75 years ago
August 27, 1944
Sunday, no newspaper published
August 28, 1944
Oswa the Gull arrived in Aberdeen this morning, circled doubtfully several times over the partially reconstructed West bridge, decided he had not miscalculated, and landed.
Oswa had been gone 149 days from his winter haven on the Chehalis river span, having last departed on April 5. As a matter of fact, his vacations north of the Canadian border are getting longer and longer. In the summer of 1942 he was gone 144 days, in 1943 146 days.
When Oswa arrived this morning, he shrieked in explanation that he had been held up by a couple of closed drawbridges.
50 years ago
August 27, 1969
In the finest tradition of goldfish swallowing, dance marathons and telephone booth stuffing, the teen-age son of Hoquiam’s mayor is drumming up support for a unique niche in history.
Lane Youmans, 16, is trying to break the world’s marathon drumming record. He started drumming at noon Tuesday, and if he can last until 4:24 p.m. Saturday he will enter the record books as the champion. Headquarters for the attempt is a covered picnic shelter at the Hoquiam Lions Park near the new high school.
“I’ll drum until I drop!” the soft-spoken youth declared last night.
Asked about his parents’ reaction to the drumming record attempt, Youmans grinned: “They know for certain that their son isn’t getting into trouble.”
“More power to him if he can do it,” said the mayor.
“He’s nuttier than a fruit cake!” added Lane’s bother Paul. 21.
August 28, 1969
Joe DeLaCruz didn’t have to conduct a tour for the Daily World reporter to show defacement on Point Grenville Beach. We could see some of the red spray can smears from Highway 109.
A short stroll on the beach — with a Quinault Indian patrolman — revealed others. Letters as high as a man proclaiming “RENTON” or “KENT.”
Passive hosts of the crude signs are the picturesque rocks on the expanse of sand immediately south of Point Grenville. Among the rock sea stacks is the Weeping Woman, the subject of a thousand photographs, sketches and paintings done by more responsible tourists and local people who recognize the beauty of the magnificent beach.
The Quinault Indians, who place significance to the rocks, recently closed the beaches within the Reservation to all visitors, friend and foe alike, in an effort to preserve the natural splendor of the beaches.
25 years ago
August 27, 1994
The owners of Most Western Laundry, a Hoquiam institution for nearly 90 years, have been working to clean up the mess from a devastating fire.
They say they’ve also been burned by some out-of-town competitors trying to take advantage of their loss.
Jean and Mike Bonney have concluded they can’t afford to rebuild the business that has been in Jean’s family for 50 years, but they believe their customers are going to be well served by a company they have faith in.
They have sold Most Western’s routes to the Unifirst Corp., a national company with plants in Tacoma and Portland.
August 28, 1994
Nine-year-old Derek Plummer looked overwhelmed as he tried to grin with a three-pound trout in one hand and the handlebar of a brand new mountain bike in the other.
The Cosmopolis School fourth grader landed the biggest fish at the Kids Fishing Derby at Mill Creek park Saturday. Kadee Brooks of Aberdeen, the girl who hooked the largest trout, also won a new Huffy.
Some 400 young anglers who hoped to win the bikes converged on Mill Creek Pond under a cloudless sky for the competition co-sponsored by The Daily World and Trout Unlimited.
Compiled from the archives of The Daily World by Karen Barkstrom
Editor’s note: When asked how his bid for fame turned out, Lane Youmans told this story:
The 1969 marathon was actually the first of two. “It happened at the outdoor kitchen at Lion’s Park. Ace cub reporter John Hughes interviewed me at his home, using a small reel-to-reel tape recorder. That (record attempt) lasted about 24 hours. Because I was exposed to the elements, I came down with a severe cold and was forced to quit.”
The next year, he tried again. “This was back in the dark ages, before Google,” he said. “I had a Guiness Book of World Records that was a year or so old, and the record was 101 hours, one minute and one second. I went for 103 hours, and found out later that a guy in Scotland had set the record at 116 hours, so I did have the U.S. record for a while.”
