75 years ago
January 20, 1943
• Prison privations brought death to Claude Howes in a concentration camp in Japan last summer, according to word received by his brother, Chester, of Hoquiam through the Red Cross.
Howes was employed as a welder in the navy’s Seabees at Wake Island prior to the outbreak of Japanese hostilities. He was taken prisoner by the Japanese at the time of their occupation of the island, Dec. 24, 1941.
Howes worked at the Matthews shipyards in 1915-17 and later served in France in World War I before returning to Hoquiam.
• All is more or less quiet in the way of crimes these days. Well, that is, if the 19 drunks who have visited the jail over the last four days are the silent, happy type.
Most or these drunks are deemed “regulars” at the local police department. For their first offense they pay $10. If the next bender rolls around too soon, the fine is upped to $25 and there it stays for further spills from the wagon. This goes on until one day the judge says “This is too much!”
So, 30 days in the county jail, which amounts to a month’s abstinence from the pleasure of “happy water,” is presented to the veteran offender.
January 21, 1943
• High tribute was paid Victor Osina of South Aberdeen last night at a public American Legion meeting for his heroic deed in risking his own life to save the lives of five small South Aberdeen children trapped by fire.
Superior Judge J.M. Phillips paid glowing tribute to Osina and Bernard Saurage, a companion, who helped Osina rescue the children, declaring they were “typical of American people.”
Called upon to give his version of the fire, Osina grinned broadly and said he wasn’t much of a speaker.
“Victor did a real job and deserves all the credit he can get,” said Saurage.
• The South Bend Indians defeated the Raymond Gulls, 33-28, as the Raymond gymnasium was plunged into darkness several times Tuesday night.
The teams played a few minutes and the lights went out. When they came on again officials started the game from out of bounds with the player last seen handling the ball throwing it in. This was repeated a dozen times as the lights flickered on and off.
Johnson of South Bend and Stark of Raymond shared scoring honors with 12 points apiece.
50 years ago
January 20, 1968
After 55 years of structural prominence at 2nd and I streets, the old First Methodist Church building in Aberdeen will according to a hackneyed journalist’s phrase “succumb to the wrecker’s ball” on or about the first of February.
Not many other buildings on the Harbor have survived that many years.
The old structure and property was just recently purchased by the Whiteside Undertaking Co. and according to Gene Whiteside Jr., the building will be razed early next month to provide long-needed parking space for his firm.
January 21, 1968
Sunday, no newspaper published
25 years ago
January 20, 1993
An exclusive deal to handle all of the Weyerhaeuser Co,’s lumber exports from the region and all of the veneer it produces in South Aberdeen will more than double the Port of Grays Harbor’s lumber export volumes for 1993.
“To get local manufacturers to ship locally is something we’ve been working on for some time,” the Port’s executive director, Cliff Muller, said Tuesday. “We’re going to see a nice increase in finished forest products.”
January 21, 1993
After 31 years in education — 28 of them as an administrator in Elma — Gary Logan is retiring, effective June 3o.
Logan, 57, has spend the past five years as superintendent after 23 years as principal of the Elementary School. “I feel the district has grown and developed in many ways, since I first arrived,” Logan said in announcing his resignation to the school board. “The district is in excellent shape and is well staffed.”
Compiled from the archives of The Daily World by Karen Barkstrom
