The Armenian Genocide, 1915-1916, was one of the worst humanitarian crises of the twentieth century. Support to help survivors poured in from around the globe—including here in Whatcom County.
Medz Yeghern, the Armenian Genocide
The Ottoman Empire sided with Germany during World War I. As the conflict spiraled, the Ottomans came to view Armenians, a Christian ethnic group in western Asia, as the enemy and targeted them for annihilation. In total, over a million Armenians were killed or died of starvation and disease. Greeks and Assyrians were also victims of genocide. Violence continued in the region into the 1920s.
The violence left the world shocked and appalled. To help survivors, the American Committee for Syrian and Armenian Relief was founded in 1915. It was later renamed Near East Relief.
There were few people of Near Eastern descent living in Whatcom County at the time, but people were very concerned. Calls for donations were met through a general war relief committee. In 1917, Bellingham formed an Armenian-Syrian Relief Committee.
This organization would later expand to include all of Whatcom County. The committee was made up of social, civic and religious leaders from the area. Communities, both large and small, formed relief committees of their own.
Whatcom County Finds Ways to Fundraise
Conflict in the Near East continued well after World War I ended. While initial fundraising efforts were met by Red Cross drives, organizers also held special fundraising campaigns.
One of the largest of these campaigns was in January 1919. For a week, dozens of volunteers, including the Minute Women, went door to door in Bellingham, visiting homes and businesses.
Whatcom County’s generosity wasn’t limited to fundraising campaigns. Many contributed regularly. Women’s clubs and Sunday schools banded together to sponsor orphans for $5 a month.
Volunteers found creative ways to raise money, turning everyday events into a way to help. In 1920, for example, people in the Prairie district near Sumas raised $50 by auctioning off “basket” dinners at the schoolhouse. That same year, Bellingham First Presbyterian Church collected $220 at their regular Sunday School Christmas program. Many other churches did the same.
Others donated through “Golden Rule Sunday.” An annual event, people across the nation were encouraged to eat a simple meal, similar to what was served at orphanages, and contribute money saved to Near East Relief.
Speakers Raised Awareness
Near East Relief also sent speakers to Whatcom County. They shared what the organization was doing with clubs, churches, and schools. Many of the speakers had volunteered overseas themselves. After listening to Christopher Thurber talk about his time overseas, the Bellingham Business and Professional Women’s Club voted to donate $20 in 1924.
A few of the speakers were Armenian. In December 1924, Armenouhie Tashjian Lamson spoke at the Garden Street Methodist Church in Bellingham. The wife of a prominent Seattle doctor, she also helped lead a sale of lace linen goods made by children from Near East Relief orphanages. The sale raised $250.
The most famous Armenian to visit Whatcom County was Aurora Mardiganian. A genocide survivor, she accompanied showings of the film “Auction of Souls” at the Liberty Theater in January 1920. She starred in the movie, which was based on her book.
One popular speaker was Western Washington University teacher Catherine Montgomery. After visiting the Near East in early 1927, she gave lantern slide presentations to groups around the county.
Whatcom County Sends Clothes and Milk
Not all donations were cash. Refugees were in desperate need of both clothing and food. In the 1920s, Whatcom County held “bundle days” when people would bundle up used clothing and bring it to donation centers. Coats and shoes were in high demand.
Students sometimes went door to door for donations, and bundles could also be mailed in from the countryside. Boy Scouts, high school students, and other volunteers helped pack donations for shipment. Transfer companies lent trucks and drivers.
Near East Relief also struggled to get food to those who needed it most. With its thriving dairy industry, Whatcom County generously responded to calls for canned and powdered milk donations. People gave both milk and cash. Dairy companies donated thousands of pounds of milk. Other companies gave canned salmon and fruit.
Young women volunteered at local grocery stores to ask for donations in an April 1921 campaign, while schoolkids went door to door. “And if all of them are as earnest as one little fellow in the Broadway Park district yesterday,” the Bellingham Herald newspaper proclaimed on April 21, “their efforts should yield a snug sum.” When the lady of the house answered the door, she told the child she had already donated while downtown. Unfazed, the little boy replied with a persistent “Please do.” Couldn’t she give again?
Milk campaigns continued throughout the 1920s. In 1922, Whatcom County sent 16,950 pounds of powdered milk overseas. In the following years, Bellingham kids could get in free to a special show at the American Theater in exchange for a can of condensed milk. Boy Scouts were on hand to pack the donations.
Whatcom County’s Legacy
While Whatcom County’s donations to the Near East tapered off during the Great Depression, the County had contributed much in only a short time. They had given thousands of dollars to people in need and provided both food and clothing.
“This record of life-saving,” Western Washington Near East Relief secretary Nellie G. Orr told the Bellingham Herald on June 13, 1922, “reflects great credit upon Whatcom County’s people.”
The Near East Foundation continues its good work in the region today.
