The Rivalry of the Rails
A baseball series between Aberdeen and Montesano turned into a rowdy town affair, complete with a band parade and umpire disputes.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The Aberdeen boys went up to Montesano Saturday and did them up to the tune of 9 to 0. On Monday the Montesano boys came down on a hand car, and worked up enough muscle and enthusiasm to return the compliment by 5 to 4. Saturday's game was well contested, the Aberdeen club excelling in both batting and fielding. Upon their return they were received by an enthusiastic crowd, headed by the band, and escorted around the town. Monday's game was a fine one, and while the home team feel that they lost through the rank ruling of the umpire, yet they can be well satisfied to have lost by so close a score.
“On Monday the Montesano boys came down on a hand car, and worked up enough muscle and enthusiasm to return the compliment.”
Town rivalries were the lifeblood of social life in early Pacific Northwest settlements. The use of a hand car for travel and the band-led parade highlight how central baseball was to defining the identity and morale of small timber towns.
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