In this installment of A Look Back in Time, the Friday, Jan. 24, 1936, edition of The Chronicle featured a story about U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials considering constructing a new airfield at the Colvin Ranch near Tenino.
Remains consisting of “bones of varying sizes and believed to be human” were discovered amongst the burned ruins of Chehalis’ Star Tavern and Lunch in “an apparent secret underground cement vault,” according to the Monday, Jan. 24, 1966, edition of The Chronicle.
And in the Saturday, Jan. 24, 1976, edition of The Chronicle, a feature story was ran on Mary’s Corner resident Finley Hays, a retired logger, author of the book “Lies, Logs and Loggers,” and publisher and editor of the monthly Loggers World newspaper, which he founded in 1964.
A Look Back in Time is compiled using Chronicle archives stored at the Lewis County Historical Museum — located at 599 NW Front St. in Chehalis — along with digital archives on newspapers.com.
Friday, Jan. 24, 1936
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials were considering constructing a new Army airfield at the Colvin Ranch area near Tenino, The Chronicle reported. Washington state Sen. and Centralia Mayor Dale Nugent announced the area was under consideration for the new airfield during a Centralia City Council meeting. “He stated that a site west of Tenino had the preference of Army engineers and that there would be no expense to local people. A committee from the city council will go to Seattle with Dr. Nugent in a few days to press Tenino’s cause and if possible consummate the location of the air-base. The preference seems to center now on the Colvin Ranch just west of Tenino. The need is for about a square mile of flat land with a hill adjacent which can be used for underground hangars. The fact that the area west of town has less fog than most sections of this part of the state is a point considerably in favor of the local site.” The expected cost to construct the new airfield was at least $5 million. “The field would also be used as a base for commercial planes and may be a terminal for airmail planes. It would form the western end of a string of air bases through Montana and eastward. Tenino would, in effect, become the air center of the northwest.” Ultimately, Army officials settled on constructing a new airfield at the existing Fort Lewis base in 1938, and the Colvin family still owns and runs the Colvin Ranch near Tenino — selling both grass-fed beef and pork products at retail locations in the region and online on the ranch’s website, https://colvinranch.com/.
• A local grange member committee, appointed by Lewis County Commissioner Guy Balfour, approved 11 different recreational construction projects for local children throughout the county, The Chronicle reported. “The projects are almost entirely on school property. The projects are for the construction of tennis courts, grading of athletic fields and other athletic conveniences. Projects and estimates of money needed follow: Evaline, school, $750; St. Urban, grange grounds, $750; Forest, school, $1,000; Vader, school, $1,250; Pe Ell, school, $1,200; Valley and Newaukum Hill schools, $850; Doty, school, $850; Dryad, school, $550; Adna, school, $1,000; Claquato, school, $400. Programs for recreational projects in the two other commissioner districts are being planned. Lewis County has been allotted a total of $26,890.”
• A total of 300 “white leghorn hens” were listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $1 each.
Thursday, Jan. 24, 1946
• A pair of Centralians who both served in World War I returned from military service once again during World War II as officers, The Chronicle reported. The first was U.S. Army Colonel Lilburn Stevens, who also served in the Army during WWI and before WWII began was the commander of Centralia’s Washington National Guard unit. “Col. Stevens is home temporarily on leave until March 1, and to date his military future is a question. He entered the regular Army Jan. 22, 1941, as a captain, and was overseas in the European Theater 13 months. He commanded the 648th Tank Destroyer Battalion during the war, once going within 20 miles of where he was when World War I ended. Following combat action through France and into Germany with a unit under the late (Army) General (George) Patton, Col. Stevens was placed in command of the 610th Tank Destroyer Battalion. If he leaves Army service, the officer plans to return to Centralia and re-enter business.” The second officer was U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander A.T. Glanville, who actually served as an aviator with the Royal Canadian Air Force during WWI and prior to WWII, was the dean of men at Centralia College. “Comm. Glanville actually began his World War II service in 1941, when he went to Canada as an instructor in the Royal Canadian Air Force, which he served in World War I. In September, 1941, he returned to Centralia to resume his position on the college staff, and then, was practically drafted by the United States Navy in February of the following year as an instructor for aerial navigation. He was sent to a Chicago training school, where he was so outstanding he was retained as an instructor in the subjects he was sent there to learn. Qualified as a naval air observer and navigator, Comm. Glanville served at the naval air station in Livermore, California; at the Hollywood, Florida air station, and then at Pensacola, Florida. There he began operational flying, the work involving combination operational and training flights out to sea. In addition to being a navigation instructor, he became a squadron navigational officer.” Upon his exit from naval service, Glanville moved back to the Hub City with his wife and resumed work once again at Centralia College. “But at present the most pressing problem facing Comm. and Mrs. Glanville is how to locate an apartment or residence.”
• The Southwest Washington Fairgrounds had been selected as host site for the 1946 Pacific Northwest Registered Guernsey Spring Sale cattle auction on April 25 according to American Guernsey Cattle Club Portland field representative Elmer Meadows, The Chronicle reported. “In the city Wednesday to start arrangements for the sales event, the most outstanding in the west last year, with buyers attending from as far away as the Middle East, were Meadows and Charles A. Smith, Medford, Oregon, president of the Oregon State Guernsey Club. Meadows said the 1946 sale will see 55 head of outstanding purebred Guernsey up for auction. The selection of the top-ranking Guernseys has already been made by a selection committee … Two of the Guernseys, it was said, are sisters of the famed Western Glow Martha, which sold last year for $7,500 and won the honor of bringing the highest price ever paid for a Guernsey at a public auction west of the Mississippi River. She was purchased by W(illiam) E. Boeing, Seattle aircraft executive. The 1945 sale of Guernseys set an all-time record, 61 head of purebred stock bringing $54,650, an average of $894.21 a head.”
• A new two-bedroom home with hardwood floors on 120 acres of land “seven miles south of Chehalis” was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $7,850, or with the home furnished, including a washing machine and refrigerator, for $8,500.
Tuesday, Jan. 24, 1956
• A capping ritual ceremony for nine incoming students of Centralia College’s third practical nursing course class was scheduled for Feb. 2 according to Centralia College Dean Frederick Kintzer, The Chronicle reported. “Their caps will be presented by Sister M(ary) Fidelis, director of nursing at the St. Helen Hospital in Chehalis, and by Mrs. Elsie M. Newton, director of nursing at the Lewis County General Hospital in Centralia. Members of the class are Marie Craig, Ruthann Crapson, Hazel Peters and Jacqualn Scott, Centralia; Maude Gerber, Dorothy Huston and Rita Peterson, Chehalis; Lydia Hardy, Rochester, and Leona Studebaker, Winlock. The class is the second instructed for the college by Mrs. June Sipola, and it is quartered at the St. Helen Hospital, where the academic portion of the course is held and where the class is to do clinical work through June. Dr. Kintzer added clinical work will also be done at the general hospital in Centralia. Featured speaker for the capping ritual will be Mrs. Grace Cameron, executive secretary of practical nurse examiners.”
• Voters in the Rochester School District approved a new $20,650 levy to help finish a new Rochester High School building project by a large majority during a special election according to school district Superintendent John Stevens, with the levy being approved by a vote of 350 to 80, The Chronicle reported. “The $20,650 will be needed to purchase supplies, textbooks and equipment lost when the Rochester school burned to the ground in 1954. Stevens said the building program is on schedule and contract requirements call for completion in late July. He said he could see no reason why the new building cannot be occupied as the 1956-57 school year opens.”
• A two-bedroom remodeled “modern home” on a “dandy lot” located at 602 Jefferson St. in Centralia was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds as “must sacrifice, so price has been cut from $5,750 to $3,900.” A two-bedroom furnished duplex with a garage in Centralia was listed for rent for $60 a month.
Monday, Jan. 24, 1966
• Remains consisting of “bones of varying sizes and believed to be human” were discovered amongst the burned ruins of the Star Tavern and Lunch in Chehalis, which was destroyed by a fire a few weeks prior, The Chronicle reported. “The original location was that of an early-day saloon. The bones were found when James Petra, property owner, and Ed Bazinet fell into a hole. It turned out to be an apparent secret underground cement vault. The vault contained one-foot thick cement walls and measured 4x6x6 feet. The men also found a number of old bottles. Hundreds of vials, which may have contained narcotics, Petra said, also were found.” The suspected human remains discovered by Petra and Bazinet were turned over to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office for forensic analysis. While his tavern may have burned down, Petra planned to repurpose the property and build a new family recreation center in the tavern’s place, having already received approval from the Chehalis Planning Commission to move forward on construction with plans to have 10 pool tables and two shuffleboards at the center. “The old Star Tavern building was destroyed by fire on Dec. 28. An antique bar in the building was brought to Chehalis around Cape Horn 80 years ago. The location was one of Chehalis’ oldest downtown business buildings and said to be 85 years old. It was also used as a hiring hall in the early logging days.”
• The Olympia Area Chamber of Commerce had accepted the St. Martin’s College staff’s invitation to hold the 1967 Legislative Ball at the college’s new Capitol Pavillion, The Chronicle reported. “Chamber President Irving Peterson said last week the chamber has been ‘deeply concerned about where we were going to stage the ball, particularly in view of the armory being closed to this type of public functions, and because we have no other buildings in this area large enough to handle the affair.’”
• A home with a garage on nine acres of land in Randle was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $4,500. A two-bedroom furnished home with a “big living room, carport, natural gas heat, TV” in Centralia was listed for rent for $75 a month.
Saturday, Jan. 24, 1976
• The Chronicle ran a feature story on Mary’s Corner resident Finley Hays, a retired logger, author of the book “Lies, Logs and Loggers,” and publisher and editor of the monthly Loggers World newspaper which he founded in 1964. “‘I can’t really tell you why I started to write,’ Hays said. ‘I was a logging camp foreman in Alaska one year when it was storming bad. We couldn’t work and we couldn’t leave because the transport plane only came every two or three weeks, so I started going down to the company office and writing every day to keep from going crazy.’ Ten years ago Hays set up the newspaper in an old grocery store at Mary’s Corner. ‘I got to thinking,’ he said, ‘anytime you get a hundred people together, you can support a trade paper.’ The Loggers World headquarters of today, with the chainsaw carved statues and paintings of loggers at work, could almost be called an art gallery dedicated to logging craftsmen … Hays said he started out on a shoestring budget and two employees. ‘I couldn’t get any writers because they were afraid I couldn’t make the payroll,’ he said. Asked what impact Loggers World had on the wood working industry, Hays replied, ‘Probably none. When all’s said and done, it really doesn’t matter if we’re here or not. We all like to think we’re special, but the loggers can do without us. These guys are the salt of the earth. They get up and go to work before daylight and come home after dark, and they don’t really need anyone to tell them how to log. This paper has been a lot of fun for us,’ Hays said as he lit a cigarette, ‘and I’ll tell you one thing — it sure beats working for a living.’” Hays would go on to sell the Loggers World newspaper to Michael Crouse in 1989, who eventually changed the publication’s format to a monthly magazine with 17,000 subscribers as reported by The Chronicle in 2004. Hays passed away in 2008 at the age of 90, though subscriptions to the Loggers World magazine can still be purchased on its website at https://loggersworld.com/.
• Students of Mount St. Helens High School, now known as Winlock High School, had a new elective program which they could take where they could learn how to ski, The Chronicle reported. “Superintendent Gary Pliler said two teachers have volunteered their time to drive the students to the ski slopes with no charge to the school district. The teachers also serve as chaperones for the students. Each student must pay his or her own transportation, ski lift tickets and lunch. ‘This is the only way this district can offer this kind of activity,’ Pliler said. Pliler said he hopes the ski program will continue to grow.”
• A two-bedroom mobile home on five acres of land in Onalaska was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $15,250. A one-bedroom furnished home with utilities included in Centralia was listed for rent for $100 a month.
