The Bellingham Centennial Oral History Project Records includes a series of interviews conducted with long-time Bellingham residents and sought to document Bellingham from its beginnings to the present day getting citizens to reflect on their personal experiences and reflections of significant local events.

These records span 1 linear foot and contains 3 series: Audio Oral History Interviews, Video Oral History Interviews, and Documentary Film.  This material spans from roughly November 2003 to April 2005 with the bulk of it spanning from November 2003 to September 2004.  There are 13 total interviewees and 16 total interviews (10 audio and 6 video).  George Davenport, Pauline Hillaire, and Betty Russell did both an audio interview and a separate video interview.  Gordy Tweit, Jane Hovde, and Tut Asmundson did only video interviews.  The sound quality of the interviews is good with the exception of the audio interviews with Arthur Watts and George Garlick, which are hard to understand at times.  There is also textual material in the form of seven transcripts, correspondence between the Mayor’s office and Elizabeth Joffrion, and consent forms of the interviewees.  The interview transcripts are all audio interviews except Gordon Tweit’s video interview transcript.  The Center for Pacific Northwest Studies actively created these records.  The audio, video, as well as the textual materials, were incorporated into the collection at the Center as they were completed during the 2003-2004 period.  The documentary film series contains the 47 minute documentary film, Centennial Stories.  It utilized portions of the video interviews and was added to the collection later upon its April 5, 2005 completion.  There is also the chance of incorporating more interview transcripts as they are completed.

These oral history interviews represent a cross section of the Bellingham community coming from different geographic, ethnic, and econmonic backgrounds.  All the residents were born between 1910-1929 and not all were specifically born in Bellingham.  Among those interviewed are Pauline Hillaire, a Lummi elder; Lois Garlick, a local environmental activist; Betty Russell, one of the first women machinists at Boeing; and Gordon Tweit, the pharmacist of the Fairhaven Pharmacy.  The topics covered in these interviews are just as diverse dealing with local environmental issues, healthcare, entertainment, Native American issues and other ethnic and race relations, industry and businesses, transportation, and education.  While the focus is on Bellingham, local responses to national events such as the Great Depression, Japanese internment, and World War II are also represented in the interviews.  While the focus leans heavily towards early Bellingham history, there is however, information concerning more current Bellingham issues with mention of the some recent environmental issues and Interstate 5 construction.

Through the interviews, a researcher can gain an understanding of early Bellingham life and also provide insight into the changes that Bellingham has undergone over the years.  Although not providing material on the area’s settlement, it does provide strong material covering Bellingham’s early days as a city in the 1920-1950s.