A Little Netarts News

Last weekend I finally had an opportunity to spend a little bit of time at the Tillamook Library and go through a few historical issues of the local paper, the Headlight Herald, on microfilm. The purpose of my visit was to find obituaries or death notices for two of my family members who had resided in Tillamook county: “Aunt Sadie,” the sister of my great-grandfather, and “Uncle Alvy,” her second husband. Someday I will go back and look for more references to them and to my great-grandparents, but on this trip my time was limited. Since the newspaper is unindexed, I decided to stick to events for which I already had a definite date.

My results were not obituaries, but rather news briefs in “Netarts News,” the section devoted to the comings and goings of residents and visitors within the town of Netarts. Each community had its own section, and the tradition continues today (somewhat modified) in the Headlight Herald’s “Fencepost” columns. I printed out three of these “Netarts News” articles, and because they contain references not only to Aunt Sadie and Uncle Alvy but also to a number of other people, it seemed a good idea to share my results.

My first inclination was to retype and post the entire articles so that search engines could help find your ancestor’s name and you could see the reference with little trouble. However, in such a recent date as 1949 I believe I run afoul of copyright law. Therefore I will have to be satisfied with a list of names, and if you find a name of interest, you can either contact me or go to Tillamook yourself to see the article firsthand.

Unfortunately, I was in a bit of a rush when I found these articles, and neglected to note the page number. If you are at the Tillamook Library or Pioneer Museum looking through the microfilm for these specific articles, they should still be fairly easy to find. Just look for the “Netarts News” heading. It is always grouped with some of the other local news columns.

But enough preamble—you want to see the lists of names.

The first article I printed out, found in the 3 Mar 1949 issue, contains the nearest thing to an obituary that I have found for “Uncle Alvy,” whose real name was Walter Alvah MASON.  It mentions by name his wife, Sadie; his daughter Norma BURD; his “foster son,” Wallace KING; his “foster daughter,” Ilean NEILSON; and his sister Mrs. Laura HALE. A few paragraphs later, Mr. and Mrs. Ernest CROSS, Mrs. SCHOENBORN, and Mr. and Mrs. Frank CROSS are identified as coming into town for the funeral.

Other names found in the 3 Mar 1949 “Netarts News” are:

B. ALWINGER and son Leonard

Mr. and Mrs. Jack ARPS of Helena, Montana

Mrs. Betty BOTCHECK and daughter Martha

Mr. and Mrs. Austin BOWEN and Birdie

Mr. and Mrs. James BROWN

Miss Donna CORNETT

Mr. and Mrs. Ted CORNETT

Joan EARL

Mr. and Mrs. Clarence EDNER

Mr. and Mrs. Robert EDNER and their daughter Lynda of Portland

Harvey EVERHART of Aurora

P. D. GENY of Willamina

Mr. and Mrs. George HANSON of Portland

Mr. and Mrs. James HILFERTY

Mrs. JAGER of Portland

Mr. and Mrs. J. F. “Monte” JAGER

Mr. and Mrs. John JEANS and daughter Mary Sue of Palo Alto, California

Mr. and Mrs. Carl JENSEN of Gervais

Mr. and Mrs. Homer JOHNSON

Mr. and Mrs. Al KRENZ

Mr. and Mrs. Ed LAURS

Miss Carol LOOP

Mr. and Mrs. Ben MALKSON

Miss Sharon MALLOTT

Mr. and Mrs. MILLER and son Howard of Portland

Mr. and Mrs. C. J. OWEN of Portland

Mr. and Mrs. Laurance RICE

Mr. and Mrs. W. H. SOUSA

The second article is from the 3 Nov 1949 edition of the Headlight Herald, and reports the news that Sadie MASON is in the hospital. Actually, she had passed away on 1 Nov, two days before the release of this issue. However, as the Headlight Herald was, and continues to be, a weekly newspaper, the deadlines for columns arrive a few days before the release of the paper and therefore cannot be up to the minute. No longer residing in Netarts since the death of her husband, Sadie is identified as “sister of Walter UNDERWOOD.”

Other names found in the 3 Nov 1949 “Netarts News” are:

Mr. and Mrs. B. ALWINGER

Austin BOWEN

Mr. and Mrs. George COFFMAN

Donna CORNETT

Mr. and Mrs. John CORNETT

Ted CORNETT

David, small son of Mr. and Mrs. C. DeVRIE

Mrs. A. D. FISHER

Mr. and Mrs. Wayne GLENN and son Stanley

Mr. and Mrs. Earl GROSHONG

Mrs. ISHAIA (of Oregon City?)

Mrs. JACK (of Oregon City?)

Mrs. Nellie JOHNSON of Oregon City

Dee LUCKY

Jack MADISON

Jim MEANS of Portland

Mr. and Mrs. Ronald SALING and children

The following week, 10 Nov 1949, brought us the third and final article that I printed out, and which reports the death of Sadie MASON. Unfortunately, when setting the microfilm reader for printing I cropped too closely in and only part of the article is visible. My list of names on this one will be incomplete. Two of the names (noted in parentheses) are found in the paragraph that I cut off.

Other names found in the 10 Nov 1949 “Netarts News” are:

Mrs. COOK

Mr. and Mrs. Ernest CROSS

Mr. and Mrs. Clare EDNER (incomplete)

Mrs. Harry GROSHONG (incomplete)

B.C. KING

Mr. and Mrs. R. C. KING

Ernest PALINSKA and brother of Stanford, Conn.

Mrs. PALINSKA and baby

Mrs. Laura POLLOCK of Portland

Mrs. Caroline WELLMAN

If your ancestor is included in one of the above lists of names, the reference could be as mundane as “So-and-so was visiting such-and-such a place last week” or “So-and-so was a guest at this party.” It could also be as genealogically helpful as “So-and-so, who used to live in Netarts with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. This-name when they were doing this business, and now lives in such-and-such a place, was visiting These People.”

Sources:

“Netarts News.” Headlight Herald [Tillamook] 3 Mar 1949. Microfilm.

“Netarts News.” Headlight Herald [Tillamook] 3 Nov 1949. Microfilm.

“Netarts News.” Headlight Herald [Tillamook] 10 Nov 1949. Microfilm.