Fourth Annual Harvey Haggard Festival
This Saturday is the fourth annual Harvey Haggard Festival.
The local Chamber of Commerce puts this on and as board member and foodie, I run the kitchen and feed about 200 people.
The Harvey Haggard story is a fun one -- from the
Bellingham Herald:
Foothills festival honors Harvey Haggard, hero of 1911 Mount Baker Marathon
Lynden has Phoebe Judson and Fairhaven has Dirty Dan Harris, two historical figures who have come to exemplify their communities.
One is known for her civic deeds, her piety and her opposition to saloons; the other is known for his civic deeds, his pungent odor and his penchant for smuggling hooch.
With this year's Ski to Sea celebrating the centennial of its inspirational predecessor, the 1911 Mount Baker Marathon, it's a good time for Ski to Sea to latch onto its own legendary figure.
Folks at the Mt. Baker Foothills Chamber of Commerce have a prime candidate with their Fourth Annual Harvey Haggard Festival this Saturday, May 21.
"It's a fun family event," said the chamber's Rebecca Boonstra. "Sit on the lawn and enjoy the performances and eat good food and visit with your neighbors."
The marathon was held three years, 1911-1913. Haggard won the second one, but he's more famous for how he lost the first race.
Runners started in downtown Bellingham and had a choice of routes to the top of Mount Baker: take a train to Glacier, run 14 miles up a steep trail to the summit, then return to Bellingham; or ride in a car to Deming, run 16 miles up a gentle trail, then go back.
The first marathon was a last-minute affair with mostly local runners, including Haggard, a Maple Falls resident about 19 years old who worked for a mining company and a timber outfit. I presume the $100 prize (that's close to $2,500 in today's dollars) tempted many of the runners.
Haggard was the first racer off the mountain, which meant he could ride a special train back to Bellingham while the others had to find another way to the finish line.
Exhausted, Haggard stripped off his clothes for a rubdown during the ride back. But as the train neared Maple Falls, a mammoth bull appeared in its path. The collision killed the bull and derailed the train, leaving the naked Haggard stunned and lamenting his fate.
Still, he got dressed and hitched a ride with a passing horse and buggy. He next had to be lifted out of the buggy and onto a horse, which galloped to a car waiting in Kendall.
When the horse saw the car, it froze with fright, pitching Haggard forward over its head. He landed in a heap, so the driver put him into the car and sped to town. Haggard fainted twice along the way.
He finished second to another local runner, Joe Galbraith, but the crowd was so impressed by Haggard's grit that they passed the hat and gave him $50. The Bellingham chamber tossed in $30 more, and Glacier and Maple Falls threw in $100, so Haggard fared well. He also was crowned King of Glacier.
For a man who captured the community's heart, there's surprisingly little information about Haggard's life after the marathons, other than that he died in Port Angeles in 1953, said Todd Warger of Bellingham, director of the upcoming documentary "The Mountain Runners."
Maybe that's just as well. A little mystery doesn't hurt when picking a namesake for an event.
"This is a neat way to do a community festival and to honor Harvey," Boonstra said, "to put some more legends back into the local area."
Keeping an eye on the weather -- it is gorgeous today but
supposed to be showers on Saturday...
Posted by DaveH at May 17, 2011 5:42 PM