100 years ago
On Feb. 18, 1924, Clark County sheriff’s deputies brought in John Nelson and his teakettle still. Arrested about 10 miles north of Vancouver, Nelson was caught with moonshine, prune mash and a “complete outfit” he claimed he used for personal use.
75 years ago
The Washington State Liquor Control Board appointed C.M. Palmer as liquor store chief for Vancouver on Feb. 18, 1949. Palmer would be responsible for “clarifying locally the liquor-by-the-drink bill, which the voters passed during the recent election.” The new law required restaurants, hotels, clubs and “certain places on trains, boats and airplanes” to obtain a liquor license to serve alcohol by the glass. Licenses were limited to one per 1,500 residents.
50 years ago
A Feb. 19, 1974, Columbian article surveyed 26 drivers at a local service station about changing their driving habits due to the 1970s gas crisis. A majority of those surveyed reported cutting back on recreation driving, reduced business travel and support for rationing. Only three drivers said they’d used some form of carpooling, and only two reported they were able to use public transportation.
25 years ago
John Ehrlichman, former Nixon administration official convicted in the Watergate scandal, died in late February 1999. Before joining the White House, Ehrlichman was a lawyer in Seattle who worked with a land developer to challenge the city of Vancouver. The developer owned property in McLoughlin Heights and wanted to rezone it to build an Albertsons supermarket. The legal case became contentious as it made its way to the Superior Court, which ruled Vancouver’s zoning plan was invalid and its comprehensive plan nonexistent.
