Behind the Sign

Laurie Wells was truly a "Skagit Original" whose life and artwork was celebrated by an exhibit at the Skagit County History Museum in La Conner -- a place that Laurie depicted in many of his artworks. But Laurie Wells was more than an artist. He and his wife Marian were active in the Grange movement, and Laurie was also instrumental in the creation of annual flower shows that would evolve into today's Skagit Valley Tulip Festival.

The rich history of rodeo in Skagit County is deeply intertwined with the life of Wick Peth, renowned as "the original rodeo bullfighter." Born on April 15, 1930 in Mount Vernon, Washington, Wick grew up in a family of homesteaders and ranchers. The Peth family had a significant influence on the settlement and development of the Skagit Valley. John Peth Sr., Wick's great-grandfather, left Wisconsin in the mid-1870s for Washington Territory, laying the groundwork for a storied family legacy.

Back in 2022, Meyer Sign teamed up with the Skagit County Fairgrounds and Don Wick (Mr. Skagit County himself) to launch an experiment in Magic Skagit oral history. On the first day of that year’s Fair we gathered a group of local dignitaries together for a ribbon cutting on what has become an annual Skagit County Fair exhibit: the Meyer Sign Fair History Booth — a place where people can revisit and relate their memories of Fairs past.

The current Skagit County Historical Museum exhibit, "A Little Off the Top," showcases the history of barber shops in Skagit County, highlighting their important role in the area. It takes visitors through the evolution of barber shops from the Valley’s pioneer era to the present day, emphasizing their impact on the community. The exhibit features a fascinating collection of artifacts from old to modern-day barber shops, which is impressive given the fact that according to the museum’s executive director, Jo Wolfe, “this is the first time such an exhibit has been created.” The exhibit ends on March 10th, so visit La Conner Hill soon and explore the rich history of barber shops in Skagit County!

The Skagit County Historical Museum’s current exhibit, “I Do!”, finishes its run at the “top of the hill” in La Conner at the end of the month. For her second “Tales of the Magic Skagit” story, I asked our Skagit Valley Youth History Project intern, Morgan White, to write a story about it based her visit to the exhibit, as well as a previous TMS podcast interview with museum executive director Jo Wolfe and collections manager Laney Moran. The result is an overview of the exhibit's narrative that spans more than a dozen pivotal periods in U.S. and Skagit Valley history.

So, just how well do you know the Magic Skagit? Play this trivia contest and see if you can beat our Tales of the Magic Skagit winner. Our thanks to Mari Densmore, archivist at the Skagit County Historical Museum in La Conner for providing the trivia questions. You'll find the answers as well in this TMS episode.

In 1869, John Barker opened a trading post at the south fork of the Skagit River on Fir Island in what would eventually become known as Skagit City — the oldest of the Skagit Valley’s river towns. Over the next decade, Skagit City boasted hotels, stores, saloons, a school, church and other public buildings. Today, however, only a single physical reminder of Skagit City remains. The river giveth, and the river taketh away.

Jesus Guillén came to the Skagit Valley as many immigrants did, in the hope of a better life for himself and his family. He pursued that goal not only as an agricultural worker, but as an artist who celebrated his fellow farmworkers and the beauty of the fields and landscapes where they labored. Thanks to his artistic vision, us Skagitonians are able to see ourselves and the place we've chosen to live in a way no other artist has depicted. This is a brief overview of his life and legacy.

After weeks of "sprucing up," the Skagit County Historical Museum will re-open on February 11 with its first exhibit for 2022, entitled "1968: The Year That Rocked Washington." 1968 rocked in a lot of ways, good and bad, and its tremors can still be felt today. Meyer Sign plans to not only write about the exhibit, but explore some of the themes that come out of it -- and we hope our faithful and ever engaged readers will contribute their memories in reflecting on its significance to life in the Skagit Valley and beyond.

Hugo Helmer was a musician, a teacher, a band leader, and a businessman whose retain venue continues to thrive under its fourth generation of family ownership. Not bad for a Swedish immigrant whose American Dream started in the rough and tumble of logging and led to the world's first accordion marching band. Broadway couldn't have scripted this story, but you can read it here.

The last exhibit featured by the Skagit County Historical Museum in 2020 — before The Great Pandemic put an end to public gatherings — was on the legacy of Henry Klein, the German-born immigrant who founded the first full-service architectural firm in Skagit County, and whose vision defined a design esthetic that has come to be uniquely associated with the Pacific Northwest, even while its “general practitioner” was to become more modestly hailed as “the town architect.” This is his story.

Jo E. Wolfe and the Skagit Valley have a history — and as is ultimately the case with all history, it’s personal. Since Jo became a part of the Skagit County Historical Museum eleven years ago, however, the relationship has become professional as well.