75 years ago
December 21, 1942
First Lieut. Walter T. Leasy, son of Patrolman and Mrs. Hyson Christie of E. Schley street in Aberdeen, has been appointed personnel adjutant at the chemical warfare training center at Camp Merced, Calif., according to word received today from the war department.
A graduate of Aberdeen’s Weatherwax high school, Leasy enlisted in the army in 1934.
December 22, 1942
Connie Mack turned 80 today and the tall, white-haired grand old man of baseball still gives no thought to retirement. “I’m in 100 percent shape — and liable to go right on until I’m 100,” Connie said.
Mack completes 58 years of baseball this year. He played the first game of his career with Meriden of the Connecticut State league in April, 1884 — “and I looked pretty good behind the bat,” he said.
50 years ago
December 21, 1967
The young woman, whose stabbed and burned body was found on the ocean beach four miles south of Ocean Shores, has been identified a Jeanne Marie Pennebaker of Seattle.
This was revealed this morning in a joint statement by Sheriff A.M. (Pat) Gallagher and Prosecuting Attorney L. Edward Brown.
“The body … has been identified as … wife of Arthur Alan Pennebaker of Seattle. We have no plan to arrest anyone at this time. We appreciate the help of the public and the news media making identification possible, but can make no further disclosure at this point in order to protect the victim’s family and the rights of any future defendant.”
December 22, 1967
Whiteside Undertaking Co. has purchased the old Aberdeen Methodist Church site at 2nd and I Streets, and, according to Gene Whiteside Jr., the lot will be used for a parking lot as soon as the old church structure can be demolished.
“We’ve been in dire need of parking,” Whiteside said. “We feel we’re kind of remiss in not having parking for our customers.”
The $30,000 sale was handled by Don McCaw of McCaw and Co.
25 years ago
December 21, 1992
A box will soon be arriving at the Cosmopolis School. Only the teacher, Rosemarie Majeski, will know its origin — and she’s not telling.
It’ll be up to the two dozen pint-sized detectives in her class to pick through the dozens of clues in the box to figure out where it came from.
Meantime, the Cosi kids put together their own mystery box. It has been sent to the school that prepared the brain-teaser for Cosmopolis.
One clue they included is nothing more than a mug shot of Cosi School alumni Guy Bingham, who now plays for the Atlanta Falcons in the NFL. A regional clue is the date Mount St. Helens erupted — nothing more. There’s also a tiny square snipped from a Washington state map and also some food — smoked salmon and apple candies.
December 22, 1992
The sad marquee at the once-grand D&R Theatre in downtown Aberdeen has been declared a public safety hazard.
The owners of the theater, which closed in 1983, have been ordered to remove any glass panels that haven’t already shattered on the sidewalk below.
The city has been trying to have the problem fixed since summer. A trail of letters and phone messages on file at City Hall show the owners, (David and Maureen Black of Bothell), promised several times to take prompt action.
The D&R was built 68 years ago by W.G. Ripley and Ed Dolan. The partners also operated the Weir, Bijou, Dream and Liberty theaters in Aberdeen, the Liberty, Arcade and Dream theaters in Hoquiam and the Liberty Theater is Cosmoplis, according to telephone records at the time.
In the boosterish style of the day, The Aberdeen Daily World billed the D&R as a theater to rival “any in the state,” saying the architect and builder, George B. Purvis had “come up with the finest in theater construction.” Notable features included a row of chandeliers with the centerpiece fashioned from thousands of crystals. It cost about $2,000.
With 1,700 seats, the D&R was Grays Harbors biggest theater.
Compiled from the archives of The Daily World by Karen Barkstrom
