Guide to Newsfilm of Grays Harbor County
circa 1925-1933

Scope and Content

The collection consists of 53 rolls of 35mm black & white and tinted nitrate film dating from 1925-1933. They appear to have been made by Anderson Photo Art and Commercial Photography, an Aberdeen-based production studio, as supplementary material to be added to national newsreels for local content. The films include several short features on such subjects as the wreck of the S.S. Halco on the North Jetty of Grays Harbor, the Annual Police Ball Parade, a celebratory picnic for the birthday of early pioneer Jean B. Stewart, the Aberdeen Black Cats baseball team winning the Timber League Pennant in 1925 with the help of local sports star Mel Ingram, and the completion of the Aberdeen-Willapa Highway in 1927. Additional footage also includes scenes of local parades, football and baseball games, city-wide barbeques and celebrations, U.S. Naval Reserve warships steaming out of Grays Harbor, and many other snippets of life in Grays Harbor County.

Arrangement

The collection has been arranged according to the following categories:

• People and Community Events
• Parades
• Sports and Recreation
• Naval Activities
• Boats, Buildings, and Bridges

Restrictions on Use

Restrictions may exist on reproduction, quotation, or publication. Contact the Special Collections division of the University of Washington Libraries for details.

Restrictions on Access

The original films are not accessible due to preservation concerns. Arrangements can be made to view the film by contacting the Visual Materials Curator.

Access to archival recordings: Due to the fragility of archival tape recordings, potential users may be required to arrange for transfer to digital format before the material can be accessed. Please contact Special Collections for further information.

Historical Background

Grays Harbor County is located on the southwestern coast of Washington State and was named after a large estuarine bay that is the confluence of several rivers including the Chehalis, Hoquiam, Wishkah, and Humptulips. The bay was named after Captain Robert Gray, a Boston fur trader, who entered it on May 7, 1792 and called it Bullfinch Harbor, however later cartographers called it Chehalis Bay and then, finally, Grays Harbor. Grays Harbor is home to several towns featured in the Newsfilm of Grays Harbor County including Aberdeen, Hoquiam, Cosmopolis, and Elma.

Originally, the region was populated by number of Salish-speaking native groups, primarily representatives of the Quinault and Chehalis tribes. These communities commonly lived in permanent villages along major waterways and the coast, where they subsisted on salmon, whales, seals, and available inland game. One of the first encounters with whites occurred in 1775 with the arrival of Spanish explorers and traders near Grenville Point. The fledgling United States of America first made contact in 1792, as Boston fur trader Robert Gray brought the Columbia into the bay he designated Bullfinch Harbor, but was eventually named Grays Harbor after the captain himself. Like the Spaniards, Gray and other American travelers moved on after a time due to the apparent unsuitability of the harbor for trading ships, leaving the Aberdeen region largely unsettled by whites until the 1860s. Only at this time did pioneers arrive in self-supportable numbers in order to log, fish, and farm around the harbor hinterlands.

By 1900, the towns of Aberdeen and Hoquiam were home to more than 80 percent of the county’s inhabitants. The wood products industry was the main economic driver in the region spawning logging operations, lumber mills, and shipyards. The dock facilities and harbor were improved in order to export the output of its mills and factories. In 1911 a Port District of Grays Harbor was established. The onset of the First World War created the demand for ships as well as wood, spurring significant expansion of the region's shipyards. In October 1918, the Grays Harbor Motorship Yard set the record for fastest ship construction when they launched the 4,000-ton wooden shipAberdeen in only 23 and one half days. Nevertheless, lumber remained king; in 1924, the one-billionth board foot of timber was shipped from Aberdeen with much fanfare, temporarily earning the town the title of “Lumber Capital of the World.”

Grays Harbor County was booming through the 1920s, but a number of factors contributed to the decline in the wood products industry, from which it never recovered. The end of WWI hobbled local shipbuilding, and the onset of the Great Depression in 1929 sparked a collapse in the domestic and international construction industry. Lumber exports were also lessened. By mid-century, logging companies began to adopt policies that lowered output of the log supply to the Aberdeen mills. The effect of this shrinking supply chain, along with increased competition from wood exports from Japan, British Columbia, and the Southern U.S., ensured that Aberdeen would never regain the heights of the pre-1930 period.

The Newsfilm of Grays Harbor County, taken from 1925-1933, documents a time when the community was enjoying the benefits of a strong and healthy economy.

General Notes

The original 53 small reels of film in this collection were spliced together onto seven larger reels. This was done at the Library of Congress Motion Picture Conservation Center, Motion Picture Preservation Laboratory, where it was sent for examination, before the individual reels could be arranged by date or according to content. In order to make viewing the collection easier, the transferred films were imported into a computer editing system where they were arranged first by content, then chronologically, and compiled onto a single DVD (VC178). This collection guide describes the arrangement according to the items on VC178. The inventory notes the original reel of 35mm nitrate and the duplicating master from which each item was taken. The original reels retain the numbers given by the Library of Congress (i.e. GHOR211568-1-2, GHOR211568-1-3, etc.)

Physical/Technical Access

The first part of the collection was preserved in 2006 with a grant from the National Film Preservation Foundation and consisted of 35mm black and white negatives that appeared to be outtakes from longer pieces in the unpreserved portion of the collection. A second portion was preserved in 2010 with funding from a second NFPF grant. This segment consisted primarily of the collection’s remaining negative footage, along with approximately half of the positive materials. The third and final portion of the collection, consisting primarily of tinted footage, was preserved with funding from the Apex Foundation.

Acquisition Info

Gift of Gina Noll, 2004

Processing Info

Collection processed by Hannah Palin and Jonathan King, 2011.

Inventory

Item

Date

People and Community Events

1925-1929

VC178.1

Boys on tricycles

circa 1925

Scope and Content: A group of young boys ride tricycles and scooters on a residential sidewalk.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211568-1-3, silent, black and white ; 35mm. Duplicating master: MV64. (6 seconds)

VC178.2

Construction of the Campfire Girls Clubhouse, Roosevelt Park, Aberdeen, Washington

circa 1925

Scope and Content: Title: Campfire Girls Clubhouse, Roosevelt Park, Donation of Union Labor & Merchants of Aberdeen. A group of laborers work inside the wooden frame of a large building. A line of young women wearing Campfire Girl uniforms carry lumber and other building materials onto the construction site. A number of men work on the building.

General Notes: Roosevelt Park is a municipal facility now known as Sam Benn Park.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211583-1-1CL, silent, black and white, tinted, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV124. (1 minute, 27 seconds)

VC178.3

Delivery of a bus

circa 1925

Scope and Content: A group of men unload a bus from a boxcar. The bus then rolls down a ramp, onto a city street, and drives away.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211568-1-3, silent, black and white, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV64. (1 minute, 10 seconds)

VC178.4

Mrs. Jean B. Stewart celebrates her fiftieth year in Aberdeen, Washington

circa 1925

Scope and Content: Title: Mrs. Jean B. Stewart Celebrates Fiftieth Year in Aberdeen. Mrs. Stewart stands with a group of well-dressed women outside what appears to be a home, shakes their hands, then leads the procession of women along a stone path.

General Notes: Jean Brodie Stewart (Dec. 22, 1847- Feb. 6, 1934) was born in Aberdeen, Scotland. After marrying James B. Stewart (1840-1906), the two immigrated to America, arriving in the Grays Harbor area in September, 1875 where he founded the James Stewart Logging Co. Mrs. Stewart claimed that she suggested the name of her adopted city in a letter to a local paper, since its placement at the mouths of the Chehalis and Wishkah rivers mirrored Aberdeen's location at the Dee and the Don. In her later years, Mrs. Stewart remained active in Aberdeen civic life, serving as the Vice-President of the Pioneer Association of Grays Harbor County. She is also the author of A Little Book of Verse (1930).

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211583-1-1CL, silent, black and white, tinted, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV124. (52 seconds)

VC178.5

Opening of the Finch Playfield, Aberdeen, Washington

circa 1925

Scope and Content: Adults and children participate in festivities at the opening of the Finch Playfield in Aberdeen, Washington. Activities include children playing on playground equipment, walking in a series of wading canals, holding balloons, eating ice cream and lollipops. Adults and children watch a dance performance and listen to speeches by Edward C. Finch and others.

General Notes: In 1924, Aberdeen lumber magnate Edward C. Finch donated the land and equipment for a playfield, worth $30,000, to the city. This facility would subsequently be named Finch Playfield.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211568-1-7, silent, black and white, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV127. (2 minutes, 30 seconds)

VC178.6

Public ceremony laying the cornerstone of a building

circa 1925

Scope and Content: Activities surrounding the laying of a cornerstone of a building under construction. A sealed box is put into an opening in a column of the building, speeches are made, and a group of men wearing medallions pose for the camera outside of the building.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211568-1-6, silent, black and white, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV126. (1 minute, 29 seconds)

VC178.7

Young man poses for camera

circa 1925

Scope and Content: Young man smiles and poses for the camera. A trick of the camera makes it appear that his head spins in an unnatural fashion.

General Notes: The young man posing for the camera is possibly Stan Spiegle, KXRO radio personality and photographer. (KXRO first went on the air in Grays Harbor on May 28, 1928 and was started by Roy Olmsted, a former Seattle, Washington police officer turned "King of the Puget Sound Bootleggers". Olmsted and his cronies used the station during Prohibition to signal rumrunners when it was safe to transport their goods.)

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211568-1-3, silent, black and white, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV64. (11 seconds)

VC178.8

Community picnic

circa 1926

Scope and Content: Activities at an outdoor cookout and picnic, including men cutting meat and preparing a fire pit, stirring large pots of steaming liquid, then serving food to a very large crowd of people. Several different groups of picnickers are featured.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211568-1-5, silent, black and white, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV125. (3 minutes, 12 seconds)

VC178.9

Fire drills at schools and on the streets of Aberdeen

circa 1926

Scope and Content: A man runs down a residential street and pulls a fire alarm. A series of scenes show children and teachers leaving several different schools by multiple exits and lining up outside as if for a fire drill. These schools include St. Mary's School and Aberdeen High School. In another scene, trucks rush out of the fire station. On a city street, firemen spray water high into the air and appear to be staging a demonstration of firefighting techniques.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211568-1-6, silent, black and white, 35mm.Duplicating master: MV126. (4 minutes, 4 seconds)

VC178.10

Fire engine and firefighters, Aberdeen, Washington

circa 1926

Scope and Content: Firemen and boys stand near a fire truck parked on a wharf, possibly at the Chehalis River at Aberdeen, spraying water into the harbor. The boys toss something, possibly wood, into the path of the spray. Two men in uniform pose for the camera with the fire truck and firemen in the background.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211568-1-1, silent, black and white, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV64. (46 seconds)

VC178.11

Gathering, Grays Harbor County, Washington

circa 1926

Scope and Content: A gathering of school children and adults in a large field, for what might be a mortgage burning ceremony. Participants walk in a circle as newcomers join the procession, then participants in the middle stand still. Soon everyone stops and the middle of the circle is clear. A man stands on a crate in the center of the circle and addresses the crowd. He removes a document from the breast pocket of his coat and hands it to a boy, who then holds the document over a fire until it begins to burn. The crowd disperses, running in one direction.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211568-1-6 silent, black and white, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV126. (2 minutes, 8 seconds)

VC178.12

Labor Day at Grays Harbor County Fairgrounds, Elma, Washington

circa 1926

Scope and Content: J. M. Phillips stands on a platform and addresses a crowd in the stands of the Grays Harbor County Fairgrounds in Elma, Washington. Men walk in and out of a barnlike building covered in signs: Merchant’s Exhibits, A.F. of L. Bldg., Judge Phillips will Deliver Labor Day Address. There is a ferris wheel visible behind the building. On a track inside the stadium, a marching band is followed by men leading horses, bulls, and cows in front of the reviewing stand. In the stadium, J. M. Phillips performs a wedding ceremony in front of the crowd. The bride and groom sit in the bleachers, sign their marriage certificate and smile at the camera. People seated in the stands look at the camera, smile, and watch activities taking place on the field.

General Notes: J. M. Phillips (1873-1959) was an attorney, mayor of Aberdeen, and is believed to be the first Native American to serve as a judge in the Washington state court system. Phillips was born in 1873 in North Carolina and was primarily Cherokee, although he also had ancestry in other Native American tribes. He attended the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania and played football under coach "Pop"Warner and was a teammate of Jim Thorpe. Phillips attended law school at Dickinson College of Law and attended post-graduate law classes at Northwestern University. He married Earnestine Wilbur, a descendant of the Menominee tribe of Wisconsin. They moved to Washington state around 1905. Phillips worked as a hod carrier by day and read law by night. In 1907, he began working as a lawyer, was made police judge, and later was elected justice of the peace. He became mayor of Aberdeen and served as a Superior Court Judge from 1929 to 1950. Phillips died in 1959.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211568-1-2, silent, black and white, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV64. (4 minutes, 8 seconds)

VC178.13

Title card reading City Firemen and Labor Day at the Fair (tinted)

circa 1926

Scope and Content: Title card: City Firemen (tinted pink). Title: Labor Day at the Fair, Anderson Photo, J. M. Phillips Speaks (tinted yellow). J. M. Phillips stands on a platform and addresses a crowd in the stands of what appears to be the Grays Harbor County Fairgrounds in Elma, Washington.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211579-1-1, silent, black and white, tinted, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV177. (28 seconds)

VC178.14

Logging and forestry activities, Grays Harbor County, Washington

circa 1927

Scope and Content: A group of men and boys are gathered by train tracks in a rural, wooded area. Two men prepare bundles of plant material, possibly saplings, that they place into bags. A group of boys pose for the camera holding the bags of saplings. Men and boys walk around a heavily lumbered area. Boys appear to be planting a tree. The group leaves together, walking along the train tracks.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211568-1-5, silent, black and white, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV125. (2 minutes, 4 seconds)

VC178.15

Women working in a kitchen, Grays Harbor County, Washington

circa 1926

Scope and Content: A large group of women work together in a commercial kitchen, putting what appears to be a dessert, perhaps strawberry shortcake, into cups. They hand out the cups to people passing by.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211568-1-5, silent, black and white, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV125. (46 seconds)

VC178.16

Boys climbing on a log, near Aberdeen, Washington

circa 1927

Scope and Content: Group of men and boys in the woods, slowly walking on a fallen log.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211568-1-7, silent, black and white, 35mm. Duplicating Master: MV127 (19 seconds)

VC178.17

Captain Kidd's Pirates Picnic

circa 1927

Scope and Content: Title: Captain Kidd's Pirates Picnic. A group of children pose for the camera, smiling and waving. A large number of children run in a field, followed by the title: Somebody said, "Ice Cream." Children run towards the camera, across the field, seem to reach their destination and then are seen eating ice cream cones. A young girl is stationed behind a table handing out ice cream cones, while a young man stands next to her dishing out ice cream for a group of little boys. A number of young girls, dressed as pirates, pose for the camera. Title: Pirates fight. The children pretend to fight each other with wooden swords, while jostling each other and laughing. Title: Captain Kidd and Her Committee. A group of adults and children pose for the camera. They wave and make filming gestures toward the cameraman.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211564-1-1 and 211566-1-1, silent, black and white, tinted, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV122. (2 minutes, 49 seconds)

VC178.18

Cattle herded through Elma, Washington

circa 1927

Scope and Content: A herd of cows stands in a corral then is herded down a street by men on horseback. Sign on a building reads, "The Chronicle, Printers for Elma" and a sign on an awning is for "Meadowcrofts" . The cows are herded past a storefront with "Meats"painted on the awning. A man stands outside the storefront and a woman walks inside.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211568-1-3, silent, black and white, 35mm. Duplicating master MV64. (56 seconds)

VC178.19

Opening of the Aberdeen-Willapa Highway

circa 1927

Scope and Content: Title: Opening Aberdeen-Willapa Highway. Title: Caravan Lined Up For Trip Over the Road. A line of cars, including one with a sign on the door "State of Washington Highways C-113" , are parked on a wet city street in Cosmopolis, Washington. A crowd of people, including school children, are lined up on the side of the street, waving, some carry umbrellas. Cars line up on the street, ready to make the trip. In another scene, cars are parked on a rural road, one of which appears to be a news van. People mill around, some seem to be carrying equipment. A line of cars drives down the road to where the news crews are parked. People get out of their cars and gather around news vans. Title:Samuel J. Humes Cuts the Tape Opening the Road. A group of men in coats and hats stand around talking, then walk over a barrier, smiling at the camera as they pass by.

General Notes: Governor Roland H. Hartley (1864-1952) appointed Samuel J. Humes as State Highway Engineer on May 1, 1927 to replace J. Webster Hoover, fired the day before. Humes served for six years, leading the Highway Department through the first years of the Depression. While his administration was marked by bitter political infighting, substantial progress was made in highway construction. The final 36-mile stretch of Pacific Highway between Kalama and Toledo to complete State Road No. 1 (now SR 99) was paved in October 1923. Olympic Loop Highway (U.S.101) opened August 26-27, 1931.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211564-1-1 and 211566-1-1, silent, black and white, tinted, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV122. (2 minutes, 49 seconds)

VC178.20

Young woman Is given a tiara, Aberdeen, Washington

circa 1927

Scope and Content: A public ceremony in which a young girl is given a tiara.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211568-1-5, silent, black and white, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV125. (53 seconds)

VC178.21

Community gathering, breakfast, and speeches, Grays Harbor County, Washington

circa 1928

Scope and Content: A group of people, in a field, are standing inside tables that are set up in the shape of a U. They serve a large crowd coffee and plates of food. A group of men stand by a car, possibly a 1924 Ford Model T Coupe, smoking cigars and talking. A very large group of people gather and listen to a man delivering a speech on a platform.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211568-1-1, silent, black and white, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV64. (1 minute, 26 seconds)

VC178.22

Men and boys on logging road near Aberdeen, Washington

circa 1929

Scope and Content: Groups of men and boys, some wearing Boy Scout uniforms, walk and jog down what appears to be a logging road, past a smoldering pile of wood. They wave at the camera and take off their caps.Young boys jump up and down, wave, and dance for the camera, more join them. A group of young men and boys stand in a line, apparently posing for a picture. The group breaks up and they walk past the camera and wave, carrying tools, shovels, and pickaxes.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211568-1-1, silent, black and white, 35mm.Duplicating master: MV64. (1 minute, 15 seconds)

Item

Date

PARADES

1925-1926

VC178.23

Annual Police Ball Parade (tinted), Aberdeen, Washington

circa 1925

Scope and Content: Title: Annual Police Ball Parade, Photographed by—Anderson Photo. Title: platoon of Aberdeen Policeman [sic]. Parade, cars are parked on both sides of the street. Very few spectators visible. Sign on building: Benson's, Hotel Turner. Police unit marching down street. Title: Chief Allen. Car with star decoration on hood, drives in parade. Title: Seattle Police and Band. Police unit marches down street. Men carry U.S. flag and a flag for Seattle Police. Marching band in parade. Title: Northern pacific Flote [sic]. Large flatbed truck mounted with a train car. Sign on front train car: Northern Pacific. Banner on side: Visit Yellowstone National Park, Low Excursion Fares To All Eastern Point. Painted on side: Dining Car 1675. People inside car, sitting at tables with white linen table cloths. Title: City Council, Fire department, and Naval Reserve Band. Cars driving in a line in the parade, following the Yellowstone truck. Fire engine, followed by sailors holding an American flag, followed by a marching band.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211576-1-1, silent, black and white, tinted, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV177. (1 minute, 7 seconds)

VC178.24

Annual Police Ball Parade, Aberdeen, Washington

circa 1925

Scope and Content: A parade on a city street. Signs on a store: Benson's and Hotel Turner. A police unit marches down the street, followed by a car with a star decoration on its hood. Men carry a U.S. flag and a flag for the Seattle Police. A marching band is followed by a large flatbed truck carrying a train car. The sign on the front of the train car: Northern Pacific. Banner on side: Visit Yellowstone National Park, Low Excursion Fares To All Eastern Point. Painted on side: Dining Car 1675. People sit at tables with white linen table cloths inside the train car. Cars drive in a line in the parade, following the Yellowstone truck. A fire engine is followed by sailors holding an American flag, followed by a marching band.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211568-1-1, silent, black and white, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV64. (56 seconds)

VC178.25

Parade, Unknown Location

circa 1925

Scope and Content: Uniformed men march down a street, followed by marching band, past parked cars and a crowd watching parade.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211568-1-6, silent, black and white, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV126. (21 seconds)

VC178.26

Shrine Parade, Aberdeen, Washington

circa 1925

Scope and Content: Title: Shrine Parade. Title: Vancouver and Tacoma Patrols. Men in uniform march down city street, followed by a marching band. Title: Our own patrol. Men march down the street.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211590-1-1, silent, black and white, tinted, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV121. (1 minute, 34 seconds)

VC178.27

Parade, Aberdeen, Washington

circa 1926

Scope and Content: Parade down a city street includes men in uniform holding American flags and Elks flags, men driving a convertible car wave at the crowds, marching bands, women in Shriner's hats, people wearing Spanish Bolero costumes, a man wearing a dress carrying balloons. Two men hold banner: Hoquiam Core BPOE 1082, followed by marching band. The location changes to a public square where men in uniform march in formation on a field, led by a drum major and accompanied by drums. Crowds watch. Bass drum is marked by: B.P.O.E. [Number illegible. Possibly 1424.] Kelso, Wash.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211568-1-4, silent, black and white, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV64. (4 minutes)

VC178.28

Parade, Hoquiam, Washington

circa 1926

Scope and Content: Parade on city street, possibly 8th Street in Hoquiam, Washington. Sign on storefront: Electric Store. Cars decorated with American flags are followed by a truck with brass band riding in back. A banner on the side of the truck reads, "We Are Blowing For Hoquiam." A man rides on the grill of the car. A truck in the parade has a banner: Fans and Players, [Illegible] Hoquiam Baseball, 1888 to 1894.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211568-1-3, silent, black and white, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV64. (1 minute, 13 seconds)

VC178.29

Parade, possibly Hoquiam, Washington

circa 1926

Scope and Content: A parade in what might be downtown Hoquiam, Washington, that includes marching bands, men in uniform, people wearing Shriner's uniforms, and men and women marching, wearing street clothes, carrying a flag/banner: F.O.E.Tenino . Sign on building: Safeway. Sign over sidewalk: Garage. Sign on storefront: Hardware.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211568-1-4, silent, black and white, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV64. (1 minute, 10 seconds)

Item

Date

SPORTS and RECREATION

1926-1933

VC178.30

Open Timber League Baseball Game at Electric Park, Aberdeen, Washington

September 1925

Scope and Content: Title: Aberdeen-Hoquiam, Open Timber League at Electric Park (tinted green). Men sitting in a dugout, wearing caps with the letter "A" and the Aberdeen Black Cat logo on their shirts (tinted yellow). Title: “Play Ball!” Player at home plate swings, hits the ball and runs to first base (tinted yellow). Player at home base strikes out. Player at home base, Umpire calls the pitch a "ball " (tinted pink/rose). Title: As The Birds On The Hill See The Game (tinted yellow) View of Electric Park from a hill. Parked cars and bleachers are visible. End of an inning. Title: 3500 Fans. People sitting in the bleachers and behind a rope on the grass (tinted pink/rose). Young boys look at the camera. Views of Electric Park bleachers, covered stadium from the outfield. Game in play. Fans in the stands. Fans in the stands, young man in military/police uniform sits behind home plate.

General Notes: Original reel: GHOR211589-1-1, silent, black and white, tinted, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV177. (1 minute, 21 seconds)

VC178.31

Mel Ingram and the Aberdeen Black Cats Win the Timber League Pennant, Electric Park, Aberdeen, Washington

September 1925

Scope and Content: Title: Mel Ingram (tinted yellow). A young man in an Aberdeen Black Cats uniform stands by the dugout filled with baseball players, smiling and laughing. "It-Won’t-Be-"is written above the dugout. A group of small boys and young men stand near Mel Ingram. People in the stands look on. Title: Black Cats Winning Timber League Pennant. A man and boy walk past the bleachers and urge the crowd to stand up and cheer. Young boys sit on the ground by the bleacher fence. They look at the camera. The stands are filled with spectators. The camera pans across Electric Park to the baseball diamond. Title: Resting Between Games.

General Notes: Electric Park was home of the Aberdeen Black Cats of the Northwestern League. The opening game was between Aberdeen and the Tacoma Tigers in 1908. The stadium seated about 3,500 and was located at Myrtle and Oak Streets, on the border of Aberdeen and Hoquiam. Overflow crowds for the games would sit in a roped off area in the outfield and some fans took in the game from Kidder's Bluff overlooking left field.

According to an Ebbets Field Flannel blogpost dated June 22, 2009, "Aberdeen Black Cats 1918 Home" the Aberdeen Black Cats took their logo, an arched cat known as "Hoo-Hoo," from a good luck charm posted at logging camps throughout the Pacific Northwest. The symbol was also used by International Workers of the World labor movement and was known as the "Ag Cat" (for agitation). Aberdeen baseball began as a professional team and played as the Pippins and later the Black Cats through 1918. Semi-professional timber leagues continued through the early 1940s. The Aberdeen Black Cats won the Timber League Pennant in a doubleheader against the Tacoma Kays on Septermber 13, 1925. Mel Ingram played outfield and hit above .300.

Mel Ingram was born on July 4, 1904 in Asheville, North Carolina. He grew up in Aberdeen, Washington, and attended Gonzaga University in Spokane and died October 28, 1979 in Medford, Oregon. His years at Gonzaga (1925-28) spanned one of the school's best athletic eras. At the start, Bing Crosby was among his baseball teammates. He won 15 of a possible 16 letters while competing in football (running back), basketball (guard), baseball (outfielder) and track (sprinter). During his college years, he appeared regularly in Timber League baseball games, and played in three games as a pinch runner for the 1929 Pittsburgh Pirates, scoring one run. Later, after joining the Wallace High School faculty, he was an important player-coach for the Wallace Miners and other teams of the Idaho-Washington League. He took two years out (1934-35) to play for the House of David. He spent 15 years coaching at Wallace, where his football, basketball and track teams all won league championships. Ingram then moved to Roseburg, Oregon, spending three years there, before going to Grants Pass, where his football teams won four state championships. In 1969, he was named National High School Coaches Association Coach of the Year and is a member of both the Inland Northwest and Gonzaga University halls of fame. (Information provided by the Society for American Baseball Research, SABR.org)

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211581-1-1, silent, black and white, tinted, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV177. (32 seconds)

VC178.32

Timber League Pennant Baseball Game

September 1925

Scope and Content: Baseball game, players on the field, crowds in the stands.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211568-1-7, silent, black and white, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV125. (1 minute, 4 seconds)

VC178.33

Lake Quinault

circa 1925

Scope and Content: A lake, possibly Lake Quinault, with hills in the distance, seen from a small beach. People playing by a waterfall, possibly Merriman Falls near Lake Quinault.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211568-1-3, silent, black and white, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV64. (1 minute, 7 seconds)

VC178.34

Buying Tickets and Football Game, Grays Harbor County, Washington

circa 1926

Scope and Content: People walk up to a ticket booth, go through a gate, and some purchase tickets. Crowds stand on sidelines of a football field and some are seated in bleachers that are covered by a shelter. A group of men stand on the sidelines, some are in uniform, and one throws a football. Football players and referees perform a a series of plays on the field.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211568-1-6, silent, black and white, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV126. (2 minutes, 9 seconds)

VC178.35

Football game in a stadium

circa 1926

Scope and Content: A man stands on the sidelines of a football field, leading the crowd in a cheer. Players run onto the field, they kick off and the game begins. Three young boys sit on the field side of the bleachers, as the game plays out on the field.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211568-1-1, silent, black and white, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV64. (2 minutes, 39 seconds)

VC178.36

Cheer leader and football game in a stadium

circa 1926

Scope and Content: A group of young women are lead in a cheer. A long shot shows a football game, cars parked in a field, and crowds watching the football game in a stadium.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211568-1-3, silent, black and white, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV64. (35 seconds)

VC178.37

Football game in a field

circa 1926

Scope and Content: A man leads fans in a cheer. Football players run on a field. Shadows of the spectators can be seen in the foreground, including a shadow of the film cameraman. Children stand in a group, posing for the camera and are led in a cheer by a young girl.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211568-1-5, silent, black and white, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV127. (1 minute, 9 seconds)

VC178.38

Football game in a stadium

circa 1926

Scope and Content: Crowds in the stands at a stadium, some sit in bleachers under a shelter, while a yell leader directs the crowd in a cheer. A group of men stand on the football field, including two in white uniforms who appear to be the referees. Two players have the letter "W" on their sweaters [possibly for Weatherwax High School, Aberdeen] and they stand with three other young men who are dressed in street clothes. They pose for the camera, then one referee takes the football from the other referee. Spectators stand on the sidelines in front of a large crowd seated in the stands behind them. A large letter "A" is mounted on a small building near the stands. It appears that an effigy of some sort is hanging from the cross bar of the "A." The word [Illegible]RDE[illegible] is written on the ground on the sidelines [possibly Aberdeen]. The yell leader sits down with the group of spectators watching the game from the sidelines. A "W" appears to be written on the field. The crowd waves their hands and hats at the camera. A yell leader cheers on the sidelines and directs the crowd in a cheer. [Illegible]LLO written on the ground on the sidelines.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211568-1-5, silent, black and white, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV127. (1 minute, 19 seconds)

VC178.39

Log Rolling, Aberdeen, Washington

circa 1926

Scope and Content: Various shots of log rolling competitions. Includes participants walking a ball that floats on the water and a man wearing a woman's dress while rolling a ball in the water with his feet.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211568-1-2, silent, black and white, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV64. (2minutes, 7 seconds)

VC178.40

Uphill motorcycle race

circa 1926

Scope and Content: Participants ride motorcycles up a steep hill as a small crowd watches.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211568-1-3, silent, black and white, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV64. (1 minute, 14 seconds)

VC178.41

People buy tickets to a football game, Aberdeen, Washington

circa 1927

Scope and Content: People walk towards a small building, some of them appear to be buying tickets from a window cut out of the side. A man stands in front of the building, handing out papers to the crowd. Groups of people cross a street and a line of cars drive down the street while a policeman directs traffic. A group of young women on a field jump and laugh, one runs toward the camera, laughing. Other people walk behind them, heading towards a destination, presumably a football game.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211568-1-1, silent, black and white, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV126. (1 minute, 11 seconds)

VC178.42

Football game in a stadium

circa 1927

Scope and Content: Football game, spectators in the stands, players on the field, running toward the camera.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211568-1-7, silent, black and white, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV127. (1 minute, 11 seconds)

VC178.43

Football game, near Aberdeen, Washington

circa 1928

Scope and Content: Spectators are seated in the stands and some are perched on wall of building [possibly Hoquiam High School]. Football players and referees play on the field. The crowd watches the football game and some young boys watch the game seated in the branches of trees behind the bleachers, they wave at camera. Four young women sit on the ground in front of the bleachers. They laugh and smile at the camera. A series of football plays, then players and referees leave the field along with the spectators.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211568-1-2, silent, black and white, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV64. (2 minutes)

VC178.44

Group on horseback in the mountains

circa 1929

Scope and Content: Small river, mountains in background, a group on horseback travels downriver. A pond framed by mountains. A person climbs on large rocks by the water.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211568-1-7, silent, black and white, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV125. (1 minute, 10 seconds)

VC178.45

Swimming and waterskiing, near Aberdeen, Washington

circa 1933

Scope and Content: People in bathing suits and caps dive off a dock and swim in the water. A motor boat pulling a water skier drives past the dock and falls. Two young women stand by a fence on the side of the road, talking. A tug boat, a crane on the water, and a log boom

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211568-1-2, silent, black and white, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV64. (1 minute, 29 seconds)

Item

Date

NAVAL ACTIVITIES

1925-1927

VC178.46

Naval exercises

circa 1925

Scope and Content: A sailor stands on top of a mast on a ship, waving semifore flags. The film in this section is double exposed and shows rigging, a mast, and sails, as well as, sailors in formation on the deck of a ship. A naval officer and sailors work on board ship. Snowcapped mountains are seen in the distance. Two men in naval uniforms stand in a rowboat being rowed by a crew of sailors. One acts as a coxswain, urging the oarsmen to row.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211568-1-7, silent, black and white, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV127. (2 minutes, 15 seconds)

VC178.47

U. S. Naval Reserve joint exercises, Grays Harbor

circa 1925

Scope and Content: Sailors engaging in artillery exercises, rowing races, and calisthenics on board a naval vessel.

General Notes: This appears to be part of annual U. S. Naval Reserve training exercises.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211568-1-7, silent, black and white, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV127. (4 minutes, 51 seconds)

VC178.48

Navy leaving Grays Harbor, Washington

circa 1926

Scope and Content: Sailors on a boat leave port while a crowd on the dock waves goodbye. The boat passes by mountain scenery and boats moored in an inlet. The water gets choppy and a sailor is seen getting seasick. A procession of four boats sail through a passage in a mountainous region, possibly Alaska. A sailor sits in a chair on the deck, reading a newspaper.

General Notes: The ships pictured appear to be units of the U.S. Naval Reserve leaving Grays Harbor on an annual training cruise. The ships are Eagle class patrol craft designed by the Ford Motor Company for long-range anti-submarine duty in the Atlantic Ocean. Active during the 1920s, they were used primarily as airplane tenders and off shore patrol boats. One of the three specific ships present is the PE-38, a Reserve ship stationed in Portland, Oregon during the 1920s. As the port in the footage is very likely to be Grays Harbor, the PE-11 (based in Aberdeen) can also be assumed to be present. The two boats often participated in joint annual training cruises to Juneau, Alaska, and the Washington coast, along with PE-57 (based in Seattle, Washington) and PE-32 (based in Tacoma, Washington). The cruises were intended to teach and maintain naval skills among the reservist crews, as well as maintain familiarity with operation of the Eagle boats themselves on the open sea.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211568-1-4, silent, black and white, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV64. (3 minutes, 20 seconds)

VC178.49

Naval exercises in Alaska

circa 1926

Scope and Content: View of mountains, islands, and buoys, seen from the deck of a ship. The boat pulls into the harbor of a vllage on the water, possibly Juneau, Alaska. Sailors stand in formation on a pier and a group of officers are seated in front of them. There are storefronts in the background with signs for: Alaska Auto and Supply Co., Geo Forrest [?]. A man wearing a suit and a wide brimmed hat speaks with uniformed offers in a circular driveway under a portico. Several uniformed officers stand in front of a storefront, speaking with a woman who laughs and jokes with the officers. A sign [reflected in window backwards]: Drug Co. There is a view of the harbor followed by views of snow-capped mountains seen from the deck of the ship. A downtown scene of crowds walking in the same direction along a street. A group of men wearing fez hats and women in uniforms stand in a line, holding a flag. Sign on building in background: Fisher's.

General Notes: Activities are probably part of the U.S. Naval Reserve annual training cruise.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211568-1-4, silent, black and white, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV64. (3 minutes, 23 seconds)

Item

Date

BOATS, BUILDINGS and BRIDGES

1925-1927

VC178.50

Tugboat Harbor Queen, submerged in the Hoquiam River

November, 1925

Scope and Content: The tugboatHarbor Queen is submerged in the Hoquiam River. There is a large crane near the boat that lifts the boat slightly out of the water.

General Notes: The tugboat Harbor Queen of the Allman-Hubble Tug Boat Co. based in Seattle, Washington, sunk in the Hoquiam River near the Chilman Shipyard Dock and rested in sixteen feet of water. According to a notice in The Seattle Times, the efforts of several men and two dredges were insufficient to raise the boat, as of November 28, 1925.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211568-1-6, silent, black and white, tinted, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV126. (58 seconds)

VC178.51

Wreck of the S. S. Halco

1925

Scope and Content: Title: S.S. Halco Wrecked at North Jetty. A ship is shown beached off the coast. Title: Coast Guard shooting breeches buoy line aboard to save crew. A man kneels on a beach, near equipment that subsequently explodes. Second man runs to first man and they gather the equipment and look out to the boat beached just off shore.

General Notes: On November 30, 1925, the steam schooner Halco, Captain J.A. Nelson commanding, was blown off course by a sudden storm while trying to cross the sand bar at the mouth of Grays Harbor. Carried half a mile by strong winds, the boat grounded on the North Jetty at the harbor entrance, damaging the rudder and leaving the boat and its crew stranded. The crew jettisoned its cargo in an attempt to lighten the ship and escape, but were unsuccessful. After several hours, the boat was spotted, and the crew was evacuated by the Coast Guard via a buoy line of rope leading to the beach nearby. Having suffered severe damage in the storm, the S.S. Halco was abandoned. On December 14, the ship was auctioned for salvage to the Western Machinery Company, whose workers removed all heavy equipment it could.

The 970-ton S. S. Halco was built in Fairhaven, CA, in 1917 and operated by the Hammond Lumber Company transporting lumber up and down the West Coast. At the time of the accident, its homeport was San Francisco, circa

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211583-1-1, silent, black and white, tinted, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV123.(1 minute, 21 seconds)

VC178.52

Washington State Temple of Justice building, Olympia, Washington

circa 1926

Scope and Content: Cars drive in front of the Temple of Justice building. The steps of the Washington State Capitol Building in Olympia.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211568-1-4, silent, black and white, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV64. (44 seconds)

VC178.53

Storefront of Anderson Photo, Aberdeen, Washington

circa 1926

Scope and Content: Anderson Photo Commercial Art Photography storefront

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211568-1-1, silent, black and white, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV64. (8 seconds)

VC178.54

Ship wrecked just off shore

circa 1927

Scope and Content: Ship run aground off shore.

General Notes: The ship is possibly the Tenpaisan Maru, a Japanese frieghter, which ran aground north of Copalis Beach during a storm on Thanksgiving Day, November 24, 1927. The 5,416-ton ship, launched in 1911, was built at the J.L. Thompson shipyard. The Coast Guard rescued the crew and no lives were lost, but the ship was a total loss.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211568-1-7, silent, black and white, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV127. (20 seconds)

VC178.55

Steam engine

circa 1927

Scope and Content: Workers around a steam engine. Sign on engine: Donovan Co-- Logging Co. Forest Fire Department

General Notes: This appears to be a train belonging to the Donovan-Corkery Logging Company, which was in business from circa 1923-1934 and was owned by William J. Donovan (1855-1938) who came to Aberdeen in 1893. Donovan-Corkery was headquartered in Aberdeen, Washington and logging operations were located in the Wishkah River Valley.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211568-1-3, silent, black and white, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV64. (5 seconds)

VC178.56

Wooden bridge near Aberdeen, Washington

circa 1927

Scope and Content: Three people walk across a wooden bridge suspended over a river.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211568-1-7, silent, black and white, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV127. (43 seconds)

VC178.57

Simpson Avenue Drawbridge, Hoquiam, Washington

circa 1928

Scope and Content: A drawbridge opens, boats pass underneath, then closes again.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211568-1-2, silent, black and white, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV64. (1 minute, 7 seconds)

VC178.58

Stores, Hoodsport, Washington

circa 1933

Scope and Content: Stores in Hoodsport, Washington. A large sign on top of one of the buildings: Shell. There are numerous signs on these buildings for: Canal Table Supply Co. City Prices, Groceries, Meat, Flour, Feed, Ice Cream, Soft Drinks, Market, Fish, Meats, Groceries, [illegible] soft drinks, ice cream. A sign on a second building: Millo's [Illegible] Quality Market [Illegible]. Sign on third building: Garage. Fouth building, sign: Texaco.

General Notes: The Canal Table Supply Company was located in Hoodsport, Washington. The building was built in 1930 by E. H. Harris and one half was rented to Mr. and Mrs. Guhr, who started a grocery business named the Canal Table Supply. The business changed hands several times over the years, becoming a mercantile and a hardware store.

Location of Originals: Original reel: GHOR211568-1-2, silent, black and white, 35mm. Duplicating master: MV64. (23 seconds)

Subject Terms

Organizations:

Anderson Photography Studio, creator.

Geographic Names:

Aberdeen (Washington)

Cosmopolis (Wash.)

Elma (Wash.)

Grays Harbor (Wash.)

Grays Harbor County (Wash.)

Hoquiam (Wash.)

Genre Headings:

Actualities (Motion pictures)

Newsreels.