Larry Jones to be honored as Pioneer of the Year

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, September 2, 2025

The Polson Museum invites the public to a celebration at the museum’s Railroad Camp shop on Sunday, Sept. 7 at 2 p.m. in honoring Larry Jones as our Pioneer of the Year for 2025.

Each year since 1980, the Polson Museum has honored long-time members of the Grays Harbor community who have helped shape Harbor history for the better. Through their ties to Grays Harbor’s pioneering families, businesses, schools, and service organizations, the Polson’s “Pioneers” continue to give a human face to the history we Harborites share.

Born in Arizona on a cattle ranch in 1935, Jones has called Grays Harbor home since his family moved to South Aberdeen in 1944. Jones attended Aberdeen schools, graduating in 1952 from AHS and later Grays Harbor College, Western Washington University and finally the University of Oregon for his Masters.

In his youth, Jones worked at some of the Harbor’s most iconic businesses. His father was a carpenter for the Schafer Bros. Lumber Co. and with that connection, son Larry worked at their South Aberdeen mill as well as for the Schafer family members doing carpentry work at their Aberdeen homes, Hood Canal vacation properties and at the Schafer Game Farm in the Satsop River valley. Jones also worked at the Morck Hotel as a bellboy and as a bus boy at the hotel restaurant.

An accomplished athlete, Larry immersed himself in local sports, playing for Aberdeen High School, Western Washington University and for the semi-pro 1952 Industrial Twilight League championship Wagar Lumber baseball team.

Jones is especially well known on the Harbor for his 40-plus-year career with the Hoquiam School District. Starting out as a grade school teacher for a combined five years at Lincoln and Emerson, he ascended to assume the principalships at Lincoln, Emerson and Central Grade Schools. He completed his career as assistant superintendent of the district.

Jones’ volunteerism is far reaching, serving over six decades with the Hoquiam Lions and Elks clubs, as a founding committee member of the Loggers’ Playday Committee as well as on the Polson Museum’s Board of Directors since 2012.

Please join the museum for an afternoon of community fellowship celebrating Jones as the museum’s 46th Pioneer of the Year. The Polson Museum is located at 1611 Riverside Ave. in Hoquiam. For more information, call 360-533-5862.

Past Polson Pioneers

Charles Clemons — 1980

Ruth Birks and Frances Rosenberg — 1981

Ed Van Syckle — 1982

Bus Fairbairn— 1983

George Lamb — 1984

Orlo Higley — 1985

Capt. Charles Baker — 1986

Ed Bowers — 1987

Jerome Heermans — 1988

Roy Knack — 1989

Asa Fishel — 1990

Myra Shelley — 1991

William Jones — 1992

Douglas Osborn — 1993

Rudy Anderson — 1994

Harold Schmidtke — 1995

Helge Erickson — 1996

Doris West — 1997

Dewey Wilson — 1998

Mary Goodin — 1999

Gile Mead — 2000

Howard and Betty Wilson — 2001

Joel Wolff — 2002

Omar Parker — 2003

Florence Abrahamson — 2004

Marian Abel Weatherwax — 2005

Cecil Herrington — 2006

Alice Esses — 2007

Gordon Love and Vicki Fenton — 2008

Don Stubb — 2009

Anthony Cemelich — 2010

Ray Ryan — 2011

Jack Shrauger — 2012

Oscar Rosenkrantz — 2013

Rudy Spanich — 2014

Isabelle Lamb — 2015

Gene Stensager and Lou Messmer — 2016

Irma Loomis — 2017

Dave Seymour — 2018

Larry Wyrick — 2019

Jerry Erickson — 2020

Patricia Clemons — 2021

Lee Thomasson — 2022

Bill Wieland — 2023

Vern Heikkila — 2024

Larry Jones — 2025