75 years ago

August 7, 1943

• Joe Randich, Hoquiam Shipyard employe, and six of his eight children, escaped possible death from a fire which started in the basement of their Aberdeen home at 1510 North C street, last night, when the older daughters, Catherine and Lorraine, returned home from a movie, and observed flames creeping out of the basement.

They aroused the family and the younger children were removed in orderly fashion by 13-year-old Shirley.

Randich said that tools of considerable value were lost in the basement as well as jars of canned fruits and vegetables. The blaze apparently was caused by a burner used to provide heat for some small chickens in the basement, according to Fire Chief Charles Borum. The chickens perished.

• Sergeant Robert Trager, All-American high school free style champion swimmer while a student at Aberdeen high school, is now instructing infantrymen at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, to swim with full packs, rifles, steel helmets, ammunition and other equipment.

The Aberdeen soldier is one of Aberdeen’s swimming greats. While competing for the high school here he smashed conference and state free-style swimming marks and was named on the All-American high school swimming roster.

August 8, 1943

Sunday, no newspaper published

50 years ago

August 7, 1968

Spec. 4 Russell R. Ruuska of Aberdeen was recently awarded the Silver Star “For gallantry in action while serving in Vietnam.

On April 11, 1968, while serving as a rifleman with Company B, 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division, near Tay Ninh, Republic of Vietnam, Ruuska destroyed three occupied enemy bunkers with hand grenades.

Then, still under heavy hostile fire, Ruuska made his way back to his platoon carrying a wounded man. Three men were wounded in the action, two of them dying later.

Ruuska is a graduate of Weatherwax High School and entered the Army in August of 1967. He has been in Vietnam for six months.

August 8, 1968

Motorists should be able to drive the 50 miles between Olympia and Aberdeen without a traffic light by the end of the year.

Paving operations began today on the final 4.8 miles section of the Ocean Freeway between Brady and Montesano.

25 years ago

August 7, 1993

Aberdeen welcomed New Zealand exchange student Kevin Hay with smiles, a lot of “Hello’s” and the chicken pox.

“The disease isn’t very common in New Zealand,” Kevin said. “It was real itchy for a few days.”

”It was an unfortunate experience, but Kevin handled it very well,” said Sandi Bielski, Hey’s host mother. “He rarely complained or seemed bothered.”

August 8, 1993

• Michelle Zawislak and Richard Stallo, both of Aberdeen, are engaged and planning to be married in the fall.

The bride to be, the daughter of Phyllis and Michael Zawislak Jr. of Aberdeen, is a 1986 graduate of Aberdeen High School. She attended Grays Harbor College and is employed by the Aberdeen School District as an interpreter for the hearing impaired.

The future groom, the son of Nancy Stallo of Aberdeen, is a 1984 graduate of AHS. He also graduated from Western Washington University and is a teacher at AHS. The wedding is planned for Oct. 9 in St. Mary’s Catholic Church.

• This year’s Grays Harbor County Fair will be dedicated to the memory of Boyd Zepp, the Elma-area logger who was killed four months ago by a falling tree while operating a backhoe.

When the race track at the fairgrounds was completed 12 years ago, it was the largest all-volunteer fair project ever undertaken in the state.

Dozens of volunteers helped, but Zepp worked harder and donated more than most.

Compiled from the archives of The Daily World by Karen Barkstrom