Author friends publish new 'Then and Now' book

DEAN KAHN - THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

E-Mail

Print Reprint

Text Size:

tool goes here

History buffs in Whatcom County can thank the grandparents of Wes Gannaway and Kent Holsather for the two author's "then and now" contributions to local lore.

The friends and former co-workers share a passion for collecting old photographs and picture postcards and for doggedly researching whatever strikes their fancy about Whatcom County history. Both, it turns out, were inspired early by the stories and artifacts of their elders.

Four years ago, in connection with Bellingham's centennial celebration, Gannaway and Holsather published "Whatcom Then & Now," a collection of history articles about the county's communities.

PHILIP A. DWYER | THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

MORE ABOUT 'THEN & NOW'
"Bellingham Then & Now," by Kent Holsather and Wes Gannaway, is available at several bookstores in Whatcom County. It sells for $29.95.
Holsather and Gannaway will speak at 12:30 p.m. Feb. 3 at Whatcom Museum, in the Rotunda Room. They also will speak at Village Books in mid- to late-February.

The book was packed with "then and now" photographs - paired images showing what used to be at a location, and what's there now.

Now they've published a new book, "Bellingham Then & Now," full of new articles and more photographs, released in connection with the 150th anniversary of the T.G. Richards Building, also known as the Territorial Courthouse, in Old Town.

Gannaway and Holsather each write long and short pieces for the book. Usually, an interesting old photograph or postcard spurs interest in a topic, followed by hours of reading old newspapers on microfilm and checking other history sources.

"The photo is what catches our eye first," Holsather said.

Gannaway, 61, grew up on Darrington homestead of his grandfather, who had been a cowboy in Idaho and Utah.

"He still had his pistol," Gannaway recalled.

His grandfather's tales of life in the saddle, including dinner with members of the famous Hole-in-the-Wall Gang, left Gannaway with a lasting love of history.

Gannaway moved to Whatcom County in the mid-70s to help build the ARCO refinery (now BP Cherry Point Refinery.) Later, his interest in earth sciences led him to study the Chuckanut sandstone quarries, and then study the local buildings made with the sandstone.

Gannaway worked in safety management at the refinery, and is semi-retired.

Holsather was born and raised in Bellingham and studied at Western Washington University for a few years before taking a job at the refinery. He retired there last year as a maintenance trainer.

As a kid, Holsather visited his grandparents' small farm in Lynden, and explored the large steamer trunks in their attic. Inside, he found Civil War artifacts and extensive writings by his great-great-grandfather detailing his life hunting and trapping in the mid-1800s.

Seven years ago, while sitting high in a crane at the refinery, Holsather came up an idea for a children's book based on local history. "Henry of York, and the Secret of Juan De Vega" was the result, followed by another children's book, "Sara's Moon."

Holsather, who turns 59 on Monday, and Gannaway met at the refinery and became friends, with a shared interest in local history, both in words and in pictures. They've collected thousands of old photographs and postcards, scouring antique shops and Web sites for prize catches.

Picture postcards were a certified craze in the late 1800s and early 1900s, Gannaway said. For little money, people could shoot and print numerous picture postcards, creating a valuable photographic record of family life and community settings at the turn of the century.

"They used to call people 'Kodakers,'" Holsather said.