Archives West Finding Aid

The Bellingham Publishing Company Collection spans the years 1911-1963, with the bulk of the material dated 1930-1938. The bulk of the collection consists of radio transcripts generated by the Bellingham radio station, KVOS, Inc. These and other materials in the first series of the collection pertaining to KVOS stem from the battle for control of Bellingham's media which occurred in the 1930's between the Bellingham Herald, owned by the Bellingham Publishing Company, and KVOS radio, owned by Rogan Jones. There were personal, political, and financial reasons behind the feud. Radio was a new media forum in the 1920's and by the mid-1930's was competing for advertising with newspapers. This competition in Bellingham led to several law suits and a proposal to the FCC for a radio station run by the Bellingham Publishing Company. The Bellingham Publishing Company came out on the losing side of these attempts to keep radio from becoming an accepted form of news media. Other materials in the collection include materials on the Sefrit family. Sefrit, who operated the Herald from 1911-1950, was also very interested in the areas around Mt. Baker. Sefrit was one of the pioneers and most active participants in the movement to develop the recreational advantages and attractions of the Mt. Baker area. In the 1950s, Sefrit's name was placed before the Names Board, and one of the peaks (also known as Sans Serif) in the Mt. Baker area was named after him. Also included in this series is a box of printed sheet music. The origin of this portion of the collection is unknown, but most is labeled with the name Christie E. Simpson.