100 years ago (1916 — Oak Harbor News)
n A front page article posed the question, “Are you interested in your sons and daughters?” The article brought to attention the lack of attendance at many youth functions, such as football games and “social functions at assembly hall.” It went on to say that parents and teachers should show more support for their students and children by being present at their functions.
n In Washington state news, whaling season had come to a close on Grays Harbor with a catch of 268 for the year. This was an above-average catch, although less than the previous season, when 334 were taken.
n Formaldehyde, advertised as “the farmers friend” by Oak Harbor Drug Co., was on sale for 40 cents per pint. The store also advertised “Nation Wide Candy Day.” “It’s up to you to see how much candy you can eat, and it is up to us to sell you all we can. Let us both break the record,” the advertisement read.
75 years ago (1941 — Farm Bureau News)
n A 22-year old bridge painter from Gold Beach, Ore., was the first to fall to his death from Deception Pass Bridge. Witnesses said the young man, who plummeted to his death from a staging, had neglected to fasten his safety belt, lost his balance and fell 200 feet into the water. He swam to a paint bucket which had fallen with him, and managed to get within 30 feet of the shore before he disappeared from view. It was his last day of work on the bridge, as both he and his brother had received notices to report to the selective service board for induction into the U.S. Army the following Monday.
n A 17-year-old hunter mistook another for a deer and fired a fatal shot. The victim had been crouching in ferns in an abandoned orchard on “the old Puckett place” trying to spy a deer when the young man mistook him for prey and let fly a shot from the .303 Savage rifle he was carrying. The victim bled to death before medical assistance arrived.
50 years ago (1966 — Whidbey News-Times)
n The newspaper began its first experiment in color, using red in the masthead and one headline. The edition was a trial run, with further experimentation to follow in perfecting its use for advertising and editorial. The addition, at a cost of about $3,000, allowed for “two-tone” advertising messages with the traditional black plus red.
n The Central Whidbey Chamber of Commerce, proponents of a proposed port district to be voted on in the November election, listed some of the reasons a port district could benefit the community, including the port’s ability to legally promote specific interests in a special area. The chamber also noted that a port district could develop a comprehensive plan and thus become eligible to apply for funds available for such purposes that would come under port commissioner jurisdiction. The chamber was specifically interested in the possibility of projects like developing a small boat basin and other such recreational facilities; the possibility of acquiring and preserving property of historic value; and the development of an airport.
n Don Boyer Chevrolet-Pontiac, Inc. advertised a 1965 Chevy Sting Ray Coupe for $3,399 and a 1965 Chevy Impala Sport for $2,799. Crab was advertised at Food-Town for 39 cents a pound, and grapes at 29 cents per 2-pound bag.
25 years ago (1991 — Whidbey News-Times)
n One crewman died and a second was reported missing after an A-6E Intruder from Whidbey Island Naval Air Station struck a cliff and crashed in the Columbia River. The bomber was on a routine training mission when it went down, crashing about 20 miles southeast of Wenatchee in Eastern Washington.
n On the same day China celebrated the beginning of freedom from feudal rule 80 years prior, two Chinese men celebrated their own freedom in Oak Harbor after 13 months of imprisonment. The two men had been imprisoned in Washington jails since September 1990 for falsifying U.S. entrance visas to flee persecution in their native China. The two planned to stay in Oak Harbor until the U.S. District Court in Seattle heard an appeal of their deportation. Roger Chan, owner of Cathay Palace Restaurant in Oak Harbor, had acted as their interpreter in jail and had offered them a place to live and jobs at his restaurant. The men’s attorney said this would help their case to avoid deportation and become legal U.S. citizens.
n Initiative 119 had strong support in Island County. The so-called Death with Dignity initiative 119 would allow terminally ill people to request aid in dying from a physician. If approved, Washington would be the first state to enact such a law.
