75 years ago

August 9, 1943

Gorman Fox, Westport fisherman, was stricken with infantile paralysis three years ago, he sold his fishing vessel and equipment and was resigned to becoming a landlubber for the rest of his days.

This week, he will rejoin the fishing fleet in a trim, new craft of his own design, now being rigged at the Wise Machine Works dock in Hoquiam.

The “Heather Too” was built under Fox’s direction according to his own blueprints and when she sails Fox will be at the wheel. Although partial paralysis still requires him to walk with the assistance of a crutch, he has overcome the handicap in many ways.

August 10, 1943

“I can’t seem to stay away from cities named Aberdeen,” confessed Auxiliary Mildred Cosper, former store clerk at Sears, who is on a 14-day furlough from the huge army proving grounds at Aberdeen, Maryland.

“There is very little that I can say about my work there,” Cosper said, “except that the magnitude of the place is impressive, and that more Wacs are replacing men every day in ordinance testing. The first day I arrived there, we were initiated with a two-hour ride in a tank. It was a rugged introduction to army life, but I wouldn’t have missed it for anything. Now I put in eight hours a day driving army vehicles of one sort or another. The Wacs is no place for a sissie.”

50 years ago

August 9, 1968

Playing at the D&R Theater this weekend is an older Frank Sinatra, who bears very little resemblance to the pop singer of 25 years ago, starring in “The Detective” a distinctly dramatic role. John Wayne and David Janssen in “The Green Berets” are at the Aberdeen Theater. At the Drive-In tonight and tomorrow, it’s “Fantastic Voyage” and “The Scalphunters.”

August 10, 1968

If John Earley has his way, the Port of Grays Harbor will make it through 1969 without any help from the taxpayer.

Earley, a port commissioner, asked at Friday’s commission meeting that the port staff prepare a budget not mentioning any income from tax levies.

“The Port of Grays Harbor is self-sufficient to the point where its income from its facilities will pay for operations, new construction and so on,” he remarked. The other two commissioners joined Early in his suggestion.

Earley added, ‘To my knowledge, Grays Harbor is the first major operational port in the state to try to do without a tax levy.” The port has been receiving money from levies since 1911.

25 years ago

August 9, 1993

One month after the demise of Oakhurst Convalescent Center at Elma, a custody battle looms for the former nursing home’s valuable remains.

In a complex system that has evolved in this state, ownership of a nursing home “bed” has become a valuable commodity, bringing an average of $5,000 to $6,000 per bed.

Having bed authority doesn’t necessarily mean a company can operate a nursing home, but it is a first step. There’s a limited number of beds allowed in the state.

At that market price, with its 170 beds, the Oakhurst bed authority would be worth more than $1 million.

Community Care Centers rented Oakhurst from the county for a decade and is trying to put the bed authority into a newly created nursing home bed “bank. Grays Harbor County has the same desire.

August 10, 1993

A walking tour of downtown Aberdeen finds merchants at their battle station. Having been “malled” in the ’70s and ’80s, many business owners say they don’t intend for the ’90s to be the decade they got “Wal-Marted.”

“Be ready to change,” says Arla Holzschuh, director for the past six months of Aberdeen’s new Main Street Association. “Learn about Wal-Mart and you can enhance your business.”

Retailing consultants repeatedly advise that today’s customers want to shop after work and on Sundays. The classic advice is to establish a niche, know your customers and your market area, and streamline your business.

“Generally surveys have shown that people want to shop locally and will pay more for good customer service,” Holzschuh says. But, they don’t want to pay through the nose, either. Local loyalty does not come at any price.

Compiled from the archives of The Daily World by Karen Barkstrom