Here’s what was happening this week :

100 years ago:

Mrs. W.H. Bartlett, a widow who lived near Oak Harbor, started a fire in her stove after having been out. After the fire had gained some headway, suddenly the stove blew to pieces with a loud noise and she narrowly escaped serious injury. After an investigation of the remains of the stove, it appeared that either a stick of dynamite or powder had been inserted into the stove. About two weeks after that incident, Mrs. Bartlett was entertaining Mr. Perry and Miss Florence at dinner when Miss Florence said the coffee had a strange taste. They thought nothing of it until Mr. Perry and Mrs. Bartlett became very ill. Being suspicious after this second seeming attempt to do her injury, Mrs. Bartlett went to Seattle. In the meantime, a small portion of the coffee was sent to a well-known chemist in Seattle and results from testing showed that the liquid contained unmistakable evidence that it was “doped” with arsenic. Mrs. Bartlett said she feared for her life and was staying in Seattle until the matter cleared up.

An earthquake in Italy resulted in the death of 12,000 people and injury to possibly 20,000. The shock was the strongest Rome had felt in more than 100 years. The town of Avezzano, 63 miles east of Rome, had been leveled to the ground. The obelisk in St. Peter’s square was shaken and badly damaged. The statue of St. John Lateran and the statues of the apostles surmounting the Basilica were in danger of collapse. The famous colonade decorating the dome of the church of St. Charles Catinari was cracked.

75 years ago:

The Keystone ferry landing was the scene of a sinister murder mystery complete with inexplicable footprints, multiple discharged rifle cartridges, a mysterious trail of blood more than 100 feet long, the remains of a wild orgy and even a missing corpus delicti. Neighbors reported seeing a mysterious bonfire on the beach the night of the murder. Sheriff Thomas Clark examined the scene and sent samples of hair and blood to be analyzed. Partial analysis led the analyzer to believe the remains may have been human. Clark then sent blood and hair samples to the FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C. The murder mystery rapidly approached a crescendo of excitement until Dick Wanamaker confessed that he had shot his cow dog. The culprit, however, refused to admit any complicity concerning the beer cans and bonfire.

Following a radio broadcast of their descriptions, two runaway Anacortes youths were located on the Ralph Freund farm in Oak Harbor by Sheriff Tommy Clark. The boys, George Pinneo and Ray Burich, were reported missing by their parents. After arriving on the island, they asked for work at the Freund farm, and Mr. Freund offered to give them a few days’ employment.

50 years ago:

Terry Emmett, a 1964 graduate of Oak Harbor High School, sat under a shower for 48 continuous hours, breaking the previous national record of 33 hours, 33 minutes. Emmett and a friend at the University of Washington covered their skin in grease so it wouldn’t dry out and brought chairs to sit on.

Outgoing Coupeville Chamber of Commerce President Charrison Lockaby literally handed a peace pipe to incoming President Ted Christensen. The pipe was used because they didn’t have a gavel and it looked more like a gavel than anything else they had.

25 years ago:

An A-6 bomber crashed on takeoff at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station, injuring both crewmen. The pilot and bombardier-navigator were both ejected as the plane listed off from the NAS Widbey airfield. The aircraft then bounced down, skidded on the runway and caught fire.

The Oak Harbor City Council set a public hearing to determine how people felt about possible commercial development at the Oak Harbor Marina.

After 26 years in the Navy, Whidbey Island Naval Air Station Commander Capt. Barry Sehlin retired. He passed the command of the air station to Capt. David Waggoner.

County commissioners met on South Whidbey for the first time ever as an official body. A law approved the year before allowed county commissioners to officially meet away from the county seat.