One hundred ten years ago, the March 14, 1912 Aberdeen herald related to its readers stories about a planned escape from the County Jail, the death of East County pioneer “Blockhouse” Smith and other sundry things.

First whale of season — Hoquiam — The members of the steamer Cudahy brought the news to this city last evening that the whaling steamer Moran had killed a large humpback whale off the harbor during the day. The whale was shot at a long distance, it being impossible to get closer to the mammals owing to the fact that they do not sleep during the cold weather. Extra precautions have been made this season for handling an increased number of whales.

Schooner loses anchor — Hoquiam — The schooner Lymon D. Foster lost her anchor in the lower harbor yesterday and will be unable to to leave for Tahiti, until the old one is recovered or a new one arrives from California. A diver is engaged in searching for the lost anchor, and unless found today, the vessel will be delayed five days, awaiting the arrival of a new one.

To move to new home — Hoquiam — Next Monday the First National Bank will move to the Heerman’s building, while work of tearing down the old structure and the erection of a handsome fireproof building is underway. The records of the bank, which is 21 years old, will be kept in the vaults of the Grayport building,

Jail delivery is prevented — Montesano — An attempt to break jail in the new Chehalis County structure was discovered by the authorities yesterday, when one of the prisoners tipped off the matter and within a short time a search revealed a number of saws used in the work.

Just who the ringleader of the jail delivery is, has not been definitely determined, except that M. Arnold, found guilty for passing worthless checks, and E.L. Dunston, who has just been declared innocent of a similar charge, are held as having had a hand in the matter.

The saws were no doubt given to the prisoners Monday and they got busy that evening. The steel bars proved too hard for the metal saws and instead of cutting through the core of the iron, the teeth were ground down.

The prisoners had taken a steel bar from one of the bunks, which was used in knocking off the plaster for the purpose of finding where the bars were embedded in the concrete. The plaster was then cleaned up, the holes stuffed with paper and made to resemble the wall by remixing the plaster.

There were 25 prisoners in the jail, the most serious charge being that of forgery. The holding of Dunston, who is said to have been a pal of Arnold, will probably develop something towards getting at the bottom of the attempted escape. He was tried the second time yesterday for passing bad checks and the jury found him not guilty, so that he was free. Whether he was in on the deal, is not known.

Aged pioneer answers call — James Smith, better known as “Blockhouse” Smith, died at his home at Oakville, Monday, at the ripe age of 88 years, and his passing takes from Chehalis county one of its earliest pioneers.

He was born in New York and in 1854 crossed the plains and came to California. Later he came to Chehalis county, settling on what has been known as the “Blockhouse” Smith farm. He derived the name of “Blockhouse” from the fact that during the trouble with the Indians, he constructed one of the only blockhouses in the neighborhood for the protection of his family neighbors. The house was built on the banks of the Chehalis River, and in a commanding position making it hard for the savages to approach it without detection.

Smith has been identified with the early history of the county and was loved by all those who knew him. He honored the name of “Blockhouse” and was so pleased with it that he built a concrete block in Montesano, calling it the “Blockhouse Smith” property.

He is survived by his aged widow, a son, Frank, and a daughter, Mrs. J.E. Fitzgerald, all of Oakville. The body was buried yesterday from the family home at Oakville.

His estate is valued at more than $100,000 in it being included some valuable property in Aberdeen.

Mrs. J. Deneen was struck by a motorcycle at the corner of Heron and G streets yesterday noon and quite badly shaken up. She was knocked into the garbage can which upset, throwing her to the pavement. The driver was being run down by the car and was forced to turn towards the sidewalk to escape the car.

Held on serious charge – Quinney Hall, a young man, was arrested last evening by the police for impersonating an officer. Hall visited the various places of the city where former residents of the underworld lived and told them he was an officer and they would have to “come through with the coin or to be run out of the city.” The police learned of his game, and he was taken into custody.

New detective agency is launched – The Llewilyn Detective Agency, with S.D. Llewilyn and Thomas O’Connell, have opened offices in the Finch building in this city and are preparing to take care of all kinds of investigations, both corporation and individual. Llewilyn has been in the work for the past six years, being connected with well-known agencies along the coast, while Mr. O’Connell was for a number of years with the Perkins Detective Agency of Pittsburgh.

Llewilyn worked for the past year as a plain clothes man in this city, later being promoted to Sergeant. Chief of Police Templeman as well as Police Captain Tribbetts, speaks in the highest terms of Llewilyn’s ability ability and both regretted to see him resign from the local force.

Roy Vataja is the son of Finnish immigrants and has researched Aberdeen history for 45 years.