75 years ago

March 26, 1943

Roy Hale, 16, and his sister, Rosie, 13, arrived in Aberdeen and were reunited with their parents yesterday after leaving their home in Nolan, West Virginia. The children had been staying with relatives in Nolan after their father got a job at West Coast Plywood and mother started working at Grays Harbor Chair Co. six months ago.

The children were put on the wrong train to begin their trip, missed their train connection in Chicago and ended up sitting up all night for practically the entire five day trip.

But last night they slept the “sleep of the just” or those just “plain worn out” and this morning were taking care of “Ole Miss Appetite” like any healthy growing children.

It was certainly “good to be home again,’ even if home was a brand-new place 3,000 miles removed from West Virginia. Mom and Dad had a good night’s sleep too after worrying considerably the whole time their children were traveling.

50 years ago

March 26, 1968

A fire from an as yet undetermined source last night gutted the upstairs floor of a house at 710 E. Market St. in Aberdeen, occupied by the Lloyd Thomas family. Thomas, who valiantly rescued his children from the blaze last night, remained hospitalized this morning with second degree burns and a head laceration.

Fire Chief Zane Mitchell said the fire started in an unoccupied bedroom on the second floor of the house, then spread into three other bedrooms, where eight of the nine Thomas children slept. The ninth child, four-month-old Dorene, was downstairs with her parents when the oldest, Thomas boy, David, 11, awoke screaming that the house was on fire.

Thomas lowered two of his daughters through an upstairs window. A neighbor, Army Sgt. John Stauffer, home on leave from Korea, helped Mrs. Thomas and their infant daughter out of the main floor. Thomas is employed as a logger.

25 years ago

March 26, 1993

Irvine T. Seath, a versatile reporter and editor whose career stretched from Linotype machines to laserprinters, died Thursday night at Grays harbor Community Hospital. He was 77.

Seath joined The Aberdeen Daily World in 1944 and retired 38 years later. In 1960, he was promoted to news editor, which meant he handled all AP and UPI stories and designed the front page. He was a stickler for spelling, “style” and grammar.

He and Ade Frederickson, the managing editor, were the newsroom’s “Odd Couple.” As deadline approached, Seath would grow frantic, prodding reporters and making numerous sorties into the composing room to swap insults with the foreman. Irv mother-henned the clattering teletypes and muttered while unruffled Ade, puffed his pipe and looked on with bemusement.

“Irv,” he’d say, “we always get out on time. Don’t worry.”

“Yes,” said Irv. “And it’s because I worry!”

Compiled from the archives of The Daily World by Karen Barkstrom