I'm Stumped! Who
is Bryan?
The information contained below is taken from an article in
The Vidette from November 13, 2003, by reporter Candace Nelson, who
obtained much of the information from Montesano local historian Pat
Clemons:
In 1932, the Montesano Parks Board named Bryan Park in honor of
Thomas M. Bryan, a former longtime Montesano Mayor and civil war
veteran who died in 1911. The park has seen significant events and
is home to some historical trees.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, the first president to visit Montesano,
slowed his motorcade to look at the park and the City’s
monument to the war dead when he left town.
The Tideland Spruce growing in the park is reportedly a descendent
of the Lone Tree that Captain Robert Gray used as a landmark on
Damon Point to direct sailors into the harbor. In 1934, winds blew
the tree down, spreading cones, which later grew into seedlings.
Former Mayor J.E. Calder presented a seedling to the Robert Gray
Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the City of
Montesano. The seedling was planted in Bryan Park.
A black walnut tree at the east end of the park was planted March
23, 1939, in memory of Professor Eldridge Wheeler, a former
superintendent of Montesano schools, who requested the walnut tree
from a Boy Scout troop.
The park also contains a memorial tree to Johnny Chambers, who was
Montesano’s first victim of the Vietnam War.
Excerpted from a letter to the editor of The Vidette from Ann
Combes, Elma WA, November 27, 2003:
He (Johnny Chambers) was killed during "Operation Cedar Falls" near
the Iron Triangle on the Cambodian border on Jan. 8, 1967, just
four months after leaving Fort Lewis. The letter from his
commanding officer stated "Although seriously wounded, he continued
to maneuver his personnel carrier to a more advantageous position,
saving the lives of other members of his squad." For this action,
Johnny received the Bronze Star Medal with a "V" for Valor and the
Purple Heart posthumously at a ceremony in Fort Lewis.
There is no need to venture out of the park, and doing so may
subject you to arrest for trespassing on Railroad Right Of
Way.
