125 years ago
January 12, 1894
Gus Stratton, of Montesano, is in Westport to spend a few days hunting. Chickens and tame ducks must roost high and people having tame deer will tie red ribbons on their necks so Gus can tell the difference.
***
A few don’ts:
Don’t rail against the man who holds a mortgage on your home, and claim the government ought to pay it off for you when you begged the “money shark” to loan you the money so you could buy another piece of property.
Don’t try to make people believe you are a Christian, simply because you can make long prayers and shed a few tears, and yet never try to help the poor or suffering.
Don’t spend your time on the street corner or in a saloon, talking about the country “going to the dogs” while your wife is chopping wood at home.
Don’t kick about hard times when your income has been $100 per month and you have spent $125 during the same length of time.
100 years ago
January 10, 1919
The death of ex-President Theodore Roosevelt on Monday morning caused much sorrow and grief in Montesano.
***
Montesano’s debt is rapidly dwindling away and with a few more years of economy the city will be entirely out of debt. It is now one of the best financially in the county if not the state.
***
It is probable that the Olympic Highway between the end of the Montesano paving and the paving in front of the golf links will be paved this summer to a full 18-feet width.
***
Miss Ethel Baker, as auditor and Miss Bessie Daws as clerk of courts will be the first women county officers in Grays Harbor.
75 years ago
January 13, 1944
The McCleary booster Club is going to fight the school consolidation issue at the election Feb. 16, with every weapon at its disposal, according to word circulating after the Monday evening dinner-meeting at Billie’s cafe.
With barely five weeks left in which to combat the issue, and with only three weeks remaining before the closing of the books, thereby halting further electoral registration, the Boosters intend to defeat the proposed consolidation or know the reason why, officers stated.
***
The Montesano Bulldogs opened the Southwest Washington league play in impressive style Friday night, Jan. 7, by defeating, here, the Elma Eagles 27-14.
Both teams looked ragged and missed many scoring opportunities during the first quarter which ended 2-2. During the second quarter the Bulldogs’ play was better although the Elma team held them to a half-time score of ten points, the lowest so far this season.
Polsfoot, forward for the Bulldogs, was high point man for the evening, caging 14 points, ten of which were scored in the second half. All of the local team played good defensive ball forcing the Eagles to take long shots or quick shots while on the move.
50 years ago
January 9, 1969
The annual midwinter “Bulb and Broom Sale,” conducted by the Montesano Lions Club, will take place Sunday afternoon, Jan. 19, when club members will canvass the city house-by-house.
According to club president Tom Brighton, “We plan to take to the streets about 2 p.m. Sunday and conduct a house-to-house sale of both light bulbs and brooms. All brooms we are selling have been made by blind people.”
***
The Montesano Vidette will be 86 years of age Saturday, Feb. 1. With this week’s issue, and its 60 pages, the Vidette is publishing the largest newspaper in its history.
The insert tabloid, with two colors, depicts the growth of Grays Harbor county during 1968, with some predictions for what is in store for 1969 and future years.
The Vidette staff hopes you, the reader, will find this issue of interest.
25 years ago
January 13, 1994
Democrat Thomas Moak, a Kennewick librarian whose family were Montesano area pioneers, was appointed last week by the Benton County commissioners to a seat in the state House of Representatives.
Moak’s great-grandparents, Oliver Cromwell and Mary Ann Moak moved to the Wynooche Valley in 1876, setting at the mouth of Black Creek. His grandfather, Oscar Moak, was born there in 1878 and his grandmother, Grace Hagerman Moak, was born in Montesano in 1889. Moak’s father, Donald, was born in Montesano in 1918 and the family moved to Tacoma in 1930. A cousin, Mary Birdwell Moyer, now of Aberdeen, was for many years Grays Harbor County auditor, and a great aunt, Minnie Swisher Moak, now deceased, was a longtime Grays Harbor County treasurer.
10 years ago
January 8, 2009
All the liquid falling from the sky this week, as well as the past several weeks — whether as rain or snow — has caused serious concerns about both severe flooding and landslides around Grays Harbor, as well as other Western Washington counties. And more heavy precipitation was expected Wednesday night with showers until about 10 a.m. Thursday.
Road closures around the county have been myriad because of slides and flooding, and Montesano, Elma, Satsop and McCleary schools closed Wednesday morning. Oakville schools closed after lunch Wednesday and were likely to be closed Thursday as well.
It was a challenge early Wednesday for residents heading for Olympia, as state Route 8 was completely closed in both directions near Summit Lake because of flooding. U.S. Highway 12 to Oakville also became a problem, as the Chehalis River was expected to flood that roadway, as well, and the route through Kamilche was reportedly blocked at times with slides.
***
Posting 16 points in each quarter, Elma did what they needed to do on offense, while a less consistent Montesano squad outscored the Eagles in the second and fourth quarters, but struggled in the first and third stanzas allowing Elma to gain the upper hand and escape Bo Griffith Memorial Gymnasium with a 64-55 nonleague boys basketball victory Saturday.
“All in all, it was a great effort,” Elma head coach Marvin Prince said. “But, I don’t think the score is an indication of how the game went. We were kind of shaky in the first half, and then the kids did what we needed to do in the second half, and that was to set the tempo.”
Derek Jensen paced Bulldog scorers with 18 points, while teammate Josh Tyler finished with 13.
Ryan Malmstrom and Andrew Burrows had 12 and 10 respectively for the Eagles.
Compiled from the archives of The Vidette by Karen Barkstrom. She can be reached at kbarkstrom@thedailyworld.com or 360-537-3925.
