What’s Inside....
3 — Susan Kramer-Pope exercises the right side of her brain at the J
4 — Louise Sager keeps the past alive and well in her “closet”
9 — A loving tribute to J.C. Samsill from his grandson, Evan A supplement of Wednesday, May 7, 2025
Ferndale woman helps community dress through the ages
By Racquel Muncy Staff Reporter
FERNDALE — Sequins were popular in the ‘20s, while bright colors that probably shouldn’t be worn together were a staple of the ‘60s. Metal zippers were a common item in ‘50s fashion. These are all fashion tidbits Louise Sager has picked up over the years of creating outfits for nearly every era that she shares with the community.
In 1957 after getting married and moving to Ferndale, Sager started to participate in the Old Settlers parade. She made costumes for herself and her kids and serapes for her horse. People took notice and began asking her if she could make pioneer women’s clothes, so she started making dresses for others to wear.
“That’s what got me started in collecting clothes,” Sager said.
She wasn’t always interested in fashion over the decades. Sager grew up with a single mom and said they were not very well off. So she learned to sew and make clothes that she would not be able to otherwise afford. Several items in the overgrown closet Sager made for her everyday wardrobe. To this day she said the 1950s is probably her favorite decade of clothing, if only because it is when she grew up.
It started as clothing for her family for the Old Settlers Parade, then others wanted to borrow clothing or they heard she could make an outfit, so the wardrobe began to branch out to other eras.
What started as a closet turned into a basement full of clothing and accessories to go with every outfit. When it started to overflow into her husband’s trophy room, Sager said either she had to go or the clothes had to go, so he built a shop to store the clothing in 2003.
“I thought we’d never fill this up,” Sager said she thought at the time. “I don’t know how we got this far.”
For a while the space was large enough to have friends over to dance with room to spare.
“Now it’s two stories plumb full,” Sager said. “It’s a hobby gone wild.”
Some of the clothing Sager made herself, some came from garage sale or vintage shop finds and others came from community donations.
“I hate to say no,” she said of donations. “But I’ve got a lot boxed up.”
See Community Closet on next page
When walking into the heated shop, Sager warns new visitors their jaw is likely to drop.
Friend and Ferndale Heritage Society member Sue Brand said that is exactly what happened when she entered for the first time.
“My mouth just fell to the floor,” Brand said.
While it is about as full as the building can get, everything has a place. Clothing is sorted by era and season and size. Sager has everything from authentic Victorian to everything needed to attend a Hawaiian Luau party. Including men’s clothing and outfits for young children.
“Little girls want to look cute, too,” Sager said of dressing up for a themed occasion.
It’s not just clothes either. Need shoes or a hat to match the outfit? Sager has it. She probably made or decorated the hat. The perfect jewelry to bring the outfit together? Sager has it in the color needed. A cane, umbrella, authentic fur or purse to perfect the look? Sager has it and she knows exactly where to find it. She even has 100 years of wedding dresses, which includes her own, although these are not for borrowing.
Community members regularly utilize Sager’s shop to find the perfect outfit for their occasion, whether it be to dress
up for an Old Settlers event or a themed party. People are able to check out clothing by leaving their name, phone number, description of items borrowed and the reason for borrowing.
“People come in all the time,” she said. “You just never see clothes like this ever.”
Brand said she recently came to get an outfit for the Ferndale Heritage Society’s education program. She also found an outfit fit for the Ferndale Chamber of Commerce’s recent awards gala.
Sager said things are not always returned and sometime they are more worse for the wear, but most take care and return the items.
“(The clothes) have lasted a long time for the wear and tear that goes in,” she said, adding that this is her way of giving back to the community that has taken her in as one of them, having come down from Canada when she got married.
Not only does Sager have the clothes, but she knows how they should be worn as well. She said she won’t let girls leave without a petticoat for their outfits.
“You don’t want the dress to hang to you,” she said. “You want a dress that has a shape and not of your big butt.”
Sager also combined her love of the clothing with her other community involvement that keeps her busy – the Fern-
By Evan Samsill For the Tribune
LYNDEN — So, what do you like to do for fun?
How many times have you been asked a version of this statement in your life? This thought crossed my mind as we stepped into spring and my own hobbies start to adjust with the seasons.
Winter finds me mostly indoors, working on musical instruments and other gear – with some baking thrown in for good measure. But now it has quickly become outdoor season, where hikes, fishing and the barbecue beckon.
The instruments – well, I apologize for your ears if you walk by my backyard when I’m strumming on something.
Sometimes sharing your interests should be done in good taste. But in the spirit of sharing interests, talents, and hobbies, I’d like to share someone’s who didn’t put it out into the world to see – my grandfather, J.C. Samsill.
My grandfather grew up in rural farm
