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In this installment of A Look Back in Time, the Tuesday, Oct. 26, 1926, edition of The Chronicle featured a story about the ongoing saga of Lewis County Sheriff Frank Roberts, who along with his co-defendants, saw their demurrer, a legal pleading, overruled in the federal case charging them with running an illegal liquor ring during Prohibition.
Around 200 attendees, including Centralia’s mayor, attended a dedication for a bronze plaque honoring the Hub City’s founder, George Washington, according to the Saturday, Oct. 23, 1976, edition of The Chronicle.
And in the Thursday, Oct. 24, 1996, edition of The Chronicle, it was reported that Rufe Vanderpool, formerly of Randle, had been named the CEO of two recently merged technology companies in Bellevue.
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, Oct. 23, 1926
• Enrollment at the new Centralia Junior College and more than quadrupled going into the college’s second year being open, The Chronicle reported. “The Centralia Junior College is now beginning its second year. From a handful of 15 the enrollment has increased to 68, with prospects of several more enrolling this fall. The number enrolled in the second year class is particularly gratifying, as there are 16, while a year ago there were only 15 in the whole college … The faculty this year includes C.L. Little, superintendent; Frank Jones Clark, principal; Margaret Corbet, English and economics; Arthur Ehret, chemistry and mathematics; Charlotte Miller, Spanish; Marian Jensen, zoology; Eoline Cull, girls’ physical education; Geo W. Brown, boys’ physical education.”
• While not in Saturday’s edition, the Tuesday, Oct. 26, 1926 edition of The Chronicle featured an update on the ongoing saga of embattled Lewis County Sheriff Frank Roberts, one of several local law enforcement officials who filed a demurrer after being charged with running an illegal liquor ring during Prohibition. “An early and speedy trial was assured to Sheriff Frank Roberts of Lewis County and W.R. Costen, Morton, and Lou Hawkins, Chehalis, deputy sheriffs, who are charged with four other defendants with conspiring to violate the National Prohibition Act, following an overruling of a demurrer in the federal court in Tacoma yesterday. Sheriff Roberts, Costen, Hawkins and D.H. Renaud (and) Frank Cook of Kelso, Dave Fenton and Robert Fallon of Chehalis, the other defendants, will be arraigned in federal court Saturday. The men are expected to plead not guilty. The men are charged with conspiring to violate the National Prohibition Act in manufacturing, possessing and transporting liquor. Ten overt acts are listed in the indictment. Four of the overt acts charge transportation and three charge possession of liquor. That one of the defendants set up a still, that another sold a coil to be used to manufacture liquor and one of the men received a bribe are other charges … In the demurrer the defendants set to overthrow the indictment, charging that the ‘facts set forth are not sufficient to constitute or charge the defendants with a public offense under the laws of the US,’ and that the facts as set forth are vague, indefinite and insufficient, and that ‘they do not fairly or sufficiently or at all inform the defendants of charges they are expected to meet at the trial.’ Judge (E.E.) Cushman said that in overruling the demurrer that if there was to be any criticism of the indictment at all, that ‘the indictment set forth the facts too fully.’”
• Also in the Tuesday edition, a short classified ad announced the grand opening of a new “roller skating rink at Centralia tonight, opposite city hall. A clean, healthful reducing exercise, 7:30 to 10 p.m.” That roller skating rink is still open across the street from Centralia City Hall 100 years later, now known as the Centralia Rollerdrome.
• A new four-room “modern bungalow” in Centralia was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $1,950. A five-room home at 1017 N. Tower Ave. in Centralia was listed for rent for $15 a month.
Saturday, Oct. 24, 1936
• Two local men were sentenced for stealing gas in Vader, though the judge also had stern words for the arresting officer who shot one of the men, The Chronicle reported. “Before the court of Justice Lee J. Campbell yesterday, H.C. Wilkins and Kenneth Carlisle, who were arrested for alleged stealing of gas in Vader last month, were sentenced to pay a fine of $100 each and to serve 30 days in jail. The jail sentence was dismissed, as the men had already spent 30 days in jail awaiting trial … After sentence was passed Justice Campbell severely reprimanded Constable Johnson of Vader for opening fire with a gun too readily. Wilkins was shot in the leg at the time of the theft.”
• “Fair buildings” with good timber and fertile soil on 40 acres of land “close to Onalaska” were listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $1,400. A “well-located” 90x120 foot lot in Centralia “with lumber for small house, brick for chimney, etc.,” in Centralia was listed for sale for $600.
Thursday, Oct. 24, 1946
• After a two-day jury trial, Conrad Yensh was found not guilty after he challenged a speeding ticket he got in Chehalis Municipal Court, The Chronicle reported. “Ten women and two men jurors returned a verdict of not guilty in the trial of Chehalis vs Conrad Yensh on a $10 speeding charge, which spanned two days, employed two bailiffs, and terminated after a $12 jury meal late Tuesday. City Attorney H.E. Donohoe said he had no statement to make regarding costs of the action. Yensh, Mountain Road Inn proprietor, appealed the police court conviction for speeding when he maintained he had not speeded, as contended by the arresting patrolmen, James John Shea and Floyd Tharp. ‘Had I lost the case, I would have appealed it to the state Supreme Court,’ Yensh told a Daily Chronicle reporter.”
• A four-bedroom home with a two-car garage, utility room and large yard with shade trees and a garden spot in Chehalis was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $7,400. A three-bedroom with a barn on 52 acres of land near Rochester was listed for sale for $9,500.
Wednesday, Oct. 24, 1956
• Lewis County Sheriff’s deputies and Centralia police arrested four local juveniles following a string of four Centralia home break-ins, The Chronicle reported. “The first of three home entries listed by sheriff’s officers dates back to Oct. 2, they said, when three of the youngsters entered the home of Ralph Cavens, 2115 Burtt, Centralia, through a back door and removed 24 silver dollars from a piggy bank. On Oct. 16, one of the boys returned to take the remaining five silver dollars in the piggy bank. He gained entry through a window, officers said. And last Sunday, all four went through the front door of the Route 1 home of Centralian Don Wofford, but were unable to steal anything when Wofford came upon the three boys by surprise, gave pursuit but failed to capture them. Centralia police had nabbed earlier a teenage boy who had entered the home of Arthur E. Greenwell at 315 Jackson St. The juveniles were turned over to the custody of Lewis County juvenile officer Floyd Green and lodged in the juvenile ward of the Lewis County Jail.”
• A five-room home with a barn, garage and tool shed on 10 acres of land located a “mile from Winlock” was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $8,000. A furnished four-room home in Bucoda was listed for rent for $20 a month.
Monday, Oct. 24, 1966
• The Chronicle featured an Associated Press story about the “housewives’ revolt against high food prices” spreading in Washington state. “In Spokane, a group decided to boycott chain supermarkets if food prices aren’t lowered, but a wholesale food supply company executive told store owners it would be impossible to meet the demands of the housewives. In Lynnwood, leaders of a similar campaign said more than 2,500 Snohomish County women pledged to boycott four supermarket chains on Oct. 31 because of rising food prices. Mrs. George R. Schell of Lynwood said, ‘We’re confident we’ll have 100,000 pledges to boycott by the end of the month.’ She said her organization, called Women for Lower Food Prices, got underway late last week when she and a friend, Mrs. Patrick Fitzgerald of Everett, decided ‘enough was enough’ … Mrs. Fitzgerald, who has three children, said prices are rising so fast that ‘even buying modestly, I can’t get out of the supermarket for less than $45 a week’ … Phillip Kays, general manager of the Roundup Co. which wholesales to 39 food stores in four states, spoke to nearly 50 retailers at the Empire Food Stores annual meeting … Kays said demands for a 10% decrease in food prices would be impossible to meet. He said stores spend 6-8% of gross receipts for employee wages, 1% for store rental, and make 1% net profit … The wholesale food executive claimed most shoppers are not interested primarily in lower prices when they shop. ‘I think about 5% of the shoppers want credit and delivery services. At the other extreme, about 10% only of the shoppers notice price. They shop for advertising bargains, and they are the most vocal. They make themselves known,’ Kays said.”
• A three-bedroom home on a “large lot next to Fairway Shopping Center” in Centralia was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $7,900 with a $500 down payment. A partly-furnished, “cute two-bedroom house” in Chehalis was listed for rent for $65 a month.
Saturday, Oct. 23, 1976
• Around 200 attendees joined members of the Study of Afro-American Life and History in an unveiling ceremony for a new bronze plaque honoring Centralia’s founder George Washington, a free man born to enslaved parents, in the downtown Centralia park named after him, The Chronicle reported. “‘You have become part of this history, because you are here,’ Daniel Newsom, Toledo, Ohio, told an estimated 200 persons who gathered under falling autumn leaves in Centralia’s George Washington City Park on a rare, sunny October afternoon Friday. The people were there because the founder of their city, the same George Washington for whom the park was named, was being honored by the National Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History, Inc., Washington D.C. Newsom, a member of the executive board of that organization and a dean of students at the University of Toledo, spoke in a booming voice which easily drowned out the nearby everyday sounds of honking horns, accelerating cars and squealing tires. He said the study of Black history is important — as important as the study of Russian history, French history, and other histories. ‘It is a part of American history,’ he said, adding that those in the park were now making new history by their very presence at that occasion …. Newsom unveiled the 17-inch, five-sided bronze plaque, commemorating Washington’s contributions, which will soon be mounted in a permanent place in the park. Centralia Mayor Don Naismith accepted the plaque on behalf of the city and expressed the gratitude of its citizens.”
• A three-bedroom home on six acres of land “adjoining city limits of Winlock” was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $65,000. A studio apartment with utilities included near Centralia College was listed for rent for $85 a month with a $35 deposit.
Friday, Oct. 24, 1986
• The Chronicle featured an Associated Press story about the federal deficit spending setting a new “record” that year. “The government is acknowledging it ran up a record $220 billion deficit for the fiscal year that just ended, but officials say they expect a dramatically better showing next year. The 1986 deficit fell $10 billion below Reagan administration expectations. White House Budget Director James C. Miller III said through a spokesman that higher-than-anticipated revenues near the end of the year and lower spending by federal agencies accounted for unanticipated savings. The Office of Management and Budget had projected as recently as August that the deficit for the Oct. 1, 1985, to Sept. 30, 1986, fiscal year would soar to $230.2 billion.”
• A three-bedroom mobile home with a five-car carport and 1,200-square-foot shop building on 15 acres of land in Toledo was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $75,000. A “completely remodeled” three-bedroom home in Centralia was listed for rent for $325 a month with a $200 deposit.
Thursday, Oct. 24, 1996
• Rufe Vanderpool, originally raised in Randle, was now CEO of recently-merged technology firms in Bellevue, The Chronicle reported. “Rufe Vanderpool was raised on a Randle farm with four siblings. He graduated from White Pass High School as a valedictorian in 1979 and worked as a logger during the summers from college, which he finished in five years. But Vanderpool’s life now centers around being a computer software magnate in Bellevue. He knew from the start he wanted to achieve success, he said, he just didn’t think he’d do it by age 35. ‘Going into the business I said, “gee, I always wanted to be in the top spot”’ he said. ‘My goal was to get this job; now I’m scratching my head.’ His job is chief executive officer of a growing software company: Microrim, Inc./Abacus Software Group in Bellevue. He was appointed earlier this month. The two 15-year-old companies recently merged. Vanderpool oversees both firms. The flagship products are R:BASE, a database software sold worldwide, and a business accounting software system. Vanderpool spends his days flying cross country or chatting with potential clients from Chicago to Japan. Abacus is based in Canada but is relocating to Bellevue after the merger and it makes for a heavy dose of travel, he said. Add to that his family network of aunts, uncles, brothers, nephews and father in Randle, who continue to draw him back to the small Lewis County town, and the travel increases. Vanderpool will visit his hometown often to go for an elk hunt or perhaps camping. His subscription to The Morton Journal is still current. He said his small town background centers him around his busy lifestyle.” Now appearing to be living on the East Coast, Vanderpool has been spending time volunteering at the Sentara Heart Hospital in Norfolk, Virginia, according to the ABC affiliate KVEC 13 News Now in Virginia Beach. According to a 2020 13newsnow article, Vanderpool started volunteering as a way of thanking staff who treated him after he suffered a heart attack in 2018 and received a heart transplant there.
• A three-bedroom home on 1.75 acres of land in the Adna School District was listed for sale in The Chronicle’s classifieds for $150,000. A four-bedroom home near the West Side Park in Chehalis was listed for rent for $695 a month with a $300 deposit.
