Items from The Mason County Journal, August 1919

At about 3 on the morning of Aug. 1, 1919, "neighbors gradually awoke to the fact that the old Willey residence on the northwest corner of Cota and Seventh was on fire. By the time the alarm was turned in and the steam siren sounded the call, the building was burning fiercely and beyond saving, but the hose team held the fire in check and prevented it from spreading. Sparks and pieces of shingles rose high enough in the air to fall all over the business district, but caused no damage.

Fortunately the Holt family, who rented the home, was out of town at the time."

In early August, the Journal correspondent for Skokomish Valley wrote that "this warm dry weather, which may be a scourge in some places, is a golden opportunity to the farmers of this valley, enabling them to put up their immense crops of hay, oats, and vetch in good condition."

On Aug. 15, Journal editor Grant Angle offered a different opinion on the weather: "Only a few drops of rain fell after much threatening this week, but a real good rain would be worth much to everybody. Woods fires are burning in several directions from Shelton, one down the bay and another on the hill near Kamilche, but both seem to be making slow progress."

In the middle of the month, Sheriff Ralph Potts and revenue officers arrested a number of people in connection with the making of homebrew of more or less intoxicating character. "Nels Christiansen and Jas. Mitchell were fined $150 and costs, and Chung Kee, the pioneer Chinaman resident of the county, received a similar fee for having raisin whiskey in his possession." The officers also located a number of abandoned stills, including one in the upper Skokomish Valley that was concealed in a 5 x 18-foot cave that had been dug under a large tree.

Forty-three members of the pioneer Callow family enjoyed their annual family gathering at Walker Park on Aug. 17. Family matriarch Hannah Callow was the honored guest. Hannah had come from Wisconsin to Mason County with her husband Edward and two children in 1872, where they settled in Kamilche Valley and added nine more children to the family.

While the Callows were enjoying their reunion, Matlock area farmer Joseph Carstairs "had the misfortune to get the worst of an encounter with one of his cows. Hunting for a stray cow that had sought a secluded spot for its calf, he came upon the pair suddenly and the cow, a muley (without horns), charged him before he realized she was in fighting humor. She continued to paw and trample him and he

finally decided to keep quiet. The cow then moved away and Carstairs managed to get up and out of danger. No bones were broken but several ribs were pressed in, and his face and body were bruised. "He will be confined for a week or so, but considers his escape from worse injuries lucky, and is also glad that his herd is muley."

The town of Shelton passed an ordinance regulating the driving of automobiles through town. "Hereafter it will be unlawful to drive faster than 12 miles an hour over crossings or near the school, or 20 miles an hour elsewhere over town. Autos must keep to the right at intersections and not turn in the middle of the block, must not use the raucous horns except for warnings, or run across the fire hose or drive nearer than two blocks of a fire; nor shall a child under 15 operate an auto unless accompanied by an adult."

■ 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."