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In this installment of A Look Back in Time, the Saturday, Nov. 14, 1936, edition of The Chronicle featured a story about the expansion of a federal Works Progress Administration meal program for Lewis County students.
Originally from Centralia, Sherrill H. Stevens was awarded a Bronze Star medal for “heroism in a battle with the Viet Cong,”according to the Monday, Nov. 14, 1966, edition of The Chronicle.
And in the Thursday, Nov. 14, 1996, edition of The Chronicle, it was reported that donations were being sought to continue funding the Chehalis Police Department K-9 team.
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. 13, 1926
• The candidate filing period for the City of Morton’s next local election was open, but nobody had filed to run yet, The Chronicle reported. “Registrion books will close in Morton Tuesday preparatory to that city’s annual election. The officials whose terms expire are Mayor T.J. Polley, Councilmen George Chesser and Edmund B. Barnum, and Treasurer Verner E. Hoggatt. So far no candidates have announced themselves.”
• A “five-room dwelling” with other outbuildings on 10 acres of land, with five acres “bearing orchard” located on the highway close to Omak, a city in Okanogan County, was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $2,000. A seven-room home at 505 N. Buckner St. in downtown Centralia was listed for rent for $18 a month.
Saturday, Nov. 14, 1936
• The federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) was expanding its hot lunch project with local school officials and parents to provide meals to all Lewis County students, The Chronicle reported. The WPA was part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, aiming to provide jobs during the Great Depression by funding public works, parks and art projects in communities throughout the nation. “The WPA, in co-operation with the parent teacher association (PTA) and school officials, is providing hot lunches for nearly 300 students in the county at the present time, and the practice will be extended to take in all pupils in the county by the end of the month. The hot lunch projects were opened by the WPA at the request of the PTA and school officials, who found many students attending schools in this area did not receive proper nourishment at home. This was due, in most cases, to the economic inability of heads of families to provide proper food for their children. The projects will eliminate this condition and in many cases provide the only hot meal the students will receive during the day. All students in the schools are permitted to receive these meals without charge, and those parents who are able to do so pay for their own children through a PTA fund set up for that purpose. This procedure precludes embarrassment of the underprivileged students and puts every pupil on equal footing.”
• A “$1,150 trailer house” at Fort Borst Park in Centralia was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for “$250 cash.” A used, seven-tube Philco radio was listed for sale for $15.
Thursday, Nov. 14, 1946
• The first Air Postal Transport Service flight in the region — flying mail from Medford, Oregon, up to Bellingham with a stop in Chehalis included — was set to start soon, The Chronicle reported. “First flight air mail service for Lewis County will be inaugurated at Chehalis No. 29, a letter to Postmaster Lloyd Sullivan from A.O. Willoughby, regional superintendent of Air Postal Transport Service, stated Tuesday. Meanwhile, Sullivan was being flooded with air mail letters with instructions to hold same until the first flight is made so the distinctive cachet will be used in canceling the stamps. Letters from collectors all over the nation, and others addressed to many foreign countries, are awaiting Nov. 20, to be the first air mail letters cancelled from Lewis County. Closing time on southbound air mail will be 8 a.m. from the Chehalis Post Office, and 10 a.m. for northbound air mail, Sullivan said. Al Filson, Centralia postmaster, said his office had received no instructions relative to the new service. Bids have been received from local taxi services for transportation of mail to the airport, and a contract will be awarded as soon as definite word is received, Filson said.”
• A partly-furnished, two-bedroom home with fruit trees on four acres of land “near golf course” in Centralia was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $2,300. A furnished “small modern log house being remodelled” with a barn, orchard and farm equipment on 80 acres of land in Hannaford Valley was listed for sale for $6,500.
Wednesday, Nov. 14, 1956
• Lewis County farmers were given regional honors at the Grasslands Recognition Banquet the previous evening, The Chronicle reported. “Seventeen of Lewis County’s best grasslands farmers drew high honor Tuesday night at the fourth annual Grasslands Achievement Recognition Banquet, the event being staged this year at the Adna Grange hall. More than 100 were on hand for the 1956 dinner, the featured speaker for which was William A. Dudley, a member of the Portland Chamber of Commerce grasslands committee for three years … Dudley praised Lewis farmers for proving that something can be done in the grassland program. He emphasized no other agricultural program can approach the grassland program in importance in the Northwest. The Portland grassland chamber man underscored the need for such a program to meet increasing population demands, which conservative estimates place at 210 million by 1975. He also pointed out grasses are rich in nutritional value and are invaluable in flood control. In the 1956 grassland report for Lewis County, James Backman, Centralia, listed fertilizer trails, soil testing lab, grassland tour, bale of hay contest, grassland demonstrations and the annual grassland dinner as activities of the committee. Backman pointed out the 10-year program was launched in January, 1953, in an attempt to get more grass in Lewis County, better crops by rotation, more income for the famer, and to achieve a more stabilized farmer. He said its goals are being achieved, revealing that in 1950 only 4,500 tons of silage were listed, while in 1954 the figure had climbed to 20,500 and in 1956 the amount is expected to be 30,000 tons. Some 25 county organizations sponsor the grasslands program … Arvo Kaija, agriculture committee chairman of the Chehalis Chamber, and (E.M.) Sorensen, presented framed gift certificates to 17 of the 20 county grassland farmers honored who were present.”
• A renovated three-bedroom home on five acres of “choice garden soil” with city water and sewer utilities in Centralia was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $8,500. A two-bedroom home with “small acreage” near Washington Elementary School in Centralia was listed for rent for $45 a month.
Monday, Nov. 14, 1966
• Washington state National Guard Captain Sherrill H. Stevens, originally from Centralia, was awarded a Bronze Star medal for “heroism in a battle with the Viet Cong,” The Chronicle reported. “Stevens, who was born in Centralia and attended Centralia High School before moving to Tacoma with his parents (state National Guard) Major General Lilburn H. Stevens (ret.) and Mrs. (Hazel) Stevens in 1949, was honored for action June 12, 1966. The decoration cited Stevens while he was a senior advisor to the 1st Armored Personnel Carrier Troop, 4th Armored Cavalry, Army of the Republic of Vietnam. The order reads, ‘On June 12, the troop was ordered to attack a Viet Cong unit that had ambushed and encircled a Vietnamese Marine unit. The troop was to link-up with and reinforce the battered Marine unit. As it moved forward, the troop came under heavy fire. Capt. Stevens voluntarily exposed himself to hostile fire to urge his unit forward. The link-up was completed and under his direction, an integrated defense was established and a spoiling attack launched. As a result, the Viet Cong were driven from the battlefield.’ The order was dated Sept. 12. Capt. Stevens now makes his home in Tacoma where his wife and three children are awaiting his return from Vietnam.” Along with military service, Sherrill served as a police officer in Wenatchee, Steilacoom and Yelm, where he was also the Thurston County community’s chief of police. He passed away at the age of 76, according to his obituary published in the Tacoma News Tribune on Aug. 22, 2010.
• A three-bedroom home on North Rock Street in Centralia was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for “$10,500 cash.” Furnished apartments at the McDonald Motel at 11th Street and Market Boulevard in Chehalis were listed for rent starting at $40 a month.
Saturday, Nov. 13, 1976
• Centralia Future Farmers of America (FFA) member Gary Roberson, 18 at the time, won the FFA’s national award for sales and service proficiency at the national FFA convention in Kentucky, The Chronicle reported. “The award was one of 16 proficiency awards given each year at the national convention. Roberson, representing the Pacific region, won in competition against regional winners in the Central, North Atlantic and South Atlantic regions. The award includes $250 in cash. As a regional winner, Roberson also won (an additional) $250 in cash, a trophy and travel expenses to the national convention. It may be the first time a Lewis County FFA member has won a national proficiency award, according to Jim Beck, who works with Lee Coumbs as Centralia FFA advisors. ‘Gary has been nice to work with,’ Beck said. He and Coumbs were elated with Roberson’s award. Typically the winners of the sales and service award are employed at feed stores, nurseries, implement dealers and other agriculture related businesses, Beck said. ‘Out of high school they go to work using the skills they learned in school,’ often working for the same business, he said. Roberson’s work experience has been with Pioneer Plant Patio Nursery, Centralia, where he has gained valuable training in sales and service. Following his graduation from Centralia High School in spring 1975, Roberson continues work at the nursery … Also at the national convention, Weston Brower, 20, Centralia, became the second county FFA member in two years to receive an American Farmer degree. He was one of 11 Washington FFA members selected for the award. Brower owns 13 head of registered Ayrshire dairy cows and farms with his father on Lincoln Creek.”
• A three-bedroom home with a barn on eight acres of land described as a “loggers’ special” with “Morton, Onalaska, Mossyrock area all within reach” was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $23,500. A four-bedroom home in Centralia’s Logan District was listed for rent for $200 a month with a $125 deposit.
Thursday, Nov. 14, 1996
• The Chehalis Police Department’s K-9 unit was struggling to stay funded, The Chronicle reported. “Members of the Chehalis K-9 fund-raising organization find themselves in a familiar position. With a depleted bank account, the group of business owners and community members are again asking for donations to help keep the Chehalis Police Department’s police dog unit solvent. ‘We’re virtually down to nothing,’ said Tom Bradley, secretary for the fund-raising committee. ‘A couple of months ago we were down to $100.’ That doesn’t go very far toward paying the expenses of Storm, the department’s 4½-year-old German shepherd. So Bradley and others associated with the committee are again raising funds to keep the program running. Letters to local businesses asking for donations are scheduled to be mailed next week. ‘Without the committee it would make it difficult for us to fund the position,’ said Dennis Dawes, deputy police chief. ‘We’re very grateful that we have this available.’ Bradley said it takes between $2,000 and $3,000 a year to pay for Storm’s food, veterinarian bills and other related costs. The department pays for the handler’s salary and the police vehicle. The Timberland Valley Dog Fanciers group has helped the current fund drive by donating $1,000, Bradley said. A specific goal hasn’t been set, but Bradley said he hopes they can raise enough money by mid-December to suspend the formal fund drive. Donations are always accepted. The K-9 Fund formed in 1980 when the citizen’s group decided the department needed a dog. They raised $16,000 to pay for the first dog and related costs. Bradley said that initial effort allowed them to maintain the program for several years without seeking further donations. With Storm being the fourth generation of police dogs in Chehalis, the financial safety net isn’t available. Storm and handler Rick McNamara also find themselves in the unique position of being the only law enforcement canine team in the county. Gordon Spanski, chief criminal deputy with the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office, said the agency just completed an 18-month search for a dog. The sheriff’s office is now in the process of selecting a handler, he said. Centralia Police Department Sergeant Bob Willey said his department has found a handler, but is now searching for a dog. Both teams, which receive funding from their respective departments, will have to complete a 390-hour training regimen before they start patrols. It’s kept both Storm and McNamara busy, but neither seem to mind. ‘He has a lot of energy in him,’ McNamara said of Storm.”
• A split-level, three-bedroom home with an attached two-car garage on one acre of land “three miles from Centralia” was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $139,500. A “newly remodeled” four-bedroom home in Chehalis was listed for rent for $850 a month with a $500 deposit.
