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.

Dating McCleary Photos

Sept. 30, 2019

This photo of an early sawmill currently on display in the Summit Pacific Clinic can be dated after Sept. 1902 but probably before 1910. The clue is in the background toothpicks that used to be trees.

The devastating 1902 fire wiped out the entire town of Rayville and most of what we call White Star. Rayville was an embryonic town that used to exist in the area where the Elma-Hicklin Road crosses the railroad tracks and joins the old 410 highway, now called the Elma-McCleary Road.

The flames headed east and in no time at all surrounded the new logging camp. But then the ring of fire just stopped rather mysteriously. So for years the burned trees just stood, shorn of their limbs by flame, baton noir. For some time the children would come home covered in soot after playing outside.

The 1902 fire was region-wide and later called The Big Burn or the Yacolt Burn, but actually was many individual forest fires that took place in a short span of time. My grandmother, who was 11 at the time and living in Centralia, said the smoke was so thick that daytime turned into night and some felt the End of the World had arrived.

Donor Recognition Tree

Sept. 30, 2019

Summit Pacific Clinic

Now Here's Something You Don't See Every Day

July 13, 2019

Dr. Health E. Hound in front of the clinic.

The rare rubber cobra of McCleary

Mar. 5, 2019

This rare rubber cobra was spotted in the clinic parking lot.

How foggy was it?

Oct. 19, 2018

It was so foggy that Simpson's smokestack is barely visible at 10:33 AM as seen from the front of the clinic!

LOVE

Feb. 10, 2018

Rain Country Valentine display. McCleary City Hall and the new clinic are in the background

Right, no, Left!

Jan. 12, 2018

Summit Pacific Clinic parking lot exit.

Inexplicable New Age wind chimes at the deserted bank

Apr. 7, 2013. Note the yin and yang symbol and the crystal. The old bank building has since been demolished to make way for the new clinic.

The building was originally constructed as the McCleary State Bank in the early 1960s, but the institution went bust after a short time.

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.

Elton Bennett Serigraphs

Aug. 22, 2016.

If Ken Kesey was one of the authors who really captured the Pacific Northwest in text, Elton Bennett has to be one of the artists who captured the feeling of this region through graphics. These panels are on display at the Summit Pacific Clinic in downtown McCleary.