85 YEARS AGO
June 29, 1940
Two logging donkeys, one gasoline the other steam, were destroyed late yesterday in a fire at the Murray & Hulet operations on Elk River, O.B. Wedekind, district fire warden, reported today. The blaze is believed to have started under or near the steam donkey engine.
60 YEARS AGO
June 29, 1965
Montgomery Ward & Co., now located at 209 E. Wishkah St. in Aberdeen, will have a new home for its catalog store. Plans were announced today for a new building to be constructed on the southwest corner at Broadway and Heron, across from Kaufman-Scroggs and the J.C. Penney Co.
June 30, 1965
Ruddach Motors, Aberdeen’s Ford dealership, is celebrating the grand opening of its expanded and remodeled car lot Thursday and will be open until 9 o’clock both Thursday and Friday nights. The lot is now 150×130 feet since Ruddach’s took over the location where the Oasis Fish and Chips restaurant used to be located.
Reichert’s Meats, at 30th and Simpson in Hoquiam, is advertising round bone pot roast for 53-cents a pound; rib steaks for 79-cents a pound and T-bone steak for 89-cents a pounds.
35 YEARS AGO
June 29, 1990
Eight months and 500 applications later, the Grays Harbor Community Hospital board in Aberdeen has chosen a Nevada man to succeed Larry Meyer as chief administrator. Michael J. Madden, 48, of Reno will begin Aug. 1. Patrick Farwell has been serving as interim administrator.
June 30, 1990
Authorities are growing increasingly concerned about the level of contamination at a clandestine drug lab uncovered Friday north of Hoquiam. Hazardous material experts from the State Patrol donned protective suits and masks before sifting through the two travel trailers that had been converted into methamphetamine labs. There are indications that toxic chemicals and other residues created in the production of methamphetamine had been randomly dumped in nearby fields.
A state expert on timber issues told a somber crowd Friday they should be leery of lofty promises and instead focus their efforts on securing a realistic compromise. “A lot of people are going to come to town here and tell you what you want to hear,” said Rich Nafziger, an assistant to Gov. Booth Gardner and member of the State Timber Team. “They’re going to say that we need to amend the Endangered Species Act.” That’s not going to happen,” he said. “Congress has been polled (by the governor’s office) and there’s no support for amending the act.” Bill Pickell, executive director of the Washington Contract Loggers Association, used a series of slides to show how timber set asides are drastically shrinking harvestable timberland on Olympic Peninsula.
The Wishkah Mall in Aberdeen recently came under new ownership and there’s a few more changes in store in the next 18 months. The Powell Development Co., headquartered at Kirkland, recently bought out longtime owners Loveless-Brooks Inc. Two priorities have been set for the coming year. “We want to better sell the mall,” said Janis (Edmondson) Jackson, mall manager and the second priority is aesthetics. The mall’s appearance is typical of those built in the 1970s “and quite frankly we look like a warehouse.” Planters along the entrance are a recent addition, and other cosmetic changes are being discussed, Jackson said. The mall’s mainstay businesses include Stewart’s Price Plus, Pay ‘n Save, Lamonts and Ernst, as well as the satellite buildings including Skipper’s, McDonald’s and the building where the military recruiting office is located.
83 YEARS AGO
July 4, 1942
Minus the usual noise of fireworks and snarl of highway traffic that go with a peacetime Fourth of July, Grays Harbor today quietly observed Independence Day. The annual Splash program in Hoquiam, hosted by the American Legion, climaxed with field sports.
Noise-making was confined to the cracking of a few cap guns, exempted in the wartime ban against fireworks. Practically no firecrackers were heard, police reported, and in other respects today was the quietest Fourth in many years.
Automobile and tire rationing cut down highway traffic to a minimum. The long lines of cars that headed for the ocean beaches and other recreational spots in other years weren’t to be seen today.
58 YEARS AGO
July 4, 1967
Aberdeen Fire Chief Zane Mitchell should get along pretty well with Hoquiam’s new head firefighter — it’s his big brother, Ken.
The brother act was formed last night when Hoquiam councilmen unanimously confirmed Mayor Rolland Youmans appointment of Ken Mitchell as the city’s new fire chief. He has been with the department for 17 1/2 years, starting as a hoseman in Jan. 1950, working up to a driver’s position and became a captain in October of 1959.
July 5, 1967
Deputy State Fire Marshal Walker Ryckman and Aberdeen Fire Chief Zane Mitchell continue to investigate the cause of a fire which resulted in $200,000 damage when about two dozen small propane gas tanks exploded at Petrolane Blue Flame Gas in the 1100 block of East Wishkah Street Saturday.
Reduced to smouldering piles of charred rubble were three homes, a half-block long warehouse building, 11 units of the 18-unit Flamingo Motel, an office building, six trucks, three cars, a bus and a small boat.
33 YEARS AGO
July 4, 1992
The only water was from the clowns’ squirt guns, Trout Unlimited’s fishing tank and sweaty brows as Aberdeen’s Independence Day festivities went off with a Splash Saturday.
The warm weather brought thousands to Aberdeen’s Franklin Field to sample food, shop for crafts, watch a magic show, karate exhibition and remote control car races and listen to a variety of music.
The 44-entry parade which included Craig Wellington, recently retired dean of services at Grays Harbor College, as grand marshal, began nearly on time.
July 5, 1992
Summer Action Camp has started at Simpson Elementary School in Montesano and continues through July 30. Camp runs Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for preschoolers through sixth graders.
“The goal is to provide a diverse set of activities for our campers,” said camp director Mike McKinney. “But I’m a teacher by trade, so I want to have purpose to the fun.”
Activities at the camp will center on a different theme each week. During the science sessions, students will design, build and fire rockets into the sky, When they focus of nature, the campers will visit Elma’s recycling plant.
One week will be devoted to Festival of People activities, with the camp creating an entry and marching in the parade. Another week they’ll learn about the beach with a trip to Westport.
Compiled from the archives of The Daily World by Karen Barkstrom, editorial assistant at The Daily World. You can contact her at karen.barkstrom@thedailyworld.com or call her at 360-537-3925.
