Pages of the past, May 18

A weekly collection from The Vidette’s archives.

125 years ago

May 20, 1892

It is hereby ordered that the following scale of wages for employees in the several county offices, to take effect May 20th, 1892, and to be in force on and after such date until otherwise ordered, be and the same is hereby established:

Auditor’s office—1 deputy at $80 per month, 1 deputy at $70 per month; 1 draughtsman, when necessary, at $4 per day; all other employes at $2.25 per day for males, $1.50 per day for females.

Treasurer’s office—1 deputy at $80 per month; all other employes at same rates as designated for auditor’s office.

Clerk’s office—1 deputy at $80 per month.

Sheriff’s office—1 deputy at $80 per month and such additional help as may be necessary at $2.25 per day.

And it is further ordered that no employes shall receive compensation for overtime without a special order or consent from this board; and further that all orders heretofore made at whatever session of this board relating to salaries of employes in the several offices above mentioned, be and the same are hereby repealed and revoked.

100 years ago

May 18, 1917

Announcement of the consummation of a deal whereby Marshall & Co., investment bankers of Boston, Mass., acquire the principal ownership of the Northwest Electric & Water Works holding in Southwest Washington and the consolidation of this company’s plants with those of the Washington Coast Utilities, a Marshall corporation now in operation on the Sound, has just recently been made. Along with this announcement comes the news of important improvements to be made at once in the Montesano plant of the former Northwest Electric group that will enable the plant to care for three times its present capacity load. B.W. Collins, of Montesano, present manager of the Northwest Company, is made general manager of the consolidated systems and will have his headquarters on the Sound.

The Northwest Electric & Water Works has been owned principally by Chas. E. Shepard, of Seattle, and his interests have been purchased by Marshall & Co., who have had charge of financing the company for a couple of years, handling the bond issue whereby the funds were secured to make improvements in the existing plants of the Northwest Company which included the new Montesano steam plant. The legal transfers of property have not been completed but the deal is closed and transfers will be effected in July.

75 years ago

May 21, 1942

Farmers and other land owners in the Montesano-Elma-Oakville soil conservation district were reported today by W. D. Olsan of Elma, district supervisor, to have finished planting 259,480 trees and shrubs and 85,675 willow cuttings this spring.

Most of the plantings, he explained, were for reforestation and river bank control. Nearly all were planted by the land owners themselves, this year, because CCC labor was needed for other work. The leading kind of trees planted was Douglas fir, which accounted for 189,000 of the total. Other varieties in order of numbers planted included: Cascara 54,500; black locust, 4,500.

In addition to the farm and reforestation plantings made in the district, the Montesano soil conservation service office was instrumental in supplying 35,000 trees and shrubs and 27 ½ ton of grass plants to the US. Army in this area for use in stabilizing the soil in critical areas.

Mr. Olsan pointed out that wartime demands upon present timber supplies for commercial as well as home products like lumber, fuel and posts has increased the need for expanded tree planting as insurance against the time when all these wood products still will be essential, but which cannot be grown in a day.

Trees and shrubs planted in the Montesano-Elma-Oakville soil conservation district a year ago totaled 310,000. The 1941 survival count of 82 per cent, the district supervisor added, indicates the success landowners and operators are having with their woody plantings.

50 years ago

May 18, 1967

A sure spring sign that the first Montesano Farm Festival cannot be far behind will be much in evidence before week’s end. Booster buttons for the event are scheduled to go on sale as of Thursday’s luncheon meeting of the sponsoring Chamber of Commerce.

Chris Pickering and Jack Mempa, MFF co-chairmen, have announced that the picturesque green and white buttons, designed by artist Del Kay, will sell for the usual $1 apiece—except for the ribboned merchant-sponsor items, which will be priced at $5.

“We have 1,000 buttons, and we’re getting them into circulation earlier than usual,” Pickering noted. “We feel it’s important to get the publicity and also the support funds as soon as possible, and we’re particularly anxious to sell a number of the special sponsor buttons.”

Theme for this year’s buttons indicates the theme of the first as well as future Farm Festivals, according to Mempa. It shows a pastoral scene, complete with bovine animals and trees, he said.

CofC members, with Art Furnia serving as sales chairman, will peddle the eyecatching emblems, Pickering and Mempa reported.

25 years ago

May 14, 1992

“What if you called and nobody came?” The question hangs like n open wound on a volunteer recruiting poster in the Brady Fire Station.

But in Brady, the question is strictly rhetorical. For 25 years, when you’ve called, somebody’s come. The department celebrated its 25th anniversary late last month at a huge banquet attended by nearly 100 people.

The celebration was also a retirement party for three charter members of the Brady Fire Fighters Association, all of whom hung up their fire retardant bunker gear May 1.

Jim Sutherby, Duane Granstrom and Jack Kugan Sr. were three of the last original members of the association still active. The only two who remain on the job are Lester and Norman Willis.

Much reflection was occasioned by the event.

The first truck the station had was a cabless 1949 American LaFrance. The first run was up Barrett Road in a snow storm with “everyone hanging on the back. That illegal now,” Granstrom notes. The station has much more modern equipment now but that old ‘49er is still in use down in Artic.

10 years ago

May 17, 2007

Thousands of area gardeners are expected to converge on the fairgrounds at Elma this weekend where gardening experts, area nurseries and local builders and contractors are putting on the annual Home & Garden Show.

“It’s the premier horticulture event of the year,” Don Tapio, WSU extension agent for Grays Harbor, enthused the other day.

It’s unique in that it’s always the third weekend in May, making it the latest of the home and garden shows to occur in Western Washington and the only event of its kind serving coastal communities, he said.

On the home improvement side, expect local businesses to be well represented and prepared to talk about everything from hot tubs and decking, to fences, fountains and fireplaces.

Last year, more than 4,000 people took advantage of the free parking and free admission to gather home and garden ideas from the master gardeners and master builders—all collected in one place and ready to answer questions all day.

The event, now it its 12th year, is co-sponsored by the Twin Harbors Master Builders and the WSU Master Gardeners.

“It’s a remarkable event,” Tapio said. “It’s a moving arboretum out the door over two days. It’s a wonderful opportunity to get bedding plants and nursery stock and visit with some of our professional nursery owners.”