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In this installment of A Look Back in Time, the Saturday, Nov. 6, 1926, edition of The Chronicle featured a story about more Prohibition raids being carried out in Centralia.
Five hunters were arrested for game violations including hunting after dark, according to the Monday, Nov. 7, 1966, edition of The Chronicle.
And in the Saturday, Nov. 7, 1976, edition of The Chronicle, it was reported the City of Chehalis transferred ownership of its old 1937 American LaFrance fire truck to the Southwest Washington Fair Board, which would maintain and display the truck.
Some Sunday and holiday editions were not in the archives, so stories from the previous days’ editions have been featured instead. When The Chronicle was still a daily newspaper, Sunday editions were often reprints of Saturday editions, unless major breaking news needed to be reported. Additionally, the November-December 1986 microfilm reel is missing from the archives.
A Look Back in Time is compiled using microfilm archives at The Chronicle, physical copies stored at the Lewis County Historical Museum — located at 599 NW Front St. in Chehalis — and digital archives on newspapers.com.
Saturday, Nov. 6, 1926
• Three people were arrested on Prohibition charges the previous evening in Centralia, The Chronicle reported. “City and county officers last night raided a soft drink place on North Tower Avenue operated by Kern & Forsyth and arrested Gus Kern on a charge of possessing liquor. Fourteen pints of liquor are alleged to have been found by the raiders. Kern was released by Justice E.B. Hall on $250 bonds pending his hearing. Tillie Wood and Ivan Jones were also arrested last night, the former on a charge of possessing liquor and Jones for being drunk and disorderly. They are being held in the Lewis County Jail.”
• The Chronicle featured an Associated Press story about federal Prohibition agents being fired “conduct ‘distinctly unbecoming of federal officers,’” after several agents held up an “unidentified but reportedly prominent government official” in the nation’s capital. “... The dismissed agents were Robert L. Livingston, deputy Prohibition administrator for the district, and agents J. Carter, James Cook and John Fitzpatrick. ‘Agents may not rush about city streets and country roads holding up automobiles without the slightest cause, using drawn revolvers and talking abusively to the occupants of the automobiles they stop,’ said General (Lincoln Clark) Andrews in connection with the dismissals. ‘Such conduct is not becoming to a federal officer and must be stopped.’ While none of the three agents ever will be reappointed to the federal service under any circumstances, he added, Livingston may be given another enforcement field. The name of the occupant of the seized machine was not revealed, but officials said that they desired to lay all possible emphasis upon the dismissal of the agents, and not on the prominence of the automobiles occupants. ‘The same thing would have been done,’ they commented, ‘no matter whose car had been stopped in such a manner.’”
• A “small house” on a 70x200-foot lot “just west of town on highway” was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for “small payment down, balance $10 (a) month.” A five-room bungalow at 117 ½ N. Tower Ave. in downtown Centralia was listed for rent for $25 a month.
Saturday, Nov. 7, 1936
• A total of 18 candidates filed to run for Centralia mayor and city commission seats, The Chronicle reported. “The period for filing candidates for city offices was to close at the city hall this afternoon with 18 aspirants in the race, five of them seeking election as mayor and the others as commissioners. Two will be nominated for mayor and four for commissioners in the primary on Nov. 23. The election will be held Dec. 7. Running for mayor are Dr. D.O. Nugent, incumbent; Dr. O.E. Nelson, E.L. Peck, E.O. McNeely and David Robinson, Jr. Candidates for commissioner are B.H. Johnston and Hiram Green, incumbents; Frank A. Martin, W.G. Beckim, Stanley Bowling, John Raught, Rom Rowswell, Vernon Fear, H.I. Matthews, Charles C. Swartwood, Theodore Hoss, Harry Graves and J.E. Chantler. Rowswell is a former mayor, and Swartwood and Hoss have previously served as commissioners.”
• “Teams” of horses were listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds starting at $150. “Perfect apples” were listed for sale for $0.50 a sack.
Thursday, Nov. 7, 1946
• Following a “momentous Republican victory” in the midterms that year, The Chronicle featured Associated Press stories about U.S. Sen. James Fulbright, D-Arkansas, saying Democratic President Harry Truman should resign, and Truman simply answering “no comment,” when asked about the election results. “Senator J. William Fulbright (D-Ark.) said today that since the Republicans have captured both houses of Congress, ‘President Truman should appoint a Republican secretary of state and resign from office.’ Fulbright said flatly, ‘it probably would be the wisest thing for the president to do.’ The Democratic senator from Arkansas added: ‘I am not asking the president to resign. I am only suggesting it would be the best thing for the country as a whole.’” While he didn’t respond to Fulbright’s statement, Truman didn’t say anything at all when asked about the election. “President Truman returned to Washington today, without comment on the outcome of yesterday’s elections. The chief executive, however, promised to state his reaction at a news conference in the near future. He was met at the train by Dean Acheson, undersecretary of state, and Captain James Foskett, the president’s naval aide. Reporters, crowding around, asked his reaction to the Democratic setbacks. ‘No comment,’ he replied. Then he added that he would see the reporters in a day or two. ‘At a press conference?’ a reporter asked. Mr. Truman nodded affirmatively. The chief executive, who remained up until 2 a.m. reading election returns and listening to the radio, was smiling as he arrived at union station with Mrs. Truman and his daughter, Margaret. They accompanied him from Independence, Missouri, where all three voted.”
• A six-room home with a barn, hen house and two wells on 10 acres of land “about three miles from town” was “priced for quick sale” in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $2,000. A small three-room home on 15th Street in Chehalis was listed for sale for $2,350.
Wednesday, Nov. 7, 1956
• While Republican President Dwight Eisenhower won re-election with a “landslide vote,” The Chronicle featured an Associated Press story about Democrats taking control of Congress. “Never before in the history of the present two-party system had a president failed to carry to election with him at least one branch of Congress. One of the Democrats’ members-elect to the House, Rep. Antonio M. Fernandez of New Mexico, died shortly after his re-election. The seat must be filled in a special election, with election of a Democrat expected. Fernandez was a veteran of 14 years in Congress. At the time the Democrats reached the 219 mark, one more than a bare majority, Republicans had elected 197. Of the 435 House seats, 19 still were undecided, with Democrats ahead in 14 and Republicans in five. Democrats had elected 17 senators and Republicans 15, with Democrats ahead in an undecided contest in Kentucky and Republicans leading in South Dakota. Democrats have 31 holdovers and Republicans 30. Republican Sen. James H. Duff of Pennsylvania, one of Eisenhower’s earliest supporters, went down to defeat at the hands of Democrat Joseph S. Clark Jr., 55-year-old former mayor of Philadelphia.”
• A four-bedroom home with a shop building on one acre of land with “more acreage available” 10 miles south of Chehalis on Old Highway 99 was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $10,000. A partly-furnished, three-bedroom home with “farm privileges” six miles outside of Centralia was listed for rent for $45 a month.
Monday, Nov. 7, 1966
• Five people were arrested on alleged game violations over the weekend according to Lewis County Sheriff Orville Amondson, The Chronicle reported. “Amondson said Edward Bries, 33, Winlock, and Earl E. Smith, 36, Seattle, were charged with illegal possession of deer meat and for shooting after dark. In addition, Smith was cited for carrying a concealed weapon in his car, Each posted $250 bail pending Napavine Justice Court trials before Judge William Robbins. George L. Lambert, 20, Pacific, and Arthur C. Stearns, 33, Pacific, were arrested by state game department officers on charges of hunting with an artificial light. A 17-year-old juvenile accompanying them was also cited into juvenile court and released to his parents. The other two men remain in Lewis County Jail Monday in lieu of $250 bail each, Amondson said. The sheriff said the trio was allegedly shooting at a deer in an orchard on the Middle Fork Road at 11:30 p.m., Saturday.”
• A furnished, four-room home, “newly painted inside, outside,” in a “good location” Centralia was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $4,500. A downstairs, one-bedroom apartment was listed for rent for $45 a month.
Saturday, Nov. 7, 1976
• After searching for a new home for the fire truck earlier in 1976 as featured in previous Look Backs, the City of Chehalis held a ceremony to mark the transfer of its old 1937 American LaFrance fire truck in an effort to save it after replacing it with a new model, with the LaFrance becoming property of Lewis County, The Chronicle reported. “In a brief ceremony Thursday, Chehalis Mayor Vivian Roewe handed the keys of the 1937 LaFrance Fire Engine No. 2 to Cub Balmelli of Chehalis, who serves as the president of the Southwest Washington Fair Board. The gift from the City of Chehalis was arranged through Paul McBride, executive vice president of the Chehalis Chamber of Commerce. The fire fighting unit was recently replaced by a new unit by the Chehalis Fire Department. The vintage piece of fire equipment has been maintained in concourse condition. The original operator’s manual as well as complete records of maintenance since its purchase were included with the gift. The Lewis County commissioners will house and maintain the vehicle on the fairgrounds and put it on display at fair-time annually. The unit will also be available for local parades and exhibitions. Present at the conveyance of the equipment were Mayor Roewe, Balmelli, George Hauer, president of the Chehalis Chamber of Commerce, McBride and Harley Thompson, assistant chief of the Chehalis Fire Department. The 500-gallon LaFrance pumper will be cared for with the cooperation of the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 2510 of Chehalis. Dave Sabin, president of the local organization, will check the equipment at least once a month to ensure proper maintenance of the equipment as well as its preservation. The unit is fully equipped and is still an effective emergency vehicle. At fair time, according to Balmelli, the LaFrance will join other pieces of memorabilia in Olde Towne Heritage Street. Olde Towne was created on the fairgrounds in commemoration of the bicentennial edition of the 1976 Southwest Washington Fair.” While the fire truck did eventually fall into disrepair, in 2024 members of the IAFF Local 2510 completed restoration efforts, and the old LaFrance is now featured in multiple parades and events in the Mint City, including ChehalisFest and the Chehalis Santa Parade.
• A two-bedroom home with a fireplace and “large fenced yard” at 845 Maryland Ave. in Chehalis was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $21,900. A “small” home in the Napavine School District was listed for rent for $145 a month with a $50 deposit.
Thursday, Nov. 7, 1996
• Centralia Middle School Principal Neal Kirby announced three of his students had been suspended after an incident on Halloween where a student used the “blade on a nail cutter” to cut another student, The Chronicle reported. “... Kirby described the incident this way: A group of students was practicing guitar in the choir room at the school when two male students entered the room. The two were asked to leave. When those playing guitar became more insistent, one of the two kicked a music stand which struck a student. At that point, a girl playing the guitar showed the blade on the nail cutter and told the two that she would cut them if they didn’t leave. One of the two held out his arm and said something to the effect of, ‘Oh yeah?’ The girl then cut his arm. The student who used the nail cutter was given an emergency 20-day expulsion, Kirby said in a prepared announcement. The student will be readmitted after the expulsion only if it is determined she is no longer a threat. Another student, who gave her the nail cutter, was suspended for five days for bringing a weapon to school. The cut student suffered a minor injury, which Kirby described as looking like a ‘cat scratch.’ The student had his wound treated with a Band-Aid. He also was suspended for three days for precipitating the incident by harassing the other student.”
• A two-bedroom home with a gazebo, hot tub and wood stove on the deck and dock access on Lake Mayfield was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $70,000. A two-bedroom home in Centralia was listed for rent for $450 a month with a $200 deposit.
