Looking Back: Park closed after sewage plant overflows

100 years ago Mrs. Amanda Jane Hannah, a Coupeville pioneer better known as Grandma Hannah, died. She was born in Franklin County, Penn. in 1835, and was 80 at the time of her death. She came to Coupeville in the fall of 1868 and married Benjamin C. Hannah on April 5, 1869. Mr. Hannah had crossed the plains in 1849 to California during the first “gold excitement,” where he followed various occupations before moving to Coupeville and setting up a homestead in 1858.

November 25, 2015 4:35 pm

100 years ago

  • Mrs. Amanda Jane Hannah, a Coupeville pioneer better known as Grandma Hannah, died. She was born in Franklin County, Penn. in 1835, and was 80 at the time of her death. She came to Coupeville in the fall of 1868 and married Benjamin C. Hannah on April 5, 1869. Mr. Hannah had crossed the plains in 1849 to California during the first “gold excitement,” where he followed various occupations before moving to Coupeville and setting up a homestead in 1858.
  • The question of supplying Oak Harbor with an electric lighting system was expected to be posed to the newly elected council at its first meeting in January. A gentleman of Seattle, a practical electrician, was to meet with the council at that time to ascertain the opportunity for a franchise if there seemed to be sufficient business to warrant such a venture.

75 years ago

  • Whidbey pioneer Annie Hancock Libbey, age 84, died at her home in San de Fuca. She had been the eldest member of the Whidbey Chapter, Daughters of Pioneers. She was born in 1856 in Lynchburg, Va. In 1862, the family began their journey westward by ox team and covered wagon. They traveled for six months before reaching Whidbey Island. Herbert Dykers, one of the first Dutch settlers of Oak Harbor, also passed away. He was 69. He came to Whidbey Island in 1895 and was a resident of Oak Harbor ever since. He was born near Rotterdam, Netherlands, in 1871.
  • Edwin Clarence Myers, a 21-year-old of Oak Harbor, was the county’s first resident to enlist in the Army under the selective service act. He passed his examinations in Tacoma and was inducted the week prior after volunteering on Nov. 11. His enlistment filled the county’s quota for the next six months.

50 years ago

  • The case which it was said would go down in Island County records as the “unscrambled egg case” was solved, with three young sailors in Island County jail. The case involved the theft of 150 dozen eggs from John Wardenaar. In the solution of the burglary, two larcenies in Anacortes were solved and one in Bellingham. Also solved was a similar egg theft Oct. 7 and a burglary in the home of Joseph E. Young, a Seattle man. The three sailors, James E. Dempsey, Thomas J. Bull and Gary R. Mills, were charged with second-degree burglary. The men admitted to breaking into Wardenaar’s chicken house by breaking the padlock in half.
  • A tragic accident occurred in which a VP-2 SP2H aircraft crashed into the Bristol Bay side of Cape Newenham, killing the 12 Whidbey flyers aboard. The aircraft was on a routine ice reconnaissance flight when contact was lost at about 10 p.m. Shortly thereafter, smoke was observed by those stationed at the Cape Newenham radar site. Rescue operations begun immediately; but because of the ruggedness of the terrain a mountain climbing team had to be called in as well as a paramedic from Elmendorf Air Force Base. Searchers who found the aircraft said it collided with the side of a mountain about 500 feet above the water.

25 years ago

  • City Beach Park in Oak Harbor was closed because of overflow from the city’s sewage treatment plant. The water standing in the park was thought to be contaminated. The pumps had been “overworked” due to a recent deluge of rain. If the rain continued, it was estimated that it could be several weeks before the park was re-opened.
  • Secretary of Navy H. Lawrence Garrett assured Washington state leaders that a plan to site the Navy’s A-12 stealth bomber in California, long criticized by those familiar with the plane’s mission, was being reexamined. In an effort to sustain strong military influence in Whidbey’s economic future, member of the Washington state delegation requested a meeting with Garrett to ensure Whidbey would not be a “two-time loser” in a proposed military aircraft swap. Garrett had been expected to sign an agreement to place the A-12 stealth attack bomber in a California base instead of Whidbey Island Naval Air Station, but told state representatives he sent the proposal back to the Chief of Operations for review and said he was committed to “no significant reductions” at NAS Whidbey.