First, let me say that the card many of you signed and the money gift was very much appreciated by Jim Gerchak. He works for the Dept of Fish & Wildlife and has been responsible for mowing and maintaining the game fields (the old Malinowski Ranch) for many years. He has opened the gate and allowed the family in for a some reunions and at least one memorial. He must be nearing retirement and we can only hope that the next person will be as understanding of our heritage.
Secondly, The trip to the ranch Becky Carossino arranged was fun. The kids who came along enjoyed the river and got a touch of the feeling many of us had with reunion picnics there over the years. I camped there with friends to celebrate my high school graduation!
Anyway, Emily Airhart & I put together a little “tour guide” if you decide to drive the Wishkah, which highlights a few Malinowski related spots along the way. The 0.0 point is the beginning of Wishkah Road where B Street “y’s” off.
The Malinowski Wishkah Tour
The Wishkah area has been home to many Malinowski related families over the years and to this day.
0.1
2316 Wishkah Rd. This home was originally owned by Ed & Francis Malinowski & sold to Wallace & Soph Malinowski Davidson. They raised their 6 kids there. Soph lived there until she died. The house was back to back with home of Arnie & Mary Malinowski Evensen who raised there two boys there (Theirs faced Victory Way). Later their son Don Evensen & Becky Airhart Carossino also had homes on Victory Way.
3.6??
The House of Pestilence (known as The Pest House).
From Beth Malinowski’s Interview with Emily Airhart:
E: And what was the pest house?
B: It was people that had small pox or anything that were contagious. They’d put them up there. It was a kind of silly thing. Joe said that when he used to drive horses past he’d tell e’one to “hold their breath”. And he’d jog up the horses and make’em go.
E: Was that maintained by the county?
B: I guess it was, Sis. Because I was…my mother was up there. She had smallpox and they took her up there. It was about the time Joe & I were married. That was 1913. I…it was still there then, but soon after that it was gone, I know.
Leutz Road is a loop. Go .4 mile past the first appearance of the road where it loops back to meet Wishkah Road. The Pest house was to the left of the Leutz Road. It is a little difficult to see as it sits back but faces Wishkah Road.
Mrs. Perrone, who later resided at the site, said there are a number of unmarked graves behind the home. She worked for the coroner for many years and believes the only records kept were probably of people who didn’t survive their stay there. The State came and collected those records a number of years ago. She doesn’t know what happened from there.
4.3
Mary Achey (Beth Achey Malinowski’s grandmother) homesteaded Lots 3, 4, & 9, of sec 15 & lot 2 in sec 22, Tp 18 N, R 9 W just past a sharp turn is a road off to right of Wishkah Road. Grays Harbor changed mapping systems and I can’t see the parcel map to calculate the acreage but I know each of the “lots” encompassed acres. So I think it was about 80 acres.
5?
The Aberdeen Garden one room school was about one block up Aberdeen Garden Road. It was where Francis Koslowski taught before she married Ed Malinowski. It is believed that the school had operated in a slightly different location earlier. At that time, the teacher was Beth’s grandfather, Phillip Achey.
8.0
Turner Bridge is a long bridge located where the main Wishkah River intersects with the East Fork. It was called Grand Forks. It was the site of a post office. It was there Sven Johnson terminated the run of his tugboat, “The Fyer”, when he brought supplies upriver. Folks waited there to catch a ride with him to town. The other alternative was to hike or leave a wagon & team and take a canoe to town. There really was no road and it was very impassible. Elizabeth Malinowski made her first trip to town when she graduated from the Malinowski School! They were very isolated on the Wishkah.
(Antoni would draw around each child’s foot, who needed shoes and didn’t fit a pair of hand- me-downs, to order the needed sizes.)
10.1
Hamilton Canyon used to have a bridge instead of just a dip in the road. There has been considerable fill added to the site. This was the location of the Malinowski’s first home in Grays Harbor, a rental. In 1909 Elizabeth was born while they lived there.
11.7
4625 Wishkah Road was the home of Mel & Emily Malinowski Moe. They raised their two children there. It’s currently home to their grandson Dale.
14.9
Antoni M. and his family left the Hamilton canyon house when he bought the OK Logging operation and it’s buildings in 1911. The site is on the right. It has a yellow metal logging gate. Look for it shortly after you pass 5045 Wishkah Road. (The Pekola family has lived there since before the Malinowskis. Emily Airhart says the house looked exactly the same when she was young and has always been perfectly cared for.)
He converted the cook house into a home.
Another building became the Malinowski school.
(Soph standing on porch. Teacher is Francis Koslowski -later Malinowski. Several Malinowski children are in group.)
15
The ranch house was on the left side of road marked by another yellow metal gate. The building was started by another family (The Bell’s) and later Antoni moved his family there. Ranch house site was on the left side of the Wishkah Road & right side of road is the remnants of the orchard.
Several miles beyond the ranch was the Walter Achey’s (Beth’s uncle) Homestead. It is now the salmon hatchery. Mary Achey was there being cared for when she died.
One business operating in the Valley was the Wishkah Boom Company. (Ira Blackwell – Beth’s uncle – was one of the initial owners). They built and operated the main river splash dam (Called by some the Malinowski Splash after the operator for many years, Joe). Joe & Beth lived at the site for many years.
Lower down on the river, they also had “boommen” (Arne Evensen worked as one for a while) who sorted the logs by ‘brand’ stamped on the butt. These were boomed up and towed to the appropriate mill in town.
Malinowski Dam now the source of water for the City of Aberdeen. The Dam was named for Joe Malinowski for the many ears of
Named in honor of Joe Malinowski
dedicated service he gave to the City of Aberdeen as chief mechanic, as well as, overseeing the water system. The site of Stewart’s Park was his home, as well as, the emergency pump station for city water.
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5 responses to “2016 Reunion -Ranch Run”
Anthony Airhart
Other Wishkah Boom Company principles included one Bill Boeing. He made a few bucks logging in Grays Harbor and used them to start another business…which has grown a bit through the years.
Log branding irons looked like sledgehammers, only with the brand on one end. When hammered into the cut end of a log it left an impression that ran deep into the wood. You couldn’t even cut a thin slice off the end of the log to hide it.
Grandpa Malinowski had a brand. I may be wrong but Square D Logging? A Square brand with a capital D inside? Emily Airhart may know or it can be looked up st the Aberdeen Museum. While there, you can see Sam Benn’s branding hammer.
Looked it up. In a square but it was an M for logging fine 6/9/1909 and an A in a circle for cattle 6/21/1913. (Copies of oth filings are on the CD I made for many of you a few years ago.)
An excerpt from the biography of Antoni I wrote, posted on this site:
From Joe: “The Hamilton boys wanted us logging up the Wishkah just below Cedar Creek. I went to work for the Hamilton boys driving a team. I was 15 years old.”1 That would make it 1906). The family rented the home in the Hamilton Canyon. Mary remembered living in two different houses at Hamilton Canyon…“Hamilton’s lived there because they had a big house there. We eventually lived in that house. We moved out of the small house and into that big house. It had an upstairs and all.” Elizabeth was born at Hamilton Canyon. It appears they were probably still living at Hamilton Canyon in 1909 when Antoni registers his M brand for the Malinowski Logging Company. This must have been a short venture into the logging business.
yellow metal gate. 
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