In this installment of A Look Back in Time, the Friday, July 5, 1935, edition of The Chronicle featured a story about the sale of Morton’s old newspaper, the Morton Mirror, to a new publisher named Chester Kimple.
More than 2,000 Twin Cities residents attended the two-hour long Chehalis Active Club’s Fourth of July fireworks show at the Southwest Washington Fairgrounds, according to the Tuesday, July 5, 1955, edition of The Chronicle.
And in the Tuesday, July 6, 1965, edition of The Chronicle, it was reported that 71-year-old Centralia resident Floyd Dougherty “was in no hurry” when he was arrested for driving without a licence and driving at an estimated 5 miles per hour, causing traffic to back up for blocks on Harrison Avenue.
This installment of A Look Back in Time features stories from both the Friday, July 6, 1945, and Tuesday, July 6, 1965, editions of The Chronicle, as the Thursday, July 5, 1945, and Monday, July 5, 1965, editions were missing from the archives.
A Look Back in Time is compiled using Chronicle archives at the Lewis County Historical Museum along with digital archives on newspapers.com.
Friday, July 5, 1935
• Morton’s old newspaper, the Morton Mirror, had a new publisher, The Chronicle reported. Having been publisher for 14 years, Ralph L. Knapp had sold his controlling interest in the Morton Mirror to Chester Kimple. “The new publisher is a young man who has had a number of years of experience in the newspaper profession in Washington. Mr. Knapp has not announced his plans for the future.” According to the Library of Congress, the Morton Mirror was in publication from 1912 to 1935. Shortly after taking over, Kimple changed the Morton Mirror’s name to the Lewis County American.
• Amid being closed during an ongoing labor strike, there were indications that the Shaffer Bros. Sawmill in Dryad was to be re-opened soon, The Chronicle reported. “The owners were in Dryad the past week and made a proposition to employees, which was acted upon favorably by the latter. The terms are said to be similar to those in force at the White Star plant on Grays Harbor.”
• The Chronicle featured an Associated Press story about striking sawmill workers being arrested in Longview. The workers were picketing near the Long-Bell Lumber Sales Corporation sawmill when Longview Police Department officers and Washington State Patrol troopers ordered them to leave the area. “State patrolmen and Longview city police, headed by Chief of Police Mike Greenleaf, said the pickets attempted to forcibly resist the order, several throwing stones at police cars and one assertedly attempting to strike a state patrolman. When the group refused to scatter, police and patrolmen bundled them into patrol wagons and booked them at the city jail.”
• Centralia telephone operator Gladys Webster was recovering in the hospital after suffering minor injuries when a car she was a passenger in crashed into a parked truck on Chaenn Hill north of Tenino. “The driver, Chet Barnes … reported the truck parked with two wheels on the highway and without a tail light. He struck it in the rear at a speed of 40 miles an hour, inflicting heavy damage on his coupe.” Webster wasn’t the only one involved in a car accident in that area, as The Chronicle also reported that four people were unhurt despite the car they were traveling in suffering a tire blowout which caused them to lose control, flip over and the car catching fire just west of Offut Lake.
• A five-bedroom “plastered home” in Centralia was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds. Though it was not clarified if it was the down payment or actual price, the listing stated, “$50 will handle.”
Friday, July 6, 1945
• U.S. Navy Petty Officer First Class George Galvin of Centralia was home on a brief leave after the minesweeper ship he was serving on during World War II was struck by two Imperial Japanese Kamikaze pilots, The Chronicle reported. Serving as the ship’s radioman, Galvin and his fellow crewmembers survived the Kamikaze attack which took place during the Battle of Okinawa on April 9. “Six men were wounded in the action, ‘but the skipper didn’t call for help and his next message to the fleet was to the effect the minesweeper was taking in tow a damaged destroyer,’ Galvin told his parents.” Galvin had just completed his fifth year in the service on July 3. He was stationed at Pearl Harbor when it was attacked by surprise, and also served on Navy Consolidated PBY Catalina conducting surveillance and antisubmarine warfare in the Wake and Midway islands.
• U.S. Army Private First Class (PFC) Robert R. Hallett, 19, had written a letter home to his parents informing them while he had been involved in combat during WWII on the Island of Okinawa and received a Purple Heart medal after being wounded, his injury “did not take him out of action,” The Chronicle reported. “Hallett wrote, ‘This is how it happened. Three of us were making coffee one a.m., and a mortar shell hit only a few yards away. I was in the middle, and a piece of shrapnel hit me on the jaw and cut me. There may be a small scar, but it won’t matter very much. They put some sulpha and a bandage on it and I went back.’” He also told his parents he had a collection of both enemy Japanese rifles along with a pistol he had picked up, and was planning to send them home too.
• Four people, including a mother, her son and two grandchildren, were killed in a house fire near Vader on Thursday, The Chronicle reported. “The dead are Mrs. Mary St. Germain, 50, Raymond Pete, 30, Raymond Pete Jr., 9, and his sister, 7.” The fire occurred in the dead of night and was only discovered after the house had already filled with thick smoke at around 1:30 a.m. Raymond’s wife, along with one other child, survived the fire. “Mrs. St. Germain is survived by her husband, Barney. The entire family was born and raised at Olequa.”
• A “newly decorated” three-bedroom home with an extra large living room and fruit growing on the property in Centralia was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $5,750.
Tuesday, July 5, 1955
• More than 2,000 Twin Cities residents attended the Fourth of July fireworks display at the Southwest Washington Fairgrounds, The Chronicle reported. The show was put on by the Chehalis Active Club. “The successful two-hour show was acclaimed as the best yet, according to (Chehalis) Active (Club) President Jim Oechsner. Many specialty set pieces were fired by Henry Oechsner, Chehalis, and Roy Hamilton, Olympia. They included an animated clown, a donkey, Hawaiian aloha number, diamond saxon, Niagara Falls in color, pinwheels of all kinds and the 10-foot wide, 25-foot high Statue of Liberty act which featured a flaming scene in color with the American flag superimposed over the top. Among the noisemakers were bomb salutes and the hundreds of aerials fired during the program.”
• The Chronicle featured an Associated Press story about Baltimore, Maryland, being declared America’s “honkingest city.” According to Baltimore traffic engineer Henry Barnes, the city heard an estimated 250 “illegal horn toots” every year. “Most of them in the split second when traffic lights are changing. Police reported 137 arrests last year of drivers charged with illegal horn blowing.”
• While recent rains had hit Lewis County, farmers were divided as to how they felt about them according to Lewis County extension agent Ralph Roffler, The Chronicle reported. “Those with hay down — and nearly 50% of our early grass hay was cut — were very unhappy. Those that didn’t have hay cut were well pleased.” Roffler added the rain was also welcomed by local berry, grain and pea farmers. “Strawberry growers’ concern now is that the rain won’t persist too long and cause excessive rot. Getting the right amount of moisture for everyone is certainly a big problem.”
• A three-bedroom home on five and a half acres of land south of Chehalis with a garage and utility room was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $7,250. A three-bedroom unfurnished home in Centralia was listed for rent for $58 a month.
Tuesday, July 6, 1965
• Centralia resident Floyd Dougherty, 71, had been arrested after driving too slow on charges of failing to yield to a red light and siren, driving without a licence and impeding traffic, The Chronicle reported. “Officers explained Floyd Albert Dougherty was arrested after blocking traffic on Harrison Avenue by driving an estimated five miles per hour. Police said he told them he was in no hurry.” In addition to driving without a license, a database check showed he had never gotten a license to begin with, and “at one time, traffic was backed up behind the motorist for several blocks.”
• The Isaac Walton Park’s swimming pool in Winlock was open for the summer, The Chronicle reported. “(Winlock) Mayor V.O. Harkins reported Jerry Korpl again is serving as lifeguard and swimming instructor, and driving the school bus to and from the park on Mondays through Fridays. It leaves here at 1 p.m. and returns at 5 p.m.”
• Clinton Sizemore, who had been living in Onalaska after being released from the Oregon State Penitentiary following a forgery conviction, was back in custody in Lewis County on two more forgery charges, The Chronicle reported. One charge stemmed from an alleged forged check given to a Centralia grocery store for $126, and the other from an alleged forged check given to a Chehalis car dealer for $917. “Bail on both counts is set at $2,500 each for first degree forgery with trials pending in Chehalis and Centralia justice courts.”
• Operators of the Mayfield Lake Youth Camp were planning their third annual barbecue the upcoming Sunday, The Chronicle reported. “A special program in the youth camp amphitheater will be presented from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. featuring young entertainers from Lewis County. Band numbers will be played by Jim Ivory and the Elephants, and a gymnastics exhibition will be given by Centralia and Chehalis boys and girls.” Additionally, barbecue attendees would also get to participate in swimming, boating, softball, volleyball, tennis and other games for children.
• A three-bedroom home in Glenoma was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $15,500. A “nice” unfurnished two-bedroom home in Centralia was listed for rent for $75 a month.
Saturday, July 5, 1975
• Some 40 workers at the RDW Manufacturing Co. sawmill in Randle were preparing to go back to work, The Chronicle reported. “The workers, who have been idle since the Weyerhaeuser (Timber) Company announced a halt to wood chip purchasing the first part of May, will resume regular activities at the Randle mill, according to a spokesman. The wood chip situation caused uncertainty and hardship for numerous Eastern Lewis County mills, many of which piled the chips in order to keep operating … RDW announced at the outset of the stoppage of wood chip purchasing that it would shut down, at least temporarily, and approximately 40 of its 50 mill employees have been out of work since then.”
• A budget appropriation of $4.4 million over the upcoming Washington state budget biennium for the Green Hill School had survived last minute vetoes issued by Washington state Gov. Dan Evans, The Chronicle reported. “Also funded were the 18 youth service centers throughout the state, including the Chehalis Youth Services Center, which received $1.2 million. (State) sen. Gary Odegaard, D-Centralia, vice chairman of the (state) Senate Ways and Means Committee, said his staff checked the governor’s veto message Wednesday and confirmed the fundings.” Initially, there was talk of closing Green Hill after Evans was advised to do so by the state Department of Social and Health Services. “Odegaard said Evans probably changed his mind about axing Green Hill funds because of the overcrowded conditions in juvenile institutions throughout the state.”
• The Lewis County Board of Health was expected to adopt a new ordinance setting guidelines for the design, location and construction of sewage disposal facilities, The Chronicle reported. According to Dr. R. Sherwin Johnston, county health department director, the ordinance would bring county law into compliance with state law. “Johnston said the ordinance does not go far enough to suit him but it, ‘is as good as we can do,’ at present. The ordinance, among other things, sets standards for the construction of septic tanks and drain fields, establishes fees and procedures for obtaining sewage permits, establishes inspection procedures, minimum lot sizes where drain fields are located and penalties for violations.”
• A two-bedroom “carpeted” home with a basement and space for more rooms in Winlock was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $23,500. A “large” one-bedroom home in Napavine with a family room and fireplace was listed for rent for $145 a month.
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To reach Chronicle reporter Owen Sexton, email owen@chronline.com or call The Chronicle at 360-736-3311 during business hours.
