The Devil's Own: Oak Harbor's Waggish Protest Against the Preacher
When a reverend tried to post a notice for his Sunday sermon in the Grange Hall, the locals of Oak Harbor responded with a satirical flyer that dared the Devil himself to show up.
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 town of Oak Harbor is slowly developing and promises in time to rise to the dignity of a quiet country village. It can boast of three dwellings, two good-sized warehouses, two stores, one blacksmith shop, one grange hall and post office.
Orders have arrived from the department at Washington extending the Seattle and Whatcom mail route to this place, which will connect, as with the rest of the Walla Walla by steamer and mail twice a week.
There is a sort of audacious, independent, and self-reliant spirit pervading the people here, of which the following incident is illustrative. A certain Rev. Gentleman sent a note to a friend here that he would preach on a certain day in the Grange Hall and requested that a written notice be posted announcing the appointment; whereupon a wagish non-conformist rose and posted the following:
NOTICE. Rev. will preach in the Grange Hall at Oak Harbor on Sunday July 1, at three o'clock P.M. All are cordially invited to attend. Now then ye workers of iniquity take notice and be on hand without fail at the appointed time and place, and be saved before it is ever lastingly too late. The Devil feels sure of one-half of Oak Harbor settlement already; and hell is gaping for the other half; then hurry up and be saved, and disappoint the Devil in his calculations, as well as further your own interests. M.
This 1877 notice captures a distinctly Pacific Northwest brand of secular skepticism and community humor. While modern towns might use social media to mock local events or religious gatherings, this frontier community used physical flyers and sharp wit to assert their independence from traditional authority figures.
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