Violence in McCleary 1936
(Summary of descriptions of 1936 McCleary attacks from book "Agitprop : the life of an American working-class radical : the autobiography of Eugene V. Dennett".)
November 1936, violent attacks were made on striking members of the Lumber and Sawmill Workers Union at McCleary, Washington.
McCleary Lumber Company refused to deal with union since the 1935 general strike of timber workers.
One hundred and fifty two union men were locked out of the mill in an effort to destroy the union,
Company recruited scabs, mostly from drought-stricken areas.
Peaceful pickets were brutally clubbed and tear gassed on November 24 by Washington State Patrol officers. The attack came at 8:45 am. Chief Cole, head of WSP, signaled the attack.
A group of twelve women were gassed, one of whom had a leg injury from flying gravel.
Police fired tear gas directly in face of a pregnant woman, she was then clubbed down. Her husband, Geer, trying to help her, was then himself beaten down.
Mrs. Geer received a shoulder injury. Homer Evans ended up with a severe concussion. Paul Hasbrook, Paul Carr, and Mrs. Goodpaster were also all injured. Everyone injured were residents of McCleary, not reinforcements from other towns.
McCleary came under de facto martial law. Many state patrol were stationed there for several weeks.
Local businessmen complained that they could not conduct usual business under this martial law shutdown of the city.
From the periodical Man! December 1936-January 1937: Vol 5 Issue 1 . Report by Guy B. Askew
Each drew a picture of how people had been gassed in Tacoma, Longview, Aberdeen, and more recently in McCleary. They stated that persons, mostly women and children had been gassed while they were several blocks away from where any strike or labor dispute was in progress.
Quote from article Anti Tear Gas Bill Passes by Large Majority in The Timber Worker , Feb 5 1927, discussing proposed bill.
"... ideal for poultry, Christmas trees and cascara raising"
There are eleven full time farmers and eighty tree farm residences and part time farmers in this area. Their main crops are oats and hay, utilized for their own livestock and dairy cows.
Soil very poor in productivity........however ideal for poultry, Christmas trees and cascara raising.
There are a few authorized tree farmers and Mommsen Bros. (John and Henry) have one of the outstanding ones in the United States consisting of over 700 acres.
Proceedings: McCleary Community Study, McCleary, Washington, 1955-1956
Imagine a Canal through McCleary
In 1936 the State Canal Commission was appointed to further plans for a canal from this inlet [Budd Inlet, Olympia] to the Columbia River, through McCleary and by way of Grays and Willapa harbors.
Washington, a guide to the Evergreen state, compiled by workers of the Writers' program of the Work projects administration in the state of Washington. Portland, Or., Binfords & Mort [1941]
Skookum Inlet to Elma via Summit. This route would follow a valley they has been eroded in certain low lying masses of rock that occur between the Black Hills and the Olympics. The highest point on the line as surveyed is 420 feet above tide. For at least five miles the excavation for a canal would be in basalt.
One of these alternate possibilities is a line running from Elma approximately up the Cloquallum River, crossing a divide at the head of that stream, thence down the easterly slope of the divide, and entering Puget Sound through Hammersly Inlet. Another possible alternative is a line running from Elma through McCleary, thence down the Kamilche into Skookum Inlet, or from McCleary crossing over to Kennedy Creek and thence into Totten Inlet on Puget Sound.
Report on proposed canals connecting Puget Sound--Grays Harbor, Grays Harbor--Willapa Bay and Willapa Bay--Columbia River, by the Canal Commission of the state of Washington, June 7, 1933 .. [Olympia, 1933]
Although these alternative routes would have been shorter than the main proposed route of Chehalis - Black River, studies determined that a McCleary route would require tons more excavation and water - plus it would destroy the oyster industry at Skookum Inlet.
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