Blog Posts and Podcast Notes



Podcast Kolby LaBree Podcast Kolby LaBree

The Podcast: Bad Bud Town revisited

This week’s story is about Bad Bud Cox, original Bad Town Bad Boy. We take a deeper look into the life of “Bud Cox” known locally for robbing a saloon in Fairhaven in the early 1900s, and who spent his life addicted and incarcerated.

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Podcast Kolby LaBree Podcast Kolby LaBree

The Podcast: Welcome (Back) to Bad Town!

And now, for your listening enjoyment, re-released episodes from the City of Subdued Podcast Season 2 - BAD TOWN Recorded back in 2020 during peak pandemic when we were the guest hosts of Annika and Maria, along with Marissa McGrath, founder of the Good Time Girls. We discussed a lot of Bad Bellinghistory - some of our darkest tales, lots of true crime. Enjoy these throwbacks while we take a break!

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The Podcast Gettin' Wrecked (Part 2)

In this episode we regale you with the saga of the wreck of the Steamer Buckeye, a little steamship of the Mosquito Fleet, that capsized in Bellingham Bay in 1895 between Eliza Island and today’s Larrabee State park with a small crew and several passengers including Will D. Jenkins, local editor and mayor of the town of Whatcom.  This episode features one human casualty, and a number of unfortunate livestock.  It’s a buck-wild story!

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Podcast Kolby LaBree Podcast Kolby LaBree

The Podcast: Gettin' Wrecked (Part 1)

In this episode we visit the story of the wreck of the barque (or bark or barc) Union of 1875 near Lummi Island. This is also a deep dive (pun intended) into deep dives, that is the history of diving and salvage operations both in general and specific to this wreck…

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Percy Irvine Yarick

Percy teamed up with another female impersonator who went by Lou Lalonda. Percy and Lou were billed at Bellingham’s Grand Theater on Holly Street in September of 1905. At the time of their performance in Bellingham, papers described them as “two pretty young ladies who easily win applause.”

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The Podcast: Sea Monsters (Part 2)

In this episode we continue our exploration of monsters of the deep.  We’ll dish on the sea-monster stars of the 20th century, creepy carcasses and cryptids sighted in and around Bellingham Bay and the waters of the Salish Sea. 

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Podcast Kolby LaBree Podcast Kolby LaBree

The Podcast: Sea Monsters (Part 1)

In this episode we dive in (pun intended) to the seemingly bottomless pool of sea monster stories.  Whether they be myth, lore or just a really big fish, “monsters of the deep” have inspired many a whopper of a tale here in Bellingham and the PNW over the years.  Release the Kraken!

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The Podcast: Bathing Beaches of B'ham (Part 1)

In this episode we visit the White City resort built at Silver Beach on Lake Whatcom in Bellingham in the early 1900s, as part one of a two-part series exploring historical “bathing beaches” of Bellingham, Washington. Join us in exploring the history of beach destinations with amenities - Coney Island Style, and some of the places that Bellinghamsters of yesteryear went to cool their heels.

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The Podcast: BellingQueerstory

Since June is Pride month and it has an extra week, we made an extra extra episode. Well it’s extra long that’s for sure!  We tried to cram in as much BellingQueerstory as we could into one hour plus a few. This is a big gay overview of queer Bellingham history as we know it.

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The Podcast: Sanitarium Insanity (Part 2)

In Part 2 of “Sanitarium Insanity” our two-part series on sanitariums in Bellingham, Washington, we discuss the “Yoghurt Sanitarium” in Fairhaven, Bellingham's historic south side neighborhood.  More wacky electrical devices, dubious doctors and YOGURT, or as they spelled it, “yoghurt.”  Buckle up your bacilli, it’s a wild ride!

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Julian Eltinge: The Original Drag Superstar

In 1913 the Bellingham Herald announced: “Theater-goers have a treat in store next week when Julian Eltinge is scheduled to play at the Metropolitan Theater in his musical success, ‘The Fascinating Widow.’” Often compared today to RuPaul of “Drag Race” fame, Julian Eltinge was the most famous female impersonator to grace Bellingham’s stages in the early 1900s. 

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Podcast Kolby LaBree Podcast Kolby LaBree

The Podcast: Spring Festivals in Bellingham

This episode is about spring festivals in Bellingham. 2023 is the 50th anniversary of the annual Ski to Sea Race here in Bellingham. The race officially started in 1973 as part of Bellingham’s Blossomtime Festival. That festival traces its roots to Bellingham’s first spring fling - The Tulip Festival - born out of bulb cultivation in Whatcom County. We dive into Bellingham’s days as “Tulip Town” and the evolution of spring festivals and events through the years. Find out why the Tulips took off to Skagit County and the Tulip Festival turned into Blossomtime and then Ski to Sea. It’s a surprisingly wild ride.

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Huntress

At the turn of the 20th century, a boy from small town Iowa chose the stage name “Huntress” and followed his dreams, using his many artistic skills to find success. Imagine Huntress rolling on a sparkling snowball across the vaudeville stage of the Grand Theatre in Bellingham in 1905.

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