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Bellingham Publishing Company, 1911-1963

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Bellingham Publishing Company.
Title
Bellingham Publishing Company
Dates
1911-1963 (inclusive)
Quantity
3.5 linear ft., (7 boxes)
Collection Number
XOE_CPNWS0013BPublishing (collection)
Summary
Includes letters, telegrams and pamphlets concerning the Bellingham Publishing Company's early efforts to establish a new radio station. The collection includes KVOS program transcripts from 1934-1937, which relate to a copyright infringement suit. Also included are miscellaneous files, newspapers, photographs of Whatcom County and Mt. Baker, and printed sheet music.
Repository
Western Washington University, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies
Goltz-Murray Archives Building
808 25th St.
Bellingham, WA
98225
Telephone: (360) 650-7534
cpnws@wwu.edu
Access Restrictions

Collection is open to the public

Languages
English.
Sponsor
Funding for preparing this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. Funding for encoding the finding aid was awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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Historical Note

The Bellingham Publishing Company was incorporated on September 12, 1911, under the laws of the State of Washington. The company published two newspapers in Bellingham, Washington, the Bellingham Herald and the American Reveille. By 1922, American Reveille was no longer being published and the company was only publishing the Herald. The company was owned by Sidney A. Perkins of Tacoma. In addition to the two Bellingham papers, S.A. Perkins published the Tacoma Daily News and Ledger, and daily papers in Olympia, Everett, and Chehalis. In the time covered by this collection, the Bellingham Herald was operated by Frank I. Sefrit, Vice-President and General Manager and his son Charles L. Sefrit, Business Manager, Secretary, and Treasurer.

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Content Description

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.

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Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

Bellingham Publishing Company, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, Western Libraries Archives & Special Collections, Western Washington University, Bellingham WA 98225-9123.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The Bellingham Publishing Company Records are organized in accordance with the following series and sub-series arrangement:

  • Series I: Associated Press v. KVOS, 1935 (1930-1938)
    • Sub-series 1: Correspondence, 1930-1935
    • Sub-series 2: Administrative and Legal Records, 1933-1938
    • Sub-series 3: KVOS Transcripts, 1934-1937
    • Sub-series 4: Raw Transcripts, 1936-1937
  • Series II: Sefrit Family Papers (1911-1963)

Custodial History

The Bellingham Herald donated the collection to the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies in 1978

Processing Note

Kay Carpenter inventoried the collection in March 1981. In 2000, Megan Sibbert processed the collection. In November 2003, Amber Raney re-engineered the collection.

Processing Note

About Harmful Language and Content

To learn more about problematic content in our collections, collection description and teaching tools (including how to provide feedback or request dialogue on this topic), see the following Statement About Potentially Harmful Language and Content

Related Materials

For more information regarding the competition between the Bellingham Herald and KVOS radio see the Rogan Jones Collection, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

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Subject Terms

  • Broadcasting--Law and legislation--United States--History--Sources.
  • Newspapers--History--Sources.
  • Radio broadcasting policy--United States--History.
  • Radio stations--Washington (State)--Bellingham--History--Sources.

Personal Names

  • Jones, Rogan, 1895-1972.
  • Sefrit, Frank I., 1867-1950. (creator)

Corporate Names

  • Associated Press--Trials, litigation, etc.
  • Bellingham Publishing Company--Archives. (creator)
  • KVOS-Radio (Radio station : Bellingham, Wash.)

Form or Genre Terms

  • Law materials.
  • Records (Documents)

Titles within the Collection

  • Bellingham herald.

Other Creators

  • Personal Names

    • Sefrit, Frank I., 1867-1950. (creator)

Finding aid prepared by Amber Raney
2003

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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