75 years ago
January 14, 1945
Sunday, no newspaper published
January 15, 1945
Thanksgiving in Eschweiler, Germany, the first one ever celebrated there, owed some of its success to Pfc. Rudy Svisek, Aberdeen butcher, at Harold’s Market, who with three other GI’s prepared the traditional feast for the Timber Wolves division, a part of the infantry that had just finished running the Germans out of what was left of Eschweiler.
The red brick house they cooked in had been selected because it still had part of its roof.
The men were able to prepare 40 pounds of peas, 40 pounds of corn, 100 pounds of potatoes, 65 pounds of fruit, 25 gallons of coffee, 25 loaves of bread, 50 pounds of dressing and, of course, 225 pounds of turkey.
While Svisek sat cutting up giblets for gravy on a mahogany table, shells were screaming back and forth and every once in awhile, the Germans would toss in a few mortars.
As Svisek started to carve the turkeys, the wonderful odors drifted out to the sidewalk and runners went out to notify the platoons.
They came in by squads, 10 or 15 men at a time, and when the four boys from the kitchen ladled the food out of the boilers onto the mess kits, the rain fell on the turkey, potatoes and vegetables. The boys were busy until 10 o’clock that night getting everyone fed, and things cleaned up afterward.
50 years ago
January 14, 1970
Record-landing 16.3 million pounds of crab were reported on Grays and Willapa Harbors during 1969, the State Department of Fisheries reported, and a record number of gillnet sturgeon landings were reported from Willapa Harbor.
Total crab catch on the Twin Harbors was 84 per cent of the state total, which was about 19 million pounds. Old state record was 15.8 million pounds, set in 1948.
January 15, 1970
Today the organ plays for a Montesano man who has done much for that instrument.
The body of Dave Coleman, whose arrangements for the organ circulated internationally, will be borne to its grave this afternoon by 10 Harbor men who played in his dance band before Coleman moved to Los Angeles and found fame in the music publishing business.
Coleman moved to Montesano as a lad and took his first paying musical job doing organ accompaniments for silent films at the old Montesano Theater. When “talkies” came in, he took a job at his father’s bank, the Montesano National Bank, but he retained his interest in music by studying arrangement at Washington State College. He then studied under private tutors in LA and served on the faculty of the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music.
25 years ago
January 14, 1995
Robbie Pratt, a ruddy-cheeked 15-year-old sophomore said watching a real-live murder trial in progress helped him move closer toward deciding on a career goal.
“I wanted to be a lawyer when I grow up,” Pratt said. “But now it seems like a tedious process to me.”
Pratt was one of about 30 Elma High School students in Superior Court Thursday at the trial of an Olympia man accused of murdering a former Elma High athlete.
“I feel that every student, before they graduate, should have some knowledge of the legal system besides just watching TV,” said teacher John Hawthorne.
Besides watching the often tedious trial, students spent court recesses touring the county jail and visiting with the court reporter.
“There are a lot of things they can do and see here,” Hawthorne said. “There are a lot of career opportunities they can learn about.”
January 15, 1995
Neighbors pounded frantically on the windows and doors of Patricia McDonnell’s east Hoquiam home to rouse her and her family from the burning home early Saturday morning.
“They quickly realized it was in vain.
“The house was already on fire,” said Ernie Shumate, who lives next door. “We knew they were in there, and we knew there wasn’t anything we could do.”
McDonnell, 65, and her daughter Patricia Rodriguez, 34, and Rodriguez’s sons, Joshua, 6, and Matthew, 8, died in the early morning fire on East Hoquiam Road.
Compiled from the archives of The Daily World by Karen Barkstrom
