A weekly look back compiled by the Clark County Historical Museum from The Columbian archives available at columbian.newspapers.com or at the museum.
- 100 years ago
On Nov. 24, 1924, the La Center bridge was formally opened. Several hundred people from around the county celebrated the dedication, with a welcome from Mayor C. A. Button “in a happy vein.” The project, which started in August 1923, cost $200,000 and was “the longest bridge of any kind on the Pacific Highway in Washington and is the longest concrete bridge in the state.”
- 75 years ago
Clifford Thompson, “self-acclaimed world’s tallest man,” visited Vancouver on Nov. 30, 1949. Thompson, whose height was stated as 8-feet, 7-inches, had recently moved to Portland from Wisconsin. The practicing attorney visited The Columbian’s offices to make some personal appearances and get acquainted with people in Vancouver.
- 50 years ago
The Clark County Sheriff’s Office and Vancouver police broke up a scheme for defrauding “variety stores of record albums” late in November 1974. Local law enforcement recovered an estimated $10,000 in new albums and arrested two suspects, with more arrests expected. Detectives first learned of the scheme when an assistant store manager at Hi-School Pharmacy alerted them that a man claiming to be a representative of Cascade Records “indicated he was there to replace the record supply with a fresh selection of albums.” The man then took 500 records from the racks, put them in his car, declined to give a receipt, and gave the store 400 low-quality albums.
