75 years ago

June 17, 1942

Grays Harbor’s first casualty of the Coral Sea battle is Llewellyn Larson, 19-year-old Hoquiam sailor. Larson, who was on the tanker Neosho, was a seaman first class. The navy informed his parents that he was missing following action.

June 18, 1942

• Four Grays Harbor boys relived the Coral Sea battle and told about the last fight of their ship, the Lexington, when they reached their Harbor homes last night. The proud story of America’s victory was recounted by Pete Manenica, machinist’s mate, third class; William Clifford McGuire, gunner’s mate, first class; Edward E. Thayer, gunner’s mate, second class and Wallace Hunter, gunner’s mate, third class.

Each of them said, “Sure, I cried when the Old Lex went down. So did everybody.” And then they added, “But it was a good swap. We traded three for their eleven. That’s good trading.”

• With more than 50 tons of old rubber stacked at Aberdeen and Hoquiam oil companies, the salvage campaign promises today to exceed the 100-ton goal set early this week.

Yesterday’s collection was swelled by more than a ton of rubber belting donated by Harbor Plywood corporation and a large contribution from the Allman-Hubble Tugboat company.

Out in Central Park, several children turned in 1,845 pounds of old rubber to Mrs. Fred Markworth and added a challenge to “any other kids who think they can get more old tires than we can.”

50 years ago

June 17, 1967

• Akron, Ohio, is the next stop for 12-year-old Stanley Ranum, a determined Elma youngster who steered his sleek “Blue Angel” racer to victory on Broadway Hill Saturday afternoon in the 11th annual Aberdeen Soap-Box Derby.

After working his way to the top of the B division, Stanley nailed down the derby championship by out-coasting A division champ Jeff McGarrath of Aberdeen in two straight races, as more than 500 excited spectators looked on.

• The stockholders of Grays Harbor Broadcasting Company, who own and operate Hoquiam radio station KGHO, announced this week that Ernest Linnenkohl, a well-known native Harborite, has been named general manager of the AM and FM station.

“The new sound of KGHO should appeal to everyone from teen-agers on up,” Linnenkohl said this morning. “We plan to offer a balanced program of popular ‘top 40’ tunes along with up-tempo instrumentals.”

June 18, 1967

Sunday, no newspaper published

25 years ago

June 17, 1992

The 1992 Little Mr. Hoquiam, Roy Calica, and Little Miss Hoquiam, Emelita Villar, were crowned Monday at the Channel Point Village retirement center.

Roy, a 10-year-old student at Lincoln Elementary, performed a karate demonstration for the talent showcase. Ten-year-old Emelita, a Central School student, sang “Part of That World” from “The Little Mermaid.”

June 18, 1992

When Grays Harbor County dedicated its first park in 1988, County Commissioners vowed it was just the beginning of development at Vance Creek.

But funding ran short, and the $170,000 project now under way along the highway near Elma is the first since the initial construction job. It is scheduled to be complete by the end of the month.

Vance Creek is still the only county park. It’s off Wenzel Slough Road on the way to the Elma airport.

Crews are cleaning up the banks of the easternmost lake, one of four in the park, installing a new beach and adding a trail to circle the lake. Part of the trail will be asphalt and part will be gravel, said Fred Becker, assistant county engineer

Compiled from the archives of The Daily World by Karen Barkstrom