Here’s what was happening in the news this week:
100 years ago
The Oak Harbor Commercial Club voted in favor of holding a Fourth of July celebration after deliberating in a special session. Some members were concerned about funding, as the city still needed to foot the bill for the construction of a new ferry and stock yet unpaid for “proper conduct of the cannery.” Others said it was important to host festivities because “the country people expected it.” A finance committee was appointed and instructed to collect funds.
Farmers Day, the biggest Market Day in the history of such events in Oak Harbor since its inauguration, brought six hundred people to town. The “news man” counted 153 vehicles, 72 of which were automobiles. The feature of the day was the stock parade. A performance from the Heller Band, who visited from the mainland, was also a crowd pleaser.
The Whidbey-Utsaladdy ferry was expected to be ready for traffic by the following week. Island County automobile owners, of which there were approximately 100, had decided to take an excursion to Everett and Seattle in conjunction with Stanwood citizens as a recognition and announcement of the means of travel.
75 years ago
A mysterious car accident occurred on the highway from Coupeville to Oak Harbor. A Chevrolet coupe licensed to Ray Rhodes of Greenbank was found abandoned. It had been driven at a fairly high speed and had swerved off the road before crashing into a large boulder approximately 25 feet from the highway. There were no witnesses, but those who heard the crash came to investigate and found no one in the vicinity. Rhodes had been on a fishing trip in the San Juan Islands for the past two weeks and had left his car with friends, who had not been home for several days.
The Oak Harbor Holland Days maintained its reputation of having the largest small-town parade west of Chicago. The procession took more than an hour to pass any given spot. Several thousand people were present to witness the floats, bands, livestock and machinery pass by. Princess Carol Ober and her attendants Marjorie Maylor and Gertrude Admiral led the parade in a huge wooden shoe.
50 years ago
The Salisbury Sound, Whidbey Naval Air Station’s only home ported ship, was expected to return soon. It had been deployed to the Western Pacific as a flag ship of Commander Task Force 72. There were 350 men aboard.
A driverless car with two small children inside crashed into a church. There were no injuries. According to the Oak Harbor Police Chief, it was believed that one of the children had pulled the gear selector from park to neutral. The damage to the car was an estimated $550 and the damages to the church estimated to be $150.
25 years ago
The Coupeville Town Council violated state law when it voted by secret ballot to appoint Spence Purvis to fill an open council seat. The Open Public Meetings Act prohibits such an action. The council was scheduled to hold a re-vote the following Monday during a public meeting.
The Oak Harbor Planning Commission sought citizens’ input on what they would like to see the Oak Harbor waterfront look like in the future. Planning Commissioner Chris Saxman said he would like to make “some definitions” for areas that had not yet been developed. The planners said their goal was to establish a plan to avoid haphazard development on the remaining shoreline and waterfront view properties.
