John McNutt

Lois Crisler in 1949. (Ernest Kassowitz)

BACK WHEN: Crisler captured wilderness, wildlife in writing and on film

CHANGES OCCUR IN our society over time. They can be thrust upon us due to a tragedy. We recently observed Earth Day, one of those… Continue reading

Lois Crisler in 1949. (Ernest Kassowitz)
Naval Aviation Museum Foundation
Lt. Cmdr. Gordon H. MacLane U.S. Navy/U.S. Coast Guard, circa 1960.

BACK WHEN: Sometimes, rescuers need rescuing

YOU HAVE GONE out on a search-and-rescue mission. People need your help. After the mission ends, you are on your way back to your base… Continue reading

Naval Aviation Museum Foundation
Lt. Cmdr. Gordon H. MacLane U.S. Navy/U.S. Coast Guard, circa 1960.
The picture on the frontispiece of Big Chief White Horse Eagle’s biography titled “We Indians — The Passing of a Great Race.”

BACK WHEN: Visitor brought tall tales to Clallam County

ON DEC. 23, 1924, Clallam County received a significant visitor. Big Chief Gray Horse Eagle came to speak with local tribes. He was organizing Native… Continue reading

The picture on the frontispiece of Big Chief White Horse Eagle’s biography titled “We Indians — The Passing of a Great Race.”
A USCG Douglas RD-4, post office truck and unidentified men gather at Cook’s Prairie, the location of the current William R. Fairchild International Airport in Port Angeles. (Courtesy of Bert Kellogg Collection/North Olympic Library System)

BACK WHEN: Coast Guard a part of Peninsula since 1930s

DOES IT SEEM there are a lot of pigeons around town? It does to me. More on that later. It was a time of war… Continue reading

A USCG Douglas RD-4, post office truck and unidentified men gather at Cook’s Prairie, the location of the current William R. Fairchild International Airport in Port Angeles. (Courtesy of Bert Kellogg Collection/North Olympic Library System)
John McNutt

BACK WHEN: How did Lake Farm Road get its name?

WHEN YOU ARE traveling east of Port Angeles, you’ve likely seen the street sign for Lake Farm Road. How did that road get that name?… Continue reading

John McNutt
1916.8.100.jpg: Makah women canoe racers.   Photo by Samuel Morse c1902.   Washington State Historical Society

BACK WHEN: Samuel Morse built impressive body of photographic work

EDITOR’S NOTE: Due to a production error, John McNutt’s Dec. 6 column did not run in its entirety. Here is the complete submission along with… Continue reading

1916.8.100.jpg: Makah women canoe racers.   Photo by Samuel Morse c1902.   Washington State Historical Society
John McNutt

BACK WHEN: Morse documents Makah with camera

AS 2020 COMES to a close, one thing is certain: It has been a peculiar year. We can’t see, yet, the affect the novel coronavirus… Continue reading

John McNutt
Tambor docked at Coast Guard Air Station.   No identity for the men.   Source: Nancy VanSickle collection

BACK WHEN: They found a place to call home

Sailors return to Clallam County after their service

Tambor docked at Coast Guard Air Station.   No identity for the men.   Source: Nancy VanSickle collection
Dr. Appleton on the flyleaf of his book.
Dr. Appleton on the flyleaf of his book.
BACK WHEN: When Whitecapping came to Clallam County

BACK WHEN: When Whitecapping came to Clallam County

Sol Duc Valley neighbors try to deliver vigilante justice

BACK WHEN: When Whitecapping came to Clallam County
BACK WHEN: Past actions show us nothing is brand new

BACK WHEN: Past actions show us nothing is brand new

IT SURE SEEMS like these are troubling times in which we live. Impacts to our lives are coming from every direction. Talking with someone seasoned… Continue reading

BACK WHEN: Past actions show us nothing is brand new
BACK WHEN: A local restaurant’s centennial

BACK WHEN: A local restaurant’s centennial

Dupuis celebrates 100 years of operation

BACK WHEN: A local restaurant’s centennial
BACK WHEN: Civil War veterans help build Port Angeles

BACK WHEN: Civil War veterans help build Port Angeles

I RECENTLY TOOK a stroll around Ocean View Cemetery. There are a number of simple grave markers identifying the remains of Civil War veterans. There… Continue reading

BACK WHEN: Civil War veterans help build Port Angeles
BACK WHEN: John and Mary Cowan: A lighthouse family

BACK WHEN: John and Mary Cowan: A lighthouse family

LIGHTHOUSES HAVE LONG served as a navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses marked dangerous coastlines and safe passages. The… Continue reading

BACK WHEN: John and Mary Cowan: A lighthouse family
BACK WHEN: The secret sorrow of Elsye Mitchell

BACK WHEN: The secret sorrow of Elsye Mitchell

FOR MANY, LIFE is a simple path. You grow up in a peaceful place unencumbered by the events happening around the world. You have dreams.… Continue reading

BACK WHEN: The secret sorrow of Elsye Mitchell
BACK WHEN: Thomas Osasa: Patriot by choice

BACK WHEN: Thomas Osasa: Patriot by choice

A WHILE AGO I found something that deeply aroused my curiosity. I found a copy of The Tulean Dispatch dated July 10, 1942. The lost… Continue reading

BACK WHEN: Thomas Osasa: Patriot by choice
BACK WHEN: The day shrapnel fell on Clallam Bay

BACK WHEN: The day shrapnel fell on Clallam Bay

JANUARY 29, 1962, a day that will live on in lore and legend. It was a day when the citizens of Clallam County would face… Continue reading

BACK WHEN: The day shrapnel fell on Clallam Bay
BACK WHEN: The Lasley family sees the country on wheels

BACK WHEN: The Lasley family sees the country on wheels

WHEN LIFE BECOMES very difficult people with resolve, determination and strength of character will take action and find a way to carry on. I thought… Continue reading

BACK WHEN: The Lasley family sees the country on wheels
BACK WHEN: The story of Battling Danny Mathews

BACK WHEN: The story of Battling Danny Mathews

I THINK IT is reasonable to say that many people play sports to have a healthy self-image. Some simply love the competition. Others play to… Continue reading

BACK WHEN: The story of Battling Danny Mathews
BACK WHEN: People journey to Port Angeles for ‘utopia’

BACK WHEN: People journey to Port Angeles for ‘utopia’

WASHINGTON HAS QUITE a radical history. In 1936, Postmaster General James Farley is purported to have joked that “There are 47 states in the Union… Continue reading

BACK WHEN: People journey to Port Angeles for ‘utopia’