75 years ago

April 15, 1942

Grays Harbor Junior College faces sharp curtailment of its activities next year if it is to survive the enrollment decreases resulting from the war, trustees of the institution told Aberdeen school board members last night.

“The college is operating on a shoestring,” Ransom Minkler said.

Much of the success of the college will depend on the navy training program now in progress, Dean Tidball said. “We are always dependent on tuition for a large share of our operating expenses. If our enrollment stays near the present number of 130, we will be able to get along all right.”

April 16, 1942

• Lieutenant O’Hare, one of the heroes of the American air force in the Pacific war, has gained fame for his success in combat against (Japanese) fliers, but a Hoquiam boy is responsible for keeping his plane humming and his machine guns in tip top shape.

Lee Pollard, former Hoquiam high school gridder and son of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Pollard, is mechanic of O’Hare’s plane aboard an aircraft carrier. He has flown with O’Hare several times.

Young Pollard and William A. Sandstrom started out in the navy together after graduating from high school. They were together for considerable time but later Pollard went in for aviation mechanics and Sandstrom took up duties as radio operator in dive bombers.

• A savage, twisting wind squall smashed the shed over the main way of the Grays Harbor Shipbuilding company’s new yard this afternoon, pinning three men and a small boy beneath broken timbers, but all were believed to have escaped serious injury.

Ed Lundgren, company vice-president, and his four-year-old son, Dickie, missed death by inches when one timber held fast and kept the huge roof and trusses from crushing them.

Nathan Thrush, a workman, was carried from near the peak of the roof, where he was nailing on siding, to the floor of the way, more than 40 feet, when the terrific wind flattened the roof and sides in an instant. Thrush suffered severe shock and bruises and several fractured ribs but was able to limp to an ambulance.

C.G. Wilson, who was at work inside the way, also narrowly escaped death or serious injury.

50 years ago

April 15, 1967

• The Friends of the Library will present Fred Pratch of Westport in a special program of historical interest at 8 o’clock Tuesday night in the Aberdeen Public Library.

Pratch will show pictures taken from the vast and valuable collection taken in the late 1800s by his father, Charles Pratch, Aberdeen pioneer.

The showing will include 300 slides made for the Yukon Exposition in 1909.

April 16, 1967

Sunday, no newspaper published

25 years ago

April 15, 1992

• The sounds of the ’60s return to Grays Harbor College’s Bishop Center Saturday night for the presentation of the legendary folk-singing group, the Limeliters.

“This Land is Your Land,” “There a Meeting Here Tonight,” and “Wayfaring Stranger” rocketed the popular group to stardom at the Hungry I in San Francisco when Glenn Yarbrough sang tenor with the group. Original members Alex Hassilev, a baritone and gifted musician, and Lout Gottlieb, the group’s comic, will be at the college performance. Joining the group after Yarbrough and Red Grammar, his replacement left, was Rick Dougherty, who will be with the trio at the college.

• Elma’s explosiveness made the Eagles’ historic first visit to Eldon Odle Field memorable after all.

Pat Tondre’s three RBI in a 10-run sixth and Chris Hamilton’s grand slam home run in the seventh capped an eruption of 18 unanswered Elma runs in a 20-5 pummeling of Ocosta in a South Central League baseball game Tuesday in Ocosta.

Scoring in the 20s for the third time this season, the Eagles (second-ranked among state Class A teams) remained unbeaten in six league starts and are 7-3 for the season.

April 16, 1992

Aberdeen High School senior Vicky Strada signed a golf letter of intent Wednesday with Stanford University, her father, Mike Strada, reported.

A former state junior girls champion and an honor student, she chose Stanford from about 25 colleges that made scholarship offers. She was really impressed by the college itself, her father said and “the facilities for golf were the best she’s seen.”

Compiled from the archives of The Daily World by Karen Barkstrom