A FEW READERS recognized the Arctic Meat Market in the May photo of the month.
The photo shows Arden Farms and the Arctic Meat Market at 515 Lincoln St. in Port Angeles.
The photo was taken sometime between 1939 and 1941.
In 1939, the south side of the 500 block of Lincoln Street had at least one building that housed Arden’s and was owned by Claude Phifer.
It had a small vertical sign alongside the front door that read “Harleman Dairy.”
By 1941, the name was Independent Dairy Products-Arden Products, managed by Guy S. Holmes.
By the time the next Port Angeles directory went to press, Arden Products was no longer listed.
In 1941-42, the Arctic Meat Market was next door to Ardens’ 515 Lincoln.
In 1927, the Moose organization was built on Sixth and Lincoln streets.
Hugo DelGuzzi constructed this three-story building and both his sons, Jack and Bruno, worked on the construction.
By 1934, the Smiths had purchased it for the Smith Bottling Business.
During World War II, the second and third floors were used by the Army for barracks and a place for women to make bandages.
In 1945, the ice plant was moved from the Sixth and Lincoln site to Eighth Street and the business was renamed Smith’s Beverages.
In 1946, Olympic Electric built its building on the corner of Fifth and Lincoln streets.
Another building built soon after that eventually was home for Angeles Pharmacy.
It was numbered 513 Lincoln St.
Eleanor Tschemperle worked there for 15 years starting in 1956 and ending in 1971.
In 1952, a two-story addition was built on the Smith Building to house Arctic Meat Market at 517 Lincoln St., owned by Donald Dibble and Gordon Sandison Agency, located at 519 Lincoln St.
We can assume the first little one-story building with the Spanish windows was torn down before the two-story addition was built and the businesses at 515 were also moved into a new building.
In 1954, Tiny Top Shop was at 515 Lincoln St.
Tylers Real Estate had that address from 1956 through 1958.
By 1958, 515 was no longer listed as an address. The upper floor of this addition had four apartments.
Bill Smith of Port Angeles, the son of Donald Smith, remembered that Arctic Market had lockers.
Also in addition to the four apartments in the addition built in 1952, there was an apartment on the third floor of the Smith Building that his uncle Ivor lived in for at least 11 years.
At one point, when they were tearing the Smith Building down, Ivor had commented that he would miss his apartment with the beautiful view of the town and the mountains.
In 1954, the bottling business moved to First and Cherry streets.
In 1963, the meat market changed to the Big Steer with Al Thanem as owner.
Later, the McElroys took over the Big Steer.
By 1969 and 1970, The Colonial Meats was the meat market’s name and by 1972, there was no listing.
It appears that the buildings that contained 515, 517 and 519 were demolished in late 1972 and 1973.
Norman Gallacci remembered that the butcher shop was near Gordon Sandison Agency and that the McGlenns had a butcher shop also and it was across the street closer to Sixth Street.
He also mentioned the lockers the Arctic Meat Market had.
Bernie Byrne and her sister, Barb, remembered the alley next to Angeles Pharmacy that they cut through, which curved around in back of Olympic Electric and then they crossed the ballfield on the way to Roosevelt School.
The Port Angeles Business College, although it started at a different location, was in 1947 at 527 Lincoln St.
George and Lois Bates took over the college in 1949.
At that time, more than 1,200 students had been enrolled.
The Smith Building had several businesses.
Round the Clock Laundromat, a beauty salon, a flower shop and an office for the Smith Brothers property management were a part of the Smith Building.
The beauty salon was operated by Reba Scherneck for 17 years.
When she retired, Dory Willson owned it.
When the building was demolished, the laundromat was moved to Third and Peabody streets where the original White laundry had started.
The college closed in 1963 and George Bates moved to Bremerton in 1965.
In 1972, the Smith brothers sold their building to Standard Oil Co. and the building was taken down in 1973.
The lot next to it where Rite Aid and the Goodwill are now had two gas stations listed as 603 and 619 Lincoln St.
Gerald Page remembered one of the service stations at Seventh and Lincoln streets was owned by a Mr. Picca.
Page also commented that the area from Fifth Street to the corner of Eighth and Lincoln streets had a large gully running through it.
At one time, it was owned by the Kilmer family.
When Rite Aid and Albertsons were built, the area was filled in and culverts placed.
By 1965, Bert Fletcher had taken over the Picca station and Renshaw (603) was there for another year or so.
Bert Fletcher of Port Angeles said that 619 S. Lincoln St. was the location of his first station.
Built in 1961
It was built in 1961 on the ruins of Picca’s old station on the lot between Sixth and Seventh streets.
He opened it in July of 1961 and closed it down in May of 1973.
It was directly across the street from the Masonic Temple.
The building with the Spanish windows (Arden Farms) was gone before he even moved to Port Angeles in 1961.
He also said that Arctic Meat Market disappeared around the time the Smith Building was demolished.
Fletcher said his new station at 517 Lincoln St. opened in the fall of 1973.
Open until 1993
It stayed open until about 1993.
At that time, the tanks were removed and a large chain-link fence surrounded the property.
First Federal built a branch there in March of 1979 adjoining the chain-link fence.
Land purchased
First Federal purchased the land from the Smith Brothers.
Before the First Federal branch, there was an apparel shop and the gully ran behind the shop.
In reference to last month’s photo of the Makah Air Force Station, two readers have written in to say that the photo was not the Makah Air Force Station and two others said it definitely was.
So it looks like we have a mystery.
Also, airmen who were stationed there in 1955 for some years only knew the station as the 758th Radar Squadron, even though it was officially renamed Makah Air Force Station in 1953.
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Alice Alexander is a Clallam County historian, author, and a descendent of an Elwha Valley pioneer family. She is a recipient of a 2014 Clallam County Heritage Awards. She can be reached at bretches1942@gmail.com.
Alice’s Clallam history column appears the first Sunday of every month, alternating with Linnea Patrick’s Jefferson County history column on the third Sunday of the month.
Most of you have seen this old building, but do you know its history? Write to Alice Alexander, 204 W. Fourth St., Apt. 14, Port Angeles, WA or email her at bretches1942@gmail.com and she will use your comments in her colum July 2.
