75 years ago
December 23, 1942
Aberdeen’s “most horrible” murder mystery was “solved” by police yesterday afternoon, but the subject still is an unhappy topic around police circles. In fact police are completely tired of it all and a bit disgusted with the citizenry.
After the police towed away an empty car left abandoned at Fourth and L streets near McDermoth school, pupils began enhancing the story of what had actually happened. One pupil noted he had seen a body in the car. The “body” had a bullet wound in the head.
Later, it became full of “bullet wounds” and the car became a “pool of blood.” A second “body” was noted. Finally it became a “decapitated head” and then “two heads.”
The story really exploded when students went home for lunch and in less than an hour the “murder” story was being bandied around town.
When the desk man at the station told callers that police hadn’t heard of any “murder” he was greeted with skepticism and the remark “the police are always the last ones to hear about a crime.”
December 24, 1942
Coach Gene Cook’s Hoquiam high school cagers came through by a squeak yesterday afternoon against an alumni quintet led by Ray Sundquist, 1941 Washington State College basketball captain.
Grizzlies won 36 to 35.
Sundquist led the scoring with 16 and Rich Wittren, Western Washington College of Education cager, tied with Rollin Hurd of the high school with 10 each.
50 years ago
December 23, 1967
Raymond’s six-member police force is resigning effective Tuesday.
A “confidential memo” from Mayor Charles Oldani to Police Chief Dan Lunsford yesterday morning prompted a meeting late in the afternoon at which the chief and all other department personnel signed a joint letter of resignation.
In addition to the chief, those signing the document were Sgt. John Jessup, officers Virgil Sain, Bruce Caldwell and John Houlton and Mrs. Charlotte Rimes, communications officer.
The sensational developments of yesterday are a continuation of the hassle between Mayor Oldani and Lunsford. Since taking over the office, Oldani and Commissioner Chet King have made it clear they are out to oust the chief from his position.
December 24, 1967
Sunday, no newspaper published
25 years ago
December 23, 1992
Rick Frye, 40, is going into the holidays with a happy heart — and a new one too.
The Aberdeen man, who was featured in a Daily World story Nov. 19, had suffered for years with a greatly enlarged heart, that was functioning at less than a fourth of what it should be.
Monday, Dec. 14, Frye received a phone call at 4 a.m. that a new heart was ready for him and was being flown in from Montana. He and his mother, Josie, headed to the UW medical Center and he underwent surgery that morning.
With the surgery over, now there’s lots of medicine and rehabilitation.
“I’m even having to learn how to breathe,” he said. “For so many years I was short of breath, now I have to learn to breathe deeply and know that I can.”
December 24, 1992
Diana Moser, a health planner for the tiny Shoalwater Indian Tribe, is on a life or death mission.
The tribe’s most precious resource — its future — hangs in the balance.
There are 150 Shoalwater — 29 families that include 48 children under 18.
In the last five years, the Shoalwaters have had 24 confirmed pregnancies.
This month, only eight children are still alive from that group. There have been 12 miscarriages, two stillbirths and two infant deaths, said Moser, a registered nurse. And pregnancies that didn’t continue to the fifth month are not even counted as confirmed.
Is it poor health care, pesticides, diet, toxins or lifestyle decisions?
“I don’t know,” says Moser. “We speculate it could be anything. That’s why we’re looking at everything.”
Compiled from the archives of The Daily World by Karen Barkstrom
