Tuesday, August 16, 2016
A Mushroom convention
McCleary sunrise
Monday, August 15, 2016
What the heck is it?
The mysterious box
McCleary Theater
This empty lot in 3rd St. is where the McCleary Theater once stood. It burned around 2003.
Too many stories to fit in here. It stopped running movies in the late 1960s, I think, and became an auction hall in the early 1970s. A professional auctioneer named Virgil if I remember was quite a draw. Eventually he moved on and others ran the auction, but none of them had the skill of the first guy in terms of entertainment. By 2003 the old swayback building had become an eyesore.
Built in the 1920s, the building's most historic role was serving as a convention center in 1942 after Henry McCleary sold his company town to Simpson, who in turn insisted the people here incorporate into a municipality. It was here the people divided themselves into two local parties and nominated their first candidates for public office.
So while the young men of McCleary were serving in the military to protect democracy, the folks back home were trying to form one.
Donkey engine winches
Donated to the City as a display by former Mayor Ted Rakoski (1914-2001).
Ted was a very devoted civic volunteer, active in the VFW, McCleary Museum, city government, etc. One expression of his that I like to repeat as much as I can is, "that really burns my ass when ... [fill in the blank]."
Donkey engines were steam contraptions that drug freshly cut timber with a cable once they were in log form to a central position where they could be stacked and transported. These engines usually rested on giant wooden sleds. Back in the early 20th century these sleds were constructed at the very place were Ted's winches are now on display.
In the background on the right is the kitchen where the bear stew is prepared every year for the Bear Festival. The original kitchen, which was much smaller, was replaced in the late 1980s-early 1990s. About the same time the locomotive "Dink" and the old horse-drawn fire engine were enclosed in a cage. Before that they were just out in the open.
Scoop was here
A tackful comment
Public art on 4th St.
Either that or someone's muffler fell off. As I recall it stayed there for several days.
Lynn Hansen, 1958-1995
His pristine 1959 GMC pickup truck had half of McCleary buzzing for week. Here's a souvenir from that vehicle.
The Triangle
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.
Sunday, August 14, 2016
Forest fire smoke over Hospital Hill
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