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In this installment of A Look Back in Time, the Saturday, April 18, 1936, edition of The Chronicle featured a story about Pe Ell High School students voting to continue a class walkout protesting the firing of the school’s athletic coach, Clare Guest, who was reportedly let go as he allegedly used profanity while coaching.
A pair of youths broke into the home of Morton resident Reg Lester and, along with stealing $20, “helped themselves to ice cream and potato chips before rifling the drawers,” according to the Wednesday, April 18, 1956, edition of The Chronicle.
And in the Saturday, April 17, 1976, edition of The Chronicle, it was reported that Centralia Police Detective Sgt. John Stoner and Detective Ed Teitzel started a “grass fire” at the local landfill when they set 25 pounds of confiscated marijuana on fire.
The Sunday, April 18, 1976, edition of The Chronicle was not in the archives, so stories from the Saturday, April 17, 1976, edition have been featured instead.
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.
Saturday, April 18, 1936
• The majority of Pe Ell High School students continued a class walkout protesting the firing of the school’s coach after school district board members refused to renew his contract, The Chronicle reported. “Students of the Pe Ell High School last night voted to continue their protest strike over the firing of Clare Guest, athletic coach of the school for the past six years. The vote was cast in the face of repeated assertions by two of the three members of the school board that they would not consent to the renewal of Guest’s contract for the coming year. Only 20 out of the 125 students of the school reported yesterday for classes. School work was disrupted, and a baseball game, scheduled for the afternoon, was cancelled. Guest today denied one of the charges given as a reason for his release, namely, that he used profanity in his coaching. He said he had not planned on going back to the school next year, but the students wanted him so badly and the board had leveled the charges against him, he would return for another year if given the opportunity.”
• Lewis County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Lloyd Dysart announced he had established a motive but did not disclose it, for the first-degree murder charges filed in Lewis County Superior Court surrounding the death of Mossyrock resident Margaret Jerrels, 76, The Chronicle reported. Two suspects had been charged with murder, Margaret’s son, Dewey Jerrels, and his housekeeper Gladys Stubbs. “Dysart would not reveal the motive for the alleged murder, but stated that after continued investigation and questioning by members of the prosecuting attorney’s staff and officers from the sheriff’s office the original theory of the slaying had been somewhat changed. The two are held for the death of Mrs. Jerrels when her home burned to the ground at Mossyrock March 31. A coroner’s jury later found that Mrs. Jerrels came to her death sometime prior to the fire and that her body was consumed in a fire set by either Dewey Jerrels, Mrs. Gladys Stubbs or both. Mrs. Stubbs has been held in the county jail for more than a week as a material witness. She had been subjected to questioning almost daily since her arrest. The couple were charged in the information filed yesterday with first degree murder and arson … Both Dysart and Prosecutor James E. Sareault, who have been devoting almost full time to the investigations since the fire, expressed confidence that they could bring about a conviction.”
• A four-room home with two small hen houses, a garage, a variety of tree and vine fruits on two-and-a-half acres of cultivated land in Centralia was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $850. Three acres of cultivated “finest river bottom land” along a “paved highway” was listed for sale for $950.
Thursday, April 18, 1946
• The Hanset Company, formerly located at Fort Borst Park, announced they had increased their production of mops “nearly 50%” with the installation of a new press according to Hanset plant manager John Steinberger, The Chronicle reported. “The press weighs approximately 11,000 pounds and has a 60-ton capacity, Steinberger said. It is about the size of an ordinary room, and will be used for stamping out metal parts in the manufacture of mops. This is the third press the company has installed, each double the size of the one it replaced. The company has been in operation for more than a year. The monthly payroll of the organization is approximately $6,000 when in full production. The plant receives a car of mop handles each week, and during March 80,000 pounds of steel were used in the production of 235,000 mops.”
• Berna Eli "Barney" Oldfield — a motorsport pioneer who first started racing in 1902, was the first racer to break the mile-a-minute mark driving 60 mph in 1903, and won the inaugural American Automobile Association National Championship in 1905 — was due to visit Centralia, The Chronicle reported. “Barney Oldfield, most famous race driver of all time, will be in Centralia Thursday. The occasion of the visit, according to Eddins Brothers, distributors for General Petroleum Corporation, will be to address a large group of Mobile Gas dealers, wholesale agents and distributors who will gather here from other points … Oldfield is expected to arrive early in the day, Eddins Brothers said, and added, ‘that should give Centralia autograph hunters a chance to catch up with him.’ The Eddins Brothers are enthusiastic over the appearance of the great racer, whose name for many years has been a byword for speed and stamina.”
• A 120-acre ranch with a pair of four-room homes, a large barn with room for “25 head of cows, team of horses,” farming equipment and a fish pond “about six miles from town” was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $5,000.
Wednesday, April 18, 1956
• A Morton man had his home broken into by local youths, The Chronicle reported. “The home of Reg Lester, Morton automobile dealer, was burglarized Tuesday by two 14-year-old juveniles here who helped themselves to ice cream and potato chips before rifling the drawers and making away with $20 in bills and several empty billfolds, Lewis County Sheriff Alvin Earl Hilton reported Wednesday. Entry was made through a rear door. Other items taken included two packages of soft drink powder, and a pearl-handled dagger-type knife. Hilton said $18 of the $20 was recovered, including $1 belonging to a Boy Scout fund. The boys were released into the custody of their parents pending investigation by Floyd Green, county juvenile officer.”
• The 25-year-old First Baptist Church in Winlock was “completely gutted” by a fire on Tuesday believed to have been caused by faulty wiring in the attic, The Chronicle reported. “William Bairnes, who lives across the street from the church, spotted smoke coming out from the church roof and turned in the alarm at 2:40 p.m. Three fire rigs and a full force of volunteers under the direction of Fire Chief Clyde Dubel fought the blaze for two hours before they got it completely under control. The fire fighters were also hindered by nuisance fires on roofs of surrounding residences. They started from sparks from the church blaze … The chief said the fire had apparently been burning unnoticed in the attic for some time, because it burst through the church roof shortly after the alarm was turned in and the structure was fiercely burning when the fire company arrived within minutes of the alarm. The fire chief said the fire had probably started in the attic and attributed the blaze to faulty wiring.”
• Almost 500 people went to the “county-city airport,” now known as the Chehalis-Centralia Airport, to see off 50 Lewis County residents traveling on the Transocean Air Lines’ “huge Trans-Ocean luxury liner” flying to Hawaii that morning for an eight day trip, The Chronicle reported. “(The) eight day jaunt was arranged through the Chehalis Chamber of Commerce. Nearly 500 friends were on hand, causing (a) traffic jam at (the) airport, for departure. Ceremonies were held and in bright sunshine hundreds of photos were taken. Above, passengers and crew, (including) Chehalis Chamber Manager Floyd Habein, Chamber President Ray Melhart and (Chehalis) Mayor Walter B. Graham Sr., all with sign, are shown.”
• A two-bedroom “semi-modern” home with a small barn and mixed timber on 32 acres of land four miles northeast of Onalaska was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $3,800. A partly-furnished, four-bedroom home “two blocks from high school” was listed for rent for $40 a month.
Monday, April 18, 1966
• A string of seven home burglaries and a business in Packwood were being investigated according to Lewis County Sheriff Orville “Porky” Amondson, The Chronicle reported. “Sheriff Orville R. Amondson said break-ins of seven summer homes at Timberline Village, four miles northeast of (Packwood), were discovered Friday. They occurred last week. Taken were a stereo set. A pistol and ammunition, a sewing machine, sleeping bags and other items. The sheriff said the burglars were apparently looking for guns. Harold’s Recreation, a Packwood business operated by Harold Blanton, was entered Friday night and cigarettes, cigars and candy stolen.”
• The Chronicle featured an Associated Press story about local law enforcement officers and residents tracking a UFO starting in rural Ohio. “‘We were close, closer than I ever want to be again,’ said a deputy sheriff who chased an unidentified flying object from Ohio into Pennsylvania. Hundreds of persons in both states reported seeing the “brilliant and shiny” object early Sunday morning. Police Chief Gerald Buchert of Mantua (Ohio), about eight miles north of Ravenna (Ohio), said he took a picture of the object from his front yard but the Air Force told him not to release it. Buchert said it looked like ‘two saucers put together.’ Portage County Deputy Sheriff Dale Spaur said he and his partner, W.L. Neff, ‘were close’ to the object in separate cars and chased it 86 miles for an hour and a half, from near Ravenna to Conway, Pa., near Pittsburgh. Spaur said he clocked it at speeds up to 103 miles per hour. From the ground Spaur said it looked like the head of a flashlight, about 40 feet wide and 18 feet high. Spaur said the lines of the object were very distinct. ‘Somebody had control over it,’ he said. ‘It wasn’t just floating around. It can maneuver.’”
• A 2-bedroom home with a basement, utility room, and a “nice yard for children” near downtown Chehalis at 828 SE Adams Ave. was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $7,200. A two-bedroom home with a garden and attached garage “four miles out on Old 99” was listed for rent for $100 a month.
Saturday, April 17, 1978
• Centralia police sparked a “grass fire” when they disposed of a large amount of marijuana and other drugs seized in arrests, The Chronicle reported. “Centralia police officers started a grass fire Friday morning — but not the ordinary kind. About 25 pounds of marijuana, with a street value of $10,000, went up in smoke at the sanitary landfill site. Police were disposing of confiscated marijuana and smaller amounts of heroin and amphetamines. Once a year, police dispose of drugs used as evidence in court cases which have been completed. ‘It’s important to let the people know what we do with this evidence,’ remarked Police Chief Ken Payne. Officiating over the ‘grass fire’ are, from left, Detective Sgt. John Stoner and Detective Ed Teitzel.”
• Originally named Davisson Lake after the Mossyrock Dam’s completion, a petition to change the new reservoir’s name to Riffe Lake abruptly ended up succeeding while waiting for federal approval of the name change, The Chronicle reported. The petition was started by Marjorie Aldrich of Mossyrock and Morton City Councilor Jim Marvin to name the reservoir after the now-submerged town of Riffe and the Riffe family in September 1975, after Tacoma City Light originally named the reservoir after former Tacoma City Light commissioner Ira Davisson. “It’s official. The reservoir behind Mossyrock Dam is now Riffe Lake rather than Davisson Lake. Although the State Board on Geographic Names voted in mid-March to change the name, it was thought the change also had to be approved by the National Board on Geographic Names. However, Mrs. Marjorie Aldrich, Mossyrock, who spearheaded a petition drive to have the name change, said Thursday she has received a letter from the state board informing her that the national board does not have jurisdiction in the matter. The national board rules only on name changes on federal land, according to Mrs. Aldrich who is a member of the Lewis County Historical Society. The state board’s vote on the name change was 4-3.”
• A three-bedroom “farm home” with a “game room includes pool table,” a barn, a shed and an attached two-car garage on 3.9 acres near Toledo was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $42,500. A one-bedroom apartment in Centralia was listed for rent for $125 a month.
