125 years ago
April 8, 1892
Council met in regular session; mayor and all council present except Ayer.
Street committee reported that water had been drained from property back of Griswold’s and that a sewer had been put in at north end of River street.
An ordinance providing for the licensing of foreign or non-resident merchants was passed.
Cemetery deeds were ordered issued to Geo. Collett, A. Mitchell, Jr., and E.R. Rabbeson, on payment of stipulated price.
Liquor licenses were granted L.H. Nichols and Isaac Spencer.
Petition of L.B. Bignold, et al, for the improvement of Church street referred to street committee.
Petition of Haye &Zeebuyth for payment of warrants issued on improvement fund of Broadway, Silvia and Academy streets, read.
City attorney was instructed to institute proceedings for the collection of delinquent taxes for improvement of said streets.
The matter of the defective bulkhead on Silvia street referred to street committee.
Electrician was ordered to make itemized statement for supplies for electric light plant and submit same to electric light committee.
100 years ago
April 6, 1917
Almost one-third of the entire population of the City of Montesano gathered at the high school auditorium Wednesday evening in one of the most patriotic demonstrations ever witnessed in the city, at which assembly resolutions were adopted endorsing the action of our president and the government in declaring a state of war with Germany, and adopting preliminary plans for the formation of a “home guard” organization. Following the meeting copies of the resolution were wired to President Wilson, Senator Wesley L. Jones, Senator Miles Poindexter and Representative Albert Johnson at Washington, D.C.
Mayor B. G. Cheney, acting as chairman of the meeting, opened the program of speeches. He stated the purpose of the gathering was to show Montesano’s position in regard to the impending war and to express the loyalty of our citizens in backing up our country in the great crisis. He stated that the city had already furnished 26 men for the first call and would do much more as the occasion arises.
City Supt. Of School Eldridge Wheeler recalled 25 years work with the boys and girls of the community.
“While it is a sad thing to me to contemplate, I must say to the young men whom I have seen grow from infancy to young manhood ‘Stand by the President’.”
Mr. Wheeler briefly outlined the causes of pervious wars and found the causes in every foreign war in which we have engaged really trivial as compared to the great issues that have brought the present impending struggle upon us.
“The patience of the President has been great,” said the speaker, “but the time has passed for patience and we must stand by him.”
75 years ago
April 9, 1942
Montesano today joined all Grays Harbor in an intensive “salvage for victory” campaign when Gaston Moch, city salvage chairman, announced that the first collection of scrap metal, paper, rubber and rags will be made Saturday in city civilian defense zones No. 1 and No. 2, as shown on the city evacuation maps now in every Montesano home.
Meanwhile, County Chairman Floyd Otter announced a wide-spread program for collecting scrap in rural Grays Harbor. He and Moch said their committees were cooperating and that a few simple rules had been formulated for citizens to follow as a patriotic duty.
County community chairmen have been named to take charge in various districts of rural Grays Harbor and residents of those areas were asked to get in touch with them to share in the war program.
In Montesano, proceeds from the sale of salvage will go into the cemetery improvement fund, except that the Boy Scouts will continue to collect and handle the paper. In exchange for this opportunity, the scouts will assist the Montesano salvage committee and already have started their work by making personal visits to homes in zones 1 and 2 asking residents to have their salvage ready Saturday for speedy pickup. They also will notify other districts as the campaign proceeds.
50 years ago
April 6, 1967
A second attempt to auction off Montesano’s picturesque Schafer mansion will be made by Grays Harbor County at 10 a.m. Friday, May 5.
The decision to try again — after “no sale” was rung up last Friday — developed Monday when the county commissioners learned of appreciable interest in possible purchase of the large home by parties in Seattle and Tacoma.
Chairmen Leighton Powell said the second public auction will be advertised in Seattle and Tacoma newspapers as well as local publications. The commissioners already have received a number of long distance calls regarding the property, he added.
To stimulate added interest in the hoped-for sale, the commissioners directed County Auditor L.E. Christiansen to conduct six more tours of the Main Street mansion—at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. April 14, 21 and 28. Also, they voted to reduce from $10,000 to $2,500 the amount of bond which must be posted to guarantee removal of the building within six months after the sale.
Last Friday, more than 70 people jammed the foyer of the courthouse as County Treasurer tried to auction off the 14-room home. But most of them apparently came to witness the action—and no one came to bid on the No. 1 item of business.
25 years ago
April 2, 1992
Most if not all of the current transfer stations in unincorporated parts of the county will continue to be maintained, even after implementation of the county’s new waste management plans.
Public Works Director Mike Daniels told the commissioners it is likely that hours may be reduced at the five stations throughout the county, but the Humptulips station is the only one which may find itself on the cutting block.
Currently, all five transfer stations are open at least 20 hours per week. Daniels said after the universal recycling program is implemented in the rural sections of the county, operations may be reduced to one day a week. Implementation of universal recycling will begin in about two months.
“People think we’re closing them, but we’re not,” said Daniels.
Commissioner Bill Pine noted that the facilities do not pay for themselves. He said the county is subsidizing the stations to the tune of about $150,000 per year.
Daniels concurred, noting that the purpose to reducing hours would be to “eliminate the subsidy.”
In other trash business, the commissioners adopted the second and final part of the county’s comprehensive waste management plant by approving the Moderate Risk Management Plan.
10 years ago
April 5, 2007
Montesano is a city that doesn’t see a lot of turnover among its employees, but in recent months there’s been more than the usual number of job openings.
In the Police Department, Brett Vance has been named deputy police chief, and for the first time in nine years, the department has officers at basic training—David Blundred and James Gillies.
Elsewhere at City Hall, two top-level management positions will feature new faces this year. Mayor Dick Stone is actively looking for a new city clerk and a new forester.
Police Chief Ray Sowers said the new deputy chief and both officers all went through “an open, competitive Civil Service testing process to get the jobs.”
He’s especially pleased that the top qualifiers are “all individuals who are Grays Harbor residents. They all grew up here on the Harbor so we’re not training people from Olympia and Tacoma to come down here for a couple years and then go back. In my experience, we have much better luck retaining good officers when we can find local people.”
