125 years ago
Feb. 5, 1892
Judge Griswold has removed his pool and billiard tables to the building next to the Vidette office. A table has been placed in each room, which are separate. It makes excellent quarters for this business. It is so managed that private parties who desire to play may have a room to themselves without annoyance or interruption.
100 years ago
Feb. 2, 1917
Grays Harbor County this week has been in the grip of a heavy fall of snow that has forced practically every logging camp in the county to close down and has stopped or greatly hindered all kinds of out-of-door work. The storm commenced early Sunday morning and almost a foot of the beautiful fell during the day and on Monday. A high wind accompanying the snow gave the semblance of a mid-western blizzard, but the thermometer was not low and the snow was too moist to drift.
This is the first touch of real winter that the harbor county has experienced this year and came when many would-be weather prophets had predicted an open winter and an early spring. Wild geese had gone north in large numbers during the last three weeks and the latter part of the last week the mild, spring like days brought out the frogs from their winter retreats to sing their songs at night and almost bring a touch of spring fever to the listener. But, alas, the frogs were misled and the spring days were ill omens. The old saying that “when the frogs sing in January they will thrice see through iced houses” seems in a fair way to being substantiated. We give honor to no more weather prophets; we’ll have to be cited.
• • •
Fleeing from their home into the snow, clad only in their night clothes, Leonard Brown, wife and two children narrowly escaped death when their residence on Calder Avenue in McBryde’s Addition was destroyed by fire late Tuesday evening. Not a thing was saved from the house, even the clothing they had worn before retiring being burned.
Brown was awakened first by the smoke and found the flames breaking through the partition into his bed room from the sitting room where there was a small air tight stove. Brown awakened his wife and children and then smashed out a window, breaking the glass with his fist and cutting several deep gashes in his hand on the broken panes. All of the family escaped through the window. Mrs. Brown cut her feet on the broken window glass, but the children escaped without injury.
Neighbors took them indoors at once and they were furnished with clothing. There was no time to even don coats as they rushed hurriedly from the burning building, Mr. Brown losing what money he had in his trousers pockets.
How the fire originated is not known. A small fire had been left in the heater, but it was carefully closed. The only theories are that the stove exploded, or the fire started from a defective chimney, smoldering from some time earlier in the evening. The building was owned by F. H. Sherman and its loss amounts to about $600. Brown is employed in Lester’s camp and only recently moved to this city.
75 years ago
Feb. 5, 1942
No new tires were issued in January, under authority of the Montesano rationing board, although four were authorized to be issued in February.
These were for a fire truck operated by the Weyerhaeuser Timber company, which has been available for civilian defense.
Four other applications received in January awaited action by the board this week.
The board, which consists of Harry Latimer, Claude Vanderpool and Roy B. Kemp, meets at 8 o’clock every Wednesday evening in the Montesano hardware for the purpose of passing on applications. Under the rules governing the board, no new tires may be issued to owners of private cars, unless they can use obsolete sizes. Virtually the only tires that may be issued must be for various public functions, such as fire trucks, ambulances, buses, school buses, doctors, law enforcement officers, freight trucks and similar functions.
From February 12 to 26, the Montesano board will act upon rationing of new cars for which actual deals had been completed prior to the freezing order on January 1. In such cases, applicants must be able to show that they had actually made a deposit on their new cars, which dealers were later forbidden to deliver.
Thus far, the rationing board has received no instructions regarding rationing of other items, such as sugar or other articles, but it expects that such items also will be placed under its jurisdiction.
50 years ago
Feb. 2, 1967
Those five high-flying teenage boys who went on a car-prowling property-damaging spree in Montesano over the Christmas holiday period have been grounded.
Superior Court Judge John Kirkwood, serving as county juvenile judge, heard the case last Thursday in Hoquiam, then issued his bring-‘em-back-down-to-earth decision.
The five youths, two of them from Aberdeen, and three from Monte and all of them in the 14 ed kept under wraps for a month. According to the judge, they must go directly to and from school during the 30 days.
When the grounding time is over, the boys must write letters to the county juvenile officer concerning their activities while toeing the mark. They will remain on probation for another three months, Kirkwood said. The one youth who owns and operated the car used in the joyrides has had his drivers’ license suspended for 30 days.
Starting last week end, one of the teenagers will spend a week end at the Juvenile Detention Home in Hoquiam until all have experience the Friday night to Sunday stay.
The judge also ruled that the defendants must make restitution for stolen or damaged property, totaling approximately $175.
Police Chief Bruce Curtright and Officer Charles Mero were responsible for bringing six boys into custody more than a month ago. One youth subsequently was absolved of any guilt.
25 years ago
Jan. 30, 1992
The Department of Transportation, (DOT), told a group of Montesanans they would be “very interested” in the city’s plan to build a rest stop at the mothballed sewage treatment plant if organizers present a plan.
Councilman Dick Stone told the city council that DOT wants to see a plan that “meets their needs” in design and price, but they were “not clear” about how much money they would be willing to spend on the maintenance or initial capital outlay for the project.
They also did not commit to participating in the costs of a feasibility study the city has commissioned. “But if we develop a set of plans that meets their needs and is in their price range,” they would cooperate, Stone reported.
Other Montesanans who attended the meeting in Olympia Monday were John Tennefoss, Chris Pickering and Stephen Redman, all of whom have been promoting the project, which would include an office for the Montesano Chamber of Commerce and a visitor information center.
Despite the ambiguity of DOT’s commitment, all the participants said the agency expressed a genuine interest.
10 years ago
Feb. 1, 2007
When Mickel D. Garrigus graduated from Elma High School in 2001, he promoted himself from soccer player to soldier by enlisting in the Army.
His family describes him as serious about the service — and especially serious about the service he was performing for his country ever since the birth of his son Ethan a year ago.
The military quickly promoted him to sergeant.
On Saturday, the 24-year-old gave his life for his country when a roadside bomb exploded by his Humvee while he was on patrol in the town of Taji near Baghdad.
Sgt. Garrigus was a military police officer with the 10th Mountain Division, 543rd Military Police Company, 91st Police Battalion, 10th Sustainment Brigade based at Fort Drum, N. Y.
He was serving his second tour of duty in Iraq having re-enlisted after his first tour at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and Iraq. His widow, Natasha, whom he met while stationed at Fort Lewis, has been staying with family in Nevada. They were married Jan. 23, 2004, and little Ethan was born a year later.
His mother Deadra and step-father David Garrigus have lived in Elma since he was 4. He also has a 16-year-old sister, Kyla Ostenson, who is a sophomore at Elma, brother Matthew and sister Nichole ages 22 and 21, respectively.
His death over the weekend and news of the injuries sustained last week by another Elma grad, Colin Lightfoot, brought the war in Iraq home with a vengeance to East County.
