Myrtle Street Dance to celebrate community cooperation

There will be dancing in the streets this weekend — well, on one street in particular.

By Kat Bryant Grays Harbor News Group • August 8, 2019 1:30 am
Photo courtesy Polson Museum Electric Park opened on the Aberdeen-Hoquiam border on Labor Day 1913, a momentous event marked by a parade, a grand ball and several sporting events, including a baseball game “between Hoquiam shingleweavers and a picked team from Aberdeen,” as reported in the Washingtonian newspaper. (Hoquiam won.)
Photo courtesy Polson Museum Electric Park opened on the Aberdeen-Hoquiam border on Labor Day 1913, a momentous event marked by a parade, a grand ball and several sporting events, including a baseball game “between Hoquiam shingleweavers and a picked team from Aberdeen,” as reported in the Washingtonian newspaper. (Hoquiam won.)

By Kat Bryant

Grays Harbor News Group

There will be dancing in the streets this weekend — well, on one street in particular.

Aberdeen and Hoquiam will unite Saturday afternoon for the Myrtle Street Dance, a celebration of community cooperation organized by Becky Carossino with support from John Larson. It will include music, games, food, a beer garden and of course dancing.

“Our communities have had really big hearts lately,” said Carossino, a board member of the Friends of the Aberdeen Museum of History. “We recognize the people who do the (downtown) flowers and everything, but we don’t recognize the people that do the everyday things — pick up the garbage at the park, help the neighbor. So this is just a thing that says: Your kindness had not gone unnoticed.”

This is not a fundraiser, she added; it’s simply a public thank you. “We will not turn down (museum) donations if they give them, but it’s not about that,” she said. Sponsorships are covering the expenses, so no admission is being charged.

Larson, director of the Polson Museum in Hoquiam, will be on hand with a historical display he’s created about Electric Park — the public park, stadium and event pavilion that stood on the Aberdeen-Hoquiam border in the early 1900s, serving both cities. It hasn’t been an easy task, as he’s had some difficulty locating some key details — like when the park closed and was torn down.

“There are a lot of voids of information,” he said. “But I’m going to talk about what we do know. The bulk of the activity we have records of went through the Depression period … but then Olympic Stadium got built in 1938, and I don’t know if the two coexisted or not.”

But whereas Olympic Stadium has always been a Hoquiam venue, he emphasizes Electric Park’s importance as a centrally located event facility. There were sporting events at the stadium, orchestra music and formal dances at the pavilion, and picnics and public swimming in the park.

And it was connected to all corners of the Harbor by the streetcar system, which was based right there at Grays Harbor Railway & Electric Light Co. — the predecessor of the Grays Harbor Public Utility District, which is lending the use of its parking lot for the event.

“It allowed for the blending of two cities that each have their own distinct identities,” he said. “It was unique in that regard, and unparalleled in Grays Harbor history.”

And that’s the vibe they’re looking to re-create with Saturday’s dance.

The event will run from 1 to 7 p.m. on Myrtle Street between Sumner Avenue and Cherry Street. Food vendors will offer up burgers, pizza, tacos, elephant ears and cheesecake on a stick. Duffy’s and Grays Harbor Wine Sellars will be in the beer garden.

It’s a mostly adult-oriented event; there will be no specific children’s activities. “We could only do so much,” said Carossino. Also, there will be very little seating, so attendees are encouraged to bring their own chairs.

From 1 to 4, live dance music will be provided by Stan the Man and the Harbor All Stars: Stan Foreman, Dave Reed, Bruce Hughes and Maitland Ward. Then, after a short break, the Tacoma country band 8 Second Ride will perform until 7.

Two contests will be staged during that break, Carossino said.

First, the Hoquiam and Aberdeen mayors will face off in a light-hearted “How Well Do You Know Your Neighbor?” challenge, she said. “We will ask Aberdeen about Hoquiam and Hoquiam about Aberdeen, and see who knows the most.”

After that, a tug-of-war across Myrtle will pit the police departments of both cities against the fire departments of both cities.

It’s all in the spirit of community cooperation, said Carossino.

“When I was growing up, I thought Myrtle Street divided us,” said Carossino. “But as I got older, I realized Myrtle Street brings us together. It really connects us.”