March 2023 newsletter

UPDATES:

• Save the date! We are planning a Historic Walking Tour with Mike Fredson on Saturday, April 22 at 2:00pm. Learn the history (or get a refresher!) of the development of Shelton and the Simpson Timber Company. Dress for the weather and be prepared to walk.
• We have wrapped up the Annual Fund with a balance of $15,545! Thank you so much to our contributors. These funds allow us to further our mission of protecting, sharing and publishing the history of Mason County.
• We had visits from two school groups in February - one group from Cedar High School (part of the Shelton School District), and a class from Southside School. We love to share the history Shelton and Mason County with young people, and hope to welcome more before this school year is over.
• We have had some guesses on the photo of the boys at Lincoln School (year unknown). One guess was Tommy Wokojance as the boy off to the right of the photo, and Tony Nelson as the boy in the center of the group.
• We are down to just a couple remaining copies of the book Atlas of Puget Sound Logging Railroads by Peter Replinger and James Hannum. While we are researching the possibility of reprinting this, you might want to get your copy now! Priced at $54.
• The museum has received memorial donations from:
  • Claude & Dee Gove, in memory of Charles Fisher
  • Dave Danner, in memory of James Sells
  • Class of 1961 for Morley Preppenau
  • Waste Connections, in memory of James Sells
  • Oregon Refuse & Recycling, in memory of James Sells
  • Their names will be placed on the memorial plaque at the museum.
• Welcome new members Ron Kellis and Diane Pilkey, and new Patron member Kelly Frazier!
  
• Thank you to our latest 2023 Annual Fund contributors!
  
  • Jeanne Fisher, in memory of Charles Fisher
    
  • Billie Howard, in memory of Myrna Wallin Bennett & Charles Fisher
    
  • Roy Skagen
    
  • Vance Creek Railroaders
    
  • Laura Lee Roznowski
    
  • John & Shirley Gray
    
  • Bob & Lorilyn Rogers
    
  • Richard McInelly
    

---

Teddy Roosevelt in Washington State
by Liz Arbaugh

 To work at the museum is to spend time going down rabbit holes. There are many stories that have circulated for years about a variety of topics, but whether there is any verifiable evidence that the stories are accurate sends us into the stacks of newspapers, microfilm, or the books and files we use as reference. Rabbit holes are one of the favorite parts of our work.

The museum has a 1909 photo of people in a boat at Lake Cushman. The boat is identified as belonging to Oscar Ahl, with one of the people seated inside as Teddy Roosevelt. While it certainly looks like Roosevelt, I was curious as to whether there was any independent confirmation that he traveled to the Olympic Peninsula. As often happens, with some digging, a different question emerged that had little or nothing to do with the original matter.

An online search of the Roosevelt Archives at Harvard University showed that he had given a speech in Olympia in May, 1903. The archives contain a copy of his handwritten speech that he gave from the steps of the old capitol building. Scrolling through pictures from that trip through the west, there is a photo from Olympia of the back of Roosevelt on the stage, with the faces in the front of the crowd showing clearly. And there, standing directly in front of Roosevelt, with arms crossed, look to be two of the Simpson brothers - J.R. (Bob) and Joseph Simpson. Once again, we have photos, but no independent confirmation. A newspaper article in the Shelton Mason County Journal from the time talks about the speech and while it doesn't mention who attended, it would make sense that two prominent loggers from the area would end up in the front of the crowd. However, as it was when I started, I have a photo and definitive answer as to who the subjects are.

Soon, I'll return to the original quandary to try to find the answer to the original question. Perhaps a look at the 1909 Journals will clarify when Teddy Roosevelt visited Lake Cushman and what the Journal said about that.

---

50 Years Ago - March, 1973
by Jan Parker

 - A fire that was discovered burning in the Shelton Junior High School faculty lounge at 9pm on Thursday, March 15, was determined to have been arson. Someone had reached through an already broken window and set fire to nearby curtains and papers. The flames were noticed by students driving past the somewhat secluded building, and the fire department was able to douse the fire quickly. According to Assistant Fire Chief George Huter, "if the students hadn't discovered the fire as soon as they did, the whole building could have been destroyed."

- Square dancing students who had taken weekly lessons from Salty Sashayers' caller Bennie Berndson and his wife Hilda, enjoyed graduation ceremonies at the fairgrounds hall. The initiates square danced in blindfolds, and later tried to dance while protecting a balloon tied to one of their ankles and at the same attempting to pop all the other balloons. The Salty Sashayers met on the fourth Saturday of each month, and on other weekends made visits to square dancing clubs in nearby communities.

- Girl Scouts of Shelton and Hoodsport concluded their observance of the 61st anniversary of Girl Scouting with a "wilderness" day at the Mason Lake Recreation Area on Saturday, March 17. Guest speakers and guides gave presentations on medicinal properties of native plants, edible wild plants, plant identification, arts and crafts using native materials, survival skills, and soil and water testing.

- The Olympic College Board of Trustees held a study meeting in Shelton on March 21. Items for discussion and study included establishment of a permanent Olympic College Extension Center in the Shelton area. During the past five years, the number of classes being offered in the area had grown to about 40 per quarter, with an enrollment of about 330 students.

- The Hood Canal Environmental Council issued a statement protesting the announcement by the U.S. Navy that it would locate its primary Trident Submarine Base at Bangor on Hood Canal. Among their concerns were the potential adverse impact on the quality of life in the surrounding area, including economic effects on local businesses, schools, local government, and individual taxpayers. The council planned a public meeting to discuss the issues on March 22 at the Central Kitsap High School library.

- For the second time, voters in the Kamilche School District rejected a special levy that would have provided funds for the district to continue operation. According to the Washington State Department of Public Instruction (DPI), preliminary investigations indicated that the district did not have sufficient funds to continue through the end of the school year. It appeared that the school board would have to pass a resolution to close the school. Education of children in the district would then be the responsibility of the DPI, which would likely contract with the Shelton School District to take over operation, with consolidation to follow.