PORT TOWNSEND — Walter McQuillen, a chief of the Waatch village of the Makah who grew up in Port Townsend, will speak Saturday about the history of the Makah, including how his family became related to the gray whale, during the Chautauqua Vaudeville Extravaganza Weekend.
“I’ve never done this before,” said the 56-year-old Port Townsend resident of his speech.
“We’ve had potlatches and we’ve given potlatches but this is different.”
McQuillen, the son of Mary T. Green McQuillen — a tribal elder who lived in Port Townsend until her death in 2007 — will speak at a free workshop organized by the New Old Time Chautauqua and the Jefferson County Historical Society at the Jefferson Museum of Art & History, 540 Water St.
The workshop, “The Makah People — An Oral History with Walter McQuillen,” will be from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.
It will be followed from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. by “The History of the Chautaugua Movement from 1874-Present,” by Paul Magid, co-founder of the New Old Time Chautauqua and the Flying Karamazov Brothers.
McQuillen said that, in addition to the tale of “how we became related to the whales,” he will tell “a little bit of history of why we’re here and how my grandfather and great-grandfather basically approved of us living in Port Townsend.”
McQuillen said that when his parents moved to Port Townsend, “my great-grandfather, Alex Green, said, ‘Good, now we have Port Townsend back.’ ”
Before the Europeans came to the area, the Makah “used to come down and camp and follow the salmon down,” McQuillen said.
“There were a lot of different tribes that had a place around the Port Townsend area.”
His story about the Makah and the whale is a version told by his family, the Green family. Each family has its own version with each differing slightly, he said.
The basic elements of the story are that a grey whale turned himself into a man and courted the daughter of a Makah chief. She fell in love with him and they wed. She turned into a whale and lived in the sea with her husband.
When Magid speaks, he will focus on the Chautauqua Movement’s impact on Port Townsend both 1914-29 and from 1986 until the present.
His talk will be accompanied by photos of the time and of Port Townsend’s own present-day Chautauqua, the New Old Time Chautauqua.
The Chautauqua movement flourished from the late 19th century until the Great Depression. During its heyday, the mix of entertainment and education was the most attended event ever in U.S. history, being seen by more than 40 million people annually, Magid said.
The two workshops are only the beginning of the free events Saturday.
Activities will move to the Cotton Building, 607 Water St.
From 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. will be a community potluck. A dance is planned from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Music will be by a mega brass band composed of Port Townsend’s own Unexpected Brass Band, Bellingham’s, Brasscadia, and the New Old Time Chautauqua’s Fighting Instruments of Karma Marching Chamber Band/Orchestra.
Saturday’s events are a warm-up for two shows Sunday which will feature professional whistler Jason Victor Serinus, the voice of Woodstock in the 1980 Peanuts cartoon; puppet Godfrey Daniels; Broadway Stars the Flying Karamazov Brothers; Artis the Spoonman of Soundgarden “Spoonman” fame; magician Joey Pipia; the world’s only sister tuba duo, The Pipia Sisters; hula hoopist Vanessa Vortex; multi-instrumentalist Fiona Rose; and others.
The shows will be at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. at the American Legion Hall, 209 Monroe St.
Tickets for the shows can be purchased at Brown Paper Tickets or at the Port Townsend Co-op.
Advance tickets are $16 for adults and $10 for children 12 and younger.
Tickets at the door will be $20 for adults and $12 for children 12 and younger.
Paul Magid, co-founder of the New Old Time Chautauqua and the Flying Karamazov Brothers, on Saturday will tell about the history of the Chautauqua movement.
