Nick Rillakis

Nov. 12, 2019

The McCleary HealthMart Pharmacy currently has a portrait of Nick Rillakis on display.

Rillakis had a store called Rhodes Grocery which basically stood on the very spot his portrait is on display. It was built in the 1920s and heralded as the first concrete structure in town. In the final years of this building it was festooned with murals by James Abbott and served as a storage unit place as it fell into increasing neglect and disrepair. In the 1980s-1990s Abbott's work was all over the place but is now more difficult to locate.

Anyway Nick was part of the Greek wave of workers who came to McCleary when old Henry lured foreign workers here who were not likely to unionize and would be prone to demand to be treated like human beings instead of the slaves they became. Unlike the Italians who came here, the Greeks were economically better off from their point of origin. Those who were not killed in the woods or died from other causes and landed in the McCleary Cemetery just made their wad of dough and went back home. But a few Greeks hung around and the last ones survived into the 1970s.

Some of the Greeks ran a gambling house and bordello in the building that later served as The Pines restaurant and tavern. The Greeks also hosted some of the earliest meetings for the workers to unionize there. The space is now the big empty lot on Main and Maple.

I recall Nick as a rotund, bald, gregarious and bombastic fellow. The most notable part of his store was an old timey giant wheel of cheese close to the entrance where customers could select the size of their slice. Going into his store was sort of like making a trip back in time. But that describes a lot of McCleary in the 1960s.

The Square Corner

Oct. 26, 2019

The corner of Simpson and Main used to be a sharp 90 degree corner back in the day when Main Street really was Main Street and the business center of town.

As time went by and the town's commercial activity shifted to the west, this corner was deemed a traffic hazard. If I am not mistaken, off the top of my head I think Chris Curtis of Shelton, who had once been implicated in the great McCleary alcohol distribution scandal of the 1920s which had taken down a few county and local law enforcement figures, owned that corner and very kindly gave it to the City around 1960 so it could be rounded off.

The Triangle is Buried

May 31, 2019

Welcome to McCleary

Apr. 24, 2019

Road work, week 3.

The Metal Sasquatch of Main Street

Mar. 23, 2019

One of the most awesome and wonderful works of yard art in the whole town.

Skidmarks at Anarchy Intersection

Aug. 7, 2018

Skidmarks at a pedestrian cross walk on the Anarchy Intersection where Summit, Simpson, Main, and Third come together. I believe this is under the jurisdiction of WSDOT who likely won't place a much needed traffic light here until someone is killed or seriously injured.

Path through the Pines

Aug. 7, 2018.

This path on the SW corner of Maple and Main goes through the Pines. But where are trees, you might ask.

The Pines was a name applied by Cal Clark in the 1950s to the final incarnation of one of the old-time two-story false buildings in downtown McCleary until it was closed by the IRS who padlocked the doors and then later burned (allegedly by kids playing with matches) after being abandoned for a few years in the 1980s.

On this lot at different times in history was a gathering spot for the local Greeks, it was also a house of prostitution upstairs, a topless bar in the 1960s, a family restaurant, a meeting spot for labor agitators in the 1920s-1930s, and a card room where Cecil "Primo" Boling was the dealer with his giant hands.

I recall watching the high flames shoot up from the roof which pretty much gutted the place. The burned out derelict remained standing for far too long as a wrecked reminder of McCleary's colorful past.

The former Timbear Cafe stands across Maple St.

8 Aberdeen

July 29, 2018

I have lost track how long this detour thing has been going on. Long enough for me to get used to seeing these orange signs be part of the normal landscape.

The detour has resulted in more people from out of town using the eccentric intersection of Simpson/Summit/Third/Main streets, which has now become a case study in anarchy.

The black "up" arrow next to a white silhouette of our first president which has a big "8" numeral in it on an orange background is something Marcel Duchamp would have loved.

McCleary's microclimates

July 11, 2018. Looking north at Oak and 5th. The fog totally obscures the view of the Simpson plant.

For a city this small McCleary appears to have definite climate zones. This becomes especially apparent with weather involving fog, ice, snow, and even rain. There are times when one stands on the crest of the hills on 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and Main streets and can see the visual border between the zones.

Indoor swimming pool!

Mar. 11, 2018

The Maple Street view of the former Timbear Cafe, opened ca. 1957 and in operation as a restaurant under various names for a few decades before ending up as a second hand store.

Before there was Grays Harbor Transit there was Washington Coast Lines and this Maple Street corner was their main McCleary stop.

This structure is now for sale and as you can see by the roofing it comes by default with its own indoor swimming pool.

Golden Rule Store

Aug. 6, 2017

This vacant lot on Main Street was once the site of the Golden Rule Store operated by Anthony (1908-1960) and Azizeh (1915-2001) Souda otherwise known as Tony and Z.Z. The wooden structure was still standing until the mid-1960s. The empty building on the left was originally the Timbear Cafe, constructed ca. 1957.

And they're off!

July 9, 2017, McCleary Bear Festival soapbox derby

Soapbox Derby Starting Ramp

July 9, 2017, McCleary Bear Festival

Hay! An Outhouse!

July 7, 2017, Bear Festival setup, Main and Maple.

Main Street stripe

Jan. 28, 2017

Jake Anderson's gate

Sept. 5, 2016. A surly Norwegian bachelor named Jake Anderson owned everything west of current day 4th Street before Henry McCleary arrived. Anderson lived at the top of the "T" at 5th and Oak, and was known to use a boat to get around the cedar swamp that is now the filled-in downtown area. The gate to Anderson's digs was here, on this northernmost block of Main St.

Until recently, the spot where Anderson's gate stood was marked on the sidewalk, but a redo of the area wiped that out. This particular side of the block has been home to some iconic McCleary business establishments in the past: Timbear Cafe, Golden Rule Store, the office of Dr. James Arima, Hankinson Jewelry, Porter Hotel, a movie theater, Pastime Pool Hall, McCleary Pharmacy, just to name a few.

Longest alley in town

Aug. 26, 2016. Looking west from Main to 10th St., between Simpson and Maple. The old "Float Barn" resided on the west end, until it was finally torn down a few years ago. On the east end we see the Union Hall on the left and the new clinic on the right.

The Triangle

Aug. 15, 2016

The triangular shaped plot of land greeting those who enter McCleary from the east was at one time the home of a business establishment called-- The Triangle. I understand it changed hands several times and served different functions, including that of a restaurant, grocery store, and gas station. One old timer told me he thought the Tornquists ran it for awhile and had a pet monkey in the store.

By the mid-1950s the building had become derelict and was torn down. The City acquired the plot and named it Eddie Biers Park, after Edward F. Biers (1914-1979), former Simpson employee, City employee, and Korean War veteran. At some point in the last decade or so the Eddie Biers Park sign has been taken down and few remember it is in fact a named piece of public land.

Main St., to the left, was the main artery into McCleary until the automobile became dominant, ca. 1910, and the road was deemed too close to the school. So 3rd St., to the right, became the "main" street.

McCleary has weird plats anyway. Ever notice how most of the alleys on the east end of town are north-south, and those west of 4th St. are east-west? The Third Addition (Ash St.) are north-south.

And speaking of monkeys, I believe there was a story about a pet monkey running loose in McCleary in the 1960s and about half the town was chasing this little critter all day before it was finally nabbed. I recall hearing about it at the time and wish I could've seen the fun.

Fur Envy

Sept. 10, 2011. For awhile the sign from the previous business remained up there, giving the impression pets really received human-type hair treatment.

The artist who created the window sign did a great job.

Flowerbox on Main Street

Sept. 10, 2011