75 years ago
October 1, 1944
Sunday, no newspaper published
October 2, 1944
Some Harbor coffee hoarders were still buying coffee by the armful this morning as a result of a rumor started Saturday afternoon in which it was erroneously reported that coffee would return to the ration list at midnight Saturday.
The rumor began with a news release from the New Mexico district OPA office and was later withdrawn. Late Saturday afternoon the grocery stores filled with coffee buyers, many of whom bought it by the case.
Some neighborhood stores, open Saturday and Sunday, reported a complete sellout.
50 years ago
October 1, 1969
Grays Harbor’s first new mortuary since 1922 is now under construction just south of the gates to Fern Hill Cemetery.
Hans Bielski, president of the Aberdeen Cemetery Association, expects the facility to be completed and open for business in the spring.
The cemetery association will own the $132,000 building and the property. It’ll be leased by a group of local businessmen for actual operation.
It’ll cover 6,200 square feet, including a 28-by-48 foot chapel that will seat about 130, two-car garage and living facilities. Siding will be cedar, the roof shakes.
“It’s a new concept as far as we’re concerned,” Bielski said. “We’ve tried to design something that will give people a little peace of mind, get away from the traditional appearance.”
October 2, 1969
Harborites with a desire to appear on television can fulfill their yen by wheeling a shopping cart around Harbor Thriftway.
The store is experimenting with a closed-circuit TV, with four cameras, as a means of coping with shoplifters, Joe Tolomei, store manager said.
“We no sooner installed it than we caught three shoplifters,” he remarked. He said that shoplifting, which is costing his store several thousands of dollars in a year, ranges from boys stealing candy and pop to a matron who tried to sneak $25 worth of high-coast items out the door.
25 years ago
October 1, 1994
Seventy-five years ago, a group of young men home from battle and proud of their military service that helped end the first world war sat around the Aberdeen office of Dr. O.R. Austin and decided to start a veterans group.
Twenty-one men signed the charter creating the Aberdeen Veterans of Foreign Wars Oct. 19, 1919, about a year after the World War I Armistice was declared. They became the 224th post in the country.
Those original members aren’t around anymore, but there are plenty of veterans who have followed in their footsteps and kept the group going strong through the decades, both in times of war and peace.
Today the Aberdeen VFW boasts a membership list of more than 700 and this month marks three-quarters of a century of camaraderie.
In the early 1960s, membership numbered more than 1,000.
“We were the largest post this side of the Mississippi,” said Jubilee Chairman Ernie Linnenkohl.
October 2, 1994
Micah Valentine’s hat trick propelled Elma to a hard-fought 4-1 victory over Stevenson in a Nisqually League soccer game Saturday at Volunteer Field in Elma. At the 77-minute mark Eagles’ Jeff Poston completed Elma’s scoring with a rare goal off a corner kick.
Elma coach Steve Valentine was ecstatic over his team’s performance against a Stevenson club whose only previous loss had been to Pendleton, Ore. He applauded the play of stopper Jon Lemmon. Jeff Ochsner and John Weiser also drew praise for performing special defensive assignments.
Compiled from the archives of The Daily World by Karen Barkstrom
