History lost, but memories last a lifetime

Islanders stood on the sidewalk heartsick watching their town landmarks, buildings and businesses instilled in their minds as the very essence of Friday Harbor and Spring Street. Below is a snapshot of the history of those buildings, and the memories islanders shared about them.

Herbs:

According to the San Juan Island Historical Society and Museum, the building was originally Churchill’s General Store in 1892. N.E Churchill, one of the original investors was born March 25, 1852, in the State of Pennsylvania. He arrived in Friday Harbor in 1888. Churchill and his partner Joseph Sweeney, named Sweeney & Churchill. Sweeney sold his interest to M. R. Noftsger and Messrs. Churchill and Noftsger continued the business until April 3, 1890. That year they organized the San Juan Trading Company, of Friday Harbor. It was the largest individual store in San Juan County. The two business partners not only owned a large general store, which contained several thousand dollars worth of stock, they also owned two warehouses, a private dock, several large residences in Friday Harbor, as well as real-estate interests throughout the county, and operated the Bay View Hotel in Friday Harbor for a time. They were the leading merchants on the island.

February 10, 1889, Churchill was married Sarah J. McKay, who was born on San Juan island in 186. They had two children, Charles and Myrtle.

Museum photographs from 1905 show telephone poles lining Spring Street. A grocery store still remains on the corner of Spring and first, and a boardwalk ran up and down both sides of the street. The store took on a new look around 1907, installing a glass front façade. It later changed hands and was called the Bell-Middleton Grocery Store.

In 1940 Bell-Middleton became the Bay View Tavern. The tavern was a popular place for University of Washington students and faculty, according to the museum. The scientists frequently rowed from the Marine labs to the town to their favorite watering hole. It is rumored that Dixie Lee Ray, then a professor at the labs, and governor of Washington from 1977-1981, was a regular.

In 1943, Bayview Tavern moved to the other side of Spring Street, and Herb’s Tavern was established.

“Herb’s is a local institution,” author and historian Mike Vouri said.

Locals shared fond memories, including karaoke nights, dancing, and girls’ nights out. Retired Friday Harbot science teacher Greg Hertel had this to say:

“Herbs was just an old bar in an old building…

But it was where I had my first meal when I arrived on island on a late August afternoon to take a job teaching here in 1974

It was where my wife and I went to many dances and shared many a beer with friends.

It was where we listened to The Ducks and other mainland rock bands when they would come over here to play and where many local groups played their first paying gig

It was the blue-collar meeting place for the construction crews, the boat crews

It was where many college papers were written by students who had rowed over from the Marine Labs. We met a woman in Zion Park one summer and when we said that we were from Friday Harbor she said that she wrote most of her masters thesis at Herbs

It was the place where many kids would have their first adult drink on their 21st birthday

It was where boaters who weren’t yacht club members would meet

It was never high class… and proud of it

It was my image of what a workingman’s bar should be like. The staff was down to earth, friendly

It was where the food was not gourmet but always OK and the portions were real

It was where the commercial fishermen would meet and eat before heading out to the Salmon Banks on those summers when drunken gill netters ruled the streets

It was the place that Realtors would rush by with their customers on their way to more upscale restaurants

It was the place where kids working multiple jobs could afford to meet and eat out

It was the location of many hookups, meetups and even some breakups

It was never on anyone’s 4-star list but always on everyone’s “meet you there” list

It was an old bar in an old building… and it was the heart of the town”

More than one islander met their spouse there, and lifelong friendships were also formed.

“How many gals made ‘best friends for the night’ whilst waiting in line in the ‘one stall ladies’ room?’” islander BJ Brandli said reminiscing. “The old Halloween parties with live music and costume contests were the best! There was a person who was there every year, dressed completely anonymously, very mysterious, who danced with all the ladies. We never discovered who he or she was.”

Gabe Keenan of the local band the Jesus Chords remembered playing one Halloween night.

“Grandma Aggie danced for about two hours, like she did, and then she collapsed outside… the next thing you know I’m holding her hand inside the ambulance in full clown costume. She thought that was hilarious. She was fine by the way, and loved to remind me of the moment.”

Others remembered dancing to the local band the Chameleons, as well as New Year’s Eve celebrations.

“I once had a beer there prior to turning 21,” Kim Morgan said, “The best old barkeep had a glass of chocolate milk sitting close by in case Buck [local law enforcement] came in.”

And Carla Osburn Frentz remembered going to Herbs after local baseball games in the 70s. Beers would be waiting just for them.

“Music was playing and [we ended up] dancing on the tables at some point,” Frentz said.

Tracy James and Terese Finn said they will never forget playing pool with Aiden Quinn and the crew of “Practical Magic” when it was being filmed in the 90s on San Juan Island.

“He was my biggest crush,” James said.

Crows Nest Coffee:

Built in 1910, the building that housed the Crow’s Nest, opened as Friddels Jewelry Store. By 1968 the space was occupied by Argyle Realty office. The San Juan Island Historical Society and Museum has a photo from that era of a woman in a yellow suit in front of a red Ford Mustang. Friday Harbor Realty moved in for a time, before the Crows Nest.

Diana Clark, realtor at Friday Harbor Realty remembered owner and broker Dorothy Tollenaar.

“She was a mother to everyone who worked in her office,” Clark said. “We were her only children. On Valentine, she would take us all to lunch. She always held off attempts by the big boys to buy the office off. We were a family and that was not going to happen on her watch.”.

As the Crows Nest, Brandli remembers owner Jon Hurley greeting his customers by name even during tourist season. “Jon made coffee whilst telling stories of his earlier days of coffee-making in the city, to those who stood waiting. He had tons of stories of his relatives and early Friday Harbor. Always entertaining,” she said.

For ten years, Camolyn Armstrong, who works in the county elections office woke to “Good morning sunshines” text message from Hurley and the Crows Nest crew. She immediately texted him her sympathies the day of the fire, and check if there was anything he needed.

Windermere:

Buil in 1880 by William Douglas, the brother of Jack Douglas, owner Saloon Best, as named the Douglas House. Vouri said of all the buildings, it was the old Douglas House that was the most tragic to lose. The distinct peaked roof can be seen in the earliest photographs of Friday Harbor. James Ross bought the building in the 1890s, naming it the Bay View Hotel. The Bay View served as a wireless office and housed the town telephone switchboard for United Wireless Telephone Company. Later Ross sold to Patrick Welsh, who renamed it the Tourists Hotel Annex. The hotel had a bit of a wild west reputation. In 1907 headlines around Washington State announced that the sheriff was forced to clamp down on the hotel for operating a backroom saloon and illegal gambling.

Later it became a milder hotel, named the San Juan Hotel. Vouri said he stayed there when he visited Friday Harbor for the first time. The rooms, he said, were classic-styled hotel rooms with brass beds and washbasin. Guests had to traipse down the hall to use the bathroom. “It was very cool,” Vouri said with a smile. The San Juan Hotel continued to operate as a historic hotel with original furnishings until 2005.

More recently as Windermere, Brandli again shared an assortment of memories, like Bill Giesy, who has since passed away, saying “a clam in the hand is worth two in the sand!” whenever the possibility of anything good was on the verge of happening. “His laugh, I’ll never forget,” Brandli said. She also will not forget seeing Pat O’Day, who also has since passed away, on cigarette breaks in his car. “How many times I tapped on the hood as I walked by and he said, ‘ I know, I know, quit smoking.’” Brandli said. Then there was Tamara Weaver, yelling out the open doors of Windermere on a sunny day, in her sing-songy voice, “Hello!” to passersby, tourists or locals, she did not care! And she always kept a water bowl out on the porch in the summertime for thirsty animals.

One islander recalled working for Skip and Annette Metzger in the 90s when it was the San Juan Inn. “I spent many hours there in the busy summer months and the very quiet winter months. I worked there for six years. I had my first daughter while working there and brought her to work with me every day until she started running around and it became to much,” she said.

Life happened, and 30 years later, and after six months of inpatient treatment for substance abuse she began he own cleaning business. “I cleaned Windermere for the past eight-plus years every Wednesday night. My daughter would clean with me and often bring my granddaughter,” the islander said adding that she would reminisce about having her daughter with her as a baby, only to now have her daughter there cleaning the same building with her daughter. “The same stair rails the same windows and baseboards. The building held a special place in my heart. When you clean a place after hours when no one else is there and you put your heart into your job it is an intimate space. I am sad to see it gone. For some reason that building wanted me to be there,” she said.

Crystal Seas Kayaking:

Built in 1884, the building where Crystal Seas Kayaking is located, originally was Star Theatre. However, according to the historical museum, little is known of this entity.

In 1916, A. Stoliker, Art McKay and Jack McCutchen turned the building into a barbershop. The Sweet Tooth Saloon opened there in the 60s according to Stacy Brem. Other restaurants included Amigos, Dos Diablos Restaurant, and barbeque place.

Brem worked at the Sweet Tooth in 1969, as well as the Ship Shop when it was in that location.

“The building was later bought by my dad Joe Fanjul. He had Fanjul Realty for years.” Brem said. “My husband and I opened Amigos in the 80s, along with the Hot Shop.”

Her family sold the building to Crystal Seas Kayaking.