Saturday’s wind gusts full of sideways rain seemed to greatly affect attendance for History98520’s Walk of the Undead in Aberdeen, but there was a good deal of fun to be had.

The chalk outlines on the I Street sidewalk outside the D&R Event Center included some interesting drawings, such as “Killer Kyle,” a few ghosts, a demented, blue-colored face that clearly took a while to shade in, and other creatures that fit in nicely during what many throughout the world have dubbed “Spooky Season.”

The street, thanks to ArtHQx in Hoquiam, who was sponsoring the Chalk of the Undead, had characters that evoked Halloween themes as well, including a large Gumby chalk outline. While Gumby was orange, his shape was unmistakable. Jeanne Ward, who drew Gumby and was drawing other characters in the middle of the closed I Street, spoke about Walk of the Undead.

“I’m new to Walk of the Undead this year because zombies actually make me feel kind of gross,” said Ward, who had a face painted white and black to simulate a skull face. “As you can see I’m painted like a skeleton. … I was very intrigued. I was invited to participate as a business because I’m known for participating in community activities and I’m pretty good at organizing people and getting people to show up and participate. They wanted to have something that families could do, that kids could do and something that made the festival interactive. (This way) you’re actually creating the art of the festival and then other people are seeing the art that you created. Now that it’s raining, that’s changing a little bit, but we have an awning that we’re doing art under as well.”

Ellery Einander and Simon Jeffery won the chalk contest’s youth category for several creepy characters they drew in front of the D&R Event Center, according to Ward. They received plaques for their win, which Harbor Awards made. Aberdeen Mayor Doug Orr, who competed in the adult category, won with a drawing of a demented looking blue and red face with blown out blue hair.

Along with the chalk outline, there was a Witches Dance featuring Julie Swor, Laurie Butcher, Gwyn Tarrence and Deb Blecha. Dressed as witches, the four women dressed in witch hats danced with their brooms to the delight and applause of several people who watched. The area also featured several coffins with projections of historical figures from Aberdeen’s past, which Jerry Salstrom, Chuck Meskimen, Les Bolton, and a couple other volunteers helped make as real as they could. For anyone who went to Aberdeen Rain Glow’s History98520 alley, it was similar to the gravestone projections there. And then over at Aberdeen Auto Sales, Anubis Hearse Club PNW lined the northwestern corner of the parking lot with several hearses. One of the hearses even featured music and flashing lights on the grill. That hearse was Susan Jacobs Garcia. She was delighted by the sight of the vehicles.

“My thing is since I was a little girl, like a nine-year-old, I wanted to always own my own hearse because it’s like my dream car,” Jacobs Garcia said. “And seeing all these here today is like a miracle. It’s a dream come true. I forced my mother-in-law to stop (Door) Dashing just so we could come and see them. I may have cried a little bit too.”

Jacobs Garcia explained why that particular hearse — named Rose — stood out.

“It’s because you have the flashing lights, you have the cool headlights and there’s an actual coffin in the back,” Jacobs Garcia said. “It’s very macabre.”

Ronda Connelly, founding member of the Anubis Hearse Club PNW, explained how the club got its start. The club’s been around since 2010.

“My dad was battling cancer and he wanted a car to rebuild with me as a last project, so he bought me that hearse,” Connelly said. “And then most of my friends really enjoyed shop time with my dad so they bought more hearses. And poof, there was Anubis and we became a club. So it’s kind of backwards. We’re a bunch of friends who bought matching cars, not a bunch of people with cars who got together. It’s kind of a nice thing to do.”

The day didn’t just have spooky parts to it, there was even a royal proclamation. Salstrom, former principal at Miller Junior High School, was crowned the Walk of the Undead King. Kylie O’Keefe, an Aberdeen student, was crowned Walk of the Undead Queen. Here were a few details from Salstrom’s proclamation, which had a strong community theme.

“Whereas, today is a day of walking with and celebrating the return of community members from our historical past,” Salstrom read. “Whereas, a group of our current community members have committed their time and energy to organizing today’s events; And furthermore, that whereas a wide range of community members and groups have dedicated their efforts to produce other community events such as Founders Day, Splash (Festival), (Aberdeen) Rain Glow, World Music Day, WinterFest, SummerFest, Sunday Street Markets, (Aberdeen) Food Bowl, the Wellness Fair, and many others too numerous to mention.”

Salstrom’s proclamation, read on a small trailer on I Street, between the D&R Theatre and Boomtown Records, continued as he spoke about a “growing and positive sense of renewed community spirit and collegiality among the citizens of Aberdeen,” he gave a pitch to continue such efforts within the city.

“And we hope that at least once today you will introduce yourselves to someone you will meet for the first time to make one more connection to build that community spirit,” Salstrom read to many costumed witches, scarecrows, skeletons and other creatures that go bump in the night. “If we all do that, just think how many new connections we will make in just one day. And now we command you, the Undead, to go and bring that renewed life to our community.”

Blecha said she “loved that Jerry delivered a proclamation as king.”

“I loved that Mayor Douglass Orr crowned him and did a winning chalk drawing on the sidewalk,” Blecha said.

Blecha, one of the main organizers for Walk of the Undead, knows there were elements that went right and elements that went wrong throughout the day. To be fair, this was the first year for History98520 to do it and the weather certainly did not help. She said “everything should be a learning experience.”

“Some things went really awesome and some are still offering some cringe moments,” Blecha said. “But, this is the big deal. Life is all about learning. We had a few fails this year and we are fine because we will fall forward. We had some epic cool this year. We have created some great partners, including some seniors and some school students. We had some businesses get on board and some that might consider doing more next year.”

Strong recommendations from area businesses

One thing for Blecha and others to listen to is the constant, singular comment about the lack of communication. Several business owners did not know what to tell people when it came to where each event was, or when they were starting. And while many businesses were on the pub crawl map, not having enough copies to hand to people interested in joining it probably hindered some participation.

Blecha loved the camaraderie that showed itself through organizing for this year’s event.

“We have a core group of people who work and care and cooperate, putting the community above all,” Blecha said. “Some were on the committee and some reached out from other groups, businesses, etc. … We appreciate every single one of you and what you brought to the table.”

The weather, unavoidable throughout Grays Harbor, might play into the event happening a little differently next year.

“We have talked about moving (the event) and will probably talk about it again in the wrap-up meeting on Monday,” Blecha said. “I don’t think the committee will move it. We will just need to have better plan Bs.”

Blecha’s favorite parts for the Walk of the Undead were the 5K that began at the cemetery, the hearses, and the goulash cook off that pit Messy Jessy’s and Mount Olympus Brewing against each other in a one-vs-one contest. Blecha also mentioned how she liked the tin foil hats she saw as well as the “blending of generations that got involved.”

Blecha said the event’s committee is expanding and how they’ll have a wrap-up meeting next Monday to “discuss all of the what went right and what will be adjusted.”

“Then we will put it to bed until January 2025,’ Blecha said. “We are planning to be better and use the experience of this second edition to do a better job with that new knowledge.”

Contact Reporter Matthew N. Wells at matthew.wells@thedailyworld.com.

Matthew N. Wells / The Daily World Security lapsed when this skeleton escaped from its box. The skeleton, who was actually Wil Russoul, executive director of Downtown Aberdeen Association, haunted several people outside the D&R Theatre during Saturday’s Walk of the Undead event.

Doug Orr On Saturday, during the Walk of the Undead Chalk Contest, Ellery Einander and Simon Jeffery won in the Youth category with their creative work.