Good Time Girls - Bellinghistory Tours

21/03/2025

And then in March 21, 1986... “Weekends are a little schizophrenic at the Vortex... Fridays are the traditional week’s end stompfest featuring couples and the top 40. Saturdays though, have become something more. Time and again youths abandon themselves to the freedom and euphoria known to peoples more primitive and less self-conscious than citizens of western civilization. Working alone or in groups, the kids exorcise inhibition, flout cultural patterns and discard social mores, embarking on expressionistic exploration of the ‘theatrics of dance, the self-expression of dance,’… They discover that boys can dance with boys and girls can dance with girls, that you can dance alone or with groups of any blamed number you please, that dance music doesn’t end at the bottom of this week’s radio play list. Co-owner Goodrich sees this as a possible revivification of ceremonial and spiritual rites from humanity’s tribal history, when or**es of music and dancing bound people together…” The Vortex was a sometimes controversial teen nightclub that operated in the BPOE building on Cornwall Avenue in the 1980s and was frequented by so-called "wavers" (those into "new-wave" music and fashion).
**esofmusicanddancing

20/03/2025

in March 20, 1909 a sailor was restrained after he became insane on board the steamer Melville Dollar:. “Sewed up in canvas that covered every portion of his anatomy except his face and securely bound to his bunk, Antone Erickson, a sailor, was brought into Bellingham this morning on the steam schooner Melville Dollar and is now in the county jail… The man run amuck while the vessel was at sea, and his superiors and fellow workmen had to sew him up in canvas and tie him to his bunk to keep him from harming them or jumping overboard. As the man was hauled through the streets in an express wagon… he created no end of a sensation, as he looked like a mummy in his strange costume…” It was determined that Antone had become “a raving maniac from the effects of drink,” and after a couple days in the cooler he was released back to his ship.

19/03/2025

Ready for Miss Spring!
🌷

19/03/2025

in March of 1908 this ad appeared reading “It Takes a Big Load… of our feed and grain to supply our many satisfied customers…” The Haskins and Pless Hay & Grain Company had a warehouse on the waterfront where the Granary is today. Pless had also built a store on the corner of Railroad and Holly that would come to be known in later years as “Clark’s Feed and Seed.” Just a few months after this ad ran, the debt-ridden Curt Pless mysteriously disappeared, leaving behind his pregnant wife. He was later found to have moved across the country and started a new life and family under an assumed name.

18/03/2025

Great exhibit! Great guy! ❤️🧻❤️

17/03/2025

01/03/2025

A Good Time Dream Come True! We are overwhelmed with gratitude for everyone who came out to see us at the majestic Baker Theatre and to all the theater staff, our GTG crew and everyone who helped make this show such a GOOD TIME! Special thanks to the The Rhythm Belles and Champlin who made it extra special💖💖 ❤

22/02/2025

in , February 21, 1908 the new Carnegie Library building was formally opened with 45 steps to climb. After another re-grade of the street, 12 more steps were added. The many steps were a source of misery and jokes, and made the library feel inaccessible to many. The library was built on top of rock that was difficult to remove. A remnant of the Chuckanut Formation can be seen in the alley behind the Mount Baker Theater. The site of the library today is a parking lot next to Crown Plaza. Sadly, a mural of the library on the side of the Crown Plaza building was painted over.

13/02/2025

Happy Valentines Day History Lovers!
Some of our favorite vintage valentines.... sent with love
Soundtrack = Nobody's Sweetheart by the Gallus Brothers 💘
XOXO the Good Time Girls ❤️❤️❤️❤️

28/01/2025

in , January 28, 1921 “With his company of mystics, dancing girls and assistants, The Great Murdock, mental marvel and psychic wizard, opened a three night’s engagement to a crowded house at the Grand... The principal feature of his performance, it is said, is his world famous ‘Crystal Séance,’ where he presents various mental feats through transmission and concentration tests and answers hundreds of questions put to him by his audience. It is here, with the aid only of a clear crystal gazing ball, that he demonstrates the remarkable mental attributes, which, it is said, have baffled the scientific world. He employs no confederates, nor does he use telephones, codes, or other mechanical devices used by his imitators, but moves about on the stage, down the aisles and through the audience during the entire presentation. The program also includes various other weird Hindoo and oriental mystifications, puzzling and amazing magical novelties and illusions, bewildering spirit manifestations as well as seductive oriental dances and divertissements. Murdock makes no claims whatsoever to powers supernatural and promises only an exceedingly interesting and amusing entertainment and it is this entertainment value and the illuminating personality of the man himself which, it is said, has crowned his engagements throughout the country with such sensational success. During the engagement there will be one performance each night, and a special crystal souvenir matinee for ladies only Saturday.”
Hear more tales from the early stages of Bellingham at the BellingHistory Show with the Good Time Girls at the Mount Baker Theatre, January 31st (link in bio or see bellinghistory.com)

27/01/2025

in , January 27, 1904 this ad appeared for Carhartt overall’s available at Cox-Overlock Company in the Hannah block on Holly Street.

27/01/2025

in , January 26, 1994 Bellingham history hero George Hunsby wrote this column for the Herald at age 95: “I am continually hearing on the television and reading in the press about how terribly the young people are behaving nowadays. It kind of gripes me. Having lived as many years as I have, I’ve come to the conclusion that youngsters of today are not a bit different than they were during my own youth. Here in Bellingham, we had our Happy Valley, York Addition and Eureka (Alabama Hill area) gangs, and I can assure you that those kids included some very tough hombres. Once in a while, those young hoodlums would cross into the others’ domains, and some head crackings resulted from the brawls. On several occasions streetcars were damaged. Once, in Fairhaven, the motorman on a streetcar suffered a broken leg, and the streetcar waiting station was demolished. Over in the Eureka Addition, an automobile was demolished and the driver injured by street barricades senselessly erected by the Eureka gang. Some very nice and otherwise peaceful young people’s parties were raided and spoiled all over town by rival gangs who heard that cheap red wine was to be served. Many horse-and-buggy runaways were caused by gang members who set up scarecrows on streets with heavy horse and buggy traffic. It took very little to scare a buggy horse, and the kids knew it. One of the worst episodes that I saw take place was in the fifth grade room of the old Larrabee School in Fairhaven. In 1910 a boy brought a big, old fashioned loaded revolver into the school room and fired two shots right past the teacher and into the blackboard directly behind her. Black powder shells were in use then, so the blast sounded awfully loud. It took an hour to clear the smoke from the room. I have never known what punishment was meted out to ‘Cottontop Hanson,’ as he was known to us. During the early 1900s, we had just as much mayhem, petty larceny, robbery, holdups and train robberies as we do now...”

26/01/2025

in , January 25, 1909 – The Grand Theater’s vaudeville bill featured Chefalo and Capretta in their act "Lo Giardino Mageco" (aka Garden of Mystery). The Herald described Chefalo as “a young and handsome alleged Italian who does some wonderful stunts in the line of magic and declares that ‘not for the world would he deceive any one,’ but that he is assisted by spirits.” And Capretta as “a beautiful young woman, who... also does some clever work along this line.” Mademoiselle Capretta was known for appearing in a “magnificent Parisian sheath gown” that caused a sensation in one town when she wore it on the streets. The Oregonian described them thusly: “Chefalo and Capretto are two magicians who really ‘majish’ in a manner that keeps one guessing. Their act takes place in a garden, where Chefalo, dressed like a bullfighter, and Capretta, gowned a la Salome, vie with each other in producing flowers, flags, handkerchiefs, paper roses, chickens, birds and other miscellaneous articles out of nothing.”
You can learn more about early vaudeville acts in Bellingham at The BellingHistory Show with the Good Time Girls at the Mount Baker Theater on January 31st! See link in bio/Bellinghistory.com for details.

25/01/2025

in , January 24, 1916 the Herald reported “The statewide prohibition law has created such a demand for cider in Washington and Oregon that dealers are unable to furnish their customers with all they need. That, at least, is the reason given for scarcity in cider by a local wholesaler. He says the house that has been furnishing him has informed him that it cannot supply his wants at any price. Cider is now 5 cents a gallon higher, wholesale, than it was a short time ago and is now quoted at 27 cents, with probabilities of another rise soon.”
In 1914 Washington State voters had passed Initiative Measure Number Three prohibiting the manufacture and sale (although not the consumption) of liquor statewide. A sudden demand for products that could be easily fermented at home created the cider shortage. Luckily for us today, there’s plenty of cider to go around - both alcoholic and non!

22/01/2025

in , January 21 1894 the Waldron Building in Fairhaven suffered a major fire. According to historian Lottie Roeder Roth the incident affected: “A corner room on the first floor... occupied by the bank of Fairhaven, of which Mr. Waldron is proprietor. Two store rooms were occupied by Cissna’s department store, while I.N. Maxwell’s law offices and Mr. Waldron’s private rooms occupied about half the second story. The third story, formerly a large hall, had recently been partitioned for office rooms and a fourth story added. These two stories were unfinished, had not been plastered and contained considerable building refuse, in which it is supposed the fire was started. There had been fire built on the third floor to dry out some newly puttied sash. The fire department was hampered in its work by poor hose.” The upper stories of the Waldron building sat empty for decades. Today the restored building features posh condominiums on the upper stories and retail below. (older photo circa late 70s/early 80s by Gordy Tweit, RIP.)

21/01/2025

Any skeletons in your basement? 😆💀💀💀
in January 20, 1910 "While cleaning out a lot of old rubbish from the basement of the building on Holly and C Streets, occupied by the Depot Bar, several days ago a box was found containing a complete skeleton of a human being. The bones were only casually examined by those who found them and then Coroner Wear was notified and asked to conduct an examination. It was thought that the skeleton was that of some man who had been murdered and then packed away in a dark corner of the basement. When the coroner arrived on the scene he found that the skeleton was undoubtedly the property of some doctor. The bones had been scraped and the spinal bones had been strung together with wires, while the others were loose, indicating that the doctor had not completed his work. A part of a notebook was found in the rubbish about the box bearing the date of 1884. It was evident that the skeleton had been placed in the basement many years ago, when Old Whatcom was the business part of this city.”
The site is now occupied by the amazing Hana Teriyaki 💀🦴💀🦴

20/01/2025

If the weather outside was frightful, there was always at the Fairyland Rink at Holly and Garden, for whom this ad appeared in the local papers January 19, 1907. Fairyland featured a platform for a live orchestra, suspended by chains from the ceiling. The building was converted into a meeting hall in 1917, and demolished in 1936 for a gas station. Today it is the site of Fed Ex at 501 E Holly Street, corner of Garden. We think it's a TRAVESTY that there is still not a roller-skating rink in Bellingham proper today - whose got the capital? We're dreaming of a roller rink!

18/01/2025

in , January 17, 1910 – The Herald announced: “Mammoth Hall to Be Built for Billy Sunday.. “ the evangelical preacher who was scheduled to arrive in town on April 1st. “Sunday always requires the er****on of a tabernacle. Work on this will be started in the early part of March, under the direction of A.P. Gill, who builds all of the evangelist’s temporary churches. IT is declared there is no building big enough in Bellingham for this purpose. Neither the Beck Theater nor the skating rink would hold half the people. The local ministers declare that an average audience of 5000 persons may be expected…. Certificates of stick in the ‘Sunday meetings’ are to be issued at so much a share…. Attention is called by the local ministers to the fact that Billy Sunday is not coming here for the sole purpose of siding in the local option fight this spring. The saloon question is only one of many that he will take up. Plans were being made for the bringing of the evangelist here long before the local option election was thought of…”