75 years ago

April 29, 1942

A former South Bend high school athlete, Lester Johnson, has been awarded the distinguished flying cross for heroic action with Uncle Sam’s air force in the South Pacific, his mother, Mrs. Louise Johnson of Aberdeen, learned today.

“The last I heard from Lester directly was that he survived the Battle of Java,” Mrs. Johnson said. “I received a postcard from him in which he said that he got out of Java ‘by the skin of his teeth,’ but without a scratch.”

Johnson, 26, graduated from South Beach high school in 1935. He was best known there for his track feats.

April 30, 1942

• Deputy Sheriff R.B. Ellis entered the Hayloft tavern at Westport last night to find a soldier holding several customers at bay with his service pistol.

“Line up with those guys,” the soldier commanded Ellis.

Feeling playful, the soldier made the officer drink two cups of very hot coffee so rapidly the brew badly burned his mouth and throat.

“I watched (for) my chance,” Deputy Prosecutor Paul Manley quoted Ellis, “and jumped the soldier. After a fight, I got him into the patrol car.”

Army officials assumed jurisdiction and what, if any, civil charges may be brought against the soldier was to be determined today by the prosecutor’s office and army authorities.

• A total of 360 people crowded into the Bitar building during the first hour and a half of the lunch period today as the Red Cross canteen unit conducted its first emergency feeding experiment.

Items on the menu included macaroni, tomatoes, hamburger, onions, carrots and cabbage. An apple was offered for dessert. The cost of the meal was 20 cents. The meal, Red Cross officials explained, would be the type prepared should Hoquiam be hit in an air attack.

50 years ago

April 29, 1967

Joe Caton, owner-operator of the Elkhorn Cafe on Highway 101 north of Raymond, lost $51 in cash to four holdup men about 8:30o’clock last night, according to a report to the sheriff’s office. Caton said one of the men held a gun in one hand and a hat in the other and commanded him to “fill it up.” He obligated by placing the contents of the till into the hat. Another man stood by the doorway brandishing a switch blade knife.

April 30, 1967

Sunday, no newspaper published

25 years ago

April 29, 1992

• Chevron USA set out to dig up a couple of old, likely-leaking gas tanks after Dan’s Chevron in downtown Aberdeen closed last year.

A little digging turned into a major excavation and a lotta dirt that needs airing out: 14 storage tanks buried at various times over the years were uncovered.

The resulting hole in the ground at Wishkah and F streets has prompted countless jokes about Aberdeen’s downtown swimming pool.

A mountain of dirt beside the hole is the contaminated soil that is being treated and eventually will be used to refill the hole, company officials say.

• The city of Aberdeen experienced an “about average” year fighting fires, yet budget cuts meant that fewer firefighters and paramedics responded to a record number of calls for emergency aid.

Happily, paramedics estimate that 66 lives were saved last year, according to the 1991 annual report released this week. The number of fire calls was 1,140 and overall property losses totaled $628,305.

April 30, 1992

Sen. Brad Owen, D-Shelton brought his rock band “Strategic Command” to North Beach High School Wednesday to get his message about the horrors of drug use across to the students.

Interspersed with such crowd pleasers as “Louie, Louie,” and “Satisfaction” was a serious and often disturbing presentation about the effects of drugs and alcohol use.

Between the upbeat songs, Ocean showed pictures of children born with drug addictions and lists of famous musicians who died of overdoses.

As the band launched into a Jimi Hendrix tune, Owen solemnly reminded the assembled students that the popular rock star could still be making music if he hadn’t used drugs.

Compiled from the archives of The Daily World by Karen Barkstrom