Here’s what was happening in the news on this week:
100 years ago:
The News this week was a little bit “off-color.” By reason of circumstances over which they had no control, they were unable to print their usual six pages, and this issue was short two pages. They assured readers it would not happen again soon unless they went completely broke or the paper supply house refused credit.
There was a pioneer reunion at the residence of C.T. Terry, of Coupeville, the occasion being the 80th anniversary of his birth, and it was immensely enjoyed by all present. It was in the shape of a surprise party. The united ages of the 14 pioneers present amounted to 886 years.
The little boy of J. Faber was seriously injured. Mr. Faber was cutting kale with a hoe, and the boy, who was playing nearby, ran too close and was struck on the arm with the hoe, breaking it above the elbow. Dr. Persons was called to set the fracture.
75 years ago:
Mrs. Rientjes was cleaning eggs in the basement when she accidentally pushed off her diamond ring — a good one that Bert had really splurged on at a time in his courtship when nothing was too good for the little woman — and it dropped into about six inches of hay. She searched vainly for several hours. Bert carried on the search to no avail. Then an idea dawned on him. He’d burn the hay and look for the ring in the ashes. The diamond caught the light of Bert’s flashlight and the ring was discovered — unharmed except for removal of some of the soldering.
Mr. and Mrs. Aldon Johnson of this place were the proud parents of, not only a boy, but a healthy, husky little fellow born, of all days, the 29th of February. He was the second such child born on Whidby Island.
50 years ago:
Island County commissioners sent a letter to William J. Lindberg, one of three federal judges reviewing facets of redistricting approved by members of the Washington State Legislature. In the letter was a request for a split district, which would guarantee legislative recognition for that portion of the new District 10, which included Whidbey and Camano islands.
Senators Henry M. Jackson and Warren G. Magnuson said that Oak Harbor School District No. 201 had been certified by the U.S. Office of Education for immediate payment of $316,416 under terms of Public Law 874, which provided assistance to federally affected areas.
Elements of Patrol Squadron 47 arrived at the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station. VP-47, a unit of Fleet Air Wing Four, was an integral part of the U.S. Seventh Fleet and operated in the South China Sea, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Okinawa and the Philippines.
25 years ago:
An Anacortes girl slipped off a trail and tumbled down a slope into the frigid water at Deception Pass. She suffered cuts and bruises but was doing fine. Max Will pulled his daughter, 5-year-old Chernee, from the water with the help of an Oak Harbor High School teenager who saw her fall.
Jack Truex and his wife, Mary Truex, watched firefighters scurry around the smoldering remains of their home. The fire was believed to have been caused by a microwave. Mary was in the living room when she heard a small explosion in the kitchen. When she went to investigate, she discovered the kitchen was engulfed in flames. No one was injured, and the fire took the Oak Harbor Fire Department about 15 minutes to contain. An electrical cord from a microwave sparked the fire, which quickly spread to the plywood ceiling. About 30 percent of the home was destroyed in the blaze.
Looking Back is compiled from the Whidbey News-Times’ archives as the newspaper celebrates 125 years in business and the City of Oak Harbor its 100th anniversary of incorporation.
