Francis (“Fritz”) Jefferson Koons was born December 19, 1902 in Illinois and moved to Bellingham temporarily in 1908, and again permanently, in 1926. He finally settled into a job at Puget Sound Power and Light, where he remained employed for 42 years. Fritz Koons held various positions at "Puget Power," eventually becoming a surveyor and remaining so until his retirement in 1967.
Fritz Koons had an avid interest in outdoor recreation, attending his first meeting of the Mt. Baker "Hiking" Club shortly after returning to Bellingham. He remained active in this organization his entire life, often scouting out new trails in the mountains near Mt. Baker. In 1936, Koons and his outdoor enthusiast friends built a ski cabin at Mt. Baker.
In the mid-1950s Koons and other local citizens organized the Komo Kulshan Ski Club for young skiers in the Bellingham area. In addition to his Mt. Baker Club membership and activities with the Komo Kulshan Ski Club, Fritz Koons was also a member of the Mt. Baker Ski Patrol and the Bellingham Junior Chamber of Commerce. Actively involved with local senior citizens’ groups including the Senior Trail Blazers, he skied regularly well into his eighties.
Fritz Koons died in April 24, 1997.
The collection documents Fritz Koons' life history including writings, employment records, newspaper clippings and family photographs from circa 1916 to 1988, with the bulk of the materials dating from 1935–1988. The collection also contains records of the Komo Kulshan Ski Club including original writings, photographs and newspaper clippings dating from 1940-1990, but with the bulk of the materials dating from the 1970s onward.
Fritz Koons' personal papers include drafts of his unpublished life history, and “Early Memories of the Mt. Baker Hiking Club,” recounting the formation of the Mt. Baker Hiking Club in 1935. Newspaper clippings dating from 1940-1988 (bulk 1970-1988) document Koons’ involvement with community groups and senior organizations, including the Senior Trail Blazers, a hiking club.
Koons’ employment records include personnel files dating from his initial hiring with Puget Sound Power and Light Company in 1926 to his retirement from the company in 1968. . These records reflect changes in pay rate, and application and hiring procedures at Puget Power. Employment records also contain a 1980 letter from Puget Power referring to the local election defeat of Municipal Utility District Propositions 1 and 2, acknowledging Koons' volunteer work for the campaigns of incumbent Public Utility District Commissioners.
Loose personal and family photographs in the collection range from 1935 to 1990, and include family and school portraits. A photograph album documents family travels including trips to Mt. Baker, West Port, Crater Lake, Carson City, Virginia city, Oregon, San Francisco, White Rock, B.C., Mt. Shuksan, Mt. Lassen, Reno, NV and local hikes taken by the Senior Trail Blazers. Personal papers also include a 1936 coal mining agreement between Bellingham Coal Company and former owners of Fritz's property.
Komo Kulshan Ski club records include a handwritten history of the club titled “The Way It Was,” and newspapers and photo scrapbooks documenting club activities between 1940-1989. The albums document the annual Komo Kulshan sponsored Junior Heather Cup Race and notable accomplishments by club members. Ski Club records also contain photos, memorabilia and newspaper clippings relating to Mt. Baker events and scenery. Researchers should note that the photo album in Fritz Koons' personal papers includes images of the 1983 Komo Kulshan Kids Games.
The Fritz Koons papers and Komo Kulshan Ski Club records are organized in accordance with the following series arrangement.
The collection is open to the public.
Fritz Koons Papers and Komo Kulshan Ski Club Records, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, Western Libraries Archives & Special Collections, Western Washington University, Bellingham WA 98225-9123.
Heidi Bush transferred the records to the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies in December 2005.
Roz Koester and Molly Hults processed the Fritz Koons Papers and Komo Kulshan Ski Club Records for the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies in 2006.
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The Mount Baker Club records are also housed at the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.