Last month we published a popular blog post interweaving our company’s long history in downtown Bellingham with its newspaper advertisements in the 1930’s and 1940’s. Thanks again to the comprehensive resource, newspapers.com, we have more to share from the 1950’s through the 2000’s.

Bellingham Herald Advertisements from the 1950’s

As Bellingham and the rest of the country moved on from the war, we observed many changes in communities. The baby boom was in full swing and more people were moving to the suburbs and out of the big cities. For this reason and the decline of many of Bellingham’s industries including fishing, lumber and canneries, the local government pushed hard for the new multilane highway (I-5) to run right through downtown and along the waterfront. The hope was to promote new factories and industry into the heart of Bellingham. As we see now, the state road planners had different ideas (Reference: Bellingham – Thumbnail History). There is no record of what the Binyon Optometrists thought of this idea, but it’s safe to say our current downtown would look much different if I-5 had been routed this way!

We find the newspaper advertisements for the 1950’s continue to highlight eye exams as scientific, glasses as precise tools. This particular advertisement catches one’s eye with the line – “Glasses become obsolete too!” Reading further, you see it’s one’s eyes that would change to cause glasses to no longer work well- cleverly emphasizing the need for yearly eye exams:

There is no question that glasses fashion took off in the 1950’s – thank you Buddy Holly. While men’s frames were mostly basic horn-rims, the ladies discovered the cat-eye. Colors became more available in women’s frames and the additions of set-in gems was common.

The following lifestyle ads connect good vision to optimal eye health- presenting a problem that can be solved with a quality eye exam and glasses:

A few ads highlighted new, specialty products available from Binyon:

And finally, the newspaper remained the best forum to keep the public updated on store news and events:

One ad that stands out to the current Binyon staff is this one that details the “Binyon Rules of Practice.” We still have this poster hanging in our office today:

Bellingham Herald Advertisements from the 1960’s

This decade started with the loss of Dr. J.R. Binyon, the founder of Binyon Optometrists on June 17th, 1960. At this time, Binyon was operating twelve offices in Washington and Oregon, each with separate managers. After his passing, each office sold and the Bellingham office began running under the ownership of Dr. Leroy Freeman, Dr. Binyon’s nephew who had managed the practice since 1950. With the independent ownership, each company began marketing itself. The inclusion of other cities with Binyon offices dropped from each ad, and the number of ads dramatically reduced. In fact, we only found two from this decade. Highlighting the message that your vision affects your daily life and routine eye exams are important – the advertisement is more simple than past years. Note in this decade and the last ad of the 1950’s, the contact phone number changed from 3 digits to 5 digits.

The office posted an announcement with the Bellingham Herald about a new doctor addition, a Bellingham High School graduate who also served in the Army Medical Corp, Dr. Donald Jones.

Bellingham Herald Advertisements from the 1970’s

The above heading (advertisements) misleads, as we only found one Bellingham Herald advertisement run by Binyon Optometrists during the 1970’s! This ad promoted the third office move to Magnolia Street, a space Binyon occupied for about 20 years. Now the phone number is a full seven digits:

Binyon Optometrists earned a brief mention in the Local News section after a burglary:

In a Lifestyle article on glasses style, Binyon optician Rae Ann Baunach was quoted as agreeing that the “middle-age” population doesn’t like seeing themselves in bifocal glasses. The article makes the assertion that most people don’t find glasses attractive. We’re all really glad that perception has changed. Note in the photo of Marilyn Monroe the glasses were added with the question – would you ask this woman for a date? Things have definitely changed.

Bellingham Herald Advertising in the 1980’s

Activity picked up on the Binyon advertising front in the 1980’s. Dr. Mark McEathron joined the staff of doctors in 1980, announced in advertising space.

Soon after his arrival, Dr. McEathron met Curtis Dye, president of Interconnect Systems, a company specializing in business phone systems. They still both remember cleverly changing Binyon’s phone number to the current 647-2020, seen in all advertisements after 1981.

Dr. McEathron’s welcome advertisement included his specialty in child eye care. A few ads during this decade showed Binyon’s creation of a free vision screening for children, not yet required in schools.

The other emphasis for Binyon Optometrists during this decade was the optical department. This was the first mention of “Binyon Optical” or “Binyon Optical Center.” Fashion, frames and sales made up the majority of the advertisements, definitely highlighting the large glasses style of the time.

The Binyon team mourned the loss of partner Dr. Leroy Freeman in 1985, Dr. Binyon’s nephew, optometrist and part-owner of Binyon Optometrists in Bellingham since 1951.

Bellingham Herald Advertisements from the 1990’s

It’s hard for many of us to think of including the 1990’s in a historical overview of Bellingham Herald advertisements, but again we get to see how the decade had a specific look. Binyon Optometrists, Binyon Optical rebrands as Binyon Vision Center. At this time, the Herald was the foremost source of local news and a feature in the Local section about the most recent move to the corner of Garden and E. Magnolia was a big deal. Even though the rebranded name is noted as “Binyon Vision Clinic” (not exactly), this is a great article to promote the new location.

Advertised opportunities hoped to bring patients in to see the new office location with a few special events in this decade. Don’t miss the mention of Terry’s lattes – Bellingham has been espresso lovers for longer than most of the country!

Bellingham Herald Advertising in the 2000’s

The 2000’s proved the last presence of Binyon Vision Center advertisements in the Bellingham Herald. Smaller vertical oriented ads highlighted the staff, new products and the services offered at Binyon:

There is no doubt clip art was popular in this decade, we see this in these horizontally oriented advertisements for the optical department:

The opportunity to record Binyon Vision Center’s journey in Downtown Bellingham through these newspaper articles has been a privilege to share with you all! If you haven’t, please check out the first blog in this series with the advertisements from the 1930’s and 1940’s. We love our community, are thankful for the rich history we have here and are excited to continue the tradition of excellence in eyewear and eyecare for many many more years!