In this installment of a Look Back in Time, the Friday, May 3, 1935, edition of The Chronicle reported that Evelyn Clark, of Centralia, was charged with first-degree murder after allegedly gunning down a former lover on Salzer Valley Road after he ended their affair.
Packwood and Randle residents who experienced a brief power outage on Saturday morning were informed by Lewis County Public Utilities District officials the outage had been caused by an “inquisitive squirrel,” according to the Tuesday, May 3, 1955, edition of The Chronicle.
And in the Monday, May 3, 1965, edition of The Chronicle, approximately 12,000 cubic yards of dirt and rock had been blasted free in the first major excavation work carried out as construction began on the Mossyrock Dam.
A Look Back in Time is compiled using Chronicle archives at the Lewis County Historical Museum along with digital archives on newspapers.com.
Friday, May 3, 1935
• Evelyn Clark, of Centralia, was charged with first-degree murder in Lewis County Superior Court after she allegedly shot and killed Ed J. Nixon, The Chronicle reported. According to a witness, Clark shot Nixon three times following an argument they got into after driving down Salzer Valley Road. “Brief statements by the woman and testimony at the inquest, conducted by Dr. W. D. Turner, county coroner, indicated that the shooting was the result of Nixon terminating an ‘affair’ that had been going on between the two.” After she was initially apprehended, Clark told police that after shooting Nixon she “tried to kill herself, but the gun wouldn’t go off.”
• The Chronicle featured an Associated Press story about a labor strike and walkouts at lumber mills in Olympia. “Three hundred workers in four Olympia mills walked out. Officials of the companies said they probably would remain closed because they could not meet demands for a 75 cents an hour minimum wage, a six-hour day and a 30-hour week.” An additional 750 workers walked out of a logging camp near Portland, joining 1,100 already on strike, and 1,400 other workers also went on strike at lumber mills and camps in Wauna, Knappa, Everett and Astoria.
• Chris Nagle, of Napavine, was injured and later died at a Longview hospital after a tree limb fell on him at the Long Bell Lumber Company logging camp at Ryderwood, The Chronicle reported. “Nagle had resided near Napavine 26 years. Surviving are his widow, Mrs. Effie Nagle, four sons, Arthur Nagle of San Diego, California, Lester, of Tacoma, (and) Alfred and Ernest, of Napavine, (and) four daughters, Myrtle, of Castle Rock, Emma, of Winlock, Beulah and Pearl, of Napavine.”
• The Chronicle featured an Associated Press story about an investigation into an abduction that occurred in Gallup, New Mexico. The two men abducted were Robert Minor, editor of The Daily Worker, and attorney David Levinson. They were in New Mexico acting as legal counsel for 10 mine workers who had been charged with murder following an incident where three unarmed workers were shot and killed by the local sheriff’s department. The two men were “assertedly abducted from (Gallup) by hooded hoodlums,” severely beaten and then left for dead in the New Mexico desert. After being dumped in the desert, the men were discovered by a Navajo man driving a Federal Indian Service truck, who picked them up and took them to a hospital in Tohatchi about 20 miles north of Gallup.
• A four-bedroom house along with four lots of property of unspecified acreage in Centralia were for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $600.
Thursday, May 3, 1945
• The Civil Aeronautics Authority officially designated the “million-dollar” Chehalis-Centralia Airport as an “open field” once again allowing civilian aviation to take off and land there, The Chronicle reported. This followed a “four-year period during which it could only be used for emergency landings” during World War II. Civilian flight training was also allowed once more, and reopening the airport came just in time “as dedicatory ceremonies have been scheduled for the airport Sunday, when a Boeing B-29 Superfortress, possibly a United Airlines Mainliner and a display of various types of transportation in use since the establishment of Lewis County 100 years ago will be shown.”
• Marc Burdick, of Centralia, had submitted his resignation as the assistant manager of the National Bank of Commerce Centralia branch, The Chronicle reported. Burdick was resigning as he had accepted a new job as office manager and public relations director for the Linscott Manufacturing Company in Centralia. “The move ends 21 years of service for the Centralian with the banking establishment.”
• The Chronicle featured an Associated Press story about Nazi German forces finally surrendering in Italy to Allied military forces. “The German military forces in northern Italy and western Austria surrendered Wednesday, bringing a climactic victory to the allied troops of many nations who fought a bitter campaign up the length of the Italian peninsula.” It was also reported that Berlin, German, had finally been captured by Soviet Russian troops the day prior. “Flaming Berlin’s last strongholds were crumbling before the Russians, who had gained a firm hold on much of the administrative heart of the city and were battering at the barricaded entrances of the Germans’ underground fortress in the famous Tiergarten.”
• Chehalis School District music departments were preparing to hold a music festival titled “I hear America singing” on the upcoming Friday, The Chronicle reported. “The festival will feature group and solo singing of American folk songs in colorful, historical settings in American life.”
• A “comfortable five-room modern home” with a garage, hen house, barn and orchard with river access on five and a half acres of “garden ground” was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $3,150.
Tuesday, May 3, 1955
• An “inquisitive squirrel” was blamed by Lewis County Public Utilities District (PUD) workers for causing a power outage throughout both Packwood and Randle, The Chronicle reported. The outage occurred over the weekend on Saturday morning and lasted just over an hour, resulting in damages totalling $250 to the Randle PUD substation. “PUD Manager Merle Johnston said the squirrel apparently investigated the oil switch mechanism of the station. He touched a wire to perfect a ground and 7,200 volts blasted him into a scorched bit of fur.” The resulting power arc caused a short circuit which blew out two 69,000 volt fuses, cutting power to the entire region for about 65 minutes.
• The Chronicle featured an Associated Press story about the Washington State Highway Commission approving a new two-state agreement and plans with Oregon pursuing funding for a new bridge over the Columbia River in Vancouver along with modernizing the existing bridge. “Under the agreement, Washington and Oregon will work together in an effort to get the federal funds for the $2,760,000 reconstruction job.” Construction of the new bridge was estimated to cost an additional $11 million. “If federal aid is not obtainable, officials said, the two states will rebuild the old bridge and pay for the work with bonds to be retired by tolls.”
• Lewis County Prosecutor John Panesko said he had no new leads in the investigation of the death of Norris Belcher in Packwood on Friday following an argument with his brother Kenneth Belcher, The Chronicle reported. The only witness was Norris’ wife, Edith Belcher. Panesko stated “she (Mrs. Edith Belcher) swears there was no blow struck. She says they were under a street light and she was not 10 feet away. He took two steps back and just slumped to the ground. When she turned him over on his back he was dead.” An autopsy performed on Norris revealed he had died of a broken neck, and his brother, Kenneth, was voluntarily remaining in the Lewis County Jail.
• The Chronicle featured an Associated Press story about Richard Petersen, a “husky 16-year-old” who was choosing to plead insanity following a shooting spree in Pasco on April 1. He allegedly killed Pasco Police Officer Alva Jackson and his own father, P. H. Peterson, and was also charged with second-degree assault for allegedly injuring his grandfather. “The 200-pound youth appeared in court wearing jeans and a light purple shirt … Police said young Petersen started shooting after an argument with his parents and that Jackson was fatally wounded when he attempted to disarm him.”
• A “six-room modern house” with a barn and chicken coop on 30 acres with farm machinery and cattle in Rochester was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $10,000. A “five-room modern house” in Chehalis was listed for rent for $30 a month.
Monday, May 3, 1965
• Blasting had begun at the construction site for the Mossyrock Dam, The Chronicle reported. “A huge blast heard late Friday knocked loose some 12,000 cubic yards of rock and earth in what has been described by the City of Tacoma as the first major excavation for the new Mossyrock Dam.” The blast work was done on the southern bank of the Cowlitz River and debris removal was underway. Engineers estimated an additional 2.7 million cubic yards of material would need to be removed to complete the new hydro-electric dam.
• Clyde Leathers, of Winlock, was listed as being in satisfactory condition at the veterans hospital in Vancouver with third-degree burns over 30% of his body, The Chronicle reported. “He re-entered his burning home in a desperate attempt to recover some valuables … His clothing caught fire and he staggered out from the building.” The home was a total loss.
• The Chronicle featured an Associated Press story about the ongoing trial of Collie Leroy Wilkins, one of three Ku Klux Klan members charged with murder in Alabama. The victim was Viola Gregg Liuzzo, a 39-year-old mother of five from Detroit, Michigan, and “the first white woman killed in the Civil Rights’ struggle.” Wilkins’ defense attorney Matt H. Murphy Jr., claimed his client would be acquitted before a jury was even selected. “Murphy argued in the pretrial motion, filed last Thursday, that statements made by President (Lyndon B.) Johnson in announcing the arrest of the Klansmen and in denouncing the hooded pro-segregation order, had made it impossible for the defendants to get a trial by an impartial jury. The tall, graying defense attorney, a militant segregationist, issued a subpoena to call the President as a witness, but it was never served.” Liuzzo had travelled to Alabama to join a voting rights march in Montgomery and was shot in the head with a .38 caliber pistol by one of four white men in a sedan. They pursued her car after they saw her shuttling 19-year old Leroy Moton, an African American, back to Selma. Moton survived the ensuing car crash and was covered in Liuzzo’s blood as he laid motionless while the four men inspected the wreck, then flagged down help after they left. In a landmark legal ruling in the South later that year, Wilkins, along with two other Klan members, William Eaton and Eugene Thomas, were convicted by an all-white male jury on federal charges of conspiracy to intimidate African Americans. The fourth man involved was Gary Rowe, an FBI informant who identified Wilkins as the trigger man. However, despite Rowe’s testimony, Wilkins, Eaton and Thomas would all end up being acquitted of first degree murder charges brought by the State of Alabama. For their convictions on the federal charges, Wilkins served seven years, Thomas served six and Eaton died of a heart attack before serving any time.
• Two East Lewis County businesses were the top bidders in two auctions of Gifford Pinchot National Forest timber lots, The Chronicle reported. “The two sales amounted to $197,473 for 7,800,000 board feet of timber.” The first bid was $139,122 for 4,300,000 board feet of timber with an appraised value of $68,682, made by the Mount Adams Veneer Company of Randle. The second bid was $58,351 for 3,500,000 board feet of timber with an appraised value of $40,371, made by the Packwood Lumber Company.
• A “nearly new, three-bedroom” home in Centralia was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $19,000. A “colonial country home” with three bedrooms, a full basement and “room for a pony” in Chehalis was listed for rent for $100 a month.
Saturday, May 3, 1975
• Vader School eighth grade student Robin Elliott was crowned the May Day queen during Vader’s 22nd annual May Day celebration, The Chronicle reported. “Miss Elliott will be joined on the queen’s float during the 10 a.m. parade by her princesses, Janie Dailey … and Winona Davis.”
• Gifford Pinchot National Forest rangers were preparing to hold an open house in Randle concerning off-road vehicle (ORV) regulations on Tuesday, The Chronicle reported. “There, the Randle and Packwood Ranger Districts will conduct an open meeting on ORVs with Rangers Harold Coates, Randle, and Bill Truitt, Packwood, explaining where restricted areas exist and listening to suggestions and ideas from the public.”
• A total of 445 Lewis County property owners signed up by a deadline the previous week for county and state cost-share funds to pay for tansy ragwort weed control chemicals, The Chronicle reported. “Of that total, 365 signed up for ground spraying control while 80 signed up for the funds in the aerial, or helicopter, spraying program.” The program saw the state, county and land owners each paying for a third of the cost for the chemicals. Around 2,000 acres of land were set up to be sprayed by helicopter, while another 19,596 acres were still set to be sprayed by other methods. Cost of the chemicals needed was estimated at $116,712.
• Lewis County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested Anthony Perniconi of Toledo and Robert Phillips of Centralia, The Chronicle reported. Phillips, 29, was charged with criminal trespass and resisting arrest. Perniconi, 20, was charged with resisting arrest and obstructing a police officer along with “drunken driving, illegal possession and consumption of alcohol while a minor.”
• The Chronicle featured an Associated Press story about Washington state legislators redoing a new forest practices law they had passed the year prior. “An attempt at quick action on major revisions in the year-old state forest practices law has temporarily bogged down in the Senate.” While it had been approved by the state House, objections were raised by the speed at which the state Senate substitution bill was brought forward after Sen. Lowell Peterson, D-Concrete and rules committee chairman, had the substitute bill bypass his committee.
• A three-bedroom home with a “good sized family room, custom kitchen,” and a two-car garage on one acre of land in Newaukum was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $32,700. A furnished, one-bedroom home with “all utilities except light” included was listed for rent in Chehalis for $135 a month.
