125 years ago
December 1, 1893
The new publishers of the Chronicle evidently understand their business, and are getting out a newsy paper.
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Two snows in this county before Thanksgiving! We doubt if ever such a thing has happened within the memory of the oldest inhabitant.
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The steamer Josie Burrows now goes to Ocosta and Westport every Sunday, there being no train on that day. This will prove an accommodation to travelers to and from the lower harbor.
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Alfred Davis, one of the editors of the Cathlamet Gazette, has become insane, if a dispatch from that place be true. Davis was at one time connected with R.M. Watson in the publication of the Elma Chronicle. The cause of his trouble, which unbalanced his mind, is not stated.
100 years ago
November 29, 1918
About 200 officers and men left Montesano on Sunday night for Vancouver, and half as many more, the last of the soldier workers, left Monday night. Those going Sunday were under command of Capt. Mulligan and were from Schafer Bros. Logging camps, the Clemons camps and the Hoquiam Sash & Door Co. mill. Monday’s contingent, under Lt. Graham were from the Wynooche Timber Co. camps.
One of the pretty compliments of the occasion was when Mulligan in his speech told that one of his regrets at having the soldiers leave the woods was the possibility of the flag raisings and lowerings, morning and evening being discontinued. He suggested that the company would like to present the flag and its staff to Camp 5 if Mr. Albert Schafer would undertake to have the ceremony carried out hereafter.
Mr. Schafer jumped to his feet with a ready acceptance of the proposal and there was great cheering. It was arranged that a loyal legion members will take over the duty of seeing that Old Glory continues to wave over the most modern logging camp in the district.
75 years ago
December 2, 1943
Cpl. James Larkin, cook for officers’ mess at Hobbs field, New Mexico, has often bemoaned the fact that he couldn’t seem to get assigned to overseas duty. But now he’s singing a different tune. Just recently a contingent of WACs have been assigned to the air training station and he’s less than a block from where they’re stationed, and Jimmy is sending snappy snaps of himself surrounded by the WACs to his friends here.
“Lucky break for me, for once,” says the Monte boy who was graduated from M.H.S. in 1933.
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This is a story about diamonds — not that we know much about them, but we were somewhat flattered this Wednesday when Gaston Moch offered to sell this reporter a nice $900 diamond with ring attached thereto. No, we didn’t buy it because — anyway we’d have liked to borrow it to wear for a day or two.
But the story is that Gaston Moch really has achieved a record of some sort or other in diamonds. Not very many jewelers doing business in towns the size of Montesano can show a stock of beautiful diamonds as varied and select as we saw in Moch’s store.
It seems that way back some 30-odd years ago, Gaston Moch became Montesano’s “leading jeweler and stationer.” He has served hundreds and hundreds of folks during those 30 years and sold them engagement diamonds, wedding diamonds, birthday diamonds, anniversary diamonds and — just diamonds.
50 years ago
November 28, 1968
Maj. Reuben H. Fleet, native son of Montesano, was recently honored as Mr. San Diego of 1968, according to information received from Capt. Leonard W. Burr USN, also a former Montesanan.
More than 400 civic leaders of San Diego attended the testimonial luncheon in the U.S. Grant Hotel. When Fleet moved his airplane plant from Buffalo, N.Y., to San Diego in 1935, “he turned the tide in San Diego from a sleepy little town to an industrial complex,” Mayor Curran said.
The plant, now part of General Dynamics, employs some 38,000 persons.
25 years ago
December 2, 1993
For the seventh consecutive year, since the first Montesano Festival of Lights was held, members of the Presbyterian Church on McBryde Street will present the Nativity Scene in front of the church. Taking part in the annual scene this year are Edie Johnson, Barbara Beckwith, Russ Simmelink and Carol Fischback. The members will present the Nativity Scene December 11 from 6:00 p.m. until 9:30 p.m.
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The Hank Taylor Gallery, at 110 W. Pioneer in Montesano, is celebrating its 20th year.
The gallery was completed by members of the East County Art League, now the Grays Harbor Art League. The grand opening was in April 1973.
Throughout this month, the gallery will have on display the works of artists who have been featured or those artists who have been members the past 20 years. These include Jerry Becker, Fred Oldfield, Howard Hardy, Mel Dobson, James Lewis, Dale Gehrman, John Hannukaine and Hank Taylor.
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Montesano’s run for the Kingdome this year ended last Friday afternoon at the Tacoma Dome when Lynden Christian’s Travis Korthuis kicked a three-pointer with just 12 seconds left in the game to give the Lyncs a 24-21 win and the coveted trip to the Kingbowl this weekend. The Bulldogs ended the long season with an overall record of 10 and 2.
10 years ago
November 27, 2008
There’s something especially touching about a person who’s so humble, that when McCleary’s citizen of the year was being described in a surprise introduction Nov. 19, he was sure it was someone else.
“I thought it was Pam,” Ben Ator said of his wife after he was shocked to learn that he was the honoree at the annual Thanksgiving banquet at the historic McCleary Hotel.
Not only is he “always there” he’s “the front one in line,” said Linda Cunningham, vice president of the McCleary Chamber of Commerce. And he works “the longest and never asks for anything in return.”
Turning to the award for business of the year — Our Community Credit Union, which will open a new branch in Montesano’s Pick-Rite Thriftway next week — Cunningham said this year’s recipient is “always there for the community and that whenever McCleary or “anywhere in the Grays Harbor area” has a charitable function, “this business has always got their name somewhere on a T-shirt, a billboard, flyers … you name it, they’re always there for it.”
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Montesano came to play, put their foot on the gas and never looked back as the Bulldogs routed the Nooksack Valley Pioneers 51-8 in the quarterfinals of the 1A State Football tournament Saturday at Tumwater’s District Stadium.
“(Josh Tyler) played well, he was very accurate,” coach Jensen said of the Monte quarterback. “Our offensive line, Parker Waber, Jackson Wargo, Ira Alefteras, Jason Patterson and Derek Jensen, did a great job of protecting and giving him time to throw.”
Compiled from the archives of The Vidette by Karen Barkstrom. She can be reached at kbarkstrom@thedailyworld.com or 360-537-3925.
