Winter in Ocean Shores: Moments from the 1960s

There is nothing quite like winter on the Washington Coast. Here we look at a few of the more newsworthy winter happenings in 1960s Ocean Shores, as reported by the Ocean Observer.

A Very Coastal Christmas Message

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Cover photo of Vol. 1 No. 15 of the Ocean Observer, December 14, 1964. The centerfold of this copy has stained with age.[/caption]

On November 28, 1964, the world’s biggest “Merry Christmas” was cut into the beach in Ocean Shores. Measuring over half a mile long and 400 feet tall, the greeting ran from the Executive Villa to “well beyond the first cluster of private homes to the south.”

The project had been planned over a year in advance, simply waiting on a suitable tide, time, and weather conditions. Finally, on November 28 everything came together. The greeting was carved by a farm tractor pulling a seven-foot tooth harrow driven by Mick Buttorf and took five hours to complete. A plane then took off from the Ocean Shores airstrip to take photos of the feat.

Flood Damage Everywhere But Ocean Shores

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Flooding in Copalis the first weekend of December. Cover photo of Vol. 4 No. 11 of the Ocean Observer, December 18, 1967.[/caption]

Winter often means flooding here on the Washington Coast and that is just as true 55 years ago as it is today. In December of 1967, a combination of high tides, high winds, and heavy rain in the mountains caused significant flooding in Washington’s coastal towns, ranging from a depth of a couple inches in Aberdeen and Hoquiam to two feet in Raymond. The damage in Raymond alone was estimated to cost over $150,000 (this equates to over $1,300,000 today). Ocean Shores, however, only received standing water on the golf course and a couple other low-lying sections of town. As Paul Cornwell with Ocean Shores Engineering explained to the Ocean Observer, “Our surveys always have shown that the peninsula is several feet higher than nearby beach areas…And we don’t have the rivers to back up either.”

Snow Day(s) at the Beach

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Pacific Northwest Bell lineman working on power lines during a snowstorm in January 1969. Vol 6. No. 1 of the Ocean Observer, January 31, 1969.[/caption]

Ocean Shores does sometimes receive snow. The winter of 1969 might be one of the most severe winter weather events in Ocean Shores’ history. In January, the temperature in Western Washington remained below freezing for 10 days. In Ocean Shores, this resulted in snowdrifts ranging from four to twelve feet depth, multiple school and business closures, and the closure of the Ocean Shores sales office for the first time in its existence.

In spite of these conditions, some Ocean Shores citizens managed to have fun with the situation. Larry Tommer, proprietor of Ocean Shores’ Tommer Construction, got a chance to try out his new snowmobile, which he purchased with the intent to use it at a hunting camp in Yakima. Meanwhile, the Dune Grass Widows, authors of the Dune Doin’s column in the Ocean Observer, reported that, “while everything was snowed and frizzed for miles around, Dale Bryant, Clarence Baller, Phyllis Dorn, and Walt and Fey Marble hit the fairways. They were the first O/S golfers of 1969 and enjoyed every tingly-toed yard of it.”

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The Aletha J. snowed in at the Ocean Shores Marina, January 1969. 2022.03.243

The Birds and Other Winter Oddities

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Holiday ad for KDUX-FM in Vol. 6 No. 14 of the Ocean Observer, December 22, 1969.

“At some period each winter at Ocean Shores,” opens an article in the December 22, 1969 Ocean Observer, “the goofy season begins.” Some of the goofy occurrences that winter included:

• A hunter accidently shooting another hunter’s decoy geese, having mistook them for real Canada geese.
• An installer for Coast Communications being attacked by a band of sparrows while on the job.
• Engineers at KDUX-FM seeing a trail of small footprints leading towards their transmission tower, but not away from it.Who or what exactly made these footprints was not specified.
• After a number of old cars were installed near the Ocean Shores Marina to serve as a temporary breakwater, it was discovered that all the car doors opened and closed with each wave.
• A man who had been living near Lake Minard being visited by what he described as “lonely lizards.” After moving to the north end of town, he received a different visitor: a 300-pound coyote (for context, coyotes weigh 15-46 pounds on average. Whether or not he was exaggerating is unknown).

The article concludes with a fitting report for the Ocean Shores area. “Last week’s windstorm blew down, among other things, the pole on which the gale warning flags had been flying.”

References

A Greeting From Old 'Sandy'! (1964, December 14). The Ocean Observer. Vol. 1 No. 15

High Tides, Rivers, Storms Lash Beach; No Damage at OS (1967, December 18). The Ocean Observer.Vol. 4 No. 11

‘Impossible Winter’ Descends on Shores (1969, January 31). The Ocean Observer.Vol. 6 No. 1

It’s Winter Weird-o Time Once Again Along Beach (1969, December 22). The Ocean Observer.Vol. 6 No. 14

“The Aletha J. snowed in at the Ocean Shores Marina, January 1969” 2022.03.243. Coastal Interpretive Center.

© Laura Caldwell, November 2022