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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
February 21, 2019     Shelton Mason County Journal
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February 21, 2019
 
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L=: t Page A-16 - She~ton.Mason County Journal. Thursday, Feb. 211 2019 HISTORY AT .4 GLANCE I : k::~:~I k Z k The former O'Neill store with service station built by A.A. Bower is shown in this 1942 photo of Shelton. Courtesy photo L "n 1938, when the Shelton City Council decided that pictures of all past Shelton mayors should be hung in city hall, the city clerk advised .that acquiring a photo of Mayor A. A. Bower might be impossible, since no formal photo had been taken of him during his 1929- 1930 term of office, and his By JAN present address and occupa- PARKER tion were unknown. A search of relevant issues of the Shelton-Mason County Jour- nal revealed some information about Mayor Bower's activities as mayor and as a businessman. Having defeat- ed Charles Runacres in the primary election, Bower was unopposed in the November 1928 general election. At the time, he was employed as man- ager of the O'Neill Store, a long-time Shelton mercantile. Bower got off to a good start. One of his first actions was to instruct the city, marshal to enforce all Violations of Ordinance No. 177, which required all vehicles entering arterials from side streets to come to a full stop until the way was clear before entering the intersection. Bower cited the num- ber of close calls, numerous minor collisions, and the growing careless- ness of nearly all local drivers, and expressed his belief that the city was risking damage suits by its laxness in enforcing the ordinance. He also asked the Committee on Fire, Light, and Water to consider ways and means for better fire protection at night, and the Committee on Law and Ordinance to inves- -tigate the necessity and cost of codifying and bringing up to date the book of ordi- nances, which had last been issued in 1917. He also halted construc- tion of a new Piggly-Wiggly store because the plans were not in confor- mance with the ordinance governing buildings in the fire district. During a "somewhat stormy" special session of the city council, the mayor pointed out that the exterior of the new build- ing was not built offire-proof materi- als as required, but was instead made of shiplap with a thin veneer of brick. After considerable discussion it was decided that the exterior of the build- ing should be at least 8 inches thick, with no wood, and work resumed. City government apparently ran smoothly for some time after that. In August 1929, the O'Neill store closed, and by February 1930, Bower had acquired the building and announced plans to move it some 30 feet directly east, providing a site for a super ser- vice station in its place, and remodel- ing the old building into apartments and a storage area. That he did carry the manufacture and sale of liquor, out these plans is evidenced in a 1930 and prostitution be strictly enforced." city directory, which shows Bower as Mayor Bower frankly admitted owner of Bower Super Service and that Shelton was being run "wide mayor of Shelton, with his residence open" by his orders, citing as justi- in the O'Neill Apartments. fication that he had closed the city Bower ran into rougher times in against all gambling soon after taking March 1930. In an editorial titled office and "considerable complaint" "An Undesirable Reputation," on the had come to him against rigid restric- front page of the March 6 Journal, tions on card playing. He added his editor Grant Angle wrote that Shelton opinion that the majority of people in was fast gaining notoriety as a "free Shelton desired a "wide open" town and easy town" that was attracting for business reasons. Various mem- "a class of undesirables that always bers Of the city council then joined the follows in the wake of easy money=" conversation, and a motion was made At the city council meeting three days that the mayor be instructed to or- later, a petition from committees of der police officers to enforce the laws church and welfare organizations strictly. The motion carried by unani- urged officials to take notice of local mous vote of the six council members. conditions and take action to correct In the election of December 1930, them. The petition included the sign- Runacres defeated A. A. Bower by a ers' belief that, "At present we are nearly 2-1 margin. In his first week getting much unfavorable publicity on the job, Runacres instructed the due to the fact that there is reputed city marshal to strictly enforce all to be much bootlegging, drunkenness, laws, and had each officer individu- and general disregard for our prohibi- ally appear before the city council to tion law. We are informed that there reinforce those instructions. are a number of houses of prostitution Bower continued his service station running wide open. This, we believe, and auto sales business in Shelton for cannot be done without the knowledge a short, time, but eventually left for of our police force and those respon- Seattle, where he sold insurance for sible for the enforcement of our laws. awhile before moving toCalifornia. We therefore urgently request the Jan Parker is a researcher at the mayor and the cit:~ council to make it Mason County Historical Museum. very plain to the enforcement officers She can be reached at parkerj@hctc. that the laws regarding bootlegging, com UIN your i. 1 -h .=,- Communib/ | 0 scr,0e,o / t Juu :o oiI.=, C,a.i i 1' 227 W. ota St. Shelton, 98584 I ! .i' . . I. i : 360-426-4412, BHarlo( ?::eP:;d;/ts:012024:h AvenUen OlnYdm? ouWrAp9r85r0tlo every performance 4,