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view back in time A Whatcom Museum of History & Art
exhibit
by
Jack Kintner
A
tireless promoter, Bert Huntoon was a California native
who became Whatcom County’s elected county civil
engineer while spending most of his career at the Pacific
American Fisheries in Fairhaven, now part of Bellingham.
Huntoon worked hard to establish the area known as Heather
Meadows as a prime recreational spot in the Mt. Baker area.
A broad valley with many small picturesque lakes, the area
near Austin Pass, the low point between Mt. Baker and Mt.
Shuksan, was already well-known by the time Fourth of July
celebrations were held in 1926 at the end of the new Mt.
Baker Highway. The following fall construction was started
on a 100-room lodge similar to other large wilderness lodges
like those at Old Faithful or at Paradise in Mount Rainier
National Park.
The impressive building, part craftsman design, part art
deco and part phony “Indian” style decorations,
the wooden structure was heated electrically by a diesel
power plant that operated on 100 AC current.
Heaters the shape and size of room fans were in most of
the rooms, and when the lodge burned to the ground just
a few years later the wiring was suspected. The fire ignited
several hundred gallons of oil, and what had taken Huntoon
and his colleagues years to build was gone in a matter
of minutes.
The Whatcom Museum of History and Art has an exhibit of
Huntoon’s and others photos of the heyday of the
roaring ‘20s, Mt. Baker style. Several movies were
filmed there and along with the pictures the exhibit shows
promotional material and other features of the age, such
as early skiing at Austin Pass.
The Mt. Baker Ski Club was started in the 1930s, when getting
into the area in the winter time involved walking up the
last eight miles from the Nooksack River bridge. Finally,
a used Stevens Pass chair lift was installed from Heather
Meadows to the Pan (as in Panoramic) Dome in 1964 and the
modern era began.
The exhibit runs through next Memorial Day weekend, May
27, 2007, and is free. The Whatcom Museum of History and
Art is located at 121 Prospect Street in Bellingham, and
regular hours are Tuesday through Sunday noon to 5 p.m.
For more information call 360/676-6981 or go to www.whatcommuseum.org.
Mt. Baker Ski Area staff member Paula Hlady has created
a historical display of photographs in the Heather Meadow
lodge that visitors to the ski area can view.
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