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In this installment of A Look Back in Time, the Saturday, Sept. 18, 1926, edition of The Chronicle featured a story about Lewis County Sheriff Frank Roberts being arrested by federal agents on charges of being involved in an illegal liquor ring during Prohibition.
Onalaska resident Charles Coleman said he was “lucky to be alive” after surviving an 80-foot fall off a cliff in East Lewis County, according to the Wednesday, Sept. 19, 1956, edition of The Chronicle.
And in the Thursday, Sept. 19, 1996, edition of The Chronicle, it was reported that a local Centralia baker was catering lunch for U.S. President Bill Clinton and his entourage during his Hub City visit that day, along with the Hamilton’s changing the messages on their famous Uncle Sam sign along Interstate 5 to greet the president.
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.
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, Sept. 18, 1926
• Lewis County Sheriff Frank Roberts and former Chehalis police officer Robert Fallon were arrested by federal agents on charges of violating the Volstead Act, also known as Prohibition, after a federal grand jury in Tacoma indicted them, The Chronicle reported. “According to information furnished by federal officials, prominent city officials and business men of Chehalis laid information before the grand jury regarding an alleged liquor ring, the operations of which extended throughout Lewis County, and the arrest of the two men followed … Deputy Marshal Knizek is a former resident of Chehalis and intimately acquainted with the two men whom he arrested … Sheriff Roberts seemed stunned when Knizek formally placed him under arrest. He remarked that he could hardly believe it and added that, ‘he couldn’t imagine anything they had on him’ … Fallon is a former day patrolman on the Chehalis police force and was discharged about six months ago, according to Mayor John West, who refused to state his reasons for discharging Fallon, but admitted Friday that he had been actively interested in the present case. Fallon returned home some time ago from the U.S. Navy after 16 years of service as chief quartermaster, but after discharge from the Chehalis police force went back on temporary duty as officer in charge of the recruiting station there … Recently a number of business men, who are members of the Law Enforcement League, demanded the resignation of several law enforcing officers of the county because of conditions. A group of prominent business men and city officials made a trip to Seattle about two months ago and requested federal intervention in the operation of a number of ‘joints’ and ‘blind pigs’ in the city. The result of this request was a sweeping series of raids during which several soft drink parlors in Chehalis which were raided, were completely wrecked by the axes and sledge hammers of the federal officers.”
• Along with the arrest of the Lewis County sheriff on allegations of being involved in an illegal liquor ring, five other Lewis County residents were also indicted on Prohibition charges, The Chronicle reported. “Alphus and Lynn Burleson, of Evaline, are charged with operating a still. They are held with under $750 bonds each. The same findings were made in the case of Wade Davis of Morton, and bail placed at $1,500. John and Mack Stiltner, also arrested in Eastern Lewis County, are held under $1,000 bonds each for Prohibition violations.”
• A “good house and barn” on “80 acres, nearly all in cultivation,” located six miles from Centralia was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $7,500, or “stocked including team and machinery for $8,000.” A furnished, two-room apartment with “water, lights and fuel” at 1007 B St. in Centralia was listed for rent for $14 a month.
Saturday, Sept. 19, 1936
• Chehalis resident Anna Whitmarsh came home to find a burglar in the act and chased him off, The Chronicle reported. “Mrs. E.G. Whitmarsh, 929 St. Helens Ave., surprised a burglar in her home yesterday when she returned from an absence of a few minutes. She chased him into the street, but was unable to overtake him. The police were notified, but were unable to apprehend the thief. Mrs. Whitmarsh reported that only a small amount of money was taken.”
• A used Case tractor was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $125. A small, circulating heater was listed for sale for $15.
Thursday, Sept. 19, 1946
• The Lewis County Assessor’s Office released its 1946 assessed valuations on properties within the county for property taxes the next year, The Chronicle reported. “Lewis County’s assessed valuation for 1946, on which 1947 taxes will be based, was announced Wednesday by the assessor’s office as $29,729,697, after the state tax commission had placed a valuation of $3,320,340 on intercounty utilities operating in the county. The total valuation is an increase of more than 10% over 1945. Intercounty utilities such as railroads, telephone and telegraph companies, bus lines, the Puget Sound Power and Light Company and all other utilities operating in two or more counties are assessed by the state tax commission. Total valuations of taxable property in 1946 in incorporated cities in the county are: Centralia, $3,595,864; Chehalis, $3,205,432; Winlock, $528,737; Toledo, $139,575; Vader, $183,076; Pe Ell, $203,035; Morton, $296,363, and Napavine, $138,835.”
• “A dandy ranch” with a home, large barn, hen house and orchard on 40 acres of “fine river bottom land” along the Newaukum River “just about a block from Highway 99” was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $13,000. A five-room home on three acres of land “near Rochester” was listed for sale for $4,000.
Wednesday, Sept. 19, 1956
• Onalaska resident Charles Coleman said he was “lucky to be alive” after surviving an 80-foot fall off a cliff in East Lewis County, The Chronicle reported. “‘I’m lucky to be alive,’ probably the understatement of the year, was all Charles Coleman was able to say Wednesday morning from his Chehalis hospital bed about his 80-foot fall from a Cowlitz River cliff Sunday. Coleman, a rural Onalaska construction worker for a logging company, suffered a fractured back and minor bruises and scratches in the accident which happened when he slipped on a moss-covered rock while on a salmon fishing trip with his half-brother, Jess Hunt, Alpha. ‘We had parked our car on the Harmony side of the Harmony-Silver Creek Road and walked over to the river. My brother didn’t have any boots with him so we decided to go up over the cliff instead of moving along the water’s edge as we would otherwise,’ Coleman said in talking about the accident. ‘We were moving along the top of the cliff about 80 feet over the water looking for a place to get down to the river with Jess in front of me about five or six steps when all of a sudden I slipped on a piece of moss-covered sandstone and I was gone. There was no such thing as sliding or catching on, I was gone. I remember hitting the side of the cliff wall twice, but that’s all.’ Coleman regained consciousness in the hospital later. Hunt said he heard only a quick swish and a thud, and turned to find Coleman at the bottom of the cliff where he landed on a rock bar jutting out into the river.”
• A five-room home with a barn and creek access on 13 acres of land “near Centralia” was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $4,950. A three-bedroom home on “Forest-Napavine Road” was listed for rent for $35 a month.
Monday, Sept. 19, 1966
• Two freight train cars were “spilled” in a switching incident in Centralia, including one tragically filled with beer, The Chronicle reported. “Two railroad cars of a north-bound Northern Pacific (NP) freight train — one carrying a piggyback cargo of beer — were spilled in a switching accident in Centralia Saturday evening. An NP spokesman said the accident occurred about 8 p.m. in the switching yards south of the B Street viaduct. There were no injuries, and only minor damage resulted. There was no interruption of the mainline railroad schedule. The accident occurred as five cars were switched off the freight train.”
• A three-bedroom home with a barn and other outbuildings on 19.75 acres of land in Rochester was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for the “highest bidder over $9,000.” A partly-furnished, three-bedroom home in Chehalis was listed for rent for $75 a month.
Saturday, Sept. 18, 1976
• Centralia College was offering refresher driving courses for seniors in the area, The Chronicle reported. “In a few weeks the college student driving instructor, George Gablehouse, will schedule half-hour driving sessions for older adults who want or need to refresh their driving skills. There will be a small charge for instruction. The older adult driving program will be separate from the regular student program. Registration for the class is required. Senior citizens who want to take advantage of this opportunity should telephone the Lewis County Mental Health Program’s Office on Aging.”
• A two-bedroom home with a barn on 68 acres of land, with “35 cultivable,” along the North Fork Newaukum River was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $69,500. A four-bedroom home in Centralia’s Logan District was listed for rent for $200 a month with a $125 deposit.
Friday, Sept. 19, 1986
• One of two suspects wanted in the rape and murder of 14-year-old Tenino girl was arrested by the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office, The Chronicle reported. “Deputies arrested Terrance R. Moore, a former Tenino resident, at a house in the Longview-Kelso area, said Neil McClanahan, chief criminal deputy. Moore, 34, was arrested for investigation of first-degree premeditated murder in the Sept. 4 death of Toni Antonelli, a Tenino eighth-grader. Deputies obtained a warrant for his arrest Thursday … The sheriff’s office is still searching for 29-year-old Monty A. Richardson, the man first identified as a suspect in the fatal beating of the young girl.” Richardson remained on the run for over a month, but was finally caught in Boise, Idaho, and extradited to face charges along with Moore.
• A four-bedroom home with a “rock fireplace, oak kitchen, stained glass,” on 10 acres of land near Boistfort was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $65,000. A three-bedroom home with a “rent to own lease option” at 209 Yew St. in Centralia was listed for rent for $300 a month with a $100 deposit.
Thursday, Sept. 19, 1996
• U.S. President Bill Clinton was due to visit Centralia that day, The Chronicle reported. Along with a story about people lining up in downtown Centralia in the early hours of the morning ahead of his visit to see him, local cafe owner Nancy Wigley was tasked with catering lunch for the visiting presidential entourage. “It looks like all those years of late-to-bed and early-to-rise cooking marathons are going to pay off. Nancy Wigley, owner of Wigley’s Country Classic Farm, will be catering the presidential visit Thursday, to the tune of about 375 meals. That’s pretty heady stuff for the owner of the small downtown cafe and bake shop that opened in Centralia in March. And the impact is not lost on Wigley, a Centralia native. ‘I don’t know if I’m coming or going,’ Wigley laughed Tuesday evening after returning from a supply procuring mission to Olympia. Members of the National Press Corps advance team happened to eat in Wigley’s cafe on Sunday. She wasn’t there, but the diners approached her staff and asked if on Thursday they could feed the group of about 150 members strong. ‘I found out from a phone message from my staff on Sunday,’ Wigley said. ‘My first reaction was to scream for (my husband) Russell — and then just to scream, period.’ After allotting herself a short time for a good primal scream, Wigley got down to business. This was going to take masterful planning and even more intricate execution. And then she got the really big news. Wigley learned she and her staff would be cooking not only for the National Press Corps, but the presidential party, and finally, the Secret Service … After a few telephone calls with the president’s advance team, Wigley finally decided on a menu that will include baked chicken, roast pork, dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, fresh corn off the cob and fresh green beans, a tossed green salad and freshly baked croissants made in Wigley’s bakery, located next to her hillside home northeast of Centralia. ‘And a blackberry cobbler for dessert, made with our own Cascade blackberries we grow on the farm,’ Wigley said. With the exception of a few fancy serving pieces, Wigley has made every effort to get supplies for the meal locally. ‘Bob Fuller has just gone out of his way to supply the meat for us,’ Wigley said, noting the Centralia grocer was making very little money on the deal.”
• Along with the feature on Wigley catering lunch for the president, Al and Ruth Hamilton’s famous Uncle Sam sign along I-5 had its messages changed to greet the visiting president too. “The purveyor of conservative slogans changed statements Wednesday night. It was the first time the message changed since July, when the owners moved the sign to its new location near Exit 72 on I-5. Much to the surprise of Lewis County conservatives, the sign says ‘Lewis County welcomes the president of the United States’ on the north-facing side of the sign, the side the president will be able to see as he heads south on the freeway after his visit in Centralia. The president-friendly message was a compromise with other political interests within the county, explained Ruth Hamilton. It does not mean the Hamiltons have changed their political affiliation. ‘We honor the office of the president, but not the person,’ she explained. The Hamiltons reserved their comments critical of the president for the south-facing side of the sign. North-bound travelers will see the message, ‘Clinton’s 2 for 1 special will trade lies and promises for votes.’”
• A two-bedroom home with a “complete one-bedroom apartment” on five acres of land in the Newaukum Hill area was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $245,000. A one-bedroom home with a “new inside, new floors and paint” in Centralia was listed for rent for $425 a month plus a $250 deposit.
