125 years ago
March 17, 1893
Twenty-five thousand feet of merchantable lumber per acre can be taken from each of the 20,000,000 acres of forest land in the state of Washington.
Western Washington, says a government report, possesses the heaviest continuous belt of forest growth in the United States.
As much as 100,000 feet of lumber has been cut from one acre alone, so dense is the timber in places.
Many of the trees attain a height of from 250 to 300 feet and measure from six to twelve feet in diameter.
The timber is generally Douglas fir and cedar.
Shingles made from Washington cedar have a world-wide reputation.
About 470 saw mills in the state have a combined daily capacity of 9,000,000 feet. Nearly 400 other mills are in operation working this lumber up into various uses.
The Port Blakely mill, largest in the world, cut 65,000,000 feet.
A report before us estimates the yearly cut for 1892 at 1,400,000,000 feet, valued at $17,000,000.
100 years ago
March 15, 1918
For two or three years the name Myron Kilgore, or Tex Vernon, one and the same, has appeared frequently in the criminal annals of the county. In this term of court it appeared first on a charge of being owner of the Pastime pool hall in Aberdeen in which it was alleged to have permitted gambling, and of which he was convicted by jury and also on a charge of attempting to intimidate a witness. Other charges would have been laid by Prosecutor W. H. Tucker, had not Kilgore decided to accept the verdict of the first jury which almost certainly means a term in the penitentiary.
This decision on the part of Kilgore and the resultant pleadings of guilty on the part of Doc Stine and Otto Hytenen, two of Kilgore’s workers in Aberdeen to charges of gambling, it is believed, breaks up one of the worst gangs in Aberdeen that has operated for years.
Kilgore first became notorious when a few years ago he was convicted in U.S. Court on a white slavery charge.
75 years ago
March 18, 1943
Forty-eight people applied for American citizenship papers at a naturalization hearing in superior court Wednesday, March 10, seven were refused, one was continued and 40 were granted. Hearings were before Judge J. M. Phillips and those admitted were on the recommendation of immigration officers, George S. Dailey and Edmund Morris. Several had their names modified.
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Last summer Montesano Boy Scouts, under the supervision of Kenneth Schell and Lloyd Foss, gathered, sorted, and shipped a carload of old newspapers and magazines as a part of the Montesano salvage program. The boys worked hard, as did both Schell and Foss. The money that was to be paid for the paper, over $600, was to go into the local Boy Scout fund. That money has never been paid.
Wednesday both Foss and Regional Scout Supervisor Elvis R. Eaton were taking steps to force collection through an attorney and with the cooperation of the Montesano Chamber of Commerce and the Grays Harbor County Defense Council additional steps were initiated to secure the cooperation of the Washington state Salvage committee which reports that not only have Montesano and Aberdeen Boy Scouts been so far deprived of their money but that the same trouble has been experienced by Scout organizations in Wenatchee and other sections of the state.
50 years ago
March 14, 1968
The proposed parallel parking on Main Street between Wynooche and Broadway Streets was tabled by the City Council Tuesday evening when a delegation of city merchants, led by Charles Southard and Gaston Moch, appeared before the governing body. Southard read a petition signed by several Main Street businessmen in which they said, “The parking on Main Street is and has been a most acceptable manner in which to park and we wish to go on record as opposing such a change.”
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The bridge crossing the Wynooche River at Black Creek could possibly pose problems for the average driver. There are no signs posted to the effect that the bridge ends rather abruptly … There is considerable construction going on in the area, but not even a sign saying ‘Cross at your own Risk’ is to be found.
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Viet Nam has been, and will continue to be, written about by many throughout the land. We have tried to remain silent on the issue and let the experts be the voices that inform and editorialize on the situation. We feel we can no longer remain silent.
It is beyond our wildest imagination that the administration is entertaining thoughts of increasing the American troop commitment in Viet Nam by another 206,000 men. If that request is met, we will then have nearly 3/4 million troops in an action that is supposed to be a ‘limited war’.
25 years ago
March 18, 1993
Members of the Port of Grays Harbor Commission took it right on the chin Tuesday morning during the Commission’s monthly staff briefing session when a letter from Warren Wilson, Union Pacific Railroad Company’s Rail Line planning manager, was read.
The letter indicated that not only did the railroad want to discontinue participation in the deeper draft project by assisting financially in the replacement of the railroad bridge over the Chehalis River in Aberdeen, but due to the economic climate in the county, may well discontinue service to the Harbor. The railroad’s cost in the replacement of the bridge is in the neighborhood of $6 million.
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The concept of turning the abandoned Union Pacific Railroad right-of-way from Cosmopolis to Elma into a public trail, a concept that was negated by the State Board of Parks several years ago when considerable opposition by local property owners was voiced, once again cropped up Monday. Dennis Dooley of the Regional Planning Commission appeared before the county commissioners to ask their approval and endorsement of the proposed plan.
Total acreage that would have to be acquired is some 264 acres including not only right-of-way, but a greenbelt area as well. Cost of such an acquisition would be in the neighborhood of $395,000.
10 years ago
March 13, 2008
Two Montesano School District employees have been placed on paid leave and the School Board was scheduled to be briefed about an ongoing investigation at a special meeting late Wednesday afternoon.
School district officials refused to say who had been placed on leave, nor would they discuss the investigation other than to say an outside expert on technology issues was in the district on Monday after a situation at the high school.
