the tradition of this history column is to feature a person or organization in keeping with the topic. This year, in recognition of International Women’s Day on March 8, the United Nations has chosen the theme of “Women in leadership: Achieving an  Continue Reading

New Book On Patos Island Lighthouse History

Written on February 11, 2021 at 4:30 am, by

Patos Lighthouse – Contributed Photo From Arcadia Publishing Since 1893, a light has been shining from Patos Island, the northernmost island in Puget Sound. Built to guide ships through treacherous waters, the lighthouse was also a happy home for many, including Edward Durgan and his family in the early 1900s. Boundary waters smugglers and rumrunners  Continue Reading

History Column: Deborah Kelly and E.H. Nash’s Valentine Wedding

Written on February 3, 2021 at 5:30 am, by

From the San Juan Historical Society and Museum In the month she turned 19, Deborah Julia Kelly and her sweetheart Elijah Hamlin Nash traveled by steamship from San Juan Island to Seattle and took out a marriage license on Valentine’s Day 1896. They were married the following Sunday on Feb. 16 at Plymouth Church in  Continue Reading

History Column: ‘We Can’t Build Up Our Beautiful City By Scrapping All The Time.’

Written on January 6, 2021 at 5:30 am, by

From the San Juan Historical Society and Museum “We can’t build up our beautiful city by scrapping all the time.” These words were written by Launor Benjamin Carter in 1909, as seen in the ad above and published in the Friday Harbor Journal the last week in December that year. The entire ad is worth reading. It reminds us that  Continue Reading

History Column: Three Little Sutterman Girls, Christmas 1954

Written on December 2, 2020 at 5:30 am, by

From the San Juan Historical Society and Museum Not all of the photographs in the San Juan Historical Society and Museum collections are from the island’s pioneer days or the early days of Friday Harbor’s development as a town. The snapshot above caught our eye as a classic Christmas image from the 1950s, tinseled tree  Continue Reading

Learn Local History Online With Russel Barsh

Written on December 1, 2020 at 4:30 am, by

By SJIL The San Juan Island Library will host a virtual Know Your Islanders event titled “Russel Barsh: The Land We Stand On,” at 7 p.m., Monday, Dec. 7. Thousands of Indigenous peoples already lived in the San Juan Islands millennia before the Pig War, building wood villages and sail canoes, clearing fields for camas  Continue Reading

Brian Brown Talks Noel Sign, Lions Club

Written on November 30, 2020 at 5:30 am, by

For more than four decades, the San Juan Lions have displayed a Noel sign in Friday Harbor to ring in the holidays. The sign was lit again this year on Wednesday, Nov. 25. Lion Brian Brown spoke with the Update about the sign’s creation, history and meaning. Q: Tell me a little about the sign.  Continue Reading

Research Your Family’s Military History on Veterans Day

Written on November 10, 2020 at 6:44 pm, by

By SJIL Join the San Juan Island Library at 7 p.m., Veterans Day, Wednesday, Nov. 11 as we honor veterans and explore their local and familial history and legacy. The event will be online. Learn how to research your relatives’ military records with Boyd Pratt, followed by a discussion of the history of the Women’s  Continue Reading

History Column: Thanksgiving Thoughts and Discoveries

Written on November 4, 2020 at 5:30 am, by

By San Juan Historical Society and Museum Sometimes researching local history is about documenting popular stories, and sometimes it’s about correcting what has been recorded in the past about those stories. Each step along the way, we at the San Juan Historical Society and Museum are grateful for so many people and resources which make  Continue Reading

Zylstra Lake: Fall Trail Times 2020

Written on October 29, 2020 at 5:45 am, by

Thanks to the cooperation of the Land Bank and the San Juan Preservation Trust we now have a beautiful new and historic public land to explore. On September 26th, National Public Lands Day, 5 years of negotiations and planning came to fruition when the 285-acre Zylstra Lake Preserve on San Juan Island officially opened part  Continue Reading

Listen To A Podcast Featuring San Juan History

Written on October 15, 2020 at 5:00 am, by

Andrew Veith of Seattle has created a podcast called “Rebel History,” which features the San Juan Islands. Listen to episodes at www.rebelhistory.com. By Andrew Veith, Rebel History Podcast This podcast will forever change your view of Seattle, the San Juan Islands and their history. International criminal empires, gun battles, double agents, sex, treachery, and so much  Continue Reading

A Home-Grown Feast From Yesteryear

Written on October 7, 2020 at 5:46 am, by

This month’s history column was inspired by a somewhat rare interior photograph, taken at an event by the name of “Home Products Night.” When the photo, as seen above, was donated to the San Juan Historical Society and Museum many years ago, it came with a description which offered the following information, but alas, no  Continue Reading