Charles H. Fattig, Volunteer Extraordinaire

A monthly column about the history of McCleary

The most underpaid worker in the world is the volunteer. They are also the worker who reaps the greatest reward. The subject of this column is case in point.

Charles H. Fattig can be seen walking, almost faster than the law allows, in and around McCleary. I’ve never seen him amble anywhere. Charles’ passion for his work is evident in everything he does. This column would not be what it is without his input. He is the one to do the research on most subjects. He has faithfully mowed the lawn at the museum for the whole 32 years he has been volunteering.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg with Charles. He’s there for every major event – he takes more than his share of turns on the summer weekend openings. He’s first on the list to be called if someone wants in when we are not open.

When a visitor asks a question beyond our knowledge – and most of it is beyond my knowledge – we holler for Charles. He’ll know. And how does he keep all those dates and names at the forefront of his mind? I think he missed his calling. He should have been a history teacher. The following is a modest accounting of who Charles H. Fattig is. The one question you might ask that hasn’t been answered in his writing is “How did he get to McCleary?” You might want to ask him that when you visit the museum.

Charles H. Fattig, in his own words:

I have involved myself with the McCleary Historical Society since 1985. I have always enjoyed history. As a child in Josephine County, Ore., my mother would fix a picnic basket complete with soda pop, and my father would load us five children into the auto and take us out into the long-abandoned mining camps. We would dig for old bottles and square nails. It was great fun for our family to be together and spend those long warm summer days in the hills. Good memories.

It can be said that I was caught up in living history, also. I was in Vietnam for nearly two years. I first went over in July 1969 with Saigon Support Command at Long Binh. I went back over in November 1970 and was stationed with the 23rd Infantry Division at Chu Lai as a teletype operator. I sent and received a lot of messages pertaining to casualty reports, enemy activities, etc.

I was not oblivious to my surroundings. I knew there was a war going on in Vietnam, for sure, but I did have a 3mm camera and wherever I went in Vietnam, I took photos. Street scenes in downtown Saigon, children flying kites, the rubber tree plantations, boats traveling on Saigon river, the white sandy beaches at Chu Lai, the bunkers and the barracks where we lived. I captured it all. It was an experience I had to record with my camera. I knew I was living history.

But, fast forward to the present. I have volunteered my time and labor at the McCleary Museum for 32 years with much pleasure. I have found considerable satisfaction in helping people who are working on their family history in this area. We have, on file in the museum, archives, records of those who lived in this general location all the way back to the 1870s.

Genealogy is a favorite subject of mine. Our file cabinets contain records of births, deaths, weddings, social functions, sports, Bear Festival, hotel, post office, stores as well as thousands and thousands of names of people who have lived in eastern Grays Harbor County.

My favorite pastime is to go to the Washington State Library in Tumwater and do my research. They have the old Elma Chronical newspapers and The Vidette on microfiche, there. The Chronicle was started in 1889 and The Vidette began in 1883. Both have a treasure trove of material for the history buff.

I collect information regarding wildlife, bear, cougar, deer, fishing the creeks and rivers, agriculture, farms in the outlying areas, railroads and locomotives, sawmills and the lumbermen who ran them.

A pet project of mine is gathering information on Civil War veterans of Montesano, Satsop, Elma, Porter and McCleary. So far, I have found more than 140 obituaries of the fellows who fought in that great war. Twelve (12) of them were in the confederate military. The search continues.

Museums and libraries are houses of knowledge. It is very important that we keep them open for the public.

We appreciate everything the community has done to help us continue to operate the McCleary Museum.

Linda Thompson is the editor of the McCleary Museum Newsletter. She has been a volunteer at the museum since 1990.