125 years ago
Feb. 8, 1895
Next Tuesday will be the 85th anniversary of the birth of the immortal Abraham Lincoln.
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W.H. Blair has become a full-fledged insurance agent, and we understand is meeting with good success.
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Cases of scarlet fever are reported in Elma, and every precaution should be taken to prevent the spread of the disease.
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J.J. Worthington and wife are visiting friends at Porter. Mr. Worthington will also tread the forest in search of big game.
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Another social dance was given last night by the baseball club. The boys just about made expenses, which was better than previous efforts.
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C.H. Lamb has succeeded in getting some fine views of the town and vicinity with his Kodak. The finished views are better than the average photographic work. They would be an ornament for a parlor table, and just the thing to send to eastern friends.
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There have been more tramps in Montesano the past week than for an entire year preceding. Some of them left of their own accord, while others were escorted to the edge of town by Marshal Landon and requested to move on.
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This question is propounded to every citizen of Montesano: Do you want to see labor-employing industries established in Montesano, and if so how badly do you want them?
100 years ago
Feb. 6, 1920
Donn J. Wyllys, son of Bert Wyllys of Puyallup, and Miss Thelma E. Cloud, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Dan Cloud of this city, were united in marriage last Sunday afternoon at the Dan Cloud home here.
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A.K. Wade of this city, who has been working for some time past in the state land office in Olympia, and who has been in the hospital in Tacoma for the past two months, suffering from an attack of inflammatory rheumatism, will be home in a few days for a short visit before returning to his work in Olympia.
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The old pioneer building on the corner of Spruce and Main streets was purchased last week by Dr. G.J. Wartman, who immediately began to improve the property.
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Bert Wyllys, Lloyd Wyllys and Mrs. Cecil Burnside motored to Montesano from Puyallup Sunday to attend the wedding of their son and brother, Donn J. Wyllys.
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Misses Maude Prior and Lucile Lincoln are spending the weekend in Seattle, as school is closed this week on account of the flu.
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F.C. Davidson spent the past three weeks with relatives in Orting. He also visited his sister, Mrs. C.C. Dahl, of Seattle.
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Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Gibson had as their dinner guests Sunday night the misses Bertha Gibson, Cora Courtier, Leora Holman and Edna Brown.
75 years ago
Feb. 8, 1945
Mayor Edward Engen this Wednesday greeted more than 250 members of the Grays Harbor Dairy association and extended them the sincere friendship of the people of Montesano in the form of a large beribboned key made from Grays Harbor wood as a symbol of their welcome on the occasion of their annual meeting here.
And for the third time William D. Olsan was re-elected president of the association to serve in 1945 and to act as director-at-large. …
In addition to Mayor Engen, other Montesano speakers included W.H. France Sr., representing the Red Cross, and Floyd Svinth spoke in his capacity as county agent.
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With Juvenile delinquency holding a priority spot, the state Legislature this week studied a measure by Blanche Pennick, Melbourne Democrat, calling for a state-wide recreation program through public schools.
Miss Pennick, Grays Harbor school superintendent, offered a bill creating a division of recreation in the state Department of Education and appropriating $500,000 for its purposes.
Under the measure, school districts would be authorized to set up recreation programs, including juveniles and adults in the community, and to purchase necessary equipment. The state would be empowered to make allocations to aid in this work.
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Despite some demand for an earlier opening of the razor clam season for crab bait purposes on the ocean beaches at Longbeach, Grayland and Copalis, Milo Moore, state director of fisheries, announced yesterday that the customary opening of the commercial season on March 1 would again be effective this year.
Moore pointed out that it was not wise to jeopardize the excellent recovery in razor clam populations that is taking place under the poundage limit plan for each beach that has been effective under department orders since the critically low production in 1942 made the drastic step necessary.
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Whether important Republican-sponsored legislation, running a gamut from juvenile delinquency bills to enacting a $50 old-age pension, will remain buried in Democrat-controlled committees of the state Legislature was a question in Olympia this week.
When the Legislature reached the half-way mark of its 60-day session Tuesday, a survey showed that every important bill by minority Republicans still was in committee.
50 years ago
Feb. 5, 1970
Rural building in Grays Harbor, reflecting the “tight money” situation, took a decided slump during the month of January as no permits were issued for the Montesano rural area, while only four, and those for alterations, were issued to residents of Central Park.
A total of 39 permits totaling $176,274 were issued during the month, with permit fees collected amounting to $653.50.
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The $200.8 billion proposed record federal budget that was unveiled early this week by President Nixon includes some $225 million for Pacific Northwest water and power projects. Of that amount, a total of more than $5.1 million has been earmarked for local Harbor projects.
The Wynooche Dam, in order to keep the existing schedule on time, received $5 million for the fiscal year beginning in July. A total of $2 million had been appropriated for this last year.
In addition to the money for the dam, an additional $137,000 has been included in the presidential budget for navigational work in Grays Harbor.
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Montesano, during the month of January, was drenched with 12.66 inches of rain, which made one of the wettest of January records, as far as the area’s oldtimers are concerned.
The dampest day was Tuesday, January 6, when 1.85 inches of rain were registered. However, January was also blessed with several (well, a few) days of non-precipitation.
Temperatures during the month ranged from a low of 27 degrees, which occurred Monday, January 5, to a balmy high reading of 58 degrees, recorded Tuesday, January 20.
Montesano rainfall was higher than the total recorded for the Harbor area during January 1969, when 12.05 inches were recorded but considerably below the record years of 1967 and 1968, when, respectively, 13.07 inches and 13.06 inches were measured.
