“1800s-era landmark will house shops, million-dollar condos”/Trippo Costello and Mary Kink deceased. In my mind these headlines represented an obvious new era, the gradual updating of the Fairhaven district and a remembrance of the community I had known as I grew up and lived in over the past 80 years.

As the article stated today, the Fairhaven community had its heyday in the late 1800s; it was assumed it would be the San Francisco of this northern corner. It had a beautiful hotel, banks, shops and waterfront activity. There was a crash and all of this changed. Pacific American Fisheries (PAF) did grow and flourish at the foot of Harris St. becoming the largest fish cannery in the world, complete with a shipyard where their fishing fleet was docked during the winter for repairs in preparation for the next summer’s season in Alaska while maintaining fish traps in Bellingham Bay and Alaska. My father-in-law, Jim Chevalier I, was the Superintendent of the shipyard spending his summers on Liza Island until the 1930s maintaining the fish traps in the Bay. After his death in 1947 his son Jim Chevalier II filled that niche until PAF closed in 1964. During World War II Bellingham Shipyards set up an operation next to PAF, and after the war Uniflite became part of the mix a little further up Harris.

Other than the busyness at the bottom of Harris, Fairhaven was mostly a sleepy little village with many empty buildings, everything run down. Its renaissance began when Ken Imus arrived on the scene in the early 1970s. My husband grew up on Cowgill just above PAF. Tony’s Coffee Shop was Berthume’s Drugstore where Jack and I drank milkshakes at the ice-cream counter 67 years ago. The Train and Bus Depot are now located in the old PAF office building, with the Alaska ferry docking at the docks. A boardwalk skirts the Bay to Boulevard Park, then a trail on to the center of town. There are delightful little specialty shops, eateries, and the wonderful Village Book Store. Memorial Day weekend The Sea To Ski Race ends in Fairhaven, attracting hundreds of teams from all over the United States. There is a Village Green where special events take place including movies on an old brick wall. It is a fun place to explore.

Perhaps the greatest difference is the makeup of the people who live in the area. During my growing up years it was known as Little Yugoslavia., housing families with names like Costello, Kink, Mardesich, Kuljis, Evich, Glenovich, Zuanich, Mustappa, Muljat, etc. At that time they were the heart of the fishing fleet that fished Alaska waters as well as Bellingham Bay. In these names you will recognize teachers, politicians, real-estate companies, Port enthusiasts, even Santa Claus. They brought to our community a rich heritage.

Today a large segment of the population are condominium dwellers. What will their contribution/legacy be? It is a new era.

Geneil Chevalier