Eastside Heritage Center’s oral history collection contains almost 200 interviews. In the following edited excerpt from her oral history, Phyllis Hill Fenwick describes a Bellevue celebration from the 1920s – the “Jazzbird Jubilee.”

“One of the big bashes that they put on was the Jazzbird Jubilee, and that was a really big thing. All of Bellevue was involved in that, and it was even advertised in Seattle. There was a big doll named Jazzabelle that they sold raffle tickets for, and she was a good big doll. She was just beautiful as I remember her.

Then they had the Jazzbirds, which as near as I can remember were large pinecones with bright yellow feet and legs, and the heads were red and yellow. They were all colors – I just don’t remember what the tail was like – but they sold the Jazzbirds.

Then all the different clubs and churches had booths, and I remember helping my mother and grandmother make [imitation] lavender and purple wisteria blossoms and vines to cover their booth. I don’t remember what they had to sell in there, but I remember making the flowers to decorate the booths….

They had a big costume ball on Saturday night, and everyone showed up for that – and in costume. It was really very nice. Mother dressed Mrs. Sherman up as Jazzabelle – she made her a pink dress with a pink bow in her hair. Mrs. Sherman took her hair down, and mother made big long curls of her hair, and then they wore masks for the ball.… It was just so out of character for Mrs. Sherman to be dressed as a doll and toddling around the floor. No one guessed who that was.

Mother also made little red devil costumes for Helen and Edgar and me, and we got to dance right along with the grownups. Mother went as Bo-Peep, and I remember that costume with the long crook and the works.”

Heritage Corner is a feature in the Bellevue Reporter. Material is provided by the Eastside Heritage Center. For more information call 425-450-1049.