125 years ago
Sept. 4, 1891
Burglary
Someone, who evidently was without the proper fear of the law, burglarized Ritzlaff’s tailoring establishment Tuesday night.
They bored a hole into the door large enough to enable them to insert an arm and turn the key, which was in the door. They then entered and took a suit of clothes which had been left there for repairs.
The burglary was not discovered until Wednesday morning, and up to date, no clue has been discovered as to whom the party, or parties are.
From the fact that only one suit of clothes was taken, it is evident that the object was simply to get something to wear.
100 years ago
Sept. 1, 1916
Speeder is wrecked
Edward Carter, 52 years of age, is in a hospital in Aberdeen as a result of an accident to the gasoline car used by the O. W. section crew at South Montesano Tuesday morning.
Three men were on the car which was driven by Foreman Strand and were traveling east from the South Montesano station. A gravel train had preceded them. In rounding a bend on a heavy curve the car was derailed when it struck a pile of gravel that had fallen off the train.
Carter was thrown over the embankment, landing some distance away on his head, and was struck by the falling car. He sustained a scalp wound in which it was necessary to take 10 stitches, his right leg was fractured just above the ankle and his right arm and shoulder were injured.
The injured man was brought to this city in an auto and was given treatment by Dr. G. E. Marcy, and was later taken to the Aberdeen hospital.
Carter belongs to a bridge crew, and his home is on the Sound.
75 years ago
Sept. 4, 1941
Bee Hive Now Open
New restaurant is striking addition to business structures
The new Bee Hive Koffy shop, hailed as among the finest restaurant buildings in the state, opens Thursday at the corner of Main street and Pioneer avenue under the direction of Mr. and Mrs. Hugh M. Gibb.
The gleaming white structure of modern design is the most notable addition to Montesano’s business buildings in recent years and more than doubles the space previously occupied by this popular eating spot.
The new Bee Hive embodies virtually everything associated with modern and high grade in restaurant design and equipment. Not only in the space for the public, with its attractive tables and booths and large counter, exceptionally roomy, but the working space is spacious, too.
The color scheme ranges from deep reds in the floor tiles, through soft green walls to a light-toned ceiling. The restaurant is brilliantly lighted, yet without glare.
All table and counter tops are of a plastic material, simulating grained maple, that cannot be marred either by liquids or even a burning cigarette. Venetian blinds at all the windows lend a sense of privacy.
But the kitchen itself is the chief triumph, at least in the minds of Mr. and Mrs. Gibb. The large gas range, double the size of the equipment in the old Bee Hive, of stainless steel and is ventilated by fans which expel all smoke and odors. Complete refrigeration is featured, including a large cold room for meats and adjacent to a commodious storage room.
Provision is made for washing dishes automatically in water of sterilizing heat.
50 years ago
Sept. 1, 1966
Dad pulls son from 40-foot deep dry well
The Vern Pettis family of Satsop counted its lucky stars this week after 2 ½-year-old Vern Jr. survived a fall into a 40-foot deep dry well with “only a slightly cut head and bruises.”
According to the Grays Harbor County sheriff’s office, the youngster tumbled into the well while playing Tuesday afternoon. It was covered with boards, but they were old and weather-beaten — and gave way as the boy stepped on them.
The sheriff’s rescue truck, alerted by the Montesano Police Department, responded about 4:15 p.m. and reached the scene — the backyard of Willam Wells’ place, just off Schafer Park Road on the east side of the Satsop River — a half hour away.
By the time deputies got there, Vern Jr. had been rescued from the well by his father, who used a rope to do the job. The child’s screams had attracted Pettis attention as soon as the near-tragedy occurred.
The father took the youngster to Dr. Paul Micklin’s office in Elma, where he was treated for his amazingly minor injuries. In fact, such were the lad’s recuperative powers that he was released to his dad’s care without hospitalization.
25 years ago
Aug. 29, 1991
Suspect nabbed
Police say they are close to making an arrest in the armed robbery 11 days ago of Montesano’s C &T Food Mart. The crime was carried out by two armed suspects who got away with an estimated $150 after forcing store owner Duke KiMin to lie down on the floor at gun point. It was the city’s first armed robbery in over a decade.
Deputy Police Chief Ray Sowers said two of the nearly 100 tips they received on the crime led them to a residence in Hoquiam, where informants said they could find a man and a vehicle matching the description given by witnesses.
In another development, a man answering the description of one of the suspects was arrested on unrelated charges in Hoquiam.
Miguel Magallenes was picked up by Hoquiam Police last Saturday on charges of assault with a handgun. One of the C &T witnesses identified him as one of the robbery suspects. Evidence is being compared in the two crimes.
Police expect to make another arrest soon.
10 years ago
Aug. 31, 2006
Wi-Fi hotspot brings world to the Elma rest area
The Elma rest area has entered the 21st Century.
The rest stop on the eastbound side of State Route 8, a couple of miles outside of Elma, is one of 28 in the state that has been wired as a “Wi-Fi Hotspot,” where people with wireless modems can get traveler information for free, and can surf the net for a fee. They can also check their e-mail and look up the nearest Chinese restaurant.
Wi-Fi stands for wireless fidelity. Its technical standards are set by the Wi-Fi Alliance, an international group that approves the devices that transmit or accept Wi-Fi signals.
It is like a modem without the cable or telephone wires.
Melanie Coon, the communications manager for the Department of Transportation, said the Wi-Fi at the Elma rest stop is “costing the DOT and the taxpayers exactly zero dollars.”
Instead, the department has contracted with a Texas company to install the Wi-Fi infrastructure. A private engineering consulting firm is also involved in the project.
Coon said, in a telephone interview, that people with the right kind of laptop computer — what she called “a wireless-enabled computer” — can pull into the rest stop and then boot up an Internet browser, such as Netscape or Explorer.
When that happens, the Wi-Fi transmitter, which Coon compared to the size and general shape of a DirecTV dish, automatically delivers a signal for a Web page sponsored by a company called Road Connect.
The state transportation agency “has a lot of real estate on that page,” Coon said, using a techie phrase to explain that the DOT has lots of information on this free page. There are also links to free tourist-related pages, which list things such as festivals or ferry schedules.
People who want to go beyond road conditions and travel advisories can buy time from Road Connect — $1.99 for 20 minutes and up to $29.99 for one month. It will be just like surfing the Net or reading e-mail over landlocked wires.
But the highway information is accessible for free.
Coon said the department is looking to upgrade its system of providing travelers information. She called it “bringing it into the 21st Century,” and added that infrastructure is the key to doing that.
