Pony circle

July 21, 2016. The circle left by pony ride for the kids from the McCleary Bear Festival.

In the background, where Simpson's fence now exists, there was a two story structure a century ago known as "The Old Oaken Bucket." In the first floor were business enterprises, such as the newspaper The McCleary Stimulator, founded by the Craft twins, Ray and Roy, with their friend Bob Cooper.  On the 2nd floor was another sort of business enterprise employing some of the "soiled doves" of the town. Another such place was on the now vacant SW corner of Main and Maple, once home to The Pines.

Preparing the bear stew

Preparing bear stew, July 13, 2012

In 1959 the town celebrated the first annual Second Growth Festival, an event that stemmed from the University of Washington sponsored Operation Second Growth, 1955-1956, a program designed to help small communities help themselves.

The local editor of the McCleary Stimulator, Norman Porter, got into an editorial war with Roy Craft, the editor of the Skamania County Pioneer over which county had the better tasting bears. I suspect alcohol was involved in this debate.

Craft, who had actually started the Stimulator back in the 1920s with his twin brother Ray, and was a childhood pal of Porter's had briefly been Marilyn Monroe's publicist. He was the guy who convinced her to stand over a grate in downtown NYC in order to promote the Seven Year Itch motion picture. Leave it to a McCleary guy to think of that. 

Anyway, in the first year the bear was served in steak form, but in short order the Festival planners figured out it was easier to make stew so more people could enjoy it.

The Festival soon became known as the McCleary Second Growth and Bear Festival, but now the "Second Growth" portion of the name has been discarded.