General Nyel of THOM

Among his other responsibilities today, General Nyel of The Honorary Oysterville Militia (THOM) has been asked to oversee the firing of the cannon. Because this is Memorial Day, it is his thought that he should also read out the names of those THOM members who have gone on to their reward. He wants to include all of them going back to 2004 when the group was formed.

Oysterville Daybook readers may remember that THOM was organized at the time of Oysterville’s Sesquicentennial in 2004. It was Nyel’s idea that the village should have a cannon to replace the one that was used here in the early days on ceremonial occasions. Cannons are expensive so we formed The Honorary Oysterville Militia and offered friends and family the opportunity to buy commissions. We raised enough money to purchase an exact replica of an 1841 mountain howitzer and to have it shipped from the factory in Coolville, Ohio. It, like it’s long-ago predecessor, is fired only on ceremonial occasions and only with blank charges.

BOOM!

As a Major in THOM and the General’s Aide de Camp (but mostly as the wife and record-keeper of the household), it is my duty to provide him with a roster of the deceased members. Even with all the technology of the modern age, this is not an easy chore – mostly because THOM is seldom notified that one of our own has died. If the member lives locally or if he or she is a friend or relative, we usually learn the news eventually. But not always.

Below are the names that will be read today. We hope that we have included everyone but welcome information about others we may have overlooked.

Pvt. Phil Baker
Lt. Geraldine L. Bell
Pvt. Joanne Dangerfield
Lt. Louise M. Espy
Capt. Otto A. Finley
Capt. Dale Espy Little
Lt. Thomas E. Olson
Lt. George W. Power
Lt. Whip Manning
Lt. Cloyd Masengill
Cpl. Kent Sibbald
Pvt. Ed Stonebreaker
Lt. Joseph Vona
Capt. Larry J. Weathers
Capt. Polly Friedlander
Lt. Dick Davidson
Lt. Pi Howell
Pvt. Patricia Hammond
Pvt. Ron Huber
Pvt. Rodney Williams
Lt. Gordon Schoewe