MARYSVILLE – Gary Smith was on a “bucket list” mission. He wanted to find The Marysville Globe he printed 50 years ago during the Strawberry Festival.

It contained one of the first color pictures ever in the newspaper – one of the royalty court. But what made it really stand out was the front page. In huge, block, upper-case letters at the top it read: “STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL WEEK IS HERE.”

The headline was printed in psychedelic colors.

“It was the hippy days,” he said. “Psychedelic stuff was the talk of the town.”

It was his first job. Smith, 22 at the time, ended up working at The Globe for 9 1/2 years. Since 1983 he’s owned a commercial printing operation in Mukilteo called Adpro Litho Inc.

Smith, 73, found the paper at Sound Publishing, which owns The Globe and the Arlington Times. He took a cell phone picture of it. Looking through the June 15, 1967, edition, he noticed Bob Buttke, a recent grand parade marshal, took the color photograph of the court and float. Smith pointed out that the biographies of the girls on the royal court contained their measurements.

Other front page stories:

•Bids opening on Interstate 5 freeway construction.

•A death investigation of a boy who had been run over by a car.

•A picnic with a chess competition and special fishing contest for women.

•A couple obtaining a marriage license.

•Ads for Marysville Chiropractic and First Federal’s public service ad promoting the festival and Miss Marysville Joy Woll.