If it happens in the woods, it can happen in McCleary city limits

Sept. 20, 2018

A forensic look at this brings me to the conclusion that a large bird of prey probably took off with one the squirrels in my yard, or possibly one of the wild rabbits. I've seen owls, eagles, hawks, and falcons fly through here over the years.

There have been coyote and cougar sightings reported from residential neighborhoods in the last few months. A few years ago I saw a huge porcupine sauntering down a city street.

One animal I used to see a lot around here but not much anymore-- the possum.

Let's not get started on raccoons.

Steampunk Sax

Sept. 9, 2018.

Jay Larson occasionally can be seen playing his saxophone at the NW corner of the VFW Hall usually to an audience numbering zero. He's at it just for fun, no hat on the sidewalk waiting for the coin of the realm.

And, he's really good.

His saxophone was rescued from a junkyard in Wyoming and has obviously been brought back to life with loving care, giving it a really wonderful steampunk appearance.

The Really Big One

Aug. 23, 2018

A poster for an event seen at the bulletin board at Gordon's. Local real estate people and the Chamber of Commerce will not like this blogpost.

This poster advertises a talk by Charles Wallace, aka Chuck Wallace, Deputy Director of Grays Harbor Emergency Management. It is sort of unsettling the event is set for the date of Sept. 11th.

Anyway, Mr. Wallace has been working hard around the county in presentations attempting to inform people about our inevitable disaster when, not if, when the Cascadia Subduction Fault decides to unzip.

The last time this baby became undone was in Jan. 1700. The next cyclical geological shift in these plates could happen at any time-- five minutes, five hours, five days, five decades. We don't know. When it does happen it will be the worst natural disaster in U.S. history.

Imagine a 9 point or so quake where the epicenter moves offshore from Cape Mendocino up to Vancouver Island, lasting about five or more minutes. The coast will drop around six feet, followed by a giant tsunami where the effect will reach clear to Montesano.

Goodbye Ocean Shores, Westport, Long Beach, Seaview, Tokeland, Oysterville, Moclips. Adios to downtown Aberdeen, Hoquiam, Cosmopolis.

McCleary will only drop about a foot, meaning most of the century old plus dwellings in town will collapse, like mine. But our town will probably serve as a refugee station, with air supplies landing at Sanderson Field in Shelton.

Our current federal government's response to the Puerto Rico disaster after Hurricane Maria does not exactly inspire confidence in depending on outside help after the Cascadia unzipping takes place. I think Mr. Wallace is trying to let us know we need to be responsible for ourselves and prepare for the worst.

Check out Kathryn Schulz "The Really Big One" (2015) in the New Yorker
 https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/07/20/the-really-big-one

Hay! Look!

Aug. 22, 2018

Rolling up hay like this is illegal in some areas because their agricultural authorities say livestock should get a square meal.

West McCleary exit still closed

Aug. 21, 2018

State Route 8 remains bottlenecked for a few miles at McCleary. This has been a very long construction project.

Mason County has vanished

Aug. 21, 2018

Looking north down 5th Street from Oak. The forest fire smoke is so bad that the hills of Mason County are no longer visible on the horizon. When sunlight does filter through it has a red tint solar eclipse sort of light.

Vote Here

Aug. 7, 2018

Voting by mail has killed off the voting booth and the social ritual of filling out your ballot on the spot.

I poked my head in the door of the VFW Hall on Primary Day 2018 only to see a vast empty room save for two dour senior citizens sitting at a forlorn table with a big box on the surface in which voters could place their ballots. I felt like I had disturbed their nap and they were rather cross about it.

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.

Munching on apples in the shadow of Simpson

Aug. 7, 2018

A young deer enjoys a breakfast of apples under a lone tree next to the VFW Hall right across the street from the Simpson complex.

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.

Where the sidewalk unbends

Aug. 5, 2018

This sidewalk is only a couple years old at best, but the elements are already catching up to it fast. On 4th near Simpson.

Moron!

Aug. 5, 2018

Political comment found on the Post Office bulletin board. In the same handwriting the bottom of the article (snipped from the Olympian) is inscribed "traitor."

I'm shocked, shocked, I tell you, to see that someone out there ... is still reading a newspaper in hardcopy form.

And you think moss on your roof is a problem? Check this out.

Aug. 3, 2018

For a company that has a long history in cutting down forests, it is somewhat amusing to see several young broadleaf trees apparently thriving on the roof of the Simpson lumber dry kilns.

The Three Bears

Aug. 3, 2018

Bear icons in front of the Bear's Den.

Maybe they could somehow include a Goldilocks figure with a word balloon saying, "The food in this restaurant is just riiiight."

Squaxin Island Tribe bus

Aug. 3, 2018

The Squaxin Island Tribe bus, which includes McCleary as a stop, has my vote for the most amazing and truly Northwest transportation logo in these parts. If you look closely you can pick out the seven animals representing the seven clans of the Tribe, all united into the form of a fish. There is a lot of history behind that graphic.

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.

The ol' McCleary vegetable tradition

July 28, 2018

McCleary has a second Food Bank other than the official one which operates out of the kitchen in Beerbower Park. This supplemental Food Bank is evident starting around this time of year when local gardeners who were ambitious in their plantings realize they produced more vegetables than they could use. So what to do with them? Leave them in the Post Office of course! A central place in town.

I don't if this would be allowed in Century 21, but back in the 1960s my brother and I would sell vegetables we raised to Ardy Lencioni and would resell them in his produce section. This was right after he sold the old Quality Market (located where Sam's Food Mart gas station is now) and revamped the grocery store that is now Gordon's.

Entrancing Entrance

July 26, 2018

The new sign inviting customers to Rain Country is terrific! It has a funky Old West welcome feeling to it that seems to reflect the positives of McCleary. Well done (which how I like my burgers).

Some locals prefer using the side door as a form of feeling part of an inside secret.

This is the first time I have noticed the restaurant no longer has outdoor tables in the front.

Accidental art

July 26, 2018

Seen at the western boundary of Rainbow Park.

Pink tape

July 26, 2018

Pink tape on the as yet to be inaugurated new mailboxes at Rainbow Park. I guess pink tape is better than cutting through a lot of red tape.

Buffoon & his money laundering partner

July 25, 2018

I always enjoy perusing the Post Office bulletin board. Occasionally a citizen will make their views on politics known before it is swiftly removed either by Post Office personnel or someone who disagrees.

Generally these political expressions are aimed at local governance. Milton Poulos has been gone for awhile now, but he was usually good for posting items regarding national issues as seen through a socialist lens. McCleary folks from all parts of the political spectrum have made their opinions known in this fashion over the years.

Here are the results of the Nov. 2016 presidential election in McCleary precinct 501 not counting write-ins:

663 votes
Trump, Republican: 344 - 51.88%
Clinton, Democrat: 252 - 38%
Johnson, Libertarian: 45 - 6.78%
Stein, Green: 14 - 2.11%
Castle, Constitution: 5 - 0.75%
Kennedy, Socialist Workers: 2 - 0.30%
La Riva, Party for Socialism and Liberation: 1 - 0.15%

What I found fascinating about McCleary and the 2016 election was the fact that as I walked around town I never saw one single yard sign for Trump, although I did spot a couple bumper stickers. There was only one yard sign I saw for Clinton. Jill Stein (Green) and Gary Johnson (Libertarian), on the other hand, had plenty of signs up in public intersections.

When it comes to third parties, I regard anything 5% or over as impressive, so the Libertarians did pretty well in McCleary.

Rock art

July 21, 2018

This rock art was found in a downtown alleyway.

Lost drone $5 reward

July 16, 2018

Posted at Gordon's

Elvis on the Hood

July 13, 2018

I've been waiting to catch the owner of this Ford pickup so I could ask permission to photograph the most awesome vehicle art in McCleary, and today was that lucky day. The owner of this truck created the image himself. I am impressed.

We had a nice talk about The King. I was able to share some of my stories from a recent visit to Graceland.

Anyway, I salute the owner of this pickup for being original and expressive. Way to go!

McCleary archaeology

July 12, 2018

The City crew today unearthed two railroad spikes while repairing the portion of Oak St. where the Henry McCleary Timber Company's railroad once crossed.

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.

The parking strip that gathers no moss

July 10, 2018

Found alongside the long vacant tavern. I'm sure this is a metaphor for something but I need more coffee this morning before I can invent one.

Safe Medication Disposal

July 10, 2018

At some point in the last month this safe medication disposal box showed up at the Police Station.

Old railroad bed

July 9, 2018

Looks like the City is about to perform some road work on these odd depressions in West Oak Street. By coincidence, or not, this particular swath is where the Henry McCleary Timber Company's  railroad was until the 1930s. The railway ran south between present day 4th and 5th streets and then turned east all the way to Mud Bay, more of less following what is now State Route 8. Vestiges of the old railway bed can still be seen in the empty lot in the background of this photo.

Although the photo has failed to really capture it, this road marking is an inadvertent and wonderful piece of abstract art.

Float cockpit

July 8, 2018

A peek inside the McCleary Bear Festival float cockpit reveals what appears to be a highly modified 1980s era Chevrolet Cavalier.