75 years ago
March 19, 1945
Corp. Jack Knight of Curtis street in Aberdeen recently wrote to his foster aunt, Miss Ethel Shannon, describing experiences in the drive against Colmar, France.
“Let me tell you it was a bloody objective and all the horrors of war go with it. I saw all the action I want to see and was continually under artillery fire.
“I was glad I played a little sports in Aberdeen, because it helped me in more ways than one running patrols.
“In one patrol we laid in the snow for 58 minutes, under machine gun fire. Boy, was I scared! The riflemen who are on the front day in and day out deserve the credit. I had it very easy compared to them.
“War is not what people think it is. If you were to put it in words just the way you see it happen, people would think you crazy or it is a fantastic dream. People will never be able to repay the boys on the front line for the hell they are going through.”
March 20, 1945
The decks of the mighty U.S.S. Midway — heaviest, strongest, fastest carrier ever built — will be covered with a “1945 model aircraft” so new it has not yet seen combat action.
This was disclosed today by Artemus Gates, assistant secretary of the navy for air, in a speech at the christening of the 45,000-ton Midway.
Gates gave no hint of what the new plane can do. But he predicted the 1945 model carrier and plane will not be a “pleasant combination to be contemplated by the Japanese war lords.”
The Midway can carry a destructive flock of more than 80 twin-engine planes and a complement of some 3,000 officers and men.
50 years ago
March 19, 1970
• “At times like this Myrtle Street is forgotten — Go get ‘em Bobcats!”
That’s what Hoquiam Mayor Rolland Youmans declared this morning as he issued a proclamation calling for “unified support of the fine Aberdeen basketball team for its bid for the state championship.”
• “If a nuclear reactor is completely safe, if it has no adverse effect on environment, and if it will not injure marine life, then Pier 91 in Seattle is the logical place for the location of a nuclear power plant.”
With those words James Duree, Westport attorney and former Pacific County prosecutor, challenged the Grays Harbor PUD to “have the University of Washington make a study of the consequences of an accident in their proposed one million kilowatt reactor … I predict that such a study will show that all of Grays Harbor, and much of Pacific, Lewis and Thurston counties could suffer radioactivity that would kill, injure and contaminate.”
March 20, 1970
Patio furnishings, golf balls and lawn mowers now fill the 4,000-square-foot space formerly occupied by Wholesale Liquidators at 115 W. Heron St. J.C. Penney Co, Aberdeen, is operating at outdoor living store at the location, now called “the annex.”
25 years ago
March 19, 1995
Clad casually in a loose-fitting red T-shirt and faded old Levi’s, his hair reaching down to meet a full beard, he scoots his chair up to the microphone as a Diana Ross tune begins to fade out.
With a quick flip of a switch, he’s on the air.
“It’s raining in South Aberdeen at 10 minutes after 10,” he says in his smooth, familiar, trademark voice. “It’s Rhys Davis with you on KXRO, 1320, Grays Harbor’s Radio Original.”
For 18 years now, the voice of Rhys Davis has echoed over the airwaves to Grays Harbor listeners. Though he’s bounced back and forth between stations over the years, Davis and radio are an inseparable pair.
“I couldn’t ask for anything better,” he says, turning another dial and flipping another switch to cue up the news. “I couldn’t think of what I’d be doing if I wasn’t doing radio. I like music, and, hey, they pay me to sit around and play music. You can’t beat it.”
March 20, 1995
The beer flowed and lots of crab legs were consumed at the Pacific County Democrats’ 70th annual Crab Feed at the Raymond IWA Hall Saturday evening.
Attendees included Gov. Mike Lowry, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, former Congresswoman Jolene Unsoeld, State Rep. Brian Hatfield of Raymond and state Sen. Sid Snyder of Long Beach.
Compiled from the archives of The Daily World by Karen Barkstrom
