75 years ago

June 24, 1944

• Robert Bracken, son of Mr. and Mrs. Earl Bracken of West Seventh Street in Aberdeen, has been promoted to sergeant. He is with a photo reconnaissance squadron station in England. A graduate of Weatherwax high school, he attended the University of Washington where he took an engineering course. He joined the army in January 1943.

• “I suppose by now the people at home are pretty excited and glad to see one of the final stages of the war begin,” writes Milton Oestreich to his parents on West Sixth Street in Aberdeen. “I guess that they aren’t any more glad than we are. Over here we can’t realize it has begun. There is no sensational difference to us. There was no celebrating, it was just another day. We have to work just twice as hard as we did before.”

Oestreich who is in the chemical warfare department with a bombardment squadron, has been in England for nearly two years.

50 years ago

June 24, 1969

There is nothing that’s quite as much fun as a birthday treat in an ice cream parlor, with lots of playmates, lots of cherries and of course, ice cream.

Especially when it might be your last birthday.

After Lloyd Thomas and his wife of Hoquiam found out May 8 that their daughter, Doris, has leukemia, an incurable disease, a friend arranged that Doris would celebrate her fourth birthday at Swaneze Restaurant.

So Monday, some 16 youngsters joined Doris and helped devour a cherry-studded Paul Bunyon sundae. Nearly half of the guests were Doris’ brothers and sisters. Of the nine Thomas children, only the youngest, 19 months old, didn’t make it.

25 years ago

June 24, 1994

Armed with a pile of raw logs, a heap of know-how and a dream, a handful of Rotary club guys set out to build a “cabin” for the community.

That was eight years ago.

Countless man hours add up to a testament to craftsmanship, and the cabin is big enough to host a crowd of 450.

The “Aberdeen Rotary Log Pavilion” is just a nail or two away from completion.

You couldn’t build it again for a million buck. Some say two million when you consider the landscaping and other improvements at Morrison Riverfront Park.

Saturday evening, Rotarians will formally present the key to Mayor Chuck Gurrad.

“Literally hundreds of volunteers, Rotarians and non-Rotarians, have been involved” but Bob Swedblom’s commitment symbolizes the volunteer spirit, said state Rep. Lynn Kessler, the club’s president for the past year.

A plaque noting that the project was “inspired and directed by “Swed” will be unveiled Saturday. There’s a spot for it above the fireplace.

Compiled from the archives of The Daily World by Karen Barkstrom