From March to May 1959 in the Journal

The feature story March 5 included a photo of a car that had been blown apart on a county road when dynamite in the trunk exploded. The driver, who was killed, had been transporting the dynamite to his home to use for blasting stumps. The city of Shelton immediately began to draw up an ordinance that would ban the purchase, transport and storing of explosives within city limits - the driver had been parked at a local grocery store only 30 minutes earlier.

The March 12 issue

included the headline that a recently passed state law was negatively affecting the city's finances. The new law provided that before a fireman went on pension as the result of injuries received on duty, the city was required to pay all medical expenses, plus full pay, for six months. Shelton Fire Chief Herb Cromer was hospitalized for injuries received while on duty; therefore, the city would have to pay his full monthly salary of $440 for six months, plus medical expenses. City Commissioner W. F. McCann said the city was operating on a reduced budget and had no money set aside for this purpose. "If we had two or three of these cases it could put us out of business." The commission ordered that a letter of protest be written to the governor and local representatives concerning the new law.

The Journal raised its rates for the first time since 1948. The price per copy rose from 8 cents to 10 cents, and a one-year subscription increased by $1, to $4.50.

Children ages 1 to 11 were invited to attend the Easter egg hunt at the Bordeaux School playground at 1:30 p.m. on Easter Sunday, March 29. Children were directed to one of four age-appropriate sites. Of the 1,800 hard-cooked eggs that Shelton Active Club members hid on the grounds, 360 were dyed - children who found a dyed egg would receive a prize of 10 cents. As an added treat, Kitsap Dairy passed out free ice cream bars to the children and their parents.

May 1 and 2 were designated "Shay Days," in celebration of the Shay locomotive "Tollie" being put on display as a historical monument in Shelton's Brewer Park. On Friday, May 1, heavy equipment and four sections of rail were used to move "Tollie' - a gift to the city from the Simpson Logging Co. - from the Simpson railroad yard to the park at Third and Franklin. Shelton merchants offered Shay Day Specials for the Friday and Saturday. A dedication ceremony was planned for May 22, as a special feature of the 15th Forest Festival celebration. (Tollie was moved to its present location on Railroad Avenue in May 1985.)

On Forest Festival weekend, Harstine Island School - the smallest school in the state - won first prize in the parade's school float division, with all seven students riding in a replica of the first Harstine Island ferry, built in 1920. The Daughters of the Pioneers won grand prize for best decorated window with its display in the large window of Jim Pauley's Ford Garage at Railroad and Fifth. The display was arranged with a log cabin backdrop, complete with fireplace, and featured items such as a butter churn, tobacco cutter, coffee mill and a wall telephone. For a few hours May 22, the window of the Budget Shop on Railroad Avenue featured Louisa Pulsifer of the Skokomish Tribe demonstrating traditional Skokomish basket weaving. In "one of the most exciting races ever seen at the airport," Pete Lovely of Seattle "staved off a spirited challenge from Lew Florence of Olympia" to win the first Forest Festival sports car trophy race in the finale of a five-event program at Shelton Airport.

With the donation of $575 from the Shelton chapter of the Red Cross, the Shelton recreation program swimming fund reached its goal and would be able to offer summer swimming and life-saving classes at Lake Isabella. Bernie Dorcy would again supervise the program and be one of a staff of four instructors.

In May, The Bootery was offering shoes for the entire family starting at $3.98. At J. C. Penney's, ladies' cotton dresses were $6.95, men's Wash-n-Wear shirts were $1.98, and children's two-piece shorts sets were $1. Safeway was selling a dozen large eggs for 39 cents, a carton of fresh cigarettes for $2.49, a gallon of ice cream for $1.17, and smoked ham at 39 cents a pound. Pauley Motors was advertising a 1954 Dodge four-door with radio and heater for $645, and a 1951 Buick with four new tires and Dynaflow for $645. A Blue Ox Theater ad for "The Fiend That Walked the West," starring Hugh O'Brien and Robert Evans, said "Don't be ashamed to scream - everyone in the theater will be screaming right along with you."

■ Jan Parker is a researcher for the Mason County Historical Museum. She can be reached at [email protected]. Membership in the Mason County Historical Society is $25 per year. For a limited time, new members will receive a free copy of the book "Shelton, the First Century Plus Ten."