100 years ago
The Washington Clothing Co. of Everett rented the Rogers Building and was busy opening up a large and varied stock of ladies’ and gents’ clothing and furnishing goods.
Oak Harbor Commercial Club held a meeting, at which there was a fair representation of members present. It was the unanimous sentiment of those present that the time had come when regular meetings should be held and urgent measures taken to revive interest in the club. The first matter taken up was the urgent need of a crosswalk from the Zylstra meat market across to the Smith barber shop. The question of incorporation of Oak Harbor came up for discussion, and there was a unanimous sentiment expressed in its favor. It was decided that the Commercial Club take up the matter of a ferry from some point above Oak Harbor across to Utsalady.
75 years ago
Six carloads, or 230 tons, of superphosphate, enough to fertilize approximately 3,000 acres, arrived for Island County farmers participating in the soil conservation program.
Talks with turkey men from other sections of the state indicated that Whidby Island would again furnish the largest proportion of early birds for the Washington Co-Op. In 1939, Whidby Island furnished approximately 90 percent of the early turkeys.
J.B. Riepma’s herd of 24 registered and grade Guernsy cows averaging 597 milk and 30.9 butterfat, led seven Island County herds on the Standard Plan tests for the month of January.
50 years ago
A Volkswagen driven by a boy who had just gotten his license a few days previously went out of control on the Flintstone Freeway, left the road, rolled down the bank and ended its journey in the water in back of the road. The current from the water carried the car into the middle of the small lagoon. The boy escaped the accident uninjured but a little scared and wet. A small boat was needed to put the town chain on the car so it could be pulled form the water.
Negotiations for sale of the Whidbey Press Publishing Co. to John Webber and Wally Funk were announced. Pending completion of transactions, March 1, was set as the official date of the sale.
A call from Washington, D.C., to the Whidbey Press brought good news to members of Whidbey Island Naval Air Station. Brian Corcoran, press secretary for Senator Henry M. Jackson, was calling to announce that the Department of Defense was requesting $3.7 million for new construction at NAS Whidbey. The work in the bill included a radio receiver facility, an aircraft maintenance shop, a survival equipment shop, barracks and an aircraft systems training building. These new facilities would be constructed to prepare Whidbey for the new A6A Intruder airplane.
Three men, pilot Cdr. Frederic Walton Smith, Bombarder-navigator Ltjg. John Allen Ebers and Petty Officer third class Jack Everett Gardner, died when the A3B Skywarrior jet they were in crashed 140 miles east of Portland. The accident was termed an “uncontrollable crash.” The plane, flying alone, was on a routine, low-level bombing mission.
25 years ago
The Oak Harbor School District’s proposed $2 million-per-year school levy was firmly rejected by the voters, but Coupeville’s levy proposal glided to easy approval.
Island County Sheriff A.J. “Bud” Graves announced plans to run for a second term of office despite some embarrassing financial problems. Graves and his wife filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
For the third week in a row, strong winds took their toll on Whidbey Island, toppling trees and knocking out power to every home on the island. The blackout was caused by the wind, which reached upward of 61 mph, and by trees falling on power lines.
Coupeville Foursquare Church members planted 250 young Douglas fir trees near the Island County landfill to act as visual screen between State Highway 20 and the landfill.
The City of Oak Harbor and Island County formalized a land trade for the new Island County District Court building to be constructed at 400 Ave. The city’s lot at 400 Ave. W. was larger than the county’s lot at 700 Ave. W.
Charles G. Southwick, a sailor at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station convicted in September 1989 of sexually assaulting two young girls was sentenced to more than six years in prison.
Looking Back is compiled from the Whidbey News-Times’ archives as the newspaper celebrates 125 years in business and the City of Oak Harbor its 100th anniversary of incorporation.
