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Issue 2 Volume 4

Dedication Set for January 18, 2003

Come rain or shine, there will be a lot of activity in Moclips on Saturday, January 18.  At 12 noon, there will be a dedication ceremony for Dr. Edward Lycan by his family.  He built both Moclips Beach Hotels.  The first in 1905 was destroyed by fire and the second in 1907 was taken out by severe storms beginning in 1911.

The county of Grays Harbor gave permission to the family to place a plaque and landscape the area at 4th and Pacific Avenue near the beach.  Although this is county land, no tax dollars were used and funds came entirely from the Lycan family. 

Dr. Lycan was an important man in early Moclips history.  A monument to his will and determination is a welcome addition to the town.

We have invited several local, county and state government officials to this event.  We hope to see you there too!

And on the same day... the Museum Grand Opening!

The public grand opening of the new Museum of the North Beach will be held after the dedication of Lycan Park on January 18.

The building where the museum will be housed, is the old Hewitt's Frozen Foods location at 4658 State Route 109.  It has taken 3 months and a lot of hard work by many wonderful volunteers to make this dream come true.  In addition to all the volunteers, we wish to thank Barbara Topete, Rob and Sid Curtright and the Ocean Crest Resort for offering this space to us.  It is PERFECT!

Here are the public officials who have been invited to these two events:  governor Gary Locke, senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, Jim Hargrove, Ocean Shores Mayor Terry Vietz, Secretary of State Sam Reed, congressman Norm Dicks and representatives Jim Buck, Lynn Kessler and Diane Elllison.

Museum of the North Beach, A Dream Come True

In September, the Ocean Crest conducted a garage sale to clean out the area to be used for our museum.  We have received donated building materials for the museum remodeling project.  Levee Lumber in Ocean Shores provided drywall, mud and tape.  Ace Hardware/Buck Electric donated the paint.  The Aloha Tavern, Westerly Motel and Synchronicity Stained Glass donated windows.  The Ocean Crest provided the insulation, lumber, wiring and more drywall.  The first stage volunteers were:  Sid Curtright, Tom Rasmussen, Jackie Davis, Herb Montano, Jeff Pickett, Dave Kelley, Steve Morton, Ed Draheim, Paul Dockendorff and Chuck Austin.  The painting and display volunteers will be in the next newsletter.

Gems and Gemstones

Your membership dollars go into a general fund that pays for printing our newsletter, other printings and postage.  We rely on donations to help with museum costs and acquisitions.  You may specify where your donations go.

Sally & Jim Hatton sent a cash donation.  Gvido & Tina Durham-Bars, Louise Hagen and Terry Thompson sent cash donations with their renewals. 

Display cases for our museum have been donated by the Wacky Warehouse, Synchronicity Stained Glass, Mollie's Antiques, Polson Museum and the Aberdeen Museum of History.  THANK YOU!

Gravesite Along State Route 109

A man named William O. McFarland was an early pioneer of our Washington coast.  He died in 1880 from a sea otter rifle accident.  The circumstance of his death seems odd to us now, as he lead a very interesting life that might have ended very differently just two years prior.

At the time, 1878, he was living at Joe Creek (Pacific Beach) when he got word to investigate a shooting down the beach.  Tim Dwyer had shot Matthew McGee in an escalated feud at Damon Point (now Ocean Shores).  McFarland, who was county sheriff, found McGee suffering from 5 gunshot wounds.

Marlene Thomasson of the Ocean Observer brought McFarland's grave to our attention, expressing concern regarding the preservation of this site.  There is major logging going on in the area.  Grays Harbor county auditor whos this is Quinault land.  We have spoken to some folks in Taholah.  They were aware of this grave but thought this is actually non-Indian land.  We will keep searching until we find out who actually owns the property.  It would be nice to place a small fence around the gravesite.

Some of McFarland's descendants live in the Vancouver area.

Marlene took Kelly Calhoun to see this site.  They also visited the Indian Cemetary on the property of American Adventure.  This is where Sampson Johns is buried.  He was a hero for saving the crews of several shipwrecks on the North Beach coast.

MBTS Receives Major Cash Donation

Pacific Beach postmaster and MBTS board member, Jackie Davis, donated $2000.00 to the historical society in the memory of her late father, Eldon Davis.

Mr. Davis, a retired U.S. Navy veteran of three wars died unexpectedly on July 13, 2002.  He was born in Palacios, Texas, on February 8, 1924.  His father, George Davis, owned a series of grocery stores in Kansas and Oklahoma.  Eldon carried on this tradition, serving as Storekeeper throughout his lengthy Navy career.

Mr. Davis recently lived in Aberdeen prior to moving to Portland, Oregon.

In addition to Jackie, surviving family members includ a son, Rick, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. 

Thank you Jackie for this generous donation.

Search and Research

We asked several months ago if anyone knew the whereabouts of the giant spruce-carved razor clam from Ocean Shores.  We have been told by a reliable source that it wound up in Yakima.  Yakima?  Perhaps some of our eastern and central Washington members can investigate for us?  Can't miss a giant razor clam in the desert!

New Donated Items - THANK YOU!

Jim & Geri Hauser of Moclips donated a Masquerade Dance ticket from September 19, 1953 which was held at the Aloha Hall.  It was sponsored by the Moclips Boosters Club.

Mary Higgens from Brookings, Oregon gave us copies of several Moclips photos.  Her grandfather was vice president of the Moclips Lumber & Shingle Mill.

Ludwig & Lois Mayer gave two old pinback buttons from Ocean Shores.

The Wacky Warehouse gave us a book titled, "Indians of Cape Flattery" written by James G. Swan in 1869.  It will be at the museum as reference material.

Vera Miles of Pacific Beach donated an authentic Northern Pacific lantern.

Dolores' Antiques donated lots more goodies for our grocery store display.

Barbara Smith of the Ocean Shores Chamber of Commerce donated a vintage O.S.C. of C. membership plaque (complete with seahorse and glass float).  We received the original sign from the gift shop in the Ocean Shores Inn donated to the chamber's auction by Dick Morris and donated to us by the winner, Rich Hartman of Five Star Motors in Aberdeen.  Mr. Harman also donated a painting from the Ocean Shores Inn.

Gerry Bonner donate a 1970's Ocean Shores bumper sticker, a 1978 Seattle Times Pictorial with the CATALA on the cover, a very large 2 piece plat map of early Ocean Shores and a plate made of "Sitka Airplane Spruce" by Pozey Manufacturing of Hoquiam.

Karen Mathisen of Copalis gave an old clam sack and clam gun that once belonged to her uncle.

Paddie's Perch gave us a 1940's movie poster from the Beach Theatre.  It had been used as insulation in the wall of the old Pacific Beach post office.  The also donated an 8x10 photo of the post office.

Bev Callaway of Kennewick sent a great pair of forty year old razor clam salt & pepper shakers that say "MOCLIPS".

Donated artifacts will be on permanent display.

Moonstones...

Moclips-by-the-Sea has lost another member.  Geraldine Dodsworth of Auburn passed away May 14, 2002.  She was an avid member of our organization.  She and her husband Paul joined us in October of last year after seeing several vintage Pacific Beach photos on display at Paddie's Perch Restaurant in Pacific Beach.

We extend our deepest sympathy to Paul and his family for their loss.  She will be missed.

Book Reservation

A yet to be published historical book about Moclips is currently being compiled by Moclips-By-The-Sea Treasurer, Kathy Jaquet.  The anticipated publishing date is 2005.  If you would like to reserve a copy, please send your name, address, phone number and number of copies to:  MOCLIPS-BY-THE-SEA Historical Society and Museum, PO Box 231, Moclips, WA  98562.  You will be notified when the book is available.

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