75 years ago

July 27, 1944

Bright nail polish and a whiff of perfume worn by an army air evacuation nurse can “do wonderful things to morale” of wounded men, says First Lt. Harriet E. Thomas, former Hoquiam girl, on leave after 14 months in the Southwest Pacific.

“I’m taking back 50 bottles of nail polish and loads of perfume,” she added. “As a matter of fact I’m getting special permission to ship back my uniforms and other gear under separate cover so I can take all these ‘necessary luxuries’ with me.”

July 28, 1944

Frank H. Lamb, president of the Lamb-Grays Harbor company, the author of several books on forestry and prominent city leader, has been elected president of the Grays Harbor Knife and Fork club of its inaugural year, it was announced today.

With more than 135 men of Aberdeen, Hoquiam and vicinity now on the membership roster, the board members expressed the view that all future applications would be placed on a waiting list pending board action.

50 years ago

July 27, 1969

Heady discussions of public safety, transportation and human and natural resources at the 1969 Western Governors’ conference opening tomorrow in Seattle were shunted aside today as six western governors, a national columnist, two state patrolmen, the state directors of agriculture and fisheries, and newsmen cruised the Pacific off Grays Harbor — to fish.

After flying in last night and spending the night at the Polynesian, they breakfasted at the Marina Restaurant in Ocean Shores at 6 o’clock and left the marina at 7 on a five-hour fishing trip.

July 28, 1969

Several downtown merchants began buying punchboard stamps from the city this morning and taverns dug out punchboards they hadn’t used for over two months, as the tolerance policy on some forms of gambling went back into effect today.

Multiple-coin pinball machines are not back in active use yet on the Harbor, however, O.A. Brower, owner of Grays Harbor Amusement Co., said establishments he deals with haven’t yet decided whether they’lll take the machines back again.

He said any machine must net at least $50 this week in order to pay for licensing involved and that most places would probably wait until the first of the month and start with licences for the full month.

25 years ago

July 27, 1994

Grays Harbor Longshoremen have thrown a wet blanket on the Isaiah Project, a proposal to use plutonium from the United States’ nuclear weapons stockpile to fuel a nuclear plant at Satsop.

Besides decommissioning the U.S. weapons stockpile, the Isaiah Project also envisions the U.S. government and Isaiah’s business backers helping the former Soviet Union get rid of the Russian weapons stockpile by lending money and expertise.

Members of the International Longshoremen’s and Warehousemen’s Union Local 24 took a vote and decided “we will not handle nuclear weapons from Russia if they are brought to the Port of Grays Harbor,” said Max Vekich, a spokesman for the local and a member of its Labor Relations Committee.

July 28, 1994

Three Hoquiam firefighters came home from a state fire school last week with special training and the school’s top honor.

Capt. Ray Pumphrey and firefighters Tim Smith and Tom Hubbard won the Captain Cook Award, given to the department with the highest combined score on a test given at the end of the Washington State Firefighters’ Association Fire School and Conference in Wenatchee.

“It’s pretty hard to win that particular honor,” Fire Chief Lance Talley said. “They really did a good job.”

Compiled from the archives of The Daily World by Karen Barkstrom